A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question/note about whether buying points for an award in Fort Lauderdale makes sense from their point of view.
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You can access IHG here.
READ MORE: IHG One Rewards Rate & Bonus Points Offers
Reader’s Message:
Got a message from Rewards at IHG with mystery bonus points. I was offered to purchase points and get exact amount as a bonus. If I purchased 48,000, then I would receive and additional 48,000.
I looked at a hotel for Fort Lauderdale. The cost of the room would amount to around $300 – $320 per night. I then looked into the purchase of points per my offer, only to realize that 48,000 points would cost me $600.
When this was mentioned, I was advised that I should purchase the room at the $300 and use the points at a future stay.
This looks like a scam. Have you heard of such from other readers? I forgot to mention that the hotel wanted 48,000 pints for a one night stay.
When we discuss points and miles sales, we always emphasize that using them can save you significantly, but you need to be strategic.
It doesn’t make much sense to buy them for your “average” stay, but I buy and use them for luxury stays where the headline price is high, but the price using points is “reasonable.”
There are many examples, not just with IHG, where buying points and then using them towards a stay costs more than paying for the stay using cash.
These IHG awards have recently undergone several rounds of devaluations as IHG tried to squeeze every bit of cash out of hotels and loyalty program members to determine the lowest acceptable “value” for members (and minimize reimbursements to hotels).
Fort Lauderdale Check:
CASH
POINTS
I decided to check a price in cash and points for a random midweek date in January. The prices in points, if you value them at 0.5 US cents each, are lower than in cash.
You also need to remember that the lowest IHG rates tend to be prepaid, noncancelable, and nonrefundable, while award reservations tend to be flexible.
I checked, and none of these hotels appear to have those nasty destination/resort/amenity scam fees that IHG awards do not include (you need to pay for them even when redeeming points).
Conclusion
You always need to compare paid and award rates to see what makes sense, and I always consider what bonus points and other promotions there might be out there.
Of course, there is no right or wrong way to use your earned points, but buying and then redeeming them at a lower value doesn’t make financial sense.
I tend to use my hotel points when there are award “flash sales” at new properties OR when the paid rates are really, really high at a specific property or city where I want to stay.
