Originally Posted by
craigthemif
Perhaps.
Or perhaps IHG have been handing out so many bonus points from the promos that people are no longer bothering to buy points. Anecdotally, it seems to me that IHG have been running the 100% bonus on points more frequently. So bringing in a 15K for $90 (0.6 cents) simply goes along with that.
But this is a different game though.
If IHG does a 5-day 100% bonus then you are taking a punt because by the time you redeem the points IHG may have devalued or rooms may have gone.
Because these post instantly, there is no risk and you are not investing any cash.
Do you see the problem brewing here? The hotel owner will see it like this - I am forced to give you, IHG, 5% of my rooms each night for free. You are then turning around and selling those for substantially less (and on a refundable basis) than my own price!
If it wasn't for the fact that I already have some nights booked, this would impact my own Accelerate calculations for Q1. The cost of buying the same number of points via this route has just dropped 15% so I should be more careful about what I pay to hit my target.