Bits: 100% bonus buying IHG points, last call for Caffe Nero Nectar redemptions

News in brief:

Get a 100% bonus buying IHG One Rewards hotel points

IHG One Rewards is offering (another) new 100% bonus for buying points.

This offer runs to 28th August.

Purchase limits have been increased. The maximum number of points you can buy is 600,000 (ie 300,000 plus the 300,000 bonus).  The minimum purchase to trigger the bonus is 5,000 points.

The page to buy points is here.

With a 100% bonus, you would be able to buy up to 600,000 IHG One Rewards points for (at current exchange rates for $3,000) £2,213.

I usually value IHG One Rewards points at 0.4p.  You are paying 0.37p here so it is not necessarily a slam dunk unless you are just topping up your account, although you shouldn’t lose money either.

The skill is to use them at hotels where you can get substantially more than 0.4p per point of value, although this got a little harder since IHG reward prices started getting more closely related to cash rates.

You can buy points via this link. You have until 28th August to jump in.

Our full review of IHG One Rewards is here if you want to know more about how it works.

Last chance to redeem Nectar points for Caffe Nero drinks

For years, Caffe Nero has been, perhaps oddly, the best value Nectar redemption partner. Not Avios, and not Marriott Bonvoy points.

400 Nectar points will get you a voucher (in the form of a QR code, saved in the Nectar app, to be scanned in-store) for ANY hot or iced drink, of any size.

With most drinks now costing over £3.50, at least in London, you are certain to get more than the usual 0.5p per Nectar point.

A regular Americano costs £3.60 in Central London. Using 400 Nectar points instead (which is the equivalent of 250 Avios) means you’d need to value Avios at more than 1.44p before it made more sense to transfer them there.

(There’s no point ordering a regular drink, of course, because the voucher is good for any size. Make it a large one, even if you’d usually have a regular coffee when using cash!)

Go for anything more exciting than a regular Americano – for example a £5+ frappe, or a £5.45 tiramisu latte – and you’d need to value an Avios at 2p+ before it made more sense to convert.

Caffe Nero is leaving Nectar

Unfortunately, you are running out of time to take advantage of this deal.

The last day to redeem Nectar points for Caffe Nero drinks vouchers is tomorrow, Monday 18th August.

The deal is a bit fiddly to find in the Nectar app. You need to click the ‘Partners’ tab at the bottom. Type ‘Nero’ into the search box and the deal will pop up.

Vouchers are good for 12 months so you may want to stock up.

Readers who redeem for Caffe Nero by default are now likely to find the best value being a transfer to Avios.