Buy IHG Points at a Discount in October 2024

Buy IHG points to stay in over 6,000 hotels around the world at a discount!

Current promotion to buy IHG points

There is no offer at the moment, and the next one is expected in November 2024.

However, if you need IHG points urgently, you may still purchase them for 1 cent each.

Things to note about IHG points

• IHG One Rewards members can usually buy points for 1 cent each^*, before any bonuses or discounts
• IHG points do not expire as long as there is account activity every 12 months.
• Each member can purchase up to 150,000 IHG points annually, pre-bonus. This annual limit is sometimes increased to 250,000.

^{*When purchasing at least 26,000 points (pre-bonus). Purchasing 25,000 points or fewer (pre-bonus) comes with a higher price of 1.15 cents per point.}

Previous IHG points offers

Here’s a quick look at the recent history of IHG points sales:

Is this a good deal to buy IHG points?

Unlike other hotel loyalty programs, IHG has been very consistent with its points sales.

Historically, the best IHG points sales are those labelled “100% bonus”.

Best ways to redeem IHG points

Because IHG One Rewards adopts dynamic award pricing, it is not easy to predict how each hotel’s reward rate would fluctuate.

I recommend checking the typical reward rate of the hotel that you like on ihg.com, then, calculate whether it is cheaper to stay on points or cash.

Things to consider before buying IHG points

Because of how consistent IHG’s points sales are, there is no need to purchase these points if you do not plan to use them in the next few months.

Best credit cards for buying IHG points

Singapore-based readers may use one of the following cards to receive maximum rewards/savings when buying IHG points in a foreign currency.

^{Note: Miles/Points purchases are processed by points.com, which falls under MCC 7399 (Business Services Not Elsewhere Classified). This is NOT a travel-related spending, and should get you bonus miles/cashback with Citi cards.}

Citi Rewards

Earn 4 mpd on online spending, except travel-related

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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Citi Rewards Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you a strong earn rate of 4 miles per dollar on online spending, up to $1,000 per statement month. This covers a wide range of spending categories like online shopping, ride-hailing, food delivery and even phone/internet bills.

Cardholders can also earn 4 mpd on in-person shopping at stores that sell shoes and bags and clothes as their main business activity.

Take note that cardholders will only earn 0.4 mpd on travel-related categories (e.g. flights and hotels) and spending above $1,000 per statement month.

Having many transfer partners and up to 5-year expiry term gives you fantastic flexibility. However, take note that your points’ expiry term starts from the date the card is opened (i.e. not from the transaction date).

Pro tip: Link this card to Amaze and use the Amaze card to also earn 4 mpd on general spending categories like online/offline shopping, dining and groceries! This pairing turns all your offline transactions “online” (to earn 4 mpd on some cards) and lowers your foreign currency charges.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First year waived)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%
(Lower this fee by linking this card to Amaze)

⏰ Points expiry
Every 5 years from card opening date (+3 months grace period)

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
Krisflyer, Asia Miles, Miles&Smiles, Privilege Club and more!

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
25,000 points (10,000 miles)

💲 Transfer fee
$27.25 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card cannot be combined with those from other Citi cards and can only be transferred out separately.

❓ How/When points are credited
Earn 1 base point per dollar spent, plus 9 bonus points for online spending (equivalent to 4 mpd in total). Base and bonus points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

Citi SMRT

Get 5% cashback on online spending, groceries and transportation

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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Citi SMRT Visa Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you 5% cashback on Online (except travel-related), Groceries, Ride-hailing and Public Transport spending upon meeting the minimum spend of $500 per statement month.

Cashback is capped at $600 per card membership year. This annual limit gives you the opportunity to get 5% cashback on $12,000 worth of eligible spending, making this card fantastic for large purchases!

Get just 0.3% cashback for all other spending categories.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First 2 years waived)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

❓How cashback is credited
Cash rebates are credited in the form of SMRT$. Cardholders are required to redeem them via SMS (min. $10).

📜 Terms & conditions

Trust Cashback

Get unlimited 1% cashback and no foreign currency fees

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonusUse code V1WB7T8A during the application to get up to $3,000 worth of scratch cards, and a chance to win 1 million Singapore Dollars.

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Trust Cashback Visa Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you unlimited 1% cashback, great foreign exchange rates and no foreign currency fees; and it does not come with an annual fee!

The card advertises “up to 15% cashback” on your chosen spending category:

• Dining (e.g. restaurants, bakeries, food deliveries)
• Shopping (e.g. department, clothing, watch stores)
• Travel (e.g. airlines, hotels, travel agencies)
• Wellness (e.g. beauty shops, spas, gyms, pharmacies)
• Transport (e.g. ride-hailing, car rental, petrol)
• Entertainment (e.g. bars, movies, streaming services)

However, this is quite misleading, as the cashback cap is a lot lower than the minimum spending requirement. Examples here.

To summarize the complicated cashback mechanics:

To receive “15% cashback” on the chosen category, one would need to spend at least $2,000 per month, for 3 consecutive months in a quarter, for a total of at least $6,000. The cardholder would then be credited with $250 in cashback; that is, IF he/she had spent an average of at least $555 per month, on the chosen category.

This also means that, to unlock the “15% cashback” on $555 worth of spending, one would need to spend $1,445 per month on other things, and only earn 1% cashback on them. So, there’s an opportunity cost of not using other superior cards on this amount.

I would treat it as a card with 2 use cases:

1. Earn about 4 or 4.9% in nett cashback on preferred category, when spending $1,000 or $2,000 per month, for 3 consecutive months in a quarter
2. Get 1 – 1.5% cashback on foreign currency spending on non-preferred categories, with no foreign currency fees

The existence of this card also means that the opportunity cost of using Miles cards for foreign currency spending is now over 4%.

Cardholders can choose their preferred bonus category in the Trust mobile app.

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💸 Annual fee
No annual fee, ever

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
No foreign currency fee

📜 Terms & conditions

UOB Visa Signature

Earn 4 mpd on foreign currency and/or contactless spending

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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UOB Visa Signature Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you a strong earn rate of 4 miles per dollar on foreign currency (online or offline) and/or contactless spending. This covers most spending categories like dining, groceries, flights, hotels, retail shopping, food delivery and ride-hailing.

A minimum spending of $1,000 per statement month is required, with a $2,000 cap during the same period.

Take note that cardholders will only earn 0.4 mpd on other categories and spending below $1,000 and above $2,000 per statement month.

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💸 Annual fee
$218
(First year waived)

💼 Income requirement
$50,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

⏰ Points expiry
2 years from transaction

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer and Asia Miles

💯 Transfer ratio
1 UNI$ = 2 miles

🧮 Transfer block
5,000 UNI$ (10,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
$25 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
UNI$ from this card can be combined with those from other UOB cards and transferred out together at once.

❓How/When points are credited
Earn 1 base UNI$ per $5 dollar spent, plus 9 bonus UNI$ for eligible online and mobile contactless transactions (equivalent to 4 mpd in total). Base and bonus points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

Citi PremierMiles

Earn 1.2 mpd on local spend, 2.2 mpd on foreign currency

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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Citi PremierMiles Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you an uncapped earn rate of 1.2 miles per dollar on SGD spending and 2.2 miles per dollar on foreign currency spending.

This is a great backup card, if you have exhausted all your specialized cards with better earn rates.

Having many transfer partners and miles that do not expire gives you fantastic flexibility. Because of these 2 key factors, I recommend using this card over other General Spending cards with similar earn rates.

Cardholders are also entitled to 2 free airport lounge visits (via Priority Pass) per calendar year! For example, if you apply for the card in March this year, you will get 2 free visits for the current year, plus 2 more free visits from 1 January the following year.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First year waived, get 10,000 miles with subsequent annual fee payments)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

🛋️ Airport lounge access
2 free visits per calendar year via Priority Pass

⏰ Points expiry
Miles earned on this card do not expire!

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Miles&Smiles, Privilege Club and more!

💯 Transfer ratio
1 Citi mile = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
10,000 miles

💲 Transfer fee
$27.25 per transfer

🤗 Points/Miles pooling
Miles from this card cannot be combined with those from other Citi cards and can only be transferred out separately.

❓ How/When points are credited
Base miles are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

Maybank Horizon

Earn 2.8 mpd on flights and foreign currency spending

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
Cardholders can receive an uncapped earn rate of 2.8 miles per dollar on foreign currency transactions, when spending at least $800 per calendar month.

On top of that, cardholders can also receive 2.8 miles per dollar on flight bookings, when spending at least $800 per calendar month. However, this bonus earn rate is capped at $10,000 per calendar month.

Other whitelisted transactions in SGD earn 1.2 mpd, and non-whitelisted ones just 0.24 mpd.

Miles earned on this card expire after just 1 year, and can only be transferred to 3 Frequent Flyer Programs. Because of its poor flexibility and minimum spending requirement, I recommend using this card only for school fees in foreign currency and more-expensive flight bookings in Singapore Dollars.

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💸 Annual fee
$180
(First 3 years waived)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

⏰ Points expiry
1 year from transaction

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
Krisflyer, Asia Miles and Enrich

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer blocks
KrisFlyer: 12,500 points (5,000 miles)
Asia Miles: 5,000 (2,000 miles)
Enrich: 2,500 (1,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
$27 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card can be combined with those from other Maybank cards and transferred out together at once.

❓How points are credited
Earn 5 base point per $5 dollar spent, plus 45 bonus points for eligible online transactions (equivalent to 3.2 mpd in total).

📜 Terms & conditions

Buy miles and points from other loyalty programs

Click here to buy miles and points from other loyalty programs like Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt.