Three crazy hotel promos

Good morning from Taiyuan, a random city in Northern China with gorgeous parks and dank food. 🍲

Yesterday, we covered some airline deals. So today, it’s all about the hotels, baby.

Check it out:

• 💳 70% transfer bonus to IHG

• 🏨 Get a 15% points discount at new hotels

• 🎲 A new Hyatt promo in Vegas

💳 70% transfer bonus to IHG

Our favorite bank is back with a new transfer bonus.

This time, they’re serving up a 70% bonus when transferring UR points to IHG One Rewards.

And before you get too excited, 70% sounds like a lot. But since IHG points are generally less valuable than most points, it’s not as crazy as it sounds.

But…

With the right strategy, it can absolutely be worthwhile.

Pair this with my favorite credit card

My favorite card in my wallet is this IHG co-branded card. That might come as a surprise to most people, but here’s why:

Holding the card means you get every 4th night free when redeeming IHG points.

When you pair that with a tasty-ass transfer bonus like this one, the stars align. ⭐️

For example, let’s look at this hotel in New York City. It’s a brand-spanking-new Voco in Times Square, and it can cost just 22,000 IHG points per night.

If you have an IHG credit card, a 4-night stay here would cost just 66,000 points with the 4th-night free perk.

Throw in a 70% transfer bonus, and the same 4 nights would run you just 39,000 UR points, or less than 10,000 points a night… in Times Square…

This is why it’s ALWAYS good to have some UR points handy.

There are a bunch of different cards that earn UR points – so pick one that fits your needs, and rack them up now. That way, you can take advantage of transfer bonuses like these when they pop up.

And if anyone tells you not to waste your time with this transfer bonus and transfer your UR points to Hyatt instead, you can give them a friendly smack in the face and show them this newsletter. 👋

🏨 Get a 15% points discount at new hotels

Speaking of great IHG deals, there’s another IHG evergreen promotion that’s worth knowing about.

Basically, IHG has a list of new hotels where you can get a 15% discount on award stays.

This deal is ongoing, though the list changes periodically.

Sometimes, these “new” hotels offer this 15% discount even months after they’ve been added, which is great.

I’ll actually be taking advantage of this deal soon here in China.

Next week, I’m meeting some friends at Wugong Mountain near Pingxiang (I know, I have really cool friends), and I found this brand new Voco hotel right at the base of the mountain, because… China. 👇

Anyway, it’s already quite cheap to book with points, but the 15% discount means I can book two nights for myself AND two nights for my friends for a grand total of just 30,600 IHG points.

So I’m saving 6,000 points for doing nothing, which is awesome.

Of course, if you stay at nicer hotels in more expensive areas, the savings can be much more significant.

For example, if you wanted to book a beach getaway to Turks and Caicos, there are very few points options for hotels…

But there is this gorgeous new Hotel Indigo, which costs around 60,000 points per night through September:

Because of the 15% discount, you’re saving more than 10,000 points per night, which is great.

Anyway, if you have travel plans and like IHG, check out their list of new hotels – you might be able to scrape even more savings out of it!

🎲 A new Hyatt promo in Vegas

Any Vegas fans in the house?

I thought so.

Anyone looking for a gambling getaway to Sin City is in luck, because Hyatt is offering a 20% points rebate at their Las Vegas hotels, which could add up to some serious points savings.

Here’s the deal:

• Book hotels in Las Vegas and you’ll get a 20% points rebate after your stay

• Valid between now and July 31, 2026

• You must register for the offer

So yeah. Super simple.

Hyatt only has a few properties in Vegas, ranging from cheap to… not so cheap. 😬

For example, the Rio generally has pretty cheap cash and points rates, costing as few as 9,000 Hyatt points per night:

Your net cost during the promo window would be just 7,200 Hyatt points per night – not bad compared to the $200 cash price.

But Hyatt also has some fancier properties, like the Venetian (which is also its own “brand” within Hyatt’s portfolio for you Brand Explorer fans).

This month, award nights will run you more than 30,000 points per night. 👇

In this case, you’d get 6,500 points rebated per night.

That’s enough to book another free night at the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki in Greece, which costs… you guessed it… 6,500 points per night.

If you don’t have any Hyatt points, you can get them instantly by transferring from your credit card that earns UR points.

I know I said it already in this newsletter, but this is yet another reason you should always have a card that earns UR points handy.

That’s it for today, amigos! I hope you enjoyed these three promos, all of which can help you redeem fewer points for the same nights.

Have a great day and see you bright and early tomorrow.

Byebye,

37.8706° N, 112.5507° E

With contributions by Sam Anthony.