There are some rumors on the credit card cert thread that IHG may soon announce an extension of those free night certs expiring 12/31. If they do, the same logic might lead them to also extend the 12/31 expiration pause date. I certainly wouldn't count on that, but if you're planning to keep points active with either a points purchase or an e-book redemption (both of which post activity right away), you may as well wait until the last week of the month, to find out if it's really needed or not.