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šŸØ How to stack for maximum hotel points

Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 50 seconds

In a momentous year for the travel industry, the Skift Research team highlighted their top five favorite charts from over 50 reports, each chosen by the analysts who created them. Personally, I found them super interesting! You can view them here

Good morning folks, and welcome back to Daily Drop!

I hope yā€™all have managed to keep your travel plans intact - it seems like whenever I open the news, all I see is flight cancellations and stormsā€¦ šŸ˜¬

But in case youā€™re feeling stressed, Iā€™ve got something to lighten the mood:

šŸØ IHGā€™s ā€œWelcome Backā€ bonus (targeted)

I love me a good hotel offerā€¦ especially when there are easy ways to get major outsize value out of them.

IHG has just launched a targeted offer that allows us (if we are lucky enough to be one of said targets) to do just that.

Screenshot of IHG's "Welcome Back" bonus

Here is the deal:

  • You must register for the offer (at this link), but remember, only select members are targeted

  • After registration, complete two stays to earn 12,000 points

  • Only available for paid stays with room rates above $30 per night

  • This offer does stack with other public offers šŸ™Œ

The obvious best-case scenario here is if you already have two stays planned at IHG properties in the near-ish future, you can knock out the requirements for the offer and get a nice chunk of bonus points.

But even if you donā€™t have stays planned, there are ways to hack your way into the bonus points anyway.

So, letā€™s do some good old-fashioned math, shall we?

Letā€™s say youā€™re in Jakarta. You could book two individual one-night stays at this Holiday Inn for just $34 per night šŸ˜Æ

Screenshot of the Holiday Inn Jakarta Pluit Citygateat dusk

For just $68 dollars, youā€™d earn at least 12,680 points from the stay (10x points for being an IHG member, plus the bonus points from the promotion.

If you hold this hotel credit card, you will earn a total of 13,768 points from the stay:

  • 10x for being a member

  • 6x for the elite status you get from holding the card

  • 10x from the card earning rate

  • 12k bonus promotion points

But hereā€™s the kicker:

Remember earlier when I said that this promotion stacks with other public offersā€¦? šŸ˜

IHG still has their ā€œ2x Points on Every Stayā€ promotion right now as well.

Screenshot of IGH 2X points on every stay promo with a beach background

So, on the aforementioned stay, youā€™d earn an additional 680 points from this promo, for a total of 14,448 IHG points! šŸŽ‰

So even if you didnā€™t need to stay anywhere, youā€™re effectively buying points at 0.47 cents each, which is a great deal.

But letā€™s say youā€™re a normal person, and you arenā€™t in Jakarta. Letā€™s also say maybe you want to head to Chicago for Spring Break in March.

You could use the same tactic and book two one-night stays at this place for just $89 per night šŸ‘‡

Image of the Crowne Plaza hotel in Chicago

Between the two promotions, being an IHG member, and holding the aforementioned credit card, your $178 expense would yield you a total ofā€¦ wait for itā€¦ 18,408 IHG points, which is not shabby AT ALL.

For reference, that is enough points to book a night at this hotel in Berlin (and still have some points left over).

Photo of the outside of a hotel in Berlin

Since this hotel would otherwise cost about $100 per night, youā€™re effectively getting a 56% return on your spend in this caseā€¦ Epic.

So hereā€™s the bottom line, kids. Register for both promotions (this targeted one if available to you and this public one). If you have been targeted, you can reap some major benefits by strategizing around IHGā€™s lower-cost properties.

šŸ’” FOUR different ways to book a Hilton property

Iā€™m just staying on the hotel bandwagon with this newsletterā€¦ but for good reason.

Our most recent YouTube video highlighted some pretty great (and different!) ways that you can book a Hilton property.

In fact, we watched Brendan jet-set around Europe, sharing how he stayed at four different Hilton properties in four different countriesā€¦ all for ZERO dollars, yā€™all šŸ¤Æ

These hacks included:

  • Booking through a card provider

  • Transferring points to Hilton

  • Using travel credits

  • Andā€¦ perhaps the best one of allā€¦ getting two nights (completely free) just by signing up for a particular hotel credit card

If you want to know the specifics and the step-by-step walkthrough on how all this was accomplished, may I kindly direct you to watch that video over on the ā€˜tube.

You wonā€™t be disappointed šŸ˜Ž

The thumbnail with a traveler wearing a backpakack and standing on the balcony of a Hilton property

šŸŖ Tasty Travel Tidbits

Thatā€™s all for today, amigos. I donā€™t know about you, but I love a good stackā€¦ Itā€™s a great way to maximize your points earning, cash-back, credits, and more.

Have you ever stacked offers?

If yes, tell me about your best stack.

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Have a lovely day and see you tomorrow ā¤ļø

Mike Dodge
Head Writer, Daily Drop

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