After missing out on World Pride in my hometown of Sydney in 2023 — and hearing glowing reviews from friends who went to the event in Washington, D.C., this year — I wasn’t going to let the 2026 summer celebration in Amsterdam pass me by.

The challenge? Amsterdam is notoriously pricey, and room rates have only climbed since my last visit three years ago. That pushed me to explore one of my favorite money-saving strategies: buying points to book an award stay.

High cash cost and limited flexibility

I focused on the Zuid (“South”) area, a convenient spot between the airport, the canal parade route and the concert hall hosting the two-day music festival. It’s quieter than the jam-packed city center, which I found convenient but overwhelming on my last visit.

My top option: The Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South, which has favorable reviews on both Google and TripAdvisor. A refundable four-night stay was priced at $1,073 total ($268 per night). A nonrefundable rate would’ve shaved 20% off, but with the trip nearly a year away, locking myself in wasn’t worth the risk.

Saving money by buying IHG points

Instead, I turned to IHG One Rewards points, which go on sale roughly every three weeks. The sweet spot is when you can buy at 0.5 cents per point (exactly TPG’s September 2025 valuations of them).

At that rate, purchasing 176,000 points for $880 would’ve covered my 2026 summer World Pride stay, trimming about $193 off the cash price (before factoring in forgone points earnings).

Stacking with the IHG One Rewards fourth-night-free perk

The real win came from my IHG cardholder benefit: the fourth night free on award stays. I enjoy this perk on both my IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card (see rates and fees) and IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (see rates and fees).

Instead of redeeming the full 176,000 points, the total room price dropped to 133,000 points. Buying that amount of points with the promotional discount would cost $665 total — or just $166 per night (compared to $268 in cash).

Crunching the numbers

The downside of booking with points is that you miss out on the rewards you’d earn on a cash stay.

I would have used my Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) to book the hotel cash rate, earning me:

• $88 worth of Chase Ultimate Rewards points: $1,073 (cost of the hotel stay) x 4 points per dollar spent on a hotel booked directly x 2.05 cents (our September 2025 valuation of Chase points)
• $107 worth of IHG points: $1,073 (cost of the hotel stay) x 20 points per dollar spent (10 base IHG points + 100% Diamond status bonus) x 0.5 cents (our September 2025 valuation of IHG points)

But instead, I used my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which earns 2 miles on every purchase, to buy the IHG points, earning me $25 worth of Capital One miles, made up of $665 buy points purchase x 2 x 1.85 cents (our September 2025 valuation of Capital One miles).

Let’s look at the numbers side-by-side:

While the headline saving looks like 38%, the realistic savings are closer to 27% once you factor in points you’d earn on a cash booking. Still, shaving over $230 off is no small win, as it covers more than half the cost of the music festival pass.

How I’ll save money on my flight to Amsterdam

I’ll be in Chicago the weekend before World Pride for a wedding, so it makes sense to hop on one of the two nonstop flights to Amsterdam. Ideally, I’d like to fly premium economy or business class, and I’ve set up Seats.aero alerts in case saver-level availability opens. But in the meantime, I’m planning for an economy class flight.

United wants 40,000 MileagePlus miles plus $5.60 in taxes for its nonstop. By contrast, Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program is charging only 25,000 miles plus $104, saving me 15,000 miles even after the slightly higher taxes.

Flying Blue also has a major advantage: I can tack on a free stopover after Pride to another European city. That means for the same 25,000 miles (plus about $23 extra in taxes), I could fly Chicago to Amsterdam, enjoy the festival and then continue on to Copenhagen or Edinburgh.

The only drawback is Flying Blue’s 70-euro ($83) fee for changes or cancellations. So while the deal is compelling, I’ll hold off until I’m certain about my onward travel plans.

Related: Buy bonus points and miles with these promotions

Bottom line

Buying points has once again proved to be a smart strategy for high-demand events. By stacking an IHG points sale with the fourth-night-free perk, I cut my Amsterdam hotel cost by over $230 (or 27%).

If you’re planning a trip to World Pride — or another major event where accommodation costs skyrocket, like the 2026 FIFA World Cup — keep an eye out for IHG’s points sales. Buying at 0.5 cents per point can deliver outsize value, especially if you hold an IHG credit card.