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Another IHG Points & Cash promotion is back. Through December 31, 2025, IHG One Rewards members can book a Points & Cash stay and receive a 15% discount on the cash portion of the stay. Eligible stays are through January 26, 2026.
Since cancelled IHG Points & Cash bookings are refunded entirely in points, this opens a back-door way to effectively buy points for as low as 0.51 cents each — or less if you have an IHG credit card. Is that a good deal? Let's take a look.
IHG Points & Cash Promotion Key Terms
- Members can receive a 15% discount on the cash portion of an IHG Points & Cash stay.
- This promotion is valid for bookings made by December 31, 2025
- The offer is valid for stays through January 26, 2026.
- Members must log into their IHG One Rewards account when booking.
- Canceled bookings are refunded entirely in points.
- The number of points refunded is based on the total points price of the award.
Since this promotion doesn't seem to be targeted, you should see the original Points & Cash cash price struck through and a lower price below.
How This IHG Points & Cash Promotion Works
IHG's Points & Cash option is designed to let members who don't have enough points to book a stay still utilize their points. Rather than paying the full points price — or the full cash price — you get the option to pay a little of both.
Even better, IHG often runs a sale to drop the cash price of Points & Cash bookings. The point values tend to be highly similar, with a fraction of a cent separating one promotion from another. Below is a detailed breakdown of how this promotion worked the last time it was offered.
Here's where things get interesting: IHG treats these bookings as an award booking. If you were to cancel your reservation, you would receive a full refund in points. That means you're effectively buying IHG points for cheap.
Let's show you how this works with an example.
IHG Points & Cash example
For instance, in the example booking above, a night at the InterContinental New York Times Square can set you back 8,500 points plus $509 per night. That's a 15% discount from the original cash price of $599 per night. If you made the reservation using points alone, the award would set you back 108,500 points per night.
If you make this Points & Cash booking and cancel it, you'd receive 217,000 points back into your account — which is 200k more than you had. Effectively, you would have purchased 200,000 points for $1,018. That's just 0.509 cents per point.
We checked around a dozen options and found that the rates for purchasing points through IHG Points & Cash are pretty constant. By buying IHG points with this method, you will pay between 0.51 and 0.53 cents per point.
Related: Everything You Need To Know About IHG One Rewards
Maximizing Your Value With an IHG Card
You can score an even better deal by using an IHG card to book your IHG Points & Cash booking. Typically, IHG point purchases are processed by points.com, meaning you won't earn any credit card “travel” category bonuses. However, IHG Points & Cash purchases are processed by IHG directly. That opens up a host of earning opportunities.
If you charge the cash portion of the IHG Points & Cash purchase to your IHG One Rewards Premier Card, you will earn an additional 10 points per dollar spent at IHG.
Keep in mind that the IHG One Rewards Premier Card typically entitles you to a 20% discount on points purchases. However, in the small print, you'll see this offer does not stack with any other promotions or deals.
- Earn 140,000 Bonus Points
- Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay.
- Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts
- Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier cardmember
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $120 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
- IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®
- Member FDIC
- Earn up to 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 5X points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants
- 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning for spending at IHG hotels breaks down as follows:
- Earn 10X points for being a IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card member
- Earn up to 6X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of having this card
- Earn up to 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG® One Rewards member (Being a cardholder is not required to earn this bonus for participating in the IHG® loyalty program)
Related: Which IHG One Rewards Credit Card Is Right for You?
Is It Worth Purchasing IHG Points This Way?
Generally speaking, buying IHG points with a bonus can be a great deal. AwardWallet users have redeemed IHG One Rewards points for an average of 0.68¢ per point. So, buying IHG points as cheaply as 0.48 cents each can make more sense than paying for a hotel.
While this promotion doesn't offer as cheap a purchase rate as the best IHG buy points promotions, purchasing points through this promotion or with any bonus is better than buying points without any discount — where you'll pay 1 cent per point on non-discounted purchases.
It's also worth noting that IHG buy points promotions are by no means rare. So far in 2025, IHG has run numerous point-purchase promotions, including several 100% bonus offers (0.5 cents per point). If you do not need the points immediately, waiting a while is your best option. History shows us that an appealing promotion may be just around the corner.
Related: How Many IHG Rewards Points Can I Earn on Hotel Stays?
Our Take
This IHG Points & Cash promotion can be an excellent way to boost your IHG points balance if you are a few points short of a great redemption. While it's currently cheaper to buy IHG points with a bonus, this is a workaround if you are limited by the annual cap or are “purchasing” a smaller number of points. Or, of course, it can also present a good deal if you actually plan to stay at the hotel and want to save money on the cash portion.
If you plan to take advantage of this promotion, the booking window closes on December 31, 2025.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
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