Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

IT’S BACK, BE QUICK: Many IHG hotels showing at half price or less for points!

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

The crazy IHG redemption deal which popped up a couple of Sundays ago is back. Whether or not it is an IT error, you should MOVE NOW.

Many IHG hotels globally, for many dates, are currently bookable for roughly half – or less – the usual number of points.

The pricing appears to be:

  • Kimpton – 45,000 points
  • Regent / InterContinental – 35,000 points to 45,000 points
  • Hotel Indigo – 30,000 points
  • Crowne Plaza – 25,000 points
  • Holiday Inn / Holiday Inn Express – 20,000 points

Last time I booked Kimpton Paris and the new Kimpton Mallorca for 45,000 points and InterContinental London for 40,000 points.

The Kimpton Paris, for the date I wanted, was over 100,000 points per night when I looked a few days earlier, with a €660 cash rate.

It isn’t clear if not all hotels are taking part or only certain dates are included. I can’t get the InterContinental Amstel (below) for when I need to be in Amsterdam, for example, but I know others have booked it.

The real value here is at hotels which are usually hugely expensive for cash and would therefore be 100,000+ points per night under IHG’s new dyanamic pricing model. Not every hotel is a bargain under this deal – in some cheap cities, prices will have gone up today because these are properties which benefit from dynamic points pricing.

Funamentally …. if you’re getting over 1p per point it is a steal. If you’re getting 0.75p per point it is far better than normal. If you’re getting 0.4p to 0.5p per point then don’t get excited – this is what you’d usually expect.

This could be a mistake but it could be an unprecedented flash sale which is due to be announced tomorrow. Mr & Mrs Smith hotels are not included, which leads me to believe that this is a deliberate sale of some sort. Regardless, it is worth making some speculative bookings – remember that all reward nights can be cancelled.

Don’t hang around – with free cancellation there is NO downside, albeit check the rules for peak times such as New Year’s Eve.

Should you buy points?

There is currently a 75% bonus if you buy IHG points. You can buy here.

People who did this last time said that they were posting immediately. I am not guaranteeing this to you but it is working for others. Note that some people had issues when trying to make multiple purchases as security delays appear to kick in.

The ‘buy points’ page is here if you choose to risk it. You can learn more about IHG One Rewards in our overview article here.


IHG One Rewards news

IHG One Rewards update – April 2025:

Get bonus points: IHG is not currently running a global promotion.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Comments (267)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • dahokolomoki says:

    Looks like the theory that there are only certain number of cheap redemptions per property, is probably true.

    I booked a Kimpton at Key West earlier today at 45,000 points. Cheapest cash rate was 1400USD (this was over New Year’s). Now the points rate is back up to 120,000 points, which was what it was before.

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

      I know sweet FA about how algorithms work but could these flash sales be gathering training data to help inform a dynamic pricing algorithm that works better than the current model?

    • NorthernLass says:

      Meh. My 20k HI in Key Largo has 2 pools and a hot tub!

      • JDB says:

        Not sure why you wish to “meh”/diss the Kimpton Key West the OP has booked. It’s a totally different level of hotel in a quiet location and two pocket handkerchief sized pools in a car park can hardly bridge the gap.

  • Eoc says:

    What an amusing few hours . All the bookings I made have largely snapped back to double the rate , in some cases to more even than the prevailing earlier level. But Phu Quoc Regent is down another15pct, causing me to pause my watching of Shetland , cancel, re caché the points and book again netting 20,000 points. Nice work if you can get it.
    Thanks to all the HfP team for the heads up. I even followed your link to join Ambassador now I am spending so many nights with them .

  • B says:

    I got Kimpton Paris next June (a Monday night) for 45000… is that good?

  • Dezmeralda says:

    All that B3ndy/3rnie/S0lihull action. The gift that keeps on giving.

  • Concerto says:

    I just managed to get the IC in Istanbul on two separate nights in September for 40,000 points. Good deal, I think. So it can’t be completely over. Doesn’t seem to work at the same level for Mr and Mrs Smith though, which is pretty much the only option in Mallorca.

    • Concerto says:

      What I mean is, I booked the Intercontinental just around 15 minutes ago, so it must still be going in some parts.

      • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

        Interesting. Istanbul can be an odd one price-wise (points and cash) but you’ve secured a good/safe location with the IC.

    • ajay jha says:

      booked Kimpton at Mollorca. its going at 570 euros , booked for 45k points.

      • Rob says:

        I managed by rebook my early Sep stay (now cancelled due to delayed opening) to late September. Hopefully the dates don’t clash with other HfP stuff and I can make it.

  • Michael says:

    Booked IC Hayman Island for 5 nights over the Easter weekend. A$1,940 cash rate per night (£1,120), they have three room levels available for point redemption which is handy as not getting base level before AMB upgrade, for 35,000 points per night (standard rate now is 120,000). Breakfast included as Diamond, which is probably close to $200+ a day of free value for 3 ppl.

    I missed the cutoff last ‘flash’ by a minute or two as I went to buy some extra points for the fifth night, so glad to get it this time and makes the point purchase worthwhile.

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

      What was the point price? IC Hayman was my first stop during today’s feeding frenzy but it was stubbornly at 70K

    • Sang says:

      Will you get breakfast included if you are diamond and booked with points?

      • Andrew J says:

        Yes you do get free breakfast on points stays.

      • Rob says:

        Yes

      • Michael says:

        Technically only for 2 people, but I am yet to be denied the free breakfast for the 3rd (she is only 3yo though!).

        They don’t need to give the F&B credit for AMB’s I believe on a points stay, but I have been given it more times than not regardless.

        • Andrew J says:

          I think the only AMB thing that isn’t offered guaranteed on a points stay is room upgrade, everything else is according to AMB T&Cs

    • Will says:

      I managed to snag it over Xmas myself for 35k, a real gem of a redemption.

  • Tom R says:

    IC Paris Le Grand I can get for 68k per night if I play around with dates but this seems the lowest now (and it was 40k yesterday morning so probably a pass).

    Let’s hope this happens again in the future. Might stock up on some points now.

    • ajay jha says:

      missed out on 40k grand but booked kimpton for 45k for next summer, mostly speculative for now.

  • Sprout says:

    Still seem to be some opportunities. Bookings I had for the IC Budapest in December have dropped overnight from 40k to an average of 28k per night this morning.

    • Rk says:

      That’s probably because the IC Budapest is normally lower than 40k and this “sale” actuslly temporarily made it more expensive.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.