IHG Accelerate Promotion Starts Next Week – Register Now

IHG Rewards

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IHG Rewards is back with another “IHG Accelerate” promotion for 2Q 2018 and with Hilton’s promotion looking only ok, Marriott’s latest promotion looking pretty terrible and Starwood’s promotion looking even worse, this is likely to be one of the better opportunities we’re given to earn hotel points over the next 3 months.

As is always the case with IHG’s Accelerate promotions the offers are tailored to individual IHG Rewards members so what one member is offered when they log in to the promotion won’t necessarily be the same as what another member sees.

The lowest bonus on offer this time around is 30,000 points.

a man holding a rope

IHG Accelerate Promotion 2Q 2018

Per IHG Rewards:

  • You must be an IHG® Rewards Club member and must register your member number in advance to participate in “Accelerate“.
  • Upon Registration, members will be presented with the opportunity to earn at least 30,000 bonus points upon completion of all offers presented.
  • Members will be awarded bonus points listed for each individual Promotional offer after completing the requirements of each individual Offer.
  • Each Offer must be completed between 1 May 2018 and 31 July 2018 (both dates inclusive)

Here a link to the IHG Accelerate promotion page where you’ll find the full T&Cs.

Our 2Q Accelerate Promotions

I had a lot of fun gaming a few Accelerate promotions a few years ago but, since then, neither Joanna nor I have been participating because our promotions have been so lacklustre (clearly I earned way to many points with the promotions I managed to game!).

Joanna’s 2Q 2018 Accelerate Promotion

Joanna was offered a maximum bonus of 30,000 points in the 1Q promotion (she didn’t participate) and IHG has offered her the same bonus this time around too.

a black rectangular object with a star and a red ribbon

a screenshot of a bonus points

Apparently IHG isn’t too bothered about tempting Joanna into participating 🙂

Joanna has to complete all 4 tasks set in this promotion if she’s to earn any kind of meaningful reward so, at the very least, this is what she would have to do:

  • Download the IHG App (Task 1 complete)
  • Stay 3 nights at 3 separate properties (all of which need to be different IHG brands) and book IHG’s “your rate” for at least 2 of the 3 stays (Tasks 2, 3 & 4 complete).

Working out if it’s worth pursuing the promotion goals is simple enough:

  • Joanna has no planned stays during the promotion period so we would have to make 3 new reservations if she is to complete her tasks.
  • 3 nights at the cheaper IHG properties in our area would set us back ~$250
  • I value IHG Rewards points at 0.5 cents each so the total value of the reward on offer is $150

There’s no point in Joanna participating.

My Q1 2018 Accelerate Promotion

In 1Q IHG offered me up to 70,000 points in my personalised Accelerate promotion and, while I was tempted to take part, I ended up passing on the offer as I was more interested in building up my Marriott points balance in pursuit of lifetime status.

Apparently IHG didn’t take to kindly to my snub in 1Q as this time around I can only earn a maximum of 42,000 points.

a black rectangular object with a star and a red ribbon

a screenshot of a website

This offer is a little more complicated than Joanna’s and I only need to complete 5 of the 6 tasks to earn all the points on offer but, the way the offers are structured, completing all 6 tasks is as easy as completing just 5.

The simplest route to earning the 42,000 points is as follows:

  • Book a 1-night IHG stay in May using the IHG App
  • Book a 2-night weekend stay using the IHG App
  • Book a regular 1-night stay
  • Book a 1-night bonus points package stay

All of that adds up to 5 nights at IHG properties which, assuming I selected the cheapest rates I can find, would come to at least $430.

I value 42,000 IHG Rewards Points at just $210 so this isn’t exactly a promotion I’m tempted to game.

a building with a tall building

Things To Consider

You may well have been offered a different promotion than either of the ones I’ve discussed above (I hope you go something better!) but there are still a few things you should keep in mind.

When considering how good or bad any given Accelerate offer is it’s worth remembering that IHG Rewards has devalued this year with a significant number of properties costing more points per night than they did this time last year.

Top-tier properties now cost 70,000 points (it wasn’t that long ago that they cost just 50,000 points) and the popular IHG Point Breaks now look very different so IHG Rewards points are worth less today than they were last year.

What may have been an acceptable/good points haul in past Accelerate promotion is probably not so good this time around so makes sure you work our how much your offer is worth to you before you decide if it’s worth pursuing.

Tip: If downloading the IHG App is a task you’ve been given in this promotion don’t download it unless you’re sure you’re going to go for other parts of the promotion too – if you don’t download it now you’re almost guaranteed to be given the same task in a future Accelerate promotion and, if that promotion is more lucrative than this one, you’ll have an easy task to check off the list to get you on your way to completing that promotion.

InterContinental Bora Bora Resort And Thalasso Spa

 

Bottom Line

I’m still in the process of trying to lock up Marriott lifetime Platinum status so it probably would have taken a very big points offer to get me to move any stays over to IHG or for me to attempt to game the promotion….but you guys will probably not be in that situation.

If you have any hotels stays coming up in May, June or July it may be worth moving some stays over to IHG if you have a suitably tempting offer but it’s far from a sure thing that your offer will be one worth pursuing.

Do the math. Work out what your offer is worth to you. work out how much completing the promotion is likely to cost you and don’t forget to consider the value of what you would be giving up (other hotel points?) to participate in this promotion.

if the math is favorable then make sure you register for the promotion, if not then move on.