Cervantes

IHG has offered me the opportunity to purchase 60,000 points which it will then match with an equivalent amount. The cost, for buying 60,000 (=120,000 matching) is US$690. My preferred hotel 'charges' 40,000 points per night. Thus, the points would purchase three nights. However, if I were to pay for the hotel room using my credit card, the cost is US$570. This suggests that purchasing points (as opposed to 'earning' them) is of limited, or even negative, value. Or am I missing something?

mgmsteven

Sometimes, it does not represent good value. Sometimes, it does. Always be sure to include the taxes in your calculations. I have purchased points at the rate you described and used them for great value. If it is cheaper, I pay in $ for the room. An example is a place I frequently stay (HIX). Dollar rate is my rate $105 + $15 taxes = $120. Reward nights are 15,000 points. For 120,000 points, I can stay 8 nights. Paying for 8 nights in $ would cost $964. I would save $274.

minz56

Interesting - the offer I have to purchase 60,000 points (giving 120,000) is US$600. Available till 2 November.

I have heard others saying that they only buy points when they have a specific need for them, and then you do the maths and see if it is a good deal or not. For your hotel, no, for mgmsteven's hotel, yes.

db1234db1234

Agreed, do the math to see if it works. I just used this to buy points for a hotel that would have charged $200 a night. By buying points, I paid $120 a night so I definitely saved in that case. But each hotel is different just because each hotel has different point redemption rates.

CanuckFlyHigh

A good example is a hotel in Nashville during CMA Fest. The Indigo is generally about $550 USD / night + TAX which came to $650/night or over $1900 for 3 nights. I stayed 3 nights for 135,000 points, which cost me just over $700 USD.

I find buying points works well if there is availability for a special event in a city.

Cervantes

That is the same deal. I have no idea why I am being charged $90 more. Could it have something to do with cardholder status? I am Platinum.

Cervantes

I agree with the general opinion as to the value of points-buying. One must do the math.

Jaimito Cartero

I use points mostly for Pointbreak nights. I figure .5cpp as a normal value. So $25 a night for a hotel is usually a decent deal.

You always want to look at the cash price for a booking. If it’s 25k points a night, but $110 a night with taxes, paying cash is usually best. Plus you’ll get points for your stay, and whatever bonuses you signed up for.

Last week there was a targeted offer for cash and points, that had the points cost at .431 cents each for a 20k purchase.

minz56

I have no status ... so of course the price is lower and the enticement is bigger!!

I have heard of others doing this, eg Qatar Airways: 5 x Miles for new people, and only 3 x Miles for their top tier people.

So much for loyalty!!

1flyer

Yeah, that's a targeted offer. Several blogs and forums reported.

1flyer

Right. But I think most posts ITT ignored part of the math.

When you stay with cash, you earn redeemable as well as elite-qualifying points. Redeemable points can be very high with IHG, especially when the paid stays help you complete tasks from extra-point promos.

Furthermore, I can earn up to 12% cashback on paid nights.

For me, I get about 20-25% of a paid night back in the form of cashback and points. (That's with stays mostly in low-tax, low-fee locations in Europe and my IHG booking being driven in no small part by promos such as Accelerate. If I get a bad Accelerate offer in one quarter, I may hardly book IHG hotels using cash at all.)

As an example, assume the points rate is 20 000 and I value a point at 0.005 EUR (just for simplicity of the maths). If the cash rate is less than 120 or 125 EUR or so, it's usually better to pay cash than to use points.

YMMV. It is only sensible for me to pay 120 EUR rather than 20 000 points if I have more valuable point redemption options at my disposal... And obviously, your redemption options depend on your needs and required dates and locations.

jphripjah

I think it can be a great deal especially if you are an IHG mastercard holder and Ambassador and thus get 10% + 10% = 20% rebate on points used.

I just bought 108,000 points for $540 under this promotion.

Hipplewm

I used to do the points + cash to "Buy" points as it was a good deal. As I pass 1.5 mil points banked and think how will I ever use these, I just stopped period.

That said, it the value is there, it is hard to pass up, they won't expire if you have the CC, which IMO pays for itself with the free night redemption

Jaimito Cartero

Yes, but if would have been targeted for the cash and points deal last week, your cost for the same points would be $465.

tdcao

Another relatively straightforward way to pay for points is by the Points+Cash+Cancellation (PCC) method. I have been looking around these past few days for the PCC deals and the best deal I can find is $115/20,000 points (0.575¢/point) from a few hotels that charge 40,000+ points /night.

The $690/120,000 points promo is also 0.575¢/point.

I think those days of $25/5,000 points (0.5¢/point) are no more