Readers may remember that I’m a big fan of the strategy I call “The Hedge”. This involves buying points at a discount to their relative value to you. Basically, whenever I see points at less than the price I can purchase or transfer them from American Express or Chase, I buy all that I can. For example, a “Hedge” guarantees that I never pay more than $600 for a plane ticket to Europe or $250 for a ticket in the states because I’m using miles rather than purchasing the ticket for cash. This offer is a hedge on Priority Club points where an up-front investment of less than $500 will net you enough points for 12 pointbreaks stays and platinum status.
Priority Club is the rewards program for IHG hotels: Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, and related brands. Their redemptions generally range between 10000-30000 points per night, BUT the real deals are in their Pointbreaks, short notice (60 days or less) hotel rooms that are only 5,000 points a night! The list changes every other month or so and the new list will be out shortly. The Deal Family spent Memorial Day weekend at the Crowne Plaza in Hampton, VA in a Marina View room on pointbreaks. In addition to spending less than $40 a night for the points, the platinum status we achieved by buying points got us free breakfast, saving over $30 a day. I’m headed to Chicago in two weeks for my first Frequent Traveler University seminar and staying there at the Northbrook Crowne Plaza, again for 5,000 points a night.
Points.com is the service Priority Club uses to sell their points. Points.com
is currently showing the following special:
Priority Club Rewards
Buy Points
Buying Points is the easy way to top up your account to get the award you want!
Limited time offer: 40% Bonus!*
Buy Priority Club points between September 13 – October 15, 2012 and automatically receive a 40% bonus on the number of points purchased. Top up your account and buy your Priority Club points today!
Buying Points is the easy way to top up your account to get the award you want!
You may purchase points in 1,000 increments:
1,000 – 10,000 points for $13.50 per 1,000 points
11,000 – 25,000 points for $12.50 per 1,000 points
26,000 – 50,000 points for $11.50 per 1,000 points
The best part about this deal is that purchased points count towards elite status, which gets you upgrades and all sorts of other fun benefits. You need 60,000 points to get platinum status. With this deal, you only need to buy 40,300 (for $494.50) to get 60,000 points and instant platinum status for all of 2012 AND 2013.
Using the Pointbreaks, you can get 12 hotel rooms for that $460…an average of $41.20 night! And, with the Platinum status that comes with it, you may get the best rooms in the house for that $41.20. Even at the lowball price of $100 a night including tax, you’re getting at least $1200 in hotel rooms for that $494.50. Priority Club points do not expire, so no need to rush to use them.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that there is a back door method to buy Priority Club points for .7 cents each, but they don’t earn status which I value highly, especially since you can use it to status match. This deal comes to .8 cents a point, so that .001 is worth it to me for Platinum Status!
So, like I mentioned, this is not for the faint-hearted, but if you’re really liking the math (like I am), it just may be for you! I did this deal in April and am considering doing it again.
Here’s how you do it:
1. Get a Priority Club account if you don’t have one yet.
2. Get a Points.com account if you don’t have one yet.
3. Add your Priority Club Account number to your Points.com account.
4. Click the Tab marked “Trade, Exchange, and Buy points”.
5. Scroll down, and on the right you’ll see “Buy Points”. Select Priority Club from the drop down menu.
6. Buy your points and you’re good to go!