Anyone ever converted IHG Reward Points into AirMiles?

LW7

If so, looking for some confirmation/advice please.

I accumulate IHG Reward Points when staying at Holiday Inn chain hotels through my work.

It's 3 nights a month, usually get around 2,200 points per booking.

Currently I have 22,000 points, and with the trips scheduled this year, another 32,000 are due.

So by year end I will have c54,000 points. On the IHG website, it gives you most big airlines as an option to convert your points into Air Miles.

10,000 points for 2,000 air miles.


Now in March next year, I'm planning on going to Canada from Manchester for a week, and would need x2 return flights.

As I understand it, at the end of the year, I would convert my IHG points into AirMiles with a specific Airline.

At 2,000 Air Miles per 10,000 IHG points, at 54,000 points, that is just over 10,000 Air Miles.

Using some websites, they state Manchester to Toronto is 3,200 miles, which means x2 return flights would be 12,800 miles, so I am a little short by 2,800 miles in total.

What I am stuck on is the best method to use this.

Do I 1. Look for the best flght price on the airlines available to convert IHG to Airmiles into.

Do I 2. Make the booking as normal (via quidco etc and on a cashback credit card) and then input my air miles membership number to then apply the discount?

Do I 3. then pay the remaining shortfall between cost of flights and redeemed Air Miles?


I've never used AirMiles before so just want to get an understanding of how they work!

Many thanks!

CM66

I think you've misunderstood how airmiles work - its not 1 airmile per 1 mile of distance


For example on British airways my return flight London to Toronto was 100k miles (this was business class) plus about £500 in tax!


You'd probably get better value using your miles to book hotel nights instead

LW7

CM66 wrote: »

I think you've misunderstood how airmiles work - its not 1 airmile per 1 mile of distance


For example on British airways my return flight London to Toronto was 100k miles (this was business class) plus about £500 in tax!


You'd probably get better value using your miles to book hotel nights instead

Hmmm, that's a bummer, I had totally misunderstoof that element then. I thought it was one for one!.

I've just done some more digging and found an article:

"The average amount of miles needed for a free international ticket in coach/economy cabin is 36,800" That is for a return flight!

If that's in the ballpark, I'll perhaps have enough to discount one return flight then with a little left over towards the second flight!

+taxes!

Caz3121

Long haul economy flights booked with avios = worst use of miles. Will cost you pretty much the same as a cash ticket