IHG brings back its generous ‘Accelerate’ promotion for the Summer

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

UPDATE – DECEMBER 2021: This article is now out of date, but don’t worry. We produce a monthly summary of the top hotel bonus point offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ menu above.

You can earn up to triple IHG Rewards base points with IHG’s new Autumn promotion. It runs from 1st October to 31st December 2021. You can register here and our full article on the offer is here.

You will get a 100% bonus when you buy IHG Rewards points by 4th January 2022. Click here to buy or learn more.

IHG Rewards Club, the Holiday Inn, HI Express, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental etc loyalty scheme, has announced its Summer 2016 promotion – IHG Accelerate. Yes, it is repeating the Autumn and Spring offer!

To be honest, IHG is the only major hotel chain offering a global promotion this Summer which offer genuine value. Everyone has their own personal target but, for most of us, the challenge is pretty straightforward.

Here are the headline details:

IHG Accelerate (Version 3) covers stays from 1st June to 31st August

All hotels are participating

Your bonus is personalised – you need to log in here to discover yours

This was my target for 55,000 points maximum, comprising:

6,000 points on my next stay
5,000 points for a stay in June
10,000 points for staying five nights
3,500 points for booking three stays via the IHG app
6,400 points for booking 2 x 2-night weekend stays
2,000 points for booking a Bonus Points Package
1,000 points for purchasing IHG Rewards Club points
21,100 points for completing five of the six targets above, excluding the June bonus

This isn’t bad. Let’s ignore the ‘two weekend stays of two nights’ one as I doubt I will do that.

I will receive 48,600 bonus points – plus the base points – for completing five nights, as long as those nights involve at least three stays (booked on the app) and one is for a Bonus Points Package. This is worth – assuming 0.4p per point of value – £200 of free future stays.

I could earn 13,000 bonus points from just one stay, as long as it is in June and is a Bonus Points Package. I will do my best to hit that if nothing else.

My wife got an even easier one for 55,000 points:

5,000 points on her next stay
5,000 points for a stay in June
10,000 points for staying five nights
4,800 points for booking two stays via the IHG app
3,000 points for booking a Bonus Points Package
27,200 points for completing three of the four targets above excluding the June bonus

All she needs to do is book two one-night stays via the app as she can skip the ‘five nights’ one. Job done, 45,000 points banked! That is £180 of bonus points, plus base points, which should be possible fairly cheaply.

Note: if you have a target saying that you must spend $x on food and drink, be aware that this is EXCLUDING VAT. Ensure you spend ‘x + 20%’ and then add on a bit more because IHG will probably use a duff exchange rate!

Conclusion

As long as your target is sensible, this is highly likely to be the most generous hotel promotion you are likely to see this Summer.

IHG Rewards update – December 2021:

Get bonus points: You can earn up to triple IHG Rewards base points with IHG’s new Autumn promotion. It runs from 1st October to 31st December. You can register here and our full article on the offer is here.

New to IHG Rewards? Read our overview of IHG Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG Rewards points, you can buy them here.

You will get a 100% bonus when you buy IHG Rewards points by 4th January 2022. Click here to buy or learn more.

Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.