Hotels are inevitably one of the heftiest expenses in travel. When opportunities come along to stay in places ranging from solid to stylish for less than $50 bucks per night – you gotta jump at the chance! IHG, the group behind Crowne Plaza, Intercontinental, Holiday Inn and other hotels has launched their sought after “Points Breaks” sales. Here’s everything you need to know to score fantastic deals on hotels all over the world.
100+ Hotels
On Monday January 29th, 2018 – IHG will release their “Points Break” hotels. The list includes more than 100 hotels around the world which are bookable starting at $45 per night or 5,000 points. If you already have 15,000 IHG points – you’ll already have enough for up to three free nights. If you don’t have any points – you can purchase all you need to get hotels for $45 bucks and up.
How It Works
IHG Points Breaks hotels cost 5,000 – 10,000 or 15,000 points per night. 5,000 points per night hotels are typically Holiday Inns, Homewood Suites and a few Crowne Plaza’s. Hotels costing 10,000 points or 15,000 points will feature more Crowne Plaza and even lovely Intercontinental hotels. These hotels sell out fast and are limited to two bookings per IHG member. If you’re not already a member – sign up instantly for free, here.
Where
When we say worldwide, we mean it! These deals are available in the US, Europe, Asia, Pacific, Africa, India – you name it, and if IHG has a hotel there – there’s probably a deal. This can be a fantastic way to hedge costs on hotels which can be exceedingly expensive. It doesn’t matter if the cash rate would usually be $225 a night.
If You Have IHG Points
If you already have IHG points, you can book these hotels for free using the points you already have. Hotels for just 5,000 points per night is incredible value. Simply check out the list (won’t appear until Monday Morning 9AM EST), find something worthwhile and book – fast. These deals can be booked for stays up until April 30th, 2018 but will sell out within a day.
If You Don’t Have IHG Points
If you don’t have IHG Points, don’t sweat. You can sign up to their program for free. Once you have an IHG rewards number, you can purchase the points to book your hotel, on the cheap. 30,000 points costs $225 and is enough for six nights at a 5,000 pointer or two nights at 15,000 point hotel. You can also transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG Rewards. Points can take more than a day to show up in your IHG account, just FYI.
Worth It?
Be sure to check what the hotels would cost without buying points before purchasing, but chances are you’ll be saving a lot by buying the points and booking in this special promotion. For example, if the Intercontinental Cali, in Colombia is $200 per night using just cash, grabbing it in the sale for less than $100 using points is fantastic. If however it was just $110 per night using cash, it would be a lot of hassle for minimal savings, and you lose out on earning points – by using points.
Booking
Be ready to roll January 29th. These deals will come out and people will start booking ASAP. Once a hotel has sold out, that’s all there is. The full list of deals will be available on this page, starting at 9AM Eastern Standard Time. Make sure your points are in place by then. If not, you may miss out on deals if they sell out. But they should be around for a couple days. Once you’ve found a hotel you’d like to book, search for any dates up until April 30th and select “Rewards Nights”. You’ll find the 5,000 – 10,000 or 15,000 point deals, depending on hotel. From there all you need to do is press BOOK! Enjoy.
Are 100+ IHG hotels not solid?
Their primary sales pitch talking point for this program “enhancement” for IHG PointBreaks increased prices from 5000 points this time around is the expanded offer for over 200 hotels on the Jan 29-April 30 list.
The hotel pictured with the pool, the former Crown Plaza Hollywood Beach, Florida, is no longer an IHG property. It is a Doubletree (Hilton).