IHG Rewards Club bonus up to 100% bonus on points purchased

IHG has announced a promotion for up to 100% bonus on IHG Rewards Club points purchased, up to a maximum of 60,000 points that you can purchase (plus applicable bonus). Based on what I've seen, everybody who's reported the offer to me so far, and I as well, have received a flat 100% bonus. This promotion is valid till 18 July 2016. Here is how you can buy these points, and also decide if you should buy them in the first place.

IHG sells Rewards Club points as follows:

• Up to 10,000 points: $13.50 per 1000 points
• Up to 25,000 points: $12.50 per 1000 points
• Up to 60,000 points: $11.50 per 1000 points

Head here to buy the points. You will first need to sign in with your IHG credentials.

Input the following information as required:

You'll then be shown your applicable offer. As I mentioned earlier, I've received a 100% bonus offer.

Analysis and should you buy points at these prices

Under normal prices, 60,000 points would cost roughly Rs 46,300 at today's exchange rates. That's approximately Rs 0.77 per point. With the 100% bonus, that cost comes down to Rs 0.385 per point. We currently value IHG Rewards Club points at Rs 0.26 ($0.004) apiece. Therefore, the price of Rs 0.385 is nearly 50% higher than our valuation. 

That said, there are certain circumstances under which you could potentially get a value higher than Rs 0.385 per point, on award stays. That's because the applicable paid rate (which is based on dynamic pricing and market factors) can be much higher (typically in the holiday season), but the points required for an award night will remain the same for a given hotel category. Let me illustrate with an example.

The Intercontinental Mumbai retails at $113 a night (roughly Rs 7,600) for a random date in July 2016, or requires 25,000 IHG points for an award night.

This means that you're getting a per point value of about Rs 0.30 (Rs 7571 divided by 25,000 points).

On the other hand, the same hotel and room costs $161.50 (Rs 10,800) in the first week of October 2016, though the points requirement remains the same, at 25,000 a night.

At this rate, the per point value (Rs 10,800 divided by 25,000) is closer to Rs 0.43. Now that's 11% above the purchase price of points under the current 100% bonus promotion, of Rs 0.385.

On a 4-night stay, that translates into a paid rate of Rs 43,300+taxes (at $161.50 a night) compared to Rs 38,500 for 100,000 points (50,000 purchased + 50,000 bonus). A saving of Rs 4,800 or about 11%, not counting taxes!

Not a bad deal, huh?

And it needn't be just the IC Mumbai that you redeem the points for. Based on paid rates for October 2016, here are the hotels that yield a value greater than Rs 0.385 per point (including taxes on paid rates):

There are, of course, some great hotels such as the InterContinental Hong Kong, which retail for HK$ 3100 a night (flexible rate, which is comparable to an award night, in terms of nil cancellation penalties) in end-December (my favourite time to visit HK) plus a 10% tax. That's HK$ 3410 a night, or Rs 30,000 at today's prices. 

However, an award night costs only 60,000 points, which can be bought at an effective price of Rs 23,100 (after the 100% bonus). That's a 22% discount, straight off the bat!

Conclusion

I repeat, that I would never recommend buying points (or miles, for that matter) speculatively. However, I'm not opposed to buying a small number of miles to top off existing account balances to something more meaningful, or even buying points as leverage compared to paid rates (which is what I've sought to explain by the above examples). 

Readers: Do you plan to buy points under this promotion? What award stays do you have in mind, to use them for?