Buying Points – Revolutionised..
I’ve recently added a new section to “Buying Points” – Priority Club have just made it a lot cheaper, say 50% cheaper – although this method requires a few more clicks it’s worth it in the end! Find out more
/points-promos/buying-points/F
I can’t get into the buy points section.
I think it is also worth discussing the short term room price hedging benefit of Priority Club Points.
Based on what I have observed, the number of points to redeem an IHG reward night for a given hotel and room class/tier always remains the same regardless the peak/non-peak time of year. For example:
- HI 10k, 15k, 20k, 25k
- IC 30k, 40k, 50k
The only exception to this is when a Points inflation event occurs (observed earlier this year where Points were “devalued”).
That said, a select number of hotels in prime city locations will increase prices 3-4x during certain peak periods such as New Year’s Eve and special events (Tennis Grand Slams, Olympic Games, etc.). I have personally seen Holiday Inn properties charge $700+ for a Superior Room during New Year’s Eve. However I was able to book the same room for the standard rewards night cost:
- 25000 Points or
- 20000 + $40 or
- 15000 + $70
When calculated, this rate would be equivalent to approximately $250 (give or take) when used towards this purpose.
So it would seem that redeeming rewards nights is a more cost effective way of securing rooms during these overpriced peak periods. This has resulted in substantial savings for me in the past when comparing with the peak “rack rates” of $700+ which I would consider to be overly exorbitant.
Caveat: I don’t believe blackout periods apply for peak periods so I am confident this strategy will generally work for this scenario.