Bits: get a 100% bonus buying IHG hotel points, Hilton Nottingham adds a pool charge

News in brief:

Get a 100% bonus buying IHG One Rewards points

IHG One Rewards is offering a new 100% bonus for buying points.

This offer runs to 2nd February.

The maximum number of points you can buy is 300,000 (ie 150,000 plus the 150,000 bonus).  The minimum purchase to trigger the bonus is 30,000 points on my account but this could vary.

The page to buy points is here.

With a 100% bonus, you would be able to buy up to 300,000 IHG One Rewards points for (at current exchange rates for $1,500) £1,175.

I usually value IHG One Rewards points at 0.4p.  You are paying 0.39p here so it is not necessarily a slam dunk unless you are just topping up your account. The skill is to use them at hotels where you can get substantially more than 0.4p per point of value, although this got a little harder since IHG moved towards revenue-based redemption pricing.

You can buy points via this link. You have until 2nd February to jump in.

Our full review of IHG One Rewards is here if you want to know more about how it works.

Hilton Nottingham joins the list of hotels charging for pool use

A recurring theme on Head for Points over the last couple of years has been hotels which try to sneak though a charge for using their swimming pool.

Hilton appears to be the biggest culprit, and it is getting to the point where you need to be actively on the look out for small print when booking a UK Hilton with a pool.

Hilton Nottingham is the latest to jump on the bandwagon.

From 1st February, you will need to pay £10 per adult and £5 per child, although there is a £20 cap per family. This is confirmed on the hotel website here.

This gets you a 90-minute session for the hotel pool, sauna and steam room.

The hotel has confirmed that there will be no discount for Hilton Honors elite members.

The hotel is blaming ‘rising energy costs’, although this makes little sense as the health club is run as a standalone Livingwell facility with the majority of its users presumably being external paying members.