OMG! Thanks for posting this Gin! I am Spire Elite with IHG and have already registered and stayed using this promotion. I am so going to do this too! I am a total points junkie.
Since we're on the subject, another cool feature of their program (not just this promotion) is the Points + Cash option. Say you want a room that's going for $100 a night. Chose Reward Nights and look for a P+C option. Typically, you can pay $40 plus 10,000 points. Here's what happens: Your $40 actually buys the additional points needed to cover the cost of your night. There are no additional fees incurred, including taxes! If you're an Elite member, you even get some of those points rebated to your account. Plus you can decline the welcome gift and get an additional 500 points back. Score.
They say the room is non-refundable, but if you cancel the reservation, the points you just bought get deposited into your account. I haven't tried it, but this could even be a good way to buy extra points on the cheap. I have a lot of points, as does DH, so I've never tried this, but we use P+C as often as we can. It doesn't always make sense, but more often than not it does. And man, I just love circumventing those exorbitant room taxes.