Convert IHG points to Avios

[VinZ]

Hi there
Just realised I had 25,000 points with IHG and I don’t know how to do with them. Maybe the best option for me is to convert them into Avios. How many would I get? And does it make sense? And how do I do that? Their website is quite confusing tbh.
Thank you

[Rui N.]

See this page: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/collecting-avios/hotels/convert-your-points

[VinZ]

Thank you. Is this the best way of spending those points?

[stevenhp1987]

All depends on how much you value them and if you value HIX/HI stays…

25k points would yield 5k Avios (or 4k if they only let you send in multiples of 10k IHG points – I’m not sure, it’s not something I’ve ever done as it’s generally bad value).

I’d value 5k Avios at ~£50.

You could get 2 reward nights in a HIX somewhere for 25k points which I’d value as more than £50, but your mileage may vary.

[VinZ]

Thank you. My only problem is that I wouldn’t stay at Holiday Inn hotels… Kimpton is a good option, Intercontinental too… and Mr&Mrs Smith as well.
I’ll probably hold on these points and then convert them when about to expire if I haven’t managed to use them.

[NorthernLass]

You can use points plus cash to book a room via IHG, you might find something which would suit you. The only thing to remember is that you’d get all points back if you cancelled, and not cash.

[Rob]

They are, realistically, not going to expire so I’d hold fire. If you only had 10k and would never earn more I might lean towards a transfer but 25k is worth a £100 hotel.

[jj]

VinZ wrote:

Thank you. My only problem is that I wouldn’t stay at Holiday Inn hotels… Kimpton is a good option, Intercontinental too… and Mr&Mrs Smith as well.
I’ll probably hold on these points and then convert them when about to expire if I haven’t managed to use them.

The problem I have with using my 300K IHG points is that IHG has few aspirational hotels in the places I want to visit and, even then, only allows redemption for a basic room with no guarantees opportunity to upgrade. If I’m away with Mrs JJ, I like to have a room with a sofa so that we can relax in comfort, but IHG doesn’t really help that with points bookings.

So, for that reason, I’m seriously considering converting them to airline miles.

[meta]

@jj Just get Ambassador membership for 40k points and you will very likely get an upgrade even on points bookings.

I did previously convert 40k IHG points to AA Miles when they ran a conversion promo and I needed a bit more for a redemption and purchasing AA miles was more expensive. I’d only convert if it was a low amount or have a specific airline redemption in mind.

[davefl]

Points+Cash is the only realistic option these days with variable pricing.

I’ve just got 6.8p per point but I had to watch the points & USD rate vary almost daily on the booking I wanted from as low as 5.1p to as high as 6.8p

[jj]

After making my earlier post, I’ve had another look and found that point and credit card voucher options at Mr and Mrs Smith seems to have increased hugely since I last hunted. I’m definitely more of a boutique than a chain kind of person, so I think that’s the way for me to go.