Buy IHG One Rewards Points With 100% Bonus (0.5 Cents Each): Worth It?

IHG One Rewards is currently offering a limited time 100% bonus on purchased points. With this, IHG One Rewards members can purchase points for as little as 0.5 cents each. Is this a good deal?

While I wouldn’t recommend buying points without a specific use in mind, there are absolutely ways to get outsized value, and this is in line with the best offers that we see from the program. With the right strategy, this could be an opportunity to get a significant discount on an IHG hotel stay, and I’ll show exactly how.

More from OMAAT IHG One Rewards Milestone Rewards: How To Earn Suite Upgrades & Lounge Access Read more

Link: Buy IHG One Rewards points with this promotion with a 100% bonus

Buy IHG One Rewards points with promotion

Through 11:59PM ET on Thursday, November 5, 2026, IHG One Rewards is offering a bonus on purchased points. Points can be purchased in increments of 1,000 points, and the bonus is tiered, as follows:

• Buy 1,000-4,000 points, receive no bonus
• Buy 5,000-10,000 points, receive an 80% bonus
• Buy 11,000-39,000 points, receive a 90% bonus
• Buy 40,000-200,000 points, receive a 100% bonus

Note that the purchase of IHG points doesn’t count toward elite status.

How much does it cost to buy IHG points?

Ordinarily you can buy IHG One Rewards points for as little as one cent each (the pricing isn’t linear), before any discounts or bonuses. With that in mind, if you were eligible for a 100% bonus and purchased 200,000 IHG One Rewards points pre-bonus, you’d receive a total of 400,000 points at a cost of $2,000, which is a rate of 0.5 cents per IHG point.

While The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card (learn more), The New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (learn more), The New IHG One Rewards Credit Card (learn more), and The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card (learn more), offer a 30% discount on purchased points, that benefit only applies when buying points at the normal cost, and wouldn’t be applicable here.

How many IHG points can you purchase?

IHG One Rewards ordinarily lets members purchase up to 150,000 points per calendar year, before any bonuses. However, during this promotion that cap has been increased to 200,000 points, pre-bonus.

How does this compare to other IHG buy points promotions?

When IHG One Rewards does offer a promotion on purchased points, the 100% bonus or 50% discount is the most common offer. A 100% bonus and 50% discount give you the same price per point, so you’ll typically pay 0.5 cents per point during a promotion.

Below is a chart with some of the recent promotions we saw from the program, before this one.

Which credit card should you buy IHG points with?

IHG One Rewards points purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as a hotel purchase for the purposes of credit card spending. That means if you pay with an IHG credit card, you wouldn’t earn any bonus rewards, so it’s not treated as if it’s IHG spending.

Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach a minimum spending requirement, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending. See this post for more on which credit cards are best for buying points.

Best cards for non-bonused spending:

• Citi Double Cash® Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Citi Double Cash® Card

Apply Now Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• Earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase, earn 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
• $0

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Learn More >Terms Apply.

• Earn 3% Cash Back on Dining
• Earn 3% Cash Back at Drugstores
• Earn 1.5% Cash Back On All Other Purchases
• $0

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Learn More

• Earn 2x miles per dollar on every purchase
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary
• $395

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Learn More

• Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Credit
• $95

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Learn More Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
• Access to Amex Offers
• No annual fee

Is buying IHG One Rewards points worth it?

IHG One Rewards has dynamic award pricing, which means there’s no minimum or maximum number of points a hotel stay can cost. Rather, the cost of an award stay generally correlates somewhat to the cost of a revenue stay.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the same value with all hotel stays. There are many situations where you can get outsized value by buying points and then redeeming them. Let me just give a few examples, using stays I pulled up for random dates (again, pricing is dynamic, so this won’t reflect what you see every day).

For example, the Six Senses Kyoto is bookable for 165,000 points per night, and you could purchase those points for $825.

That represents massive savings over the cash cost, which is $1,493.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa is bookable for 33,000 points per night, and you could purchase those points for $165.

That represents massive savings over the cash cost, which is $230.

However, this won’t always be a good deal. For example, take the Kimpton Tres Rios in Playa del Carmen is bookable for 104,000 points per night, and you could purchase those points for $520.

That’s not a good deal compared to the cash cost, which is $429, so there you’d be better off just paying cash directly.

Another thing to keep in mind is that select IHG co-branded credit cards offer free night awards, and those are worth up to a certain number of points. What’s great is that these free night awards can typically be topped off with points, so there could be merit to buying IHG points so that you have points with which to top off these certificates.

Tip: Get a fourth night free with an IHG credit card

You’ll get the most value from your IHG points if you have The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card (learn more), The New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (learn more), and The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card (learn more).

That’s because the cards offer a fourth night free benefit, meaning that you can book a four night award stay for the cost of three nights. This is essentially the equivalent of 25% off in increments of four nights, since you can use this benefit an unlimited number of times.

Just to use the Six Senses Kyoto example above, if you earned 495,000 points (worth $2,475 at 0.5 cents per point), that would be enough for four nights with the fourth night free. That represents an absolutely massive discount.

At what hotels can you redeem IHG points?

IHG has over 15 hotel brands, so there are lots of options for redeeming your IHG One Rewards points. IHG points can be redeemed at the following properties, among others:

• For luxury & premium hotels, there’s Six Senses, Regent, InterContinental, Kimpton and Hotel Indigo
• For mid-range and limited service hotels, there’s Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, voco, and EVEN

How much are IHG points worth?

Everyone will value points differently. Based on my latest miles & points valuations, I consider IHG points to be worth 0.5 cents each, and I tend to value points pretty conservatively. So the purchase price is around what I value these points.

Do IHG points expire?

For non-elite members, IHG One Rewards points expire after 12 months of inactivity. However, any sort of points earning or redemption activity would reset the expiration of your points. Furthermore, IHG One Rewards points don’t expire for elite members in the program.

Keep in mind that IHG elite status is quite easy to earn. Just for having The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card (learn more) or The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card (learn more), you receive Platinum status, without any sort of a spending requirement.

Does IHG have blackout dates?

IHG One Rewards doesn’t have blackout dates on award nights, but the program does have capacity controls. What this means is that some number of standard rooms will be made available for award redemptions every night, but that doesn’t mean that all standard rooms are available for award redemptions.

Bottom line

IHG One Rewards is offering a sale on purchased points. Through November 5, 2026, IHG One Rewards is offering a promotion, and members seem to be eligible for a 100% bonus, which is an opportunity to buy points for 0.5 cents each.

There are instances where buying points can save you over 50% on the cost of a luxury hotel stay. I also think there’s value in having a “reserve” of IHG points, given the brand’s global footprint. You can get even more value out of buying IHG points in conjunction with a premium IHG credit card, so you can get a fourth night free on award redemptions.

Do you plan on buying IHG points with a bonus?