IHG One Rewards is the loyalty program from InterContinental Hotels Group, home to everything from long-stay options like Staybridge Suites to familiar picks like Holiday Inn and premium brands like InterContinental, Kimpton, and Six Senses.
IHG overhauled its program in 2022, and the updates made it much easier to get real value, expecially through elite perks and its credit card lineup. With a huge global footprint and plenty of ways to earn and use points, it’s a solid program for beginners who want flexible hotel options.
This guide gives you the essentials so you can quickly understand how IHG works and decide whether it fits your travel goals.
IHG One Rewards shares traits that are common to most hotel rewards programs:
Earn points from paid stays (but not when stays are booked through online travel agencies such as Expedia).Use points to book free night awards . Those who spend many nights at IHG hotels booked either as free nights or paid stays (but not those booked through online travel agencies) earn elite status . Elite status levels range from Silver to top-tier Diamond Elite status. The higher your status, the more perks you get.Branded credit cards can be used to earn points and to help earn elite status. IHG also has a few traits that set it apart from some in this space:
IHG no longer has an award chart. The number of points required to book an award stay is, therefore, variable / not easy to predict IHG offers a paid elite status tier called IHG Ambassador. This status costs $225 per year or 45,000 points. Elite members have access to reward night discounts during promotional periods, which is a unique benefit for IHG One Rewards. There are 2 invitation-only status levels that are brand-specific: Intercontinental Royal Ambassador and Kimpton Inner Circle. These statuses are extended by invitation only and come with some unique perks for those highly loyal to those respective brands. IHG no longer has an award chart. Hotels regularly range in price from 10,000 points per night to about 100,000 points per night, though some Six Senses properties cost in excess of 150,000 points per night.
Award prices are good for standard rooms (each hotel defines “standard” differently). Points + Cash rates are a way of effectively buying points. When you book a Points + Cash rate, your cash co-pay buys the points for an award stay. If you later cancel a Points + Cash booking, you are refunded in the number of points that were necessary to book the free night award and you will not receive the cash portion back to your credit card.Sales on Points + Cash rates can be good opportunities . IHG sometimes has a sale on award bookings where points and points + cash reservations are discounted (but just the points portion.) Those with the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card , IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card , or IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card can book a 4-night award stay and get the 4th night for free. For example, if you book a 4-night stay at a hotel that costs 25,000 points per night, you would only pay 75,000 points since the 4th night is free.
This perk can be leveraged to even greater value at times when the 4th night is particularly expensive. Given dynamic pricing, the 4th night may cost more than the previous 3 nights — but cardholders get the 4th night free on an award stay even when the 4th night is more expensive. If your 4th night is a high-demand night like New Year’s Eve, this could result in substantial savings.
Intercontinental Austin
IHG has several elite status tiers:
Silver Elite: 10 nights Gold Elite: 20 nights or 40,000 elite-qualifying points Platinum Elite: 40 nights or 60,000 elite-qualifying points Diamond Elite: 70 nights or 120,000 elite-qualifying points Intercontinental Ambassador: $225 per year or 45,000 points Intercontinental Royal Ambassador: By invitation only Kimpton Inner Circle: By invitation only Elite nights are earned with either cash or award stays . As an IHG One Rewards Premier / Premier Business / Traveler credit card holder, when booking a 3-night award, it makes sense to book 4 nights instead (thanks to 4th Night Free pricing) just so that you can get an extra elite night. Make sure not to check out after the third night. (Note: IHG does charge resort fees so if you are staying at a property with a resort fee, you’ll still have to pay for the resort fee for the fourth night, so you’ll want to weigh your options in this scenario.)Elite nights are not earned with online travel agency bookings . For example, if you book through Expedia, you will not earn elite night credit (or points) for your stay.Elite status can be earned based on spend. Each status tier requires qualifying nights in a hotel or elite qualifying points. These points are earned through paid hotel stays.Elite status can be earned through card membership and card spending . IHG One Rewards Premier and Premier Business come with automatic Platinum status, and Diamond status after $40,000 spend in a calendar year. The IHG One Rewards Traveler card comes with Gold status AFTER $20,000 in purchases in a calendar year.Complementary Upgrades (Platinum and Diamond Benefit) : This isn’t really a new benefit, but IHG has informed us that they have taken pains to better educate member hotels so that this benefit will hopefully be implemented better going forward. Free upgrades can include suites, but hotels aren’t required to offer them.Points or Drink/Snack Welcome Amenity (Platinum Benefit) : Choose points or a drink / snack at check-in.Free Breakfast Welcome Amenity (Diamond Benefit) : Diamond Elite members get free breakfast at almost all properties with relatively few exclusions. This has recently been degraded somewhat now that properties are allowed to exclude menu items from the breakfast benefit .Early Check-In (Platinum and Diamond Benefit) : This could be valuable if many hotels would honor it, but since this benefit is “subject to availability” I don’t have high hopes for it at all.2pm Late Check-Out (All Members) : Unlike Hyatt and Marriott, which guarantee late checkout for top-tier elite at non-resort properties, with IHG this benefit is “subject to availability”, so YMMV.Missing stay : If a stay was not properly credited to your account, you can fill out a missing stay request online: https://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/customer-care/forms/missing-points If you book multiple rooms for the same dates, you’ll earn elite night credits for only 1 room. That said, you can earn points on up to 9 rooms at once. If you book 9 rooms with the same IHG One Rewards account number, you’ll earn points on all of the rooms but you’ll earn elite night credits for only 1 room.If you have a stay that begins at the end of one calendar year, but ends after January 1 of the following year, the elite nights and points from that stay will credit towards the new calendar year.
IHG’s Milestone Rewards are strikingly similar to Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards. Members begin earning Milestone Rewards once they complete 20 qualifying nights within a calendar year and then again every 10 nights after that, up to 100 nights.
What are qualified nights?
Qualified nights are often referred to as “elite nights.” With many hotel chains, you can earn elite status by acquiring a number of qualified elite nights each year. For example, IHG requires earning 20 elite nights within a calendar year to earn Gold status. IHG members also earn Milestone Rewards, which begins with 20 elite nights. Qualified nights include free nights booked with points, certificates, and paid nights booked directly through IHG.
Key details :
Once a milestone is reached, members have 90 days to select a Milestone Rewards choice on the IHG Hotels & Resorts website or IHG One Rewards app. Note: If a Milestone Rewards choice is not selected within 90 days, the Milestone Rewards choice for that milestone expires and will no longer be available. All Milestone Rewards selections are final . Food & Beverage Rewards and Confirmable Suite Upgrades are valid for 1 year from selection . Annual Lounge Membership is good for the rest of the calendar year in which it is selected and all of the following year. Confirmable Suite Upgrades Each Confirmable Suite Upgrade can be used to upgrade to a base-level suite (valid for stays up to a maximum of 5 nights). Suite upgrades can be confirmed up to 14 days before your stay. That means if you book now for a stay 10 months in the future, you’ll have to wait until the stay is 2 weeks away before you can call to confirm your upgrade.
Additional details :
Time window : An upgrade to an entry-level suite, if available, can be confirmed from 14 days before the stay, up to 24 hours before check-in.Number of nights and rooms : The reward is valid for a stay up to 5 nights and available for 1 room per stay.Alternatives : If an entry-level suite is not available, a member has the option to confirm a premium room as an alternative.Valid 12 months : Once a member selects the Confirmable Suite Upgrade as their Milestone choice, they have 12 months to redeem their reward.Valid on paid and award stays : Suite upgrades can be applied to both paid and award stays. Comparison chart:
IHG Marriott Hyatt # Nights Upgradable 5 5* 7 Earliest upgrade can be confirmed 14 days in advance 3 days in advance At booking Upgrade points stays? Yes Yes Yes Upgrade free night certificate stay? Yes Yes No
* Marriott offers five 1-night Suite Night Awards as a Choice Benefit at 50 elite nights and again at 75 elite nights each year.
Annual Lounge Membership Annual Lounge Membership is available as a Milestone Reward option at 40 and 70 nights. Once a member selects this reward, they will receive Club Lounge access, where available, for the registered member plus one additional guest. Lounge Membership will be valid for the rest of the calendar year in which the reward was selected and all of the following calendar year.
Note: If you reach a milestone towards the end of the year where this benefit can be selected, it could be worth waiting until January 1 of the following year to select it. That way it’s valid the remainder of that year and all of the next year, thereby getting 2 years of lounge membership.
Annual Lounge Membership does not include InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau).
Food & Beverage Rewards Each Food & Beverage reward is worth $20 in food & beverage credit. So, when the choice is for 2 Food & Beverage rewards, that is equivalent to $40 in credit in total.
There are some exceptions to IHG’s breakfast, lounge, and suite upgrade benefits as follows:
Free Breakfast Exceptions For their amenity choice at check-in, Diamond Elite members will have the option of a free daily hot breakfast for up to 2 guests.
Exclusions:
Hotels with restaurants are allowed to exclude certain menu items from the breakfast benefit Limited-service brands that already offer breakfast Candlewood Suites Holiday Inn Club Vacations InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau) Annual Lounge Membership Exceptions If a member selects the Annual Lounge Membership as their Milestone Reward at 40 or 70 Nights, they will receive Club Lounge access for the registered member plus 1 additional guest.
Exclusions:
Annual Lounge Membership does not include Club REGENT or Club InterContinental amenities or services beyond the physical Club Lounge. Note: To be clear, Annual Lounge Membership does include access to Club REGENT and Club InterContinental lounges, but not to additional services (free pressing, farewell amenity, airport transportation, etc.) that may be offered under the same names. InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau) IHG properties with a restricted Club Lounge due to renovations, closures, or other facility updates Confirmable Suite Upgrade Exceptions Confirmable suite upgrades can be applied at all IHG properties except the following:
IHG Residences (including but not limited to InterContinental Residences, voco Residences, Crowne Plaza Residences) Participating Iberostar Beachfront Resorts avid hotels Atwell Suites IHG Army Hotels Holiday Inn Club Vacations Six Senses Resorts & Spas InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Macau) The Ambassador program offers solid value that can be worth paying for, but only if you make good use of the free weekend night certificate. Guaranteed room upgrades and 4pm late checkout can also be quite valuable under the right circumstances as well as the $20 per stay food & beverage credit on award stays.
How to join InterContinental® Ambassador Status The InterContinental Ambassador elite status program has 2 levels:
InterContinental Ambassador: Pay to play program: pay either $225 or 45,000 IHG points for 12 months of membership. If you pay with points and you have the old IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card (no longer available to new applicants), you’ll get 10% of your points back for a net cost of 40,500 IHG points . You can join InterContinental Ambassador online here . Benefits are available instantly upon joining, and they are not available at InterContinental Residences.Royal Ambassador. Royal Ambassador is invitation only . Ambassador Status BenefitsInterContinental Ambassador elite status benefits InterContinental Ambassador now offers complimentary IHG Platinum status . This status offers benefits across all IHG brands. Other than IHG Platinum status, the following benefits apply only to stays at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts:
Free weekend night: Valid on the second night of a paid weekend stay on the Ambassador Weekend Rate (“AMB Certificate”) at InterContinental Hotels (excludes InterContinental Alliance Resorts). The free night is available immediately upon enrollment in the Ambassador program. Only one free night certificate is issued per 12 months. Valid only for the member who has InterContinental Ambassador status. The weekend is defined as Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, except in the Middle East where hotels may define the weekend as Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.Guaranteed 1-category room upgrade: Upgrades include suites , but exclude lounge access unless you booked a room with lounge access from the beginning. Room upgrades are not guaranteed on award stays.4PM late checkout $20 food & beverage credit per stay: This can be used at most InterContinental hotel restaurants, bars, and minibars. Not applicable to in-room dining.Complimentary mineral water Complimentary internet service In Mainland China only : Complimentary breakfast for 1, each night you stay Royal Ambassador elite status benefits Royal Ambassador (invitation only) offers all of the benefits listed above, plus the following:
Guaranteed 2-category room upgrade Complimentary Club InterContinental lounge access and free full breakfast for 2 (in most cases)Free Night at an IHG Hotel: Good for any hotel that costs up to 70,000 points per nightGuaranteed Early check-in of 10 a.m. on day of arrivalIn-room welcome amenity choice of fruit, sweet or savory snack on day of arrivalWaived Amenity or Destination fees Single-room rate for double occupancyGuaranteed room availability for member’s room with 24-hour advance reservation Ambassador Benefit Guarantees IHG backs up Ambassador benefits with cash, credits, or points if they are not able to offer certain benefits during your stay:
Kimpton offers a special level of status by invitation-only to its most loyal guests called Kimpton Inner Circle. Benefits of this status can be awesome for those selected and include:
Inner Circle Amenity (a personalized treat on arrival.)Complimentary Chef’s Taste Complimentary Night at New Hotels (When Kimpton opens a new hotel, you can reserve a free night for a limited time. This can be a huge benefit if you’re able to take advantage of it).VIP Dedicated Phone Line Guaranteed 1-category room upgrade Early check-in & late check-out: Guaranteed 10am check-in and 4pm check-outWaived amenity fee: includes amenity/destination fees, but does not waive resort feesIHG Diamond Elite Status How to get Kimpton Inner Circle status Kimpton Inner Circle status is by invitation-only, but it requires a member to earn IHG Diamond Elite status and show particular loyalty to Kimpton by staying at Kimpton hotels often (this isn’t defined). Invitations go out in January each year by email.
One of the main elite status perks of the IHG One Rewards program are increased earnings on paid stays:
General member (no status) = 10x points per $1 on paid stays with most brands / 5x points per $1 at Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites)Silver status = 20% bonus on points earned (12x / 6x)Gold status = 40% bonus on points earned (14x / 7x)Platinum status = 60% bonus on points earned (16x / 8x)Diamond status = 100% bonus on points earned (20x / 10x) In addition to amplified earnings on paid stays, elite members enjoy a few other perks:
Points do not expire for elite members . Ordinarily, IHG points expire if a member has no activity for 12 months. However, points never expire for elite members.Late checkout . This isn’t guaranteed, but program terms indicate that elite members are eligible for late checkout, so they theoretically have increased odds of scoring late checkout.Early check-in : Platinum and Diamond Elite members can get early check-in subject to availability. At Kimpton hotels, this is only guaranteed for Kimpton Inner Circle members.Complimentary upgrades . Platinum Elite and Diamond Elite Members will be offered a complimentary upgrade, though upgraded rooms are defined by the hotel and might include something like a more recently renovated room or a room on a higher floor or with a better view. Program terms explicitly state that hotels are not required to upgrade members to suites.72-Hour Guaranteed Availability : “When contacting the IHG® One Rewards Customer Care Centre directly and guaranteeing the reservation with a valid credit card, each Platinum Elite or Diamond Elite Member will be guaranteed one guest room for personal use, for reservations made at least 72 hours prior to the date of arrival, except during special events that result in extraordinary room demand, as determined solely by the hotel, or on Reward Night reservation. The Member will not be charged more than the prevailing rate for the accommodation requested, and the Member is not entitled to a rate less than the prevailing rate. Once made, Platinum Elite or Diamond Elite Guarantees may not be dishonored for any reason.” While it says that this type of reservation can not be dishonored, terms do not indicate any compensation if it is not met. Those who have the IHG One Rewards Premier credit card, the IHG One Rewards Premier Business card, or the older and no-longer-available IHG Rewards Club Select card with a $49 annual fee get automatic IHG Platinum Elite status .
IHG One Rewards Premier and Premier Business cardholders can reach Diamond status with $40,000 spend in a calendar year.
Once you earn elite status this year, your status will be good for the rest of this year, all of the next, and through February of the year after that.
Things to know about elite status shortcuts: Earning one level of status doesn’t help you get to the next. For example, if you have Platinum status from the IHG One Rewards Premier card, you are just as far from Diamond Elite status as someone with no status at all — you’ll still need either 70 nights, 120,000 elite-qualifying points, or $40,000 in spend on a qualifying credit card to reach Diamond status. You don’t get any credit towards the next level up.Unlike competitors, IHG has no lifetime elite status so there is no disadvantage to shortcuts in terms of lifetime credit lost Status Points per $ at most brands Points per $ at Staybridge Suites & Candlewood Suites Club (no status) 10x 5x Silver 12x 6x Gold 14x 7x Platinum 16x 8x Diamond 20x 10x
The chart above shows point earnings for stays. The middle column shows the number of points earned per dollar at most brands. The next column shows the points earned per dollar at long-stay brands Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.
Points are not earned with online travel agency bookings . For example, if you book through Expedia, you will not earn points for your room charge.
You can earn points on up to 9 rooms at once. If you book 9 rooms with the same IHG One Rewards account number, you’ll earn points on all of the rooms but you’ll earn elite night credits for only 1 room.
IHG Business Rewards
IHG Business Rewards is a program run for business travel planners where you normally earn 3 points per dollar when booking hotel stays for other people or for events and/or meetings. In addition, IHG Business Rewards members are able to transfer their points to other members for free.
Although the points earned by the IHG Business Rewards member are in addition to the points earned by the person staying at the hotel that they booked, they can’t be the same person.
If you own your own small business and want to book your own paid travel, you’d therefore want to book it under your personal IHG One Rewards account in order to earn at least 10 points per dollar (more depending on status, other IHG promos, etc.); otherwise you are stuck earning 3 points per dollar normally if allocating the booking to your IHG Business Rewards account.
IHG allows Diamond members to transfer points to other members for free. All other members can transfer points to another member without limits for a fee of $5 per 1,000 points. At a cost of 0.5c per point to transfer , that’s a horrible deal. IHG frequently sells points for the same price, so you’re better off waiting for a sale and simply buying points rather than paying to transfer them unless you’re looking to just top up an account for a specific award and points aren’t currently on sale.
Points expire after 12 months of inactivity. Fortunately, almost all points activity will reset the clock. Points remain alive and available as long as you earn or use points at least once every 12 months.
Points do not expire for current IHG One Rewards elite members (including those whose status comes from holding the IHG Rewards credit cards).
IHG One Rewards points can be transferred to more than 30 different airline loyalty programs, albeit at a poor rate of 10,000 IHG points to 2,000 airline miles in most cases. That is generally a poor deal unless you’re topping off an airline account for a valuable redemption and/or draining orphaned IHG points before expiry.
Unfortunately, this can not be done online and typically takes a few weeks. You must contact IHG One Rewards over the phone to make a transfer.
Below you’ll find information about each currently available IHG credit card:
Pros (where IHG One Rewards is better than average):
Large mid-tier footprint High points earnings from paid stays Automatic credit card elite status (Hilton also has this and Hilton is arguably better since you can get either Hilton Gold or Diamond status from a credit card and those statuses include food & beverage credits) Points don’t expire for elite members Breakfast now guaranteed for Diamond members at nearly all IHG properties Milestone Rewards offer the chance to confirm a suite upgrade after just 20 elite qualifying nights. Cons (where IHG One Rewards is worse than average):
IHG charges resort fees on award stays (Hilton and Hyatt do not) Suite upgrades not guaranteed without an upgrade instrument Suite upgrades only confirmed 14 days in advance of arrival (which is better than Marriott, but not as good as Hyatt). If you’re looking to stay at luxurious properties, the best use of IHG points tends to be for Intercontinental and Kimpton properties. As more Six Senses properties become bookable with points, we will likely find more hidden gems.
A: Yes. These benefits stack. The IHG Business Premier card also gives the 4th night free benefit.
A: No. When you cancel a Points + Cash stay, your refund will be entirely in points. This can be advantageous as it is sometimes possible to buy IHG points indirectly via Points + Cash for less than what IHG charges when they sell points.
A: First, wait a bit. It’s not unusual for a stay to appear on your account about a week after checkout. Next, if the stay still hasn’t appeared, you can fill out a missing stay request online: https://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/customer-care/forms/missing-points
A: You will earn points for up to 9 rooms, but you’ll earn elite night credit for only 1 room.
Once you reach each Milestone Reward threshold, you have 90 days to select your reward. If you don’t select it in time, it’s gone.
No. Rollover nights are only used for achieving elite status levels. Milestone Rewards must be earned in entirety each calendar year.
Confirmable Suite Upgrade will be reinstated if the stay is cancelled in advance of the hotel’s cancellation policy timeframe. The original validity dates will apply.
No.
Yes.
(This content originally appeared on The Frequent Miler and has been posted with permission.)
