Reviews

Get a 100% bonus when you buy 5k+ IHG points until 02/17/17

two men standing in front of a building

We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com and CardRatings. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.


Get a 100% bonus when you buy 5k+ IHG points until 02/17/17

IHG put this offer out yesterday, 2/14/17, as a sweet little Valentine’s day surprise.  You can get a 100% bonus when you buy 5k+ IHG points until 02/17/17. IHG allows you to buy up to 60,000 points per year and this provides a great way to get an additional 60,000. Let’s take a look at the offer and why it may or may not make sense for you. Get a 100% bonus when you buy 5k+ IHG points until 02/17/17.

Get a 100% bonus when you buy 5k+ IHG points until 02/17/17

 

If you’re interested go here:

You’ll be prompted to input your IHG information. You’ll then be given the option to buy different quantities of points.

Here is a look at various price points: Best deal is $0.0575 per point

  • Buy 5k get 5k = 0.00675
  • Buy 20k get 20k = 0.00625
  • Buy 60k get 60k = 0.00575

Get a 100% bonus when you buy 5k+ IHG points until 02/17/17 Screen Shot 2017-02-15 at 1.42.04 PM

Here are the terms and conditions:

  • 60k max
  • must purchase by 11:59 EST on 2/17/17

Screen Shot 2017-02-15 at 1.43.36 PM

Should you do it?

Like everything…it’s up to you. If you don’t have any points, are short on points, or see that a super expensive hotel could be had for much less through a points purchase, I think this could be a great deal. Another option is to use the points to buy Ambassador at a discount…

Buy points to purchase IHG Ambassador at a discount

For new members it would cost $184.

  • At $0.00575 per point, 32000 points would cost you $184.

Screen Shot 2017-02-15 at 1.50.15 PM

For renewal there were 3 options offered last year and one was an all points offer 24k get 5k back or 19k total out of pocket:

  • At $0.00575
    • 24000 get 5k back = 19,000 or $109.25

Screen Shot 2017-02-15 at 2.09.02 PM

Buy points to get a room at a reduced rate.

In 2015, we used points to stay at the Intercontinental Johannesburg airport while we were touring for a safari.

Screen Shot 2017-02-15 at 2.33.55 PM

It’s a great hotel, adjacent to the airport and can be had for just 30,000 points, 27k if you have the IHG card from Chase which gives you a 10% rebate on award redemptions. With this promotion you could buy points to redeem for a night here for $172.50 or $155.25 with the Chase card. I looked and rates in March are over $300. That’s a great way to stay at a great hotel and save a lot of money.

 

Think you’ll take advantage of this promotion? Would love to hear your stories!

 

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

a blue credit card with blue lines and white text

Learn More

Affiliate Link

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
4.8/5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

$300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • $300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 
    • That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year
  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 10% Anniversary Bonus
    • Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
  • $95 Annual Fee

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

5 Comments

  • […] are a few instances from my previous post where I think it makes sense to buy […]

  • […] are a few instances from my previous post where I think it makes sense to buy […]

  • […] are a few instances from my previous post where I think it makes sense to buy […]

  • Phil February 15, 2017

    You should only buy these points if you are imminently going to use the points for a great value against the actual cost of a hotel you are going to stay at. The IHG programs is one of the worst out there in terms of properties, value and company management. You don’t want points sitting in a program run by a company that claimed “Points Never Expire” for years and then instituted an expiration date.

    • Miles February 15, 2017

      Thanks for reading Phil and agreed – never buy points speculatively, also with a purpose

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.