IHG One Rewards is an underdog of the lodge factors world. However IHG resorts and resorts can be found in lots of locations. And IHG One Rewards considerably improved its elite advantages in 2022.
It is attainable to get greater than TPG’s valuation — and the speed at which you should buy IHG factors throughout 100% bonus purchase factors gross sales — when redeeming IHG factors. So on this information, we’ll talk about the way to maximize IHG One Rewards redemptions.
Calculate your redemption fee
IHG started utilizing dynamic award pricing in 2020. Now, all IHG award stays are priced dynamically, that means the variety of factors you will must redeem for a keep varies based mostly in your reserving date, the property you select, your keep dates and different components.
That stated, getting good worth out of your IHG One Rewards factors remains to be attainable. TPG’s valuations peg the worth of IHG factors at 0.5 cents every, however you’ll be able to usually get a better redemption fee when redeeming IHG factors.
For instance, let’s assume you wish to e-book a regular room with two queen beds on the Resort Indigo Savannah Historic District from Oct. 19 to 22. You could possibly e-book a fee with free cancellation till two days earlier than your keep for $1,151.62 or 170,000 factors. Should you redeem IHG factors, you’d get a redemption fee of 0.677 cents per level.
That stated, you will not at all times get a great redemption worth. So, at all times evaluate the money fee to the factors fee and calculate your redemption fee. In case your redemption fee is low, contemplate reserving a paid fee on your keep and saving your factors for a higher-value redemption.
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Be versatile
One other solution to maximize your IHG factors is to be as versatile as attainable. For instance, you might save factors (or cash) within the above instance by shifting your keep to different dates. Particularly, you might redeem 105,000 factors or pay $790.92 for a three-night keep in the event you shifted your keep to test in on Sunday. Doing so would provide you with a redemption fee of 0.753 cents per level in the event you redeemed factors.
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Likewise, if you’re versatile as to the place you keep in a metropolis — and even the town you go to — you could possibly redeem fewer factors and get a better redemption fee.
For instance, you may resolve to save lots of by staying out close to the Savannah airport for the Thursday by way of Sunday keep mentioned within the earlier part. By doing so, you might redeem 77,000 factors or pay $561.41 on your three-night keep, supplying you with a redemption fee of 0.729 cents per level in the event you redeem factors.
Briefly, being versatile can assist you redeem fewer factors on your stays and maximize your factors.
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Examine Factors and Money redemptions
It is also value checking Factors and Money charges. Because the title suggests, Factors and Money charges allow you to mix IHG factors and cash to stretch your factors additional.
You’ll be able to see these redemption choices by deciding on “Factors + Money” as soon as you choose a lodge from the search outcomes.
Like all redemptions, run the numbers to see if a Factors and Money reserving is smart. Within the above three-night keep instance, you might e-book a room that will price $1,151.62 or 170,000 factors for:
- 154,998 factors and $90, supplying you with an efficient 0.685 cents per level.
- 139,998 factors and $180, supplying you with an efficient 0.694 cents per level.
- 124,998 factors and $270, supplying you with an efficient 0.705 cents per level.
- 109,998 factors and $345, supplying you with an efficient 0.733 cents per level.
- 94,998 factors and $420, supplying you with an efficient 0.770 cents per level.
In some circumstances, it’s possible you’ll be higher off redeeming factors or money for the whole lot of the keep. That stated, it might probably generally make sense to make use of Factors and Money redemptions in the event you’re working low on factors. And in some circumstances, you should utilize Factors and Money bookings to successfully purchase IHG factors at a great fee.
Simply observe that once you make a Factors and Money reservation, you are successfully shopping for factors utilizing the money portion of the reserving. Ought to you might want to cancel, your refund will come completely in factors slightly than the mix of money and factors you initially used.
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Use the fourth-night reward perk
When you’ve got the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit score Card, IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit score Card or IHG® Rewards Premier Enterprise Credit score Card, you’ll be able to profit out of your card’s fourth-night reward perk on stays of 4 nights or extra booked completely with IHG factors. This perk causes each fourth night time on an award keep of 4 nights or longer to price zero factors.
To make use of this perk, log in to an account related to an eligible IHG bank card, seek for a keep of 4 nights or longer and choose to redeem IHG factors. You will see the discounted charges in your search outcomes.
There is no cap on what number of instances you should utilize this perk yearly. And you may even get a couple of fourth night time reward on a single keep. For instance, you’d get two fourth-night rewards on a keep of eight to 11 nights and three of them on a keep of 12 to fifteen nights.
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Examine for value drops
You may as well maximize your IHG factors by periodically checking for drops in award pricing on your upcoming stays.
To take action, do a brand new award seek for your dates and see if the charges are decrease. If they’re, cancel your keep and rebook (or in case you have sufficient factors in your account to take action, e-book the brand new keep after which cancel the higher-priced keep).
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Know when to purchase IHG factors
You’ll be able to purchase IHG factors for as little as one cent per level once you buy 26,000 IHG factors or extra. Shopping for IHG factors at this fee is often not a good suggestion, although.
In any case, IHG limits the factors you should buy every calendar 12 months. And IHG sometimes runs purchase factors promotions that allow you to purchase factors as little as 0.5 cents per level.
Shopping for factors at 0.5 cents every matches TPG’s valuation for IHG factors and is decrease than the redemption fee you’ll be able to usually get when redeeming IHG factors. So, in the event you often get greater than 0.5 cents per IHG level in your redemptions and discover your steadiness getting low, contemplate shopping for factors subsequent time IHG affords a 100% bonus.
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Snag IHG elite standing
As talked about above, IHG elite standing is extra helpful than ever. Incomes IHG elite standing might provide you with extra perks in your stays, making your award stays extra helpful.
The very best perks — like the choice to decide on breakfast as a welcome amenity at full-service and select-service manufacturers — are solely obtainable for top-tier Diamond Elite members. You’ll be able to earn Diamond Elite standing by staying 70 qualifying nights, incomes 120,000 qualifying factors or spending $40,000 in your IHG Rewards Premier Credit score Card or IHG Rewards Premier Enterprise Credit score Card in a calendar 12 months.
Award nights depend as qualifying nights. However, if Diamond Elite standing is out of attain, you might nonetheless simply snag Platinum Elite standing. This standing sometimes requires 40 qualifying nights or 60,000 qualifying factors in a calendar 12 months. Alternatively, you should buy your solution to Platinum Elite standing by signing up for InterContinental Ambassador or getting the IHG Rewards Premier Credit score Card or IHG Rewards Premier Enterprise Credit score Card.
If you wish to get essentially the most worth out of your IHG factors, you will probably discover snagging IHG elite standing worthwhile. Plus, in the event you join InterContinental Ambassador, you will get further perks at InterContinental and Six Senses properties collaborating in IHG One Rewards (even once you redeem IHG factors on your keep).
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Backside line
It is comparatively simple to maximise redemptions with the IHG One Rewards program. By checking redemption charges earlier than reserving and opting to redeem factors when the redemption fee is excessive, you will get strong worth out of your IHG factors.
After all, you will must resolve what a ok redemption fee is. I often resolve whether or not to e-book a paid fee or redeem factors based mostly on what number of factors are in my account, whether or not there are any present IHG lodge promotions for paid stays and whether or not I will be getting a number of fourth-night rewards if I redeem IHG factors.
Extra reporting by Andrew Kunesh.