IHG One Rewards is the loyalty program behind 19 legendary hotel brands, including InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Kimpton and Crowne Plaza. Members can earn and redeem points at over 6,300 hotels in over 100 countries.
Over the past few years, the loyalty program has evolved, rebranding from IHG Rewards Club to IHG One Rewards, adding new elite benefits, removing award charts in favor of dynamic pricing and adding new IHG credit cards to its cobrand portfolio.
Like all travel loyalty programs, it’s important to have a basic understanding of how IHG One Rewards works before you start to earn and redeem with the program. Here’s everything you need to know.
IHG launched IHG Rewards in 2013 and rebranded to IHG One Rewards in 2022. Nowadays, the program has over 100 million members worldwide. Members can earn IHG points by staying at IHG properties, spending on IHG cobranded credit cards and leveraging IHG’s other partnerships.
Unlike World of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards has no published award chart. Instead, it uses dynamic pricing, meaning award rates can fluctuate daily based on demand and other factors. Don’t worry; I’ll cover this in-depth later in the guide.
IHG One Rewards comprises 19 hotel brands, ranging from budget-friendly Holiday Inn Express to high-end brands like Regent, InterContinental and Six Senses. Thus, you have many options for earning and redeeming your IHG points.
IHG brands include:
You can earn IHG One Rewards elite status by earning a set number of qualified points or nights. Qualified points are earned based on how much you spend at IHG hotels, and qualified nights are based on the number of nights you stay at properties.
IHG has four elite tiers:
These are some key things to know about earning IHG elite status:
Each IHG elite status tier has varying benefits, from room upgrades to bonus points on paid stays. Here’s what you can expect from each level of status:
Silver Elite:
Gold Elite:
Platinum Elite:
Diamond Elite:
IHG One Rewards members earn Milestone Rewards while collecting qualified nights for elite status. You’ll earn one Milestone Reward for every 10 nights you spend at IHG properties and can pick from a selection of rewards, including:
Here’s a look at all the ways to earn IHG points, from hotel stays to credit cards.
You can earn points at any IHG property — just book your stay directly with IHG and add your member number to your reservation.
You earn 10 points per dollar at all IHG properties except Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, which earn 5 points per dollar. Points are earned based on the room rate before taxes.
As mentioned, elite members earn 20% to 100% bonus points on their stay, depending on their status tier. Here’s how many points each IHG elite status tier earns:
Eligible room charges, such as dining, spa services, and laundry, also earn IHG points if they are charged to your room.
IHG has two personal cobranded credit cards and one business card. These cards include complimentary elite status and earn IHG points on every purchase. Plus, all IHG cards include a fourth-night-free benefit on award stays, which I’ll discuss later.
Benefits include:
Read our guide to IHG credit cards for more information on each card.
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards points to IHG at a 1:1 transfer rate. I rarely recommend doing this, however, as IHG points are generally worth less than points in these programs.
Buying IHG One Rewards points can sometimes make sense, especially when IHG is running a buy points promotion. It’s not uncommon for these sales to drop the cost per IHG point to just 0.5 cents apiece. Plus, IHG credit card holders can save even more since they get a 20% discount on points purchased with their card.
This can help you get a good deal on high-end hotels like the Kimpton Seafire Resort in Grand Cayman, which routinely costs 70,000 points per night plus an $80 nightly resort fee. If you buy points at 0.5 cents apiece, your effective price would be $430 after adding the resort fee. Meanwhile, this property often charges over $700 per night.
You can also earn IHG points with these two programs:
IHG One Rewards gives members a handful of ways to redeem their hard-earned points, but you’ll generally get the best value when you redeem them for free nights. Here’s a look at your options.
As mentioned earlier, IHG doesn’t have a standard published award chart. Instead, the hotel has dynamic pricing, wherein the cost of an award night varies based on where and when you’re booking. The same hotel could cost 25,000 points one night and 31,000 points the next.
From my experience redeeming IHG points, I can say that pricing isn’t 100% pegged to the cost of an award night. Some hotels — like the Kimpton Seafire Resort mentioned earlier — keep award rates the same when award nights are available. We’ve also found that many IHG hotels only fluctuate in price by a few thousand points, but this isn’t always the case.
I’ve been able to consistently redeem IHG points for between 0.7 and 1.0 cents per point. I recommend that travelers redeem IHG points for no less than 0.5 cents per value. This value climbs even further when you have an IHG credit card since they give you your fourth night free on all award bookings.
Booking an IHG award night is simple. Head to IHG’s website and enter your desired itinerary in the search box at the center of the screen. Then, select “Reward Nights” from the “Rate Preference” drop-down menu.
The hotel’s points price for your desired nights is listed on the right of each hotel. Note that resort and destination fees are not waived for award bookings, so you have to pay them out of pocket at check-out.
If you don’t have enough points for your desired hotel, you can redeem IHG points for a discount on a paid stay. However, these redemptions are rarely good deals.
For example, this one-night stay at the InterContinental Montreal costs 58,000 points. Alternatively, you can select from four points and rates, including redeeming 18,000 points and paying $249 out of pocket.
This is a particularly bad redemption since the cheapest member rate for the same room is $307 after taxes and fees. Your 18,000 points would give you just a $58 discount on your booking, yielding just 0.32 cents per point in value.Not all Points + Cash redemptions are this bad, but do the math before you book to avoid getting a poor value from your points.
There are a few other ways to redeem IHG points, but none are a particularly good deal when compared to booking hotel nights. Here are a few options:
I do not recommend redeeming your IHG points through these programs unless it’s necessary. They rarely (if ever) give you over 0.5 cents per point in value, which is the absolute minimum I redeem IHG points for.
IHG One Rewards points expire after 12 months of inactivity. Points do not expire for elite members. You can extend the validity of your points by earning or redeeming points or having an open IHG credit card.
IHG One Rewards is one of the biggest hotel loyalty programs. Whether earning points with a cobranded credit card or at an IHG hotel, you can get solid value from them when redeeming your points for free nights at IHG hotels.
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