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IHG is offering a 100% bonus on purchased points – this is the key.
I’ve written several articles in the past regarding the value of the Ambassador program so I won’t go into the details again. Both of my parents are long time IHG loyalists and we mainly cycled points/stays through their accounts for family trips. I hadn’t personally joined because it didn’t make sense to have 3 members. That just changed. Part of my MASSIVE 80k IHG Accelerate promotion was to join Ambassador, and they offered a 5k point incentive to do so. This was in addition fulfilling one of the required 6/7 targets. So how did I join? I didn’t pay the normal cash rate of $200.
I used 32k points instead of paying $200. Everyone can do this. 32k points can be purchased for just $184 until November 9th.
Using this point sale means I effectively paid $184 when you factor in the current 100% bonus on purchased points. Points are currently being sold for $0.00575 per point. The 100% bonus starts at 5000 points, but the best deal is with a bigger purchase.
I Get 10% of my redeemed points back because I carry the IHG credit card from Chase.
Yes, it works for joining Ambassador. That $184 just dropped to $166, or 32,000 drops to 28,800.
Let’s add in the value of the 5k point incentive. This nets out to just 23,800 points out of pocket, or just $136.85. We can drop that to $75…follow along.
32,000 * 0.9 = 28,800
28,800 – 5000 = 23,800
23,800 * $0.00575 = $136.85
I could write the membership down even further by saying that it represents 1/7 of the 75k ( 5k are from joining so need to be backed out) points that I will receive by fulfilling the Accelerate promotion…roughly 10,700 points. This means I’m getting Ambassador for roughly 13,100, or $75.
$136.85 is a cheap weekend night at an Intercontinental. $75 is insane.
A free weekend night is a perk of the Ambassador program.
I’ve already reserved my weekend night at the Intercontinental Shanghai. I’m getting a free night worth $300. Hopefully an upgrade to boot. B – YAH!
Chase Sapphire Preferred
A Monkey Miles favorite for beginners and point pros alike – a staple of our wallet that earns Premium transferrable Ultimate Rewards. $95 annual fee
♥ Earn 60k Bonus Points after $4k Spend in 3 months
♥Points are transferrable to over dozen partners, or redeemable for 1.25c in Chase travel
♥5x on travel purchased via Chase Travel and 2x everywhere else (beginning 8/16/21)
♥3x on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out (previously 2x – beginning 8/16/21)
♥3x on select streaming (beginning 8/16/21)
♥ 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs -(beginning 8/16/21)
♥ $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards. *New cardmembers can get this credit immediately – existing cardmembers get it after anniversary (beginning 8/16/21)
♥ 10% Anniversary Point Bonus. Spend $10k in a year, get 1k bonus points. (beginning 8/16/21)
Learn more
Need to highlight the fine print on the Ambassador “free weekend night” promotion. A second night is free when you purchase the first night AT A HIGHER THAN USUAL RATE. Can’t use points for that first night. I don’t think it’s worth it.
Miles-
Thanks for the motivation I signed up today for IHG Ambassador myself today. Have some upcoming paid and award stays at Intercontinental. I even had my sweetie sign up too, as she connects IHG points weekly.
Do you ever get upgraded to club rooms? I hope to redeem my BOGO while in L.A. if the regular rate is reasonable.
LA would be a great redemption. It’s not common, but depending the load of the hotel I’ve seen it done. Specifically in Austin Texas.
Also you should update the deadline as my account says the 100% point bonus runs through November 9
B – looks like they’ve extended it! thanks for the heads up. updated
Great post which has inspired me to do the same, though my computation comes to $95 before accelerate as the point cost is only .005 and the signup bonus is 10k (promo).
Keep in mind that BOGO night is not worth as much as you paid for first night because the BOGO rates are usually higher than lowest discounted rates. But still a great deal at many IC properties. Also I think you save on taxes, and get Ambassador perks…
Oh but it gets better. In the Ambassador welcome packet you’ll get a certificate for 5000 points as well.
I read on Flyertalk these 5k certs have been eliminated. I just signed up, used the 32k.
Barry – I haven’t received my welcome kit yet, but will report back when I do.
A 300$ room? I redeemed the AMB Certificate at the InterContinental Tel Aviv, booking a 515$ suite – and staying in a 850$ suite.