(EXPIRED) IHG Summer 2020 Promo: Earn Up To 4x Points Per Stay

Update 7/16/20: When this promotion launched last month, it was restricted to US residents only. IHG has now seen the light and opened it up to all IHG Rewards Club members worldwide. h/t Loyalty Lobby

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IHG Rewards Club has opened registration for its summer 2020 promotion which has the potential to be fairly rewarding if you’ll be staying a number of times because you’ll earn up to 4x bonus points per stay.

The Deal

• IHG is offering the following bonus points the more you stay:
  • Earn 2x bonus points on your first two stays
  • Earn 3x bonus points on your third stay
  • Earn 4x bonus points for every stay after that
• Direct link to registration

Key Terms

• You must register for the promotion on or before September 8, 2020.
• Promotion runs from June 12, 2020 through September 8, 2020 (”Promotion Period”).
• This promotion is available to US residents only.
• On your first Qualifying Stay (a minimum 1-night stay booked under a Qualifying Rate, with total spend exceeding US $30) after registering for the promotion, you will be awarded double points, up to a maximum of 100,000 points for that stay. On your second qualifying stay, you will be awarded double points, up to a maximum of 100,000 points for that stay. On your third qualifying stay, you will be awarded triple points, up to a maximum of 100,000 points for that stay. On your 4th qualifying stay and for each stay beyond the 4th stay during the Promotion Period, you will be awarded quadruple points, up to a maximum of 100,000 points for each stay. The maximum number of bonus points that a member can earn through this Promotion, for all stays combined, is 400,000.
• Except as otherwise stated in the terms and conditions, please allow up to 2 to 3 weeks for Promotion bonus points to be credited after checkout.

Quick Thoughts

This offer is similar to their last promotion which also offered up to 4x bonus points, although there is a key difference.

That last promotion had the 2x/3x/4x tiers, but they were based on the number of nights you stayed rather than the actual number of stays you had in a promotion period. That worked out well for us because we stayed a month at the Candlewood Suites Albuquerque when things went into lockdown mid-March. That was our third paid IHG stay during the promotion period, but due to the length of the stay much of it earned 4x bonus points. With this new promotion, it would’ve only earned 3x bonus points if it was our third stay.

This is still a generous promotion though because the bonus points are earned on top of base points, bonus points for having status with IHG and points earned when paying with an IHG credit card (if applicable).

Many people will have either the old IHG Select or new IHG Premier credit cards. Both of those cards provide Platinum status which offers a 50% bonus on base points. Here’s how the bonus points can add up:

• Stays 1 & 2
  • 10 base points per dollar
  • 5 bonus points per dollar (Platinum status)
  • 20 bonus points per dollar (Summer 2020 promo)

• Stay 3
  • 10 base points per dollar
  • 5 bonus points per dollar (Platinum status)
  • 30 bonus points per dollar (Summer 2020 promo)

• Stays 4+
  • 10 base points per dollar
  • 5 bonus points per dollar (Platinum status)
  • 40 bonus points per dollar (Summer 2020 promo)

As you can see, Platinum members can earn up to 55 points per dollar which is before you take into account the additional points you can earn when paying with an IHG credit card.

Note that all the above points amounts are based on earning 10x base points per dollar at most of IHG’s brands. Their Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites brands only earn 5 base points per dollar which means all the bonus points earnings are halved too.

It’s possible for some people to earn up to 85x on their stays, although it’ll likely be a minority of people that find themselves falling into this category. That’s because you’d need to be a Spire Elite member and have applied for the IHG Premier card when it was offering 25x on IHG stays in the first year.

If you’re in that category, here’s how it breaks down:

• 10x base points per dollar
• 10x bonus points per dollar (Spire Elite status)
• 40x bonus points per dollar (from 4th stay from Summer 2020 promo)
• 25x bonus points per dollar (IHG Premier card earnings)
• Total = 85x points per dollar

If you have Spire Elite status with the IHG Premier card only earning its standard 10x rate, you’d still be earning 70 points per dollar which is an excellent return.

I’m fortunate enough to be part of the minority able to earn up to 85x as I have Spire Elite status and my wife has the IHG Premier card earning 25x until October 2020. Earning 65x for our first two stays, 75x for our third and 85x for our fourth is very tempting. What’s causing some indecision is the fact that we’re tending to stay at least three weeks in each place at the moment which makes the per-stay requirement not as good as the previous per-night promotion.

We’re also only booking places with kitchens at the moment which means we’d be booking stays at Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites. With those two brands offering half the number of points as other IHG brands, our first two stays would only earn 45 points per dollar (when including the 25x earnings from my wife’s IHG Premier card). That’s still a decent return ordinarily, but not quite a no-brainer.

For those of you perhaps planning weekend trips away to nearby locations this summer, the per-stay requirement will be less of a hindrance to maximizing your earnings with this promotion.

Update: As per C.J.’s comment below, it seems like this promotion might run a little differently to the way IHG has presented it. For example, 3x bonus points apparently means 2x bonus points + 1x base points, rather than 3x bonus points + 1x base points.

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