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Buy (very cheap) IHG points through stay add-ons
If you are an IHG frequent, the name Bonus Points Package is probably no stranger to you. Basically you can buy additional points as an add-on to your stay, and these points are elite-qualifying. In addition to earning more points, they could also help you achieve higher status sooner.
There are two limitations though:
- They are only available on (member-discount) best flexible rate, with or without breakfast
- Prices ain’t typically attractive
That said, there are occasional offers which makes it a much better deal. To find out, go to the hotel’s rate plans page, and select a best flexible rate. You should see a pop-up like this:
The image above shows an pretty solid deal – you pay only $11 for 5,000 points, which usually sell for $25 under their half-price sales. If you cancel the reservation within the permitted window you won’t be charged.
It’s hard to find great deals though. Thanks to my friend @zaozaoba, here are a list of select hotels that offer the best bonus points packages.
- Japan Holiday Inn Express Osaka City Centre – $18
- Thailand Hotel Indigo Phuket Patong – $10
- Thailand InterContinental Bangkok – $7
- Thailand InterContinental Hua Hin Resort – $7
- India Holiday Inn New Delhi Mayur Vihar Noida – $10
- Australia Holiday Inn Express Brisbane Central – $13
- Australia Holiday Inn Sydney Darling Harbour – $13
- Australia InterContinental Sydney Double Bay – $12
- New Zealand voco Auckland City Centre – $1 (3,000 points)
- New Zealand Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown – $14
- UAE voco Dubai – $11
- Qatar voco Doha West Bay Suites – $9
- South Africa Holiday Inn Express Cape Town City Centre – $3
- South Africa voco Johannesburg Rosebank – $6
- Canada Holiday Inn: Ottawa Dwtn Parliament Hill – $18
- Mexico Hotel Indigo Guanajuato – $7
- Brazil Holiday Inn Sao Paulo Parque Anhembi – $7
Unless otherwise states, the $ prices are for 5,000 points.
The list above is by no means exhaustive, and you can play with IHG’s website to dig more. As you can see, you could pay as low as $1 to buy 3,000 points – very impressive!
You can only buy maximum 5,000 points per night though so it’s not a quick or substantial way of buying points. However, if you have travel plans and don’t mind paying the best flexible rate, it may be worth checking out the bonus points package.
IHG Q2 offer preview: 10K points every four nights
(Update: the offer is live now)
IHG’s Q2 offer has been leaked:
- Register from May 24
- Stay between June 6 and August 31
- Choose from two offers:
- 2,000 bonus points every two nights
- 10,000 bonus points every four nights
It is identical to what IHG offered end of last year. Note that the sign-up page for this offer isn’t live yet.
Up to 55% conversion bonus from hotel points to Cathay Pacific miles
Cathay Pacific has launched a conversion bonus promotion for select hotel programs, and you can view the details here.
Until May 15th, you will earn a bonus when converting points from participating hotel programs to Asia Miles, including but not limited to:
- Shangri-la: 30% (1000 : 1300)
- IHG: 25% (10000 : 2500)
- Accor: 15% (4000 : 2300)
- Hilton: 15% (10000 : 1150)
- Hyatt: 15% (5000 : 2300)
If you have never converted any points between April 1, 2022 and April 11, 2023, you will earn an additional 25% bonus when converting Shangri-la and IHG points.
The bottom line is, even after factoring in the bonus the conversion still loses a lot of value in most cases. IHG may be the only outlier here, where you get 3,000 miles for 10,000 points if you meet the qualification criterion.
As you can buy IHG points at 0.5 cent during their sales, you are essentially paying 1.67c per mile under this promotion, which is not great but a lot cheaper than the official rate. If you have a stash of IHG points and need to top up your Asia miles account to redeem a flight, this offer may be useful.
IHG Q2 offer: 3k points for two nights
IHG has sent a new round of targeted emails, which revealed the next bonus point promotion.
You can sign up to the offer here.
- Stay between April 15 and June 5
- Earn 3,000 bonus points when staying two paid nights
- You can earn the bonus three times
Note that only paid stays count, and in theory the nightly rate needs to exceed $30. It is a targeted offer so you may not be able to register, and there is unlikely going to be any global promotion until June 5.
New IHG offer: 10K points for two stays
IHG has brought back its reactivation offer for members who haven’t stayed with them for a while, and you may want to try your luck.
You can sign up to the offer here. Stay twice within 60 days of registration and you’ll earn 5,000 bonus points each time. They must be paid stays.
Note that it’s a targeted offer, so not everyone is eligible. I was able to enrol when it came around last time, but could no more 🙁
IHG’s “Straight to Diamond” offer returns with a catch
Last year IHG initiated a “Straight to Diamond” offer for select corporate clients and made it public by mistake, and many people had signed up to it before the loophole was closed. IHG has brought back the offer now, but is being much more careful this time.
You can check the offer details here. Quite similar to what was offered last time, a member receives a 120-day Diamond trial upon successful enrolment, and they would need to stay 10 nights within 90 days to complete the status challenge.
However, you cannot sign up yourself this time. Only IHG’s sales team, or any full-service hotel in Greater China can enrol you manually. To be eligible, you need to work for a company that is invited by IHG to partake in this promotion.
If you believe you are eligible (e.g. your company has agreements with IHG), especially if you have a recent / upcoming stay with an IHG hotel in Greater China, it’s worth enquiring with the relevant department or the hotel to see if they can register you.
Horror: IHG clamping down on Ambassador Diamonds?
We once wrote about a unpublicised benefit of the InterContinental Ambassador program, that your Diamond status gets renewed by another year when you purchase or renew the Ambassador membership. The perk may be coming to an end now.
I extended my status through 2023 using this trick last year, but when I log into my IHG account now, the expiry is reverted to 2022:
I’m not alone, as there are many similar reports online and amongst my readership, but in the meantime it’s not happening to everyone. The inconsistency makes me wonder whether it is actually IHG closing that loophole, or just a temporary system glitch.
Anyway, we will find out on March 1st when IHG’s status is refreshed. As Diamond Elite comes with free daily breakfast in the new program, it would be very sad to lose it :/
IHG fast track: Diamond after only 8 nights!
IHG had an Instant Diamond offer last year, and we were one of the very first to cover it. It looks like another fast track offer has just landed, although it is less interesting this time.
You can access the Private Diamond Offer here.
- Sign up and stay by March 31st
- Earn Diamond status after staying 8 paid nights
- Status is valid through 2024
The Register Now link has a promo code attached to it, so if you fail to register you are ineligible. However the offer seems premature to me – the terms still mistakenly refer to Platinum a lot, so it may be that the offer isn’t really live yet, and you may want to try again later if it doesn’t work.
(Update: there are many reports of receiving an offer email, so it is live.)
IHG Diamond comes with very good benefits, and although it is harder to earn it under the current offer compared to the last one, it is still much better than the normal / hard way.