Well, it’s that time of year again. Thanks to LoyaltyLobby for giving heads up on this new development.
You can see the full list on IHG website The stay has to be completed by October 31st, and all properties on the list run at 5,000 IHG points per night as long as there is award availability.
As always, whether the list is hot or not depends on your plans. I don’t see anything that screams “smokin’ deal!” but you may feel differently. Most families have already done their summer vacation, but there is nothing wrong with a short local getaway. A couple of possible ideas:
1) HOLIDAY INN BUFFALO-INTL AIRPORT
This would be a good base for exploring Niagara Falls. You can also visit Buffalo Zoo and a myriad of other local attractions. It looks like they have suites bookable on points, which would make it an even better value.
2) HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS HASKELL-WAYNE AREA
This hotel is located in a peaceful setting by the lake. Breakfast is included, as it’s always the case with Holiday Inn Express brand.There is a possibility of visiting New York city for a day, but it will probably take at least an hour or more to get there by car.
3) HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS NICEVILLE-EGLIN AFB (Florida panhandle)
This hotel is located few miles away from a nice beach, so it could make for a fun family getaway. Keep in mind, you would be visiting during hurricane season.
4) For my reader Hilary who has been stalking new PointBreaks list (just like me), here are two participating hotels in Arizona;
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS & SUITES ORO VALLEY-TUCSON NORTH
CANDLEWOOD SUITES SIERRA VISTA
There are many other hotels on the list, so check and see for yourself.
You have a few options to get the points right now if you don’t already have them in your IHG account:
1) Transfer the points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG 1:1 if you have Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Plus cards. Per reports, the points don’t always transfer instantly.
2) Buy them directly from IHG at a cost of 13.50 per one thousand points. LINK
3) You can also buy them via “cash+points” trick, where you make a reservation at a random IHG hotel, then cancel it and get the points refunded. That way, they end up costing 0.7 cents each. You have to have 5,000 points to begin with. I don’t endorse this method and IHG may suspend your account if you do it too many times, but it’s there if you are willing to risk it.
If you are interested in a specific property, I recommend you book it right away. Reserve now, ask questions later since you can always cancel and get your points back. You are allowed two reservations per IHG account, but they can be for as long as you like.
If I’m being honest, I’m a bit relieved that there are no beachfront Florida hotels on the list. I would not be able to resist booking one, and my husband would not be able to resist complaining about yet another vacation!
Readers, anything looks appealing to you?
P.S. Dan at Pointswithacrew has made a map of participating IHG properties. Be aware, as my reader Erik has pointed out, not all of the hotels on it match the locations. Still, it’s an overall helpful tool to give you an idea of what’s available.
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
Just booked mine also! I will be visiting the beautiful Washington state in October. I cannot wait! Thank goodness for the airfare war – flights into and out of Seattle are very affordable from my home city.
@Winni3 Congratulations! Enjoy your trip. Can’t beat PointBreaks promo!
Thank you! Are you booking any from this list?
@Winni Unfortunately, we have too many plans already. If a local beachfront hotel was on the list, I would probably try to convince my husband to make a weekend out of it. But as it stands, I’m sitting this one out.
I was booked at the Radisson for 75,000 points plus one free e-cert – so glad I can save those for something else.
@Hilary Nice! Congratulations. There is no question that paying 5,000 IHG points is a better deal that 15,000 Club Carlson points.
I recommend you consider using your Club Carlson stash for Radisson Oceanfront Melbourne ( in Florida) if your plans match up. I had a review on it few months ago. Nothing fancy, but we enjoyed it. I think your daughter will love it. My son keeps asking me to take him back there.
I got it!!! 7 nights for 35000 points – what a deal!!!
Thanks – I just tried booking, not available yet…I guess I will be trying every five minutes
@Hilary No problem! I hope you’ll get it booked soon. I doubt it will sell out quickly, but you never know. So glad there was a Tucson property on the list!
@Hilary Just wanted to give you heads up. A LoyaltyLobby reader called IHG, and it looks like there are some technical difficulties with PB list They took the new list down for now. IHG rep said the problem should be resolved within 24 hours. Keep checking every few hours.
Be aware that Dan’s map is not always showing GPS-accurate locations. While perusing his map, the “HOLIDAY INN PARIS – PORTE DE CLICHY” caught my eye. His map showed the hotel located in close proximity to Notre Dame…which I found odd, because I’ve been to Paris several times in that area and have never heard of “Porte De Clichy”. Upon closer inspection, I found out why: this hotel is located in the northwest suburbs of Paris along the outer beltway. The nearby Porte De Clichy station features RER line C and Metro line 13. The Metro is probably the best/most frequent way to get to central Paris, you could reach Invalidades in about 15-20 minutes. You’d need to be careful when returning to the hotel because Porte De Clichy is on a branch line of 13, so get on the metro going in the direction of Les Courtilles instead of Saint-Denis.
A domestic location that caught my eye was Savannah, GA – that could be a decent option for a weekend getaway. It’s out in the suburbs next to I-95, so you would need a rental car, but their site claims to be 15 mins from the historic center and 10 minutes from the airport. Another weekender pick would be the Holiday Inn Express San Antonio Brooks City Base – not too far from the downtown attractions like the Riverwalk, the Alamo, and some of the old Spanish missions (again, you would need a rental car). Strangely, Dan’s map shows a “Candlewood Mount Pleasant” in downtown San Antonio but this hotel is actually nowhere near San Antonio – it is closer to Texarkana.
@Erik Thanks for heads up! I’ll update the post. I’m sure those maps take a ton of work to put together, so occasional slip-ups are inevitable. For me it’s helpful to see stuff on the map, but I always double check just in case. It gives an overall idea of what’s available, but it’s no substitute for individual research. It’s a helpful tool, but not a perfect one.
Savannah and San Antonio properties look very interesting. I’ve never been to either city, and hopefully, we’ll get a chance to visit them one of these days. Savannah is much closer to Florida, and my SIL has been talking about going there for quite some time. You just can’t beat this deal, especially if your plans match up!
In a few years we are planning on touring Southwest USA region by car. I hope PointBreaks program is still around.