IHG One is back with its points purchase promotion for 2024, offering an up to 90% bonus on  IHG One Rewards points purchased through Monday, February 12, 2024. In this round of points sale, you get your bonus straight up. Points can be purchased in multiples of 1,000 IHG Rewards points, so you can purchase a maximum of 150,000 points can be purchased (with another 135,000 points coming in as a bonus).

IHG Rewards has over 100 million members and over 6,000 hotels in over 100 countries. The group currently has close to 50 hotels in India, mostly boutique or mid-scale, though there is a reasonable footprint across Asia and the rest of the world.

For instance, if I buy the maximum allowable 1,50,000 IHG One Rewards points, I will earn 285,000 points for 1,500 US Dollars. That drops the price of each IHG point to 0.52 US cents or INR 0.44. You can either choose to buy the points yourself or gift them. It will take up to 3 days for the points credit to reflect in your account.

IHG does have some aspirational properties in their portfolio and some hotels where you could gain value from redemptions, such as the Intercontinental ANA, Tokyo.  A room night here in the Cherry Blossom season was priced at USD 500 a night. However, if you choose to redeem points, a night’s stay will only cost you about USD 272 for 49,000 One Rewards points. That reduces the cost of each night’s stay by 45%.

Here are a few IHG of the recent hotels we have stayed at:

• InterContinental Dublin
• Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre
• Holiday Inn Resort Goa
• Holiday Inn Express Dublin Airport
• Holiday Inn London Heathrow Terminal 5
• Holiday Inn Amritsar Ranjit Avenue

IHG has recently propped up their IHG One Rewards programme for customers’ benefit, so I see value in returning to them. For instance, Diamond members can get free breakfast at hotels across the system. A 90% bonus is a good bonus to buy the points if you intend to stay somewhere this summer and are struggling with the high prices. With the points purchased and redemption, you will usually come out ahead, although do your maths with respect to the hotel/resort you are targeting.

Which credit card should you buy IHG One Rewards Points with?

Typically, these point purchases are processed through Points.com and not directly by the hotel or airline. However, you will almost always pay in USD/EUR/GBP, not INR. So, the best cards to earn a bonus are Citi Prestige, Axis Reserve or American Express Platinum Charge Card, as these cards offer an international spending bonus. Beyond these, look at any card that provides a reduced foreign exchange spend conversion or one where you want to meet minimum spend requirements.

Bottomline

Like always, buying points without having redemption in mind is not a good idea. But travel is picking up again, and rates are strong at the moment in terms of cash prices. If you are planning a break, it may be a good idea to top up your account now.

Are you buying IHG bonus points during this purchase promotion? We’d love to hear how you plan to use them.

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