(EXPIRED) More than 50x on IHG stays booked by 11/30 for stays through 12/31

IHG is running a big Cyber Monday deal that offers 5x the base earnings on paid stays booked by 11/30 for stays completed through 12/31/21. That means that at most brands you’ll earn 50 points per dollar base earnings plus elite bonuses and points earned on credit card spend. This isn’t worth a mattress run, but it is nonetheless a great return on paid stays.

The Deal

• IHG Rewards is offering 5x base points (as in 50 points per dollar spent) on bookings made 11/29 and 11/30 for travel through 12/31/21 for those who register (if you were previously registered for 3x, you will automatically get 5x)
• Direct link to registration

Key Terms

• You must be an IHG® Rewards member to participate in the “5X” promotion (“5X Promotion”).
• A member who is already participating in the current 3X Promotion (with the promotional period being September 15, 2021 through December 31, 2021) will be automatically registered for the 5X Promotion.
• If a member has not yet registered for the current 3X Promotion, and would like to participate in the 5X Promotion, they will need to register for either the 3X Promotion or for the 5X Promotion on or before November 30, 2021, 11:59 PM EST.
• Registration for the 5X Promotion will be open November 29, 2021 through November 30, 2021, 11:59 PM EST.
• By clicking the “click to register” button for the 5X Promotion, a member is registering for the 5X Promotion and accepting both these Terms & Conditions for the 5X Promotion and the Terms & Conditions for the 3X, which can be found here: 3X Terms & Conditions.
• Once registered for the 5X Promotion, a member will be able to earn 5X points on Qualifying Stays that are booked on November 29, 2021 or on November 30, 2021 by 11:59 PM EST for those nights of the stay occurring on or before December 31, 2021.
• Qualifying Stays are a minimum 1-night stay booked under a Qualifying Rate, with total spend exceeding US $30 for each night.
• Note that multiple checkouts for consecutive qualifying nights at the same hotel will count as one (1) qualifying stay; non-consecutive qualifying nights at the same hotel may count as separate qualifying stays.
• Only one room per member per Qualifying Stay will be eligible for the applicable points, or other benefits (if any) available under the applicable promotion.
• If more than one member checks into the same room, only one member is eligible for the applicable points, or other benefits (if any) available under the applicable promotion.
• If a member books more than one room on the same night, they will only receive points for the promotion on one room and points will be based off the room with the higher average room night rate over the promotion period.  For additional details on Qualifying Stays and Qualifying Rates, please see the full IHG® Rewards Members Terms and Conditions.
• For the 5X Promotion, earning “5X” or “5X points” on stays through December 31, 2021 that were booked on either November 29, 2021 or on November 30, 2021 by 11:59 PM EST means the member will receive five (5) times the “base points” the member would normally receive just for being an IHG® Rewards member. For example, under the 5X Promotion, for a one-night qualifying stay at a rate of $100.00, the member would earn 1,000 base points (10 points per USD x $100 = 1,000 points) and an additional 4,000 promotional bonus points, for a total of 5,000 points.
• The promotional bonus points under this Promotion are calculated based solely on the base points the member is eligible to earn for a qualifying stay just for being an IHG® Rewards member, and any Elite status bonus points or any other bonus or promotional points the member may be eligible to receive for the same stay are not included. Stays that were booked before November 29, 2021 or after 11:59 PM EST on November 30, 2021 by members registered within the 3X and 5X promotions are not eligible for the 5X Promotion and such stays, if Qualifying Stays under the 3X Promotion, will adhere to the 3X Promotion earning structure, found within the 3X Terms & Conditions.
• The 5X Promotion, in conjunction with the 3X Promotion, is subject to a promotional bonus points cap of 70,000 IHG Rewards points, which means members participating in the 3X Promotion or the 5X Promotion or both will be able to earn up to a maximum combined total of 70,000 promotional bonus points from the 3X and 5X promotions.
• If a member has earned the maximum 70,000 promotional bonus points before the 5X Promotion begins, they will not be eligible to earn any additional bonus points under the 5X Promotion.

Quick Thoughts

IHG Rewards members ordinarily earn 10 points per dollar spent at all brands except Staybridge Suites or Candlewood Suites.

Today’s 5x promo increases that five-fold to 50 points per dollar spent at most brands (or 25x at Staybridge / Candlewood Suites). If you were previously registered for the 3x promotion, you will automatically be eligible for this 5x promo.

IHG Rewards Club Premier credit card holders get automatic Platinum status, which adds 5 points per dollar on top for a total of 55x. If you pay with your IHG Rewards Club Premier card, you’ll earn 10x there for a total of 65x. You could also stack that with SimplyMiles offers through American Airlines to earn a couple thousand American Airlines miles while you’re at it (note that the SimplyMiles offers are set to expire tomorrow — 11/30/21 — but they may be extended again).

The cash portion of Cash & Points stays are also on sale, which open opportunities to potentially buy points quite cheaply since when you book a cash & points stay with IHG and later cancel, you get points back rather than money for the cash portion. Monkey Miles reported possibly seeing opportunities at less than half a cent per point initially, though I’m not sure whether there are any such opportunities available at the time of writing. At times in the past, we’ve seen IHG points available through cash & points sales as cheaply as 0.384c per point (though I’ve only seen them below 0.4c that one time). It may be worth hunting for a chance to buy points cheaply.

H/T: Monkey Miles

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