Complete Guide to IHG One Rewards Program

IHG One Rewards Guide

Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) One Rewards is the rewards program of IHG Hotels. In the U.S., IHG is made up of mostly limited services hotels, but internationally, particularly in Asia, there are some amazing Intercontinental Hotels. Worldwide, there is 5,400 hotels, making it the third largest hotel chain in the world, with the majority of hotels located in the U.S. Let’s take a look at IHG One Rewards to see the positives and negatives in this program, as well as how to maximize value when earning or redeeming points, as well as how to earn elite status.

IHG One Rewards Guide – About IHG Hotels

There are 19 brands, none of which have the word Intercontinental except the “vanilla” InterContinental brand:

• Six Senses
• Regent
• InterContinental Hotels
• Vignette Collection
• Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
• Hotel Indigo
• Voco
• Hualuxe
• EVEN Hotels
• Crowne Plaza
• Holiday Inn Express
• Holiday Inn
• Garner
• Avid
• Atwell Suites
• Staybridge Suites
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations
• Candlewood Suites
• Iberostar Beachfront Resorts (a partnership)

Within the US, it is primarily Holiday Inn properties, so this means that this isn’t the best program for you if you are looking for full service hotels in the U.S. That said, the Intercontinental properties abroad are very good.

IHG One Rewards Guide – How to Earn IHG Points

Earning Points on Hotel Stays

Unlike Accor, for example, you earn 10 points per stay at all properties, except for stays at Staybridge and Candlewood Suites. But, if you are elite member in the program, you earn a 20% bonus as a Silver, 40% as a Gold, 60% as a Platinum, 100% as a Diamond Elite.

One of the most well known IHG properties is the Intercontinental Da Nang Sun Peninsula Resort. Let’s say you were visiting this property during a Southeast Asia trip. The member rate for 2 weekend nights in a random week in October is $479 per night. This would mean that you would 4,790 points as a member, 5748 as a Silver member, 6706 as a Gold member, 7664 as a Platinum member, and 9580 points if you were a Diamond member.

IHG Credit Cards

IHG has 3 credit cards. They have the IHG One Rewards Premier Card, the IHG One Rewards Traveler Card, as well as the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Card. The IHG Premier Personal and Business cards are both $99, and the IHG Traveler Card has no annual fee. The personal and business cards are both very similar, and offer the same perks:

The IHG Rewards Premier Card has the following:

• 140,000 points after spending $3,000 within 3 months.
• Up to 26x points at IHG properties
• 5x points on travel, gas stations, and dining.
• A 4th night free on points stays.
• A 40,000 point free night certificate.
• IHG Platinum Status when you hold the card.

The IHG Rewards Premier Business Card has the following perks:

• 140,000 IHG points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of opening the card.
• Up to 26x points at IHG properties.
• Earn 5x points on travel and dining.
• Earn 5x points on social media, search engine advertising, and office supply stores.

The IHG Rewards Traveler Credit Card offers:

• An 80,000 point signup bonus after spending $2,000 within 3 months.
• Up to 17x points at IHG properties.
• Earn 3x total points on dining, utilities, select streaming services, and at gas stations, and 2x points on all other purchases.
• Earn IHG Gold Status when you have the card.
• Earn the 4th night free on reward stays.

Overall, the first card is a solid no annual fee card, but the $99 annual fee cards are very compelling. The Platinum status can be helpful, and the 40,000 point free night certificate can more than justify the card.

IHG One Rewards Guide – Transfer Partners

IHG is a transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards, and the transfer ratio is 1:1. I would note that this is the same rate as World of Hyatt. So overall, I’d highly discourage Chase to IHG transfers in almost all circumstances unless you needed to transfer 1 or 2,000 points. In my opinion, it is much better to buy points instead, which is something I’ll talk about later on. They are also a transfer partner of Bilt Rewards, but that isn’t a good deal either.

Earn with Car Rentals

IHG has a partnership with Hertz. You can get 35% off base rates for car rentals, and you will also get 1,500 points on one day car rentals, and 500 points for each additional day. I think this is a good offer if you already have plans to rent a car with Hertz, but this is otherwise a midrange promotion.

Earn with Travel Partners

Through the IHG Trip Extras site, it is possible to earn 1,000 points when you book activities. Earning 1,000 points is not great at only about $5, but it is better than nothing.

Furthermore, there is also an IHG Rewards Dining Program. You can earn 8 points per $1 at select restaurants, and there is also a 2,000 point signup bonus. This is done by linking your credit card and you earn points when you dine at various restaurants. Other airlines such as Delta, American, and Alaska also offer this, but the points are worth more, so this isn’t the best of dining programs.

Buying IHG Points

It is also possible to buy IHG points. There is various sales available, and it is sometimes possible to buy 100% more points. This is an amazing deal, and it makes it possible to buy them for 0.5 cents each. It is very easy to get more than that in value, so before you book an IHG stay, I’d recommend checking the current points sale as well as the cents per point you get on that hotel stay.

IHG One Rewards Guide – Points Expirations

IHG points expire a year after your last account activity. So it is important to make sure that your points don’t expire. If you need to keep your points active, the best way to do that is to buy 1,000 points. IHG discontinued the option to earn points with surveys, so this is the closest option to free while also preventing points from expiring.

Can You Combine or Share Points?

Yes, it is possible to transfer points to friends and family. But, the member authorizing the transfer has to pay $5 per 1,000 points transferred. IHG has 100% points bonus sales 3 times a year, so this means it is probably better to buy points for someone else.

IHG One Rewards Guide – Redeeming IHG One Rewards Points

Airline Transfer Partners

It is possible to transfer IHG points to the following airlines:

• Aeromexico
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air France KLM
• Air Miles
• Air New Zealand
• TAP Air Portugal
• Alaska Airlines
• Saudia Airlines
• ANA
• American Airlines
• Cathay Pacific
• Asiana Airlines
• Avianca
• British Airways
• China Airlines
• China Eastern
• China Southern
• Delta
• Emirates
• Etihad Airways
• EVA Air
• Finnair
• Gulf Air
• Hainan Airlines
• Iberia
• Intermiles
• ITA Airways
• Japan Airlines
• JetBlue
• Korean Air
• Lufthansa
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• Thai Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic Airways
• Virgin Australia

Overall, although there are some great airline programs, the program transfer ratios are pretty terrible. An example of this would be the JetBlue TrueBlue program. 10,000 IHG points turns into 2,000 points, and then it would also take about 6 weeks for the transfer to take place. You also have to call to initiate the transfer. Because of the long transfer time, there is pretty much no reason to transfer points to IHG.

Redeeming for Hotel Stays

The best value for IHG points is using them for points stays. During points sales, it is possible to buy points for 0.5 cents each, and there was a couple of days throughout last year where the points prices were up to half off. This has only happened twice, but it is a great example of how useful IHG points can be.

Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, it is possible to buy points with a 100% bonus. But, in many cases, it can be cheaper to buy points than it is to pay a cash rate. Thus, before booking a cash stay, I highly recommend checking the cash price as well. I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc, and for 3 of the 4 nights, I bought points for my stay. If I had a guess, it saved me about $75, and best of all, you don’t have to pay taxes on the points purchase nor the hotel stay.

IHG One Rewards Status Benefits

IHG has revamped their program in the past year and a half, which has made it a very compelling alternative to Hilton, Hyatt, or Marriott. Listed below is the breakdown for the benefits of each elite tier.

Member

Overall, it is not too surprising that there are not a lot of benefits to Member status. The only benefits listed are being able to earn points for award nights, no blackout dates for award nights, and reward nights count toward elite status, as well as member rates/promotions, and free internet. You also get 2PM late check out, but I assume that would be hard to get as a base member.

Silver

Silver status can be earned by either staying 10 nights or by holding the IHG One Traveler Credit Card. The only noteworthy benefit is that points don’t expire as long as you hold elite status. You also earn 20% more points than the normal 10 points per dollar (or 5 in the case of Candlewood and Staybridge Suites).

Gold

Gold status can be earned through 20 elite qualifying nights, 40,000 qualifying points, or by spending $20,000 a year on the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card. The only differences from Gold is that your nights can rollover from the previous year, and that you can earn 40% points than a member would.

Platinum

Platinum status can be earned through either staying 40 nights, earning 60,000 elite qualifying points, or by holding the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. Benefits of Platinum status include award night promotional discounts, as well as Guaranteed Room availability 72 or more hours before check-in, a welcome amenity, a one category room upgrade upon availability, as well as early check in upon availability. If you want to obtain Platinum status, I don’t see much of a reason to earn it through nights or spend, as it is just as easy enough to earn the status with a $99 credit card.

Diamond

Last but not least there is Diamond status. It can be earned by staying 70 elite qualifying nights, earning 120,000 elite qualifying nights, or by spending $40,000 on the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. This status comes with dedicated support, and best of all, free breakfast.

IHG One Rewards Guide – Milestone Rewards

IHG has recently launched Milestone Rewards, which allows you to select choices every time you reach X amount of nights. I am copying the matrix from the IHG website, and it is available here:

Based on the matrix, I would rank the benefits as the following:

1. Annual Lounge Membership
2. Confirmable Suite Upgrade
3. $20 Food and Beverage Credit
4. Bonus Points

These are all quite useful, but particularly in Southeast Asia, the Annual Lounge membership can be excellent. The only other way to earn club lounge access is through InterContinental Royal Ambassador, which is something that I will talk about later.

The confirmable suite upgrades can definitely be useful, but they are not as good as Hyatt as they can only be applied 14 days out. The $20 food and beverage credit is also useful, but I’ve heard about issues with using them at some properties. If you don’t have uses for the other 3 options, only then would I recommend choosing points.

IHG One Rewards Guide – IHG Ambassador Program

IHG also has the Intercontinental Ambassador program, which has some solid benefits. For $200 a year, or 40,000 points, you can get the following:

• Platinum Elite Status with IHG Rewards
• A Guaranteed One Category Upgrade at Check-In
• Complimentary Premium Internet
• A $20 Restaurant Credit
• Complimentary Mineral Water
• Guaranteed 4PM Late Checkout
• A Complimentary Weekend Night

This is overall a great program, and I think the weekend night can be particularly good, but I wish it was also possible to use them during the week. Intercontinental hotels are usually about $200 a night, so for your second night it is possible to get more value than what you paid for the program.

Previously, if you had IHG Diamond Status, it was possible to maintain it for as long as you had Ambassador status. But, it seems like that no longer works.

IHG Ambassador Program Quirks

Although IHG Ambassador is a solid program, I will say there are a couple of odd quirks with the program, with the main thing being the fact that the food and beverage credit is not equal to $20 per stay. The IHG Terms state the food and credit value outside of the U.S.:

United States of America USD20, Euro currency member states , United Kingdom , Thailand THB600, Australia , Japan JPY2000, Saudi Arabia SAR70, Malaysia MYR50, Indonesia IDR180,000, Vietnam VND280,000 (excluding Danang which is VND460,000), Hong Kong HKD135, Korea KRW20,000.

Overall, I see this as a potential drawback with the program, as the equivalent currency amount clearly has not been updated in a number of years, particularly in Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Japan to some extent. So if possible, it is better to stay at Intercontinental hotels in countries not listed, such as Canada, Singapore, or the United Arab Emirates.

Intercontinental Royal Ambassador

In addition to Ambassador status, IHG also has Royal Ambassador status. This is an invite only status that comes with some very noteworthy and compelling perks. This status comes with the following:

• A Guaranteed Two Room Category Upgrade
• A 70,000 Point Free Night Certificate
• Guaranteed 10AM Early Check In and 4PM Late Checkout
• Intercontinental Club Lounge Access where available, and breakfast for two if it is not available.
• A Complimentary Weekend Night at Intercontinental properties
• IHG Diamond Status
• $50 per night, and up to $200 per stay for the minibar.
• Complimentary Premium Internet
• Choice of a sweet, savory, or fruit snack on the day of arrival
• A 24 hour room guarantee
• Waived Resort Fees
• Second Person Stays Free
• Invitation to Kimpton Inner Circle

As I mentioned above, these perks are amazing. The ones that stick out to me the most is the $50 minibar credit, access to Intercontinental Club Lounge access, and the early check in and late check out benefit. That said, the catch is that this status is quite hard to earn. It takes between $10 to $12,000 per year to earn, and even that doesn’t guarantee you the status.

IHG Business Rewards

IHG Business Rewards is a program that is intended for business people that allows you to earn extra IHG points if you are booking business travel. This program allows you to earn 3x points when booking meetings, weddings, and rooms. But, until December 31st, you can earn double points, meaning you would earn 6x points. I’m not sure how much enforcement there is for the Business Rewards program, so I would recommend signing up whether or not you are a business order.

Promotions

Overall, I think IHG has some okay promotions. At the time of writing, the current promotion is earning 2,000 points every 2 nights. That is only about $10 for 2 nights, so it isn’t anything great. However, this past summer, the promotion was 2,000 points for 2 nights, or 10,000 for 4. That’s a pretty solid number, and it would get you about $50 extra across 4 nights. It’s not great, but it could be potentially good.

IHG One Rewards Guide – Bottom Line

The IHG Rewards program isn’t for everyone, but it is definitely a great option if you are looking for an alternative to Hilton, Marriott, or Hyatt. Furthermore, the refresh that the program has gone through in the past year makes it all the more compelling. If there are not any good ways to rack up Hyatt elite nights next year, then it will make the program even more popular. Plus, although the sweet spots are not as good as Hyatt, but they are quite good for a dynamic program.

What are your thoughts on the IHG One Rewards Program? Do you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments below!