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IHG One Rewards is out with another sale on the cash portion of Points & Cash rates. The percentage discount varies depending on which of their brands you book, but it also provides an opportunity to buy their points for less than 0.5cpp (cents per point).
The Deal
- Save on the cash portion of Points & Cash bookings with IHG:
- 20% discount – Iberostar Resorts
- 15% discount – all other IHG brands
- Direct link to offer.
Key Terms
- This offer is 15% savings on the cash portion of Points & Cash bookings at IHG hotels globally and 20% savings on the cash portion of Points & Cash bookings at Iberostar Beachfront Resorts (the “Offer”).
- This offer is only available to IHG One Rewards members who book their stay during the period of July 16, 2024 through July 20, 2024 (the “Booking Period”) and then complete their stay during the period from July 16, 2024 through August 31, 2024 (the “Stay Period”).
- This 15% discount and 20% discount is offered at time of booking and only applies to the cash cost of the booking.
- A member must be logged in to their IHG One Rewards account at the time of booking to access the discount.
- The cash portion of Points & Cash bookings are charged immediately in U.S. dollars, and for cancellations both the points and the cash components of the booking are refunded in points only.
- The number of points refunded is determined by the points-only price at the original time of booking.
Quick Thoughts
It’s generally better value to pay entirely with cash or pay entirely with points when booking IHG stays. Where the Points & Cash option comes in handy is when IHG runs sales such as these as they’re a way to pick up IHG points on the cheap.
That’s due to the way that IHG deals with Points & Cash bookings. The cash effectively buys the additional points you need to make a reservation, so if you cancel your stay you get refunded in points rather than in cash.
With the discount on the cash portion going as high as 20%, that makes it possible to buy points for just under half a cent apiece. To do that, you’d need to book an Iberostar stay using Points & Cash. For example, the Iberostar Herceg Novi in Montenegro was charging 79,000 points per night on the dates I checked (this has a minimum two night stay), with several different Points & Cash options in order to redeem fewer points:
The best value here is the 29,000 points + $247 option. That $247 would buy you 50,000 points, so you’re effectively paying 0.494cpp – slightly less than when IHG offers a 100% bonus when buying points officially.
Points & Cash values can sometimes vary based on the property, so there might be different Iberostar properties providing even better value than this. Please let us know in the comments if you find an even better value option.
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consistently found 50k for $247
Checked a bunch of Iberostar properties, pretty consistently showing 50k in points being offset by $247.
I found 13,000 plus 247.00 per night is that better or worse?
It depends on what the full award price is. If it’s 63,000 points, the value would be the same as mentioned in the post as you’d be paying $247 for 50,000 points.
If booking Iberostar, would the current 10% back from Rakuten kick in as well?
If booking a regular paid stay it would. If booking Points & Cash, I don’t think portals track those kinds of transactions, but it’s worth clicking through from a portal just in case it does.
Thank you for the tip Stephen! Points from this method usually come it at around 0.6¢. This is a fantastic deal!
Another benefit of getting points this way rather than buying them outright is that the purchase here is direct from IHG rather than points.com. Regular hotel multipliers apply to the purchase on the credit card.
Incorrect at least per my Data Point- did this a few months ago on IHG premier card and only received base 3x points. So I would use CC with 2x like Cap One VX or BBP
Granted I haven’t done it for awhile. I’ll check when this one posts. I put it on my IHG Premier.
Interested in the DPs on this. Thanks!
My DP with my IHG Biz Premier is that it does not earn the hotel multiplier, it counted as “office & shipping “ and only got the generic 3x. And trying to use the Amex offer for $50 back on $250+ spend on IHG.com also does not track as IHG. Learn from my painful DPs.
Office and shipping? Wonder if it would give 5x pts on the Ink 🙂
Be the datapoint you want.
I;m waiting for a DP 😀
Something to keep in mind is whether the charges would trigger a foreign transaction fee on the particular Ink variation.
Pending charges on my Ink Business Preferred is showing as office and shipping (3x).