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It’s back. IHG Accelerate Q4, 2019
Back in June, I randomly received a targeted Accelerate offer, and oddly, as I perused the internet I found very little evidence that this was a new widespread IHG Accelerate. Jump forward a couple of months, and voila, a wide public Accelerate offer is being sent out. Here’s a link to the new Accelerate, if you’re targeted, where you can register
However, when I try and sign up for the offer, I get this notification, most likely, because I’m already registered for my prior Accelerate which expires October 31, 2019.
Below is the offer I received back in June, and my thinking on how to approach it.
I just received an email for IHG’s quarterly Accelerate program. I haven’t had a worthwhile offer in quite some time, but this one is worth dissecting. If my math is right, I believe I can get it with just 5 nights and 2 weekend stays at Intercontinental hotels. Let’s check it out.
I need to do all 5/5 offers to get the 78k points.
- Sign up for Accelerate by August 17
- Get up to 78,000 bonus points with personalized offers from July 1 to October 31
Looking at my offers:
- Book with the App
- Spend on my IHG credit card
- Stay at 2 different Intercontinental Hotels
- Use Cash + Points
- 2 Saturday Stay Bonuses
How I’m thinking of accomplishing it over two weekends:
- Weekend One
- Use the App to book an Intercontinental stay and pay with my IHG Credit Card
- This would take care of 1) Booking with the App, 2) Spending on my IHG credit card, 3) 1/2 of the Intercontinental stay, and 4) 1/2 of the Stay two weekends
- Use the App to book an Intercontinental stay and pay with my IHG Credit Card
- Weekend Two
- Book 2 nights at a different Intercontinental Hotel
- This would take care of 1) My second Intercontinental Hotel, and 2) My 2nd weekend night.
- Book a third night with cash + points
- Book 2 nights at a different Intercontinental Hotel
In total, this would amount to just 5 nights over two weekends at two different hotels. 78k points equates to a free night at any single IHG hotel in the world. Pretty great deal if you ask me.
What is your offer?
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It 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. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 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)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
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® Card is great 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: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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