Buy IHG One Rewards points from 0.5 cents each through Oct. 21, 2022

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

IHG One Rewards moved to dynamic award pricing in 2020. But even so, I’m still finding it easy to get excellent value from IHG points. In particular, I regularly get significantly more than TPG’s valuation of IHG One Rewards points (0.5 cents per point).

Luckily, IHG periodically offers buy points promotions that let loyalists boost their account balance. The best one — a 100% bonus promotion — typically appears several times each year. When IHG offers a 100% bonus buy points promotion, you can buy IHG One Rewards points for just 0.5 cents per point. When my account balance gets low, I always wait for a 100% bonus before buying points.

Well, IHG’s 100% bonus buy points promotion is back. Specifically, IHG is offering a sale with up to a 100% bonus from Oct. 10 to Oct. 21, 2022. Let’s take a closer look at this IHG buy points promotion and whether you should consider it.

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Should I buy IHG One Rewards points now?

Family pool at the InterContinental Danang in Vietnam. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

Pre-pandemic, my husband and I would typically buy the maximum number of IHG points each year during a 100% bonus buy points promotion. After all, IHG buy points promotions don’t get better than 0.5 cents per point, and we could easily get more than 0.5 cents per point when trying to maximize IHG One Rewards redemptions.

It’s still easy to get more than 0.5 cents per IHG point on many stays, and most IHG award bookings are flexible until shortly before your arrival date. So, you can buy IHG One Rewards points now and snag low award rates for upcoming trips without much risk.

However, remember that IHG uses dynamic award pricing. So, although we’re still seeing the positive side of dynamic award pricing with low award night rates in many regions, prices and award rates will likely rise as travel demand continues to increase. And IHG could decide to change its award pricing algorithm at any time to provide a lower redemption value.

IHG buy points sale details

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IHG’s current buy points sale offers members up to a 100% bonus on IHG One Rewards point purchases. You’ll need to purchase a minimum number of points to unlock the bonus (for me, the minimum is 30,000 points).

You can only purchase 150,000 IHG points per calendar year. However, if you purchase 150,000 points for $1,500 during this sale, you’ll get a total of 300,000 points.

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Note that point purchases are nonrefundable and it may take up to 72 hours for purchased points to appear in your account. Additionally, you may have a different offer than is reported above. After all, the offer terms note it is an “exclusive, nontransferable offer for intended recipients only.” You can check your offer by going to IHG’s buy points page and logging in.

Are IHG points worth it?

This buy points deal is a solid way to scoop up IHG points cheaply. As I mentioned above, getting more than 0.5 cents per point in value from your IHG One Rewards points is currently easy.

For example, consider a weekend stay at the Hotel Indigo Austin Downtown-University in Austin. For a sample two-night stay in Jan. 2023 with free cancellation until the arrival date, you could pay $465 or 63,000 points.

IHG.COM

With a 100% bonus, you could get 64,000 IHG points for $320 and then redeem these points for a two-night stay. By doing so, you’d get your two-night stay for $145 less than if you’d booked a paid rate.

And if you’re eligible for a fourth-night reward when paying with points, you could stay for four nights with the same number of points you’d need for a three-night stay.

Look at your upcoming travel plans to see if you can save money by purchasing IHG points instead of paying cash for your stays. If you can, buying points may be worth it.

Frequently asked questions about buying IHG One Rewards points

Hotel Indigo London Paddington in the United Kingdom. SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

You may have other questions about buying IHG One Rewards points. Here are some of the most common:

How else can I earn IHG One Rewards points?

This buy points promotion isn’t the only way to earn IHG One Rewards points.

For example, you could sign up for the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card. In addition to a decent sign-up bonus offer, this card offers other IHG-specific perks, including the valuable fourth-night reward perk. This perk will help you stretch your IHG points further when you redeem IHG points for stays of four nights or longer.

You can also transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG One Rewards. However, I don’t usually recommend doing this. After all, TPG values Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents per point, which is a whole 1.5 cents per point more than IHG points. As such, you’ll typically find more value when you transfer Ultimate Rewards points to other programs.

Bilt Rewards points also transfer to IHG One Rewards. Still, you’ll usually get a better value from your Bilt Rewards when transferring to a higher-value partner like American Airlines AAdvantage or World of Hyatt.

Check out our guide to earning IHG One Rewards points for more ideas.

How much does it cost to buy IHG One Rewards points?

Members can currently buy IHG points for as low as 0.5 cents per point. When there isn’t a buy points promotion, you’ll need to pay between 1 cent and 1.35 cents per IHG point.

Which credit card should I use to buy IHG points?

When you buy IHG points, points.com processes the transaction instead of IHG. Your purchase won’t code as travel, and you won’t earn a travel category bonus if you use one of the top travel rewards credit cards. So, you’ll want to use one of the best cards for everyday spending to earn bonus points on your purchase.

Bottom line

When IHG One Rewards offers a 100% buy points promotion, it’s time to consider whether you need more points for any upcoming redemptions. But, since IHG uses dynamic pricing, buying points can be risky if you aren’t 100% sure you’ll go on the award trip you book with the points you’ve purchased.

Additional reporting by JT Genter, Joseph Hostetler and Andrew Kunesh.