New IHG PointBreaks coming tomorrow [5/28]

The latest IHG PointBreaks list is scheduled to go live for bookings tomorrow, May 28, 2019 around 12pm Eastern time. We don’t have a full preview list, but it’s worth keeping an eye on the page tomorrow morning and/or on the pages of individual properties you might be hoping to see as booking sometimes goes live a little early.

The Deal

• The latest IHG PointBreaks list will go live on Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at 12pm Eastern for bookings through August 31, 2019 (note that individual properties sometimes go live a little before the new list gets published)
• Direct link to PointBreaks page (note that the old list will still show before the new list is published — you’ll know you’re looking at the new list when it says bookings available through August 31, 2019)

Key Details

• Goes live around noon Eastern on 5/28/19.
• Each member can make two bookings per hotel (i.e. you can book a reservation for four nights and a separate reservation for thirty nights, but you can’t make 34 single-night reservations at the same hotel). You can book as many different PointBreak hotels as you like.
• Each hotel has a limited number of rooms available for PointBreaks (the best sell out right away)

Quick Thoughts

IHG PointBreaks are not as good as they used to be. There, we said it. Elephant in the room acknowledged.

Now let’s let bygones be bygones and acknowledge that there are still some occasional deals at the 5K, 10K and 15K PointBreaks levels of the new lists if your travels happen to take you to the right cities. That last part is key — the PointBreaks list generally isn’t going to provide you with a hotel destination around which to build a trip, but may rather come in handy with a cheap hotel in a city you’re already visiting. On the other hand, it might just give you a staycation destination in your own backyard — now and then I see a property a couple of hours from home that encourages me to check out a town I wouldn’t otherwise visit.

As I do have some summer travel plans without hotels booked, I’ll be refreshing the page at noon tomorrow hoping to find something that fits my needs. Since you can often buy IHG points for half a cent each, this sale means you can (potentially) book PointBreaks for $25 / $50 / $75 in points (assuming you’ve already bought what you need). You can do a little better yet if you have the newer IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card, which offers the 4th night free on award stays. That drops your net cost per night down to 3,750 / 7,500 / 11,250 points per night, which is usually a pretty good deal even though the properties included aren’t often very exciting.

This time around, IHG has released just 4 preview properties, all to be priced at 15K per night, down from 30-35K:

• InterContinental Kuala Lumpur.
• Even Hotel – Miami Airport
• Hotel Indigo Memphis Downtown
• Staybridge Suites Manchester Oxford Road (UK)

If that list represents the best values of the PointBreaks, I wouldn’t hold my breath too tightly for any amazing deals. Still, without even looking at paid rates, an InterContinental for 15K per night (or perhaps 11,250 points per night) likely isn’t bad if you’re already planning to go to Kuala Lumpur.

My biggest struggle with IHG is the lack of free breakfast for elite members. Of course, elite benefits aren’t guaranteed on award stays, so it wouldn’t necessarily matter if breakfast were a benefit of the program. Still, I spent some time this morning debating between a couple of properties for an upcoming one-night stay and I was struggling to justify a Crowne Plaza or InterContinental over a Holiday Inn Express. Maybe I’ll get lucky and tomorrow’s PointBreaks will make my decision easier and a better value.

H/T: Loyalty Lobby

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