Hotels

IHG’s new PointBreaks are a big win. Start booking now.

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5k, 10k, 15k offers are now live.

That’s right, if you’re accustomed to the old 5k Pointbreaks that IHG used to run, whereby awards were super cheap, but rarely offered anywhere you’d like to visit other than making a roadtrip…things have changed. IHG has taken a positive step forward. Many of ragged on it, but not us here at monkeymiles. We love it. Essentially what they did as offer 3 tiers of PointBreaks: 5k, 10k, and 15k. This allowed them to offer up more Indigos, Crown Plazas, and Intercontinental hotels across the globe. Let’s take a look at how the program works, and some cool spots you can book.

This came out a few days ago…The new PointBreaks will run until April 30th.

a screenshot of a website

My feeling on the new 3 tier structure. I LOVE IT

While it was great to snag a hotel for just 5k points, in reality, I never once did it. There were some interesting opportunities, but almost all of them would have been ideal had I been on a roadtrip, and I never took one. Soooooooo – now we have quite a few options that are fantastic redemption opportunities, and tons of hotels across the globe that are great deals. More options, more deals, more, more, more for less. Love it.

Here are a few highlights followed by the entire list:

Intercontinental Sao Paolo 15k

Sao Paolo is a great way to get in and out of Brazil using points, but you may want to spend a couple days seeing the city, eating the food, and absorbing the vibrant culture. At 15k points per night, it’s hard to beat.

a round ottoman in a lobby
Intercontinental Sao Paolo – courtesy of ihg.com

Intercontinental Panama 15k

Panama has been a great place to visit in the past couple of years for those looking to gain, or maintain Airline status. With sub $1000 roundtrip business class fares, and the ability to see the Panama Canal, it’s become a great spot to spend a long weekend.

a city next to a body of water
Intercontinental Miramar Panama – courtesy of IHG.com

Crowne Plaza Helsinki 15k

Helsinki can get very expensive, very fast. Knowing you can secure a hotel for just 15k points is a great option. FinnAir often opens up a lot of avail through New York and Chicago, and this would make a one night stop much more affordable.

a reception desk in a hotel
Crowne Plaza Helsinki – courtesy of ihg.com

Crowne Plaza Berlin 15k

Berlin is one of Europe’s coolest cities, and this Crowne Plaza, located in Potsdamer Platz is incredibly well located. A steal at just 15k points per night.

a bedroom with a bed and a bench
Crowne Plaza Berlin – courtesy of IHG.com

Intercontinental Kiev: 15k

I just worked with an award booking client that we got to the Ukraine. They’ll be happy to see this option.

a building with many windows
intercontinental Kiev – courtesy of IHG.com

5k Hotels:

United States


10k Hotels:

United States

ALABAMA

Holiday Inn Express Atmore
Holiday Inn Guin

ARIZONA
Holiday Inn Express Peoria North – Glendale

ARKANSAS
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bryant – Benton Area
Crowne Plaza Little Rock

CALIFORNIA
Staybridge Suites Corona South

CONNECTICUT
Crowne Plaza Danbury
Crowne Plaza Stamford

DELAWARE
Crowne Plaza Wilmington North

FLORIDA
Candlewood Suites Pensacola – University Area

GEORGIA
Crowne Plaza Atlanta Sw – Peachtree City

ILLINOIS
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Morton Peoria Area
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Chicago North Shore – Niles
Crowne Plaza Chicago-Northbrook
Hotel Indigo Chicago-Vernon Hills

INDIANA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Evansville North

IOWA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Northwood
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Des Moines-Northwest

KANSAS
Holiday Inn Express Wichita South

LOUISIANA
Holiday Inn Alexandria – Downtown
Holiday Inn Covington
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Lafayette North
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Baton Rouge -Port Allen
Candlewood Suites Slidell Northshore

MARYLAND
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Chestertown
Holiday Inn Express & Suites College Park-University Area

MICHIGAN
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Farmington Hills – Detroit
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Southgate – Detroit Area
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Three Rivers

MINNESOTA
Candlewood Suites Bemidji
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites St. Cloud

MISSISSIPPI
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Magee

MISSOURI
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Independence-Kansas City
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Maryville
Holiday Inn Express & Suites West Plains Southwest

NEBRASKA
Candlewood Suites Kearney
Staybridge Suites Omaha 80Th And Dodge

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Crowne Plaza Nashua

NEW JERSEY
Holiday Inn Express Bordentown – Trenton South
Crowne Plaza Edison
Crowne Plaza Saddle Brook

NEW MEXICO
Crowne Plaza Albuquerque

NEW YORK
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Batavia – Darien Lake
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Kingston-Ulster
Holiday Inn Express Rochester – University Area

NORTH CAROLINA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Raleigh Ne – Medical Ctr Area
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wilson-Downtown

NORTH DAKOTA
Candlewood Suites Dickinson
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Dickinson
Candlewood Suites Minot

OHIO
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Kent State University
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Medina
Holiday Inn Express Lordstown-Newton Falls/Warren
Holiday Inn Express Salem

OKLAHOMA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Blackwell
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Oklahoma City North
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Oklahoma City North
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Stillwater – University Area
Crowne Plaza Tulsa – Southern Hills

PENNSYLVANIA
Staybridge Suites Stroudsburg (East) Poconos
Holiday Inn Lansdale
Candlewood Suites Pittsburgh-Airport
Crowne Plaza Reading
Holiday Inn Express Wilkes Barre East

SOUTH DAKOTA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Vermillion

TEXAS
Crowne Plaza Northwest-Brookhollow
Candlewood Suites San Angelo Tx
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites San Antonio Northwest

UTAH
Holiday Inn South Jordan – Slc South
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Vernal – Dinosaurland

VIRGINIA
Staybridge Suites Chantilly Dulles Airport
Crowne Plaza Hampton-Marina
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charlottesville – Ruckersville
Holiday Inn Express Quantico – Stafford

WASHINGTON
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Bellingham

WYOMING
Holiday Inn Riverton-Convention Center

Worldwide

ALBERTA, CANADA
Candlewood Suites Calgary Airport North
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton-International Airport

COLOMBIA
Crowne Plaza Barranquilla
Holiday Inn Bucaramanga Cacique
InterContinental Cali
InterContinental Medellin

PANAMA
Holiday Inn Express Panama Distrito Financiero

GUANAJUATO, MEXICO
Staybridge Suites Irapuato
Staybridge Suites Silao

HIDALGO, MEXICO
Holiday Inn Express Pachuca

GERMANY
Holiday Inn Dresden – City South

ITALY
Holiday Inn Rome – Aurelia

KAZAKHSTAN
Holiday Inn Aktau

MONGOLIA
Holiday Inn Ulaanbaatar

RUSSIA
Crowne Plaza Moscow – World Trade Centre
Holiday Inn St. Petersburg – Moskovskye V.
Staybridge Suites St. Petersburg

SERBIA
Crowne Plaza Belgrade

TURKEY
Crowne Plaza Ankara
Crowne Plaza Istanbul – Florya

UNITED KINGDOM
Holiday Inn Express Aberdeen City Centre
Holiday Inn Express London – Dartford
Holiday Inn Express London – Newbury Park
Crowne Plaza Resort Colchester – Five Lakes
Holiday Inn Express St. Albans – M25, Jct.22

GUANGDONG, CHINA (PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC)
Crowne Plaza Zhongshan Xiaolan

ZHEJIANG, CHINA (PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC)
Crowne Plaza Hangzhouonethousandislandlake

INDIA
Holiday Inn Express Chennai Old Mahabalipuram Road
Crowne Plaza Kochi
Holiday Inn Kolkata Airport
Crowne Plaza Pune City Centre

INDONESIA
Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali
Holiday Inn Cikarang Jababeka

LAOS
Crowne Plaza Vientiane

MALAYSIA
Holiday Inn Resort Penang

NEPAL
Crowne Plaza Kathmandu-Soaltee

VIETNAM
Crowne Plaza West Hanoi Residences

KENYA
InterContinental Nairobi

LEBANON
Crowne Plaza Beirut

OMAN
Crowne Plaza Duqm


15K Hotels

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

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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

60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • 3x on dining
    •  including eligible delivery services for takeout
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
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  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel Portal
  • 2x on all other travel
  • $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Chase Travel
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 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
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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.

1 Comment

  • boraxo February 5, 2018

    Agree great list now. Unfortunately no good for advance summer planning but hopefully the next list will have some goodies.

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