Money for nothing...in the form of hotel stays

What if someone gave you a $500 stay in the heart of London for doing what you normally do?

In essence, that's what happened to me this summer as I decided to get better at maximizing hotel reward benefits.



Every other year, I take a couple trips--one for my fraternity's biennial national conference, and the other for my family reunion. In addition, I attend a regional leadership conference at the end of every summer.

Normally, I stay in the respective events' host hotels. It's convenient, and the events' group rates are generally a pretty good deal. However, I decided to take a different approach this year.

IHG offered a couple promotions that allowed for bonus earnings this summer. Additionally, I carry a IHG-branded credit card that allows me to earn extra points when I use it for stays at their hotels. Finally, since I qualify for stays using IHG's government/military rate, I would be able to get rates as good as (or better than) the group rates offered at the events' official host hotels.

In short, I had the opportunity to earn a lot of points for hotel stays that I was going to do anyway. Here's a breakdown of this summer's earnings:

(click the image to enlarge)

"Yes", you say, "...but what's that mean in the real world?" Great question.

Since the typical value of an IHG points redemption is about 7/10ths of one cent (25,000 points for a room that averages $160 per night), those 52,000+ points have a value of approximately $366. Put another way, the points earned are equivalent to a 30% credit of the amount I paid for those summer stays--to be used during a future stay at an IHG property. Not too shabby.

Still, points are all about maximizing value, so I plan on using these during my European vacation. An IHG property in the heart of London's pricey West End district goes for $333 per night including tax during the holiday season, but I can use IHG's "Points & cash" option to pay just $70 per night. Over two nights, that's a savings of $526...a significant increase over the "typical" IHG point value!

While other hotel chains offer points programs, none of them compare to the value and earning potential that IHG provides, and they've got properties all over. For those who regularly stay at hotels, it makes a lot of sense to strategically consolidate those nights into a single franchise, especially one that allows for such a valuable redemption so quickly.