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Did you know that you can get an IHG free night each year just for having a credit card with an $99 annual fee? That's right, every year you renew your IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, you’ll get an IHG anniversary free night.
This perk is a perfect example of how a single benefit can make it easy to justify holding a card for the long term. Even if IHG isn't your go-to hotel chain for most stays, it shouldn't be hard to find one night each year where an IHG hotel fits in nicely with your plans.
It's hard to find a decent hotel anywhere these days that costs less than $99 per night, so you can be pretty confident you'll come out ahead when you redeem. However, the IHG Award Night Certificate comes with some restrictions and limitations. So, let's go through everything you need to know to earn and use one for an IHG free night.
Page Contents
Which Cards Offer an IHG Anniversary Night?
Two IHG Rewards credit cards offer cardholders an annual Reward Night: the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and the IHG® Rewards Select Credit Card.
Both cards come with a Reward Night certificate after each account anniversary, starting 12 months after you open your account. However, only the IHG One Rewards Premier Card is still available to new cardholders.
Right now, the IHG One Rewards Premier Card is running a current offer of 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Here's our full review of this IHG credit card.
- Earn 140,000 Bonus Points
- Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a reward night when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay.
- Earn up to 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts
- Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier card member
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
- IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®
- Member FDIC
- Earn 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 5X points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants
- 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning for spending at IHG hotels breaks down as follows:
- Earn 10X points for being a IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card member
- Earn 6X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of having this card
- Earn 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG® Rewards Club Member (Being a cardholder is not required to earn this bonus for participating in the IHG® loyalty program)
IHG Free Night Limitations
The Award Night Certificate can be used with both cards for an IHG free night at properties costing 40,000 points or less. Before IHG's transition to dynamic award pricing in May 2020, that meant there was a list of properties where you couldn't use an Anniversary Night. However, dynamic award pricing has complicated that—for better or worse.
Some nights at properties that formerly cost 70,000 points per night have been discounted to 40,000 points. For example, the incredible InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort was recently bookable with an Award Night Certificate:
However, when travel starts to return to normal, the dark side of dynamic pricing is likely to kick in. Some properties that previously cost 40,000 points or less may no longer be available with an Award Night Certificate. That makes it harder for travelers to plan how to use their IHG Anniversary Night.
Award Night Certificate Validity
The other important limitation to keep in mind is the expiration date. Per the card's terms and conditions, the IHG Anniversary Night “must be redeemed, and stay must be completed, within 12 months from date of issue.”
In practice, IHG hasn't enforced the terms this way. Instead, IHG has allowed cardholders to book a stay by the expiration date for any future travel date. However, booking past the expiration date could put your IHG free night at risk. If you cancel the reservation after the expiration date, the Award Night Certificate will expire unused.
If the pandemic put your travel plans on hold, the good news is that IHG has extended the validity of this valuable benefit. Any credit card Award Night Certificates that expire after March 1, 2020 can be used through December 31, 2020. Also, Award Night Certificates issued in 2020 will have an 18-month validity period.
How to Redeem an IHG Anniversary Free Night
When you're ready to book your IHG Anniversary Night, you're going to want to start by logging into this page.
If you've had the IHG Select Card for a while, make sure to check the Terms & Conditions carefully. Some cardholders may still have a certificate that works for an IHG free night at any property. Previously, Award Night Certificates weren't limited to properties costing less than 40,000 points per night; if you have one of those, it's not clear that the certificate is uncapped until you look in the details.
Click the “Book Night” button to redeem your Anniversary Free Night. This will load a search page set-up to check IHG anniversary free night availability. Enter your destination and dates to search to see if there's availability:
If there's no availability for the date you selected, click the “view available dates” link. This will open a calendar that will show you which dates are available. If the property shows a cash price instead of “FREE”, it's because the property is charging more than 40,000 points for that night.
Best Hotels to Spend an IHG Anniversary Free Night
Need some inspiration about where to go? We have an entire article dedicated to just this topic. However, I also want to share some of my favorite IHG properties that currently cost 40,000 points or less:
InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa
Even before IHG's switch to dynamic pricing, the InterContinental Fiji Resort was available using an Award Night Certificate. And it remains an excellent place to spend an IHG free night.
I spent a weekend at this property in June 2019, and it was just as lovely as you might expect from an InterContinental Resort in Fiji. I signed up for InterContinental Ambassador to get a free weekend night and booked a Pool View to guarantee an upgrade to a Lagoon View room. But, thanks to my IHG Rewards elite status, I was upgraded to a Beachfront View.
Using an IHG Anniversary Night, you can only book into a Garden View room. However, hopefully, the Platinum Elite status that comes with both the IHG One Rewards Premier Card and the IHG® Rewards Select Credit Card will help you score a room upgrade as well. If not, the “base” room is still spectacular.
InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort
Another excellent option for using your Award Night Certificate at an InterContinental resort can be found on the island of Phu Quoc in Vietnam. It's a long journey for U.S.-based travelers, but it's a great option for those traveling through Southeast Asia.
I visited this spectacular property in February 2019 when it was on the PointBreaks list for just 15,000 points per night. From a wide range of resort activities to a unique overwater spa, there was plenty to do without having to leave the property.
Kimpton Hotels in New York City
If you're looking to keep your travels domestic during the pandemic, how about visiting New York City? Currently, some nights at the sleek Kimpton Muse Hotel and Kimpton Hotel Eventi are available using an IHG Anniversary Night:
If you've never stayed at a Kimpton, you might be surprised that this brand shares the same corporate parent as Holiday Inn. This small, boutique brand—with just 73 hotels—focuses on design and service. And these centrally-located hotels in the heart of NYC are a great base from which to explore the city.
Escape to Zion National Park
I have focused on upscale brands so far, but sometimes value is more about getting a room where you want it. If you want to take a road trip to a national park, I highly recommend Zion National Park. The problem is affordable lodging, especially during peak season, can be hard to find.
There's a well-rated Holiday Inn Express just outside of Zion National Park. This summer, a night generally costs around $200 after taxes or around 40,000 points per night. While that's a steep points price to pay for a Holiday Inn Express, you can get a night at this hotel for free with an Award Night Certificate:
Track Your IHG Anniversary Night with AwardWallet
An IHG anniversary free night isn't something you want to forget about. Thankfully AwardWallet has your back. Add your IHG Rewards account to AwardWallet, and you'll get helpful reminder emails when the expiration date of your IHG Anniversary Night Certificate nears.
You can also keep tabs on your IHG Anniversary Nights in your AwardWallet Account List. As you can see, Katie and I need to utilize our certificates:
Final Thoughts
Many travelers can easily get more value from an Award Night Certificate than the $99 annual fee (which isn't waived for the first year) on the IHG One Rewards Premier Card. And that's just one of the credit card's benefits! You'll also get IHG Platinum Elite status and a fourth night free on award stays of 4+ nights.
To maximize your IHG Anniversary Night, make sure to search a range of dates at lucrative properties to find when the award price might fall under 40,000 points. However, don't let the goal of maximizing this certificate keep you from using it where you can get some value. An IHG anniversary free night is far better than an expired Award Night Certificate—even if you don't find the perfect redemption.
And don't forget to connect your IHG Rewards account to AwardWallet. That way, you'll be sure to get reminders if you still have an unused certificate and the expiration date is coming up.
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A very good credit card, but unfortunately I cannot apply for this card in my country. Fortunately, I can accumulate IHG points directly with other IHG co-branded cards.
May have to “burn” my free night cert this year at a local Holiday Inn. We’re not going anywhere until COVID-19 is under control. Probably will just use the cert. to get a room for a few hours. Lie on top of the sheets fully clothed, and binge watch something on TV. Then go home and disinfect and shower. Can’t stomach the idea of just letting it expire. 2020 is a throw-away year as far as i’m concerned.
I used my free night last year from my legacy IHG card to stay at the Kimpton in San Diego. It was lovely. I’m keeping that card and recently got the IHG traveler card with no annual fee. That gives me the 4th night free benefit from a sock drawer card (after I earn the bonus of course). I just couldn’t justify the Premier card since some years I do have to struggle to use my one free night. A second one might go to waste.
In the past, I’ve used my two annual award nights plus fourth night free, plus points to four-day weekends to my parents. This year – even with the deadline to use them extended until December 31, 2020- I’m hard put to figure out how to use them, as I really don’t feel safe staying in hotels for the rest of this year.
We stayed at Kimpton Monaco in Washington DC using the free night in 2018. It was great.
Great, I’m planning a trip to Fiji and now I know where I can spend at least one night at. Hopefully in a few months.
Great article – Thanks for all the information, a really useful read.
This is a good reminder that some proprieties that were out of reach with the certificate are now possibilities thanks to dynamic pricing.
Yes, this was the nugget from the article that I will take forward with me. Will I be comfortable enough to travel before demand fully returns and dynamic pricing pushes those properties back beyond reach? Perhaps.
A few year back we’ve also made use of the free night at the HIE outside Grand Canyons that were asking $400 per night.
Wow! That might be a record for a HIE! Excellent use of the certificate 🙂
I have had the card for a couple years and was so frustrated – because I could never figure out how to use the free night. I lost mine last year. I could only get to where you could use points but never the free night certificate. I have bookmarked the post so I can use the link to use my night this year and not lose it like last year.
Good lay out and presentation!!! Very well understandable… I think I may be adding the rewards premier card to my deck here soon!!!
cheers
The 40K points cap on the free night certs make the IHG credit cards pretty much useless, IMHO.
The cap should be at least 50K or so.
Nice, thanks for sharing. Tempted to wait until a trip to Fiji can happen but would still be worth it for a domestic trip too.
Thank you for highlighting the very complicated ins and outs.
Does the certificate cover any “resort” fees?
When I checked with IHG about this in April 2020, an IHG spokesperson confirmed that *amenity fees* “will not be incurred during Reward Night stays.” However, I’m not sure if resort fees might be charged.
This is a good comprehensive summary of what one needs to do to redeem an anniversary free night. It used to be one can use it without restrictions,
Its very interesting
On my list after travel opens up.
I evidently wasn’t paying attention enough and missed the Platinum Elite status benefit of this card. Along with a free night, it’s a no-brainer.
Hopefully, we will be able to actually travel soon son we can use the certificate in exotic locales.
I certainly miss the days when this was a free night at any hotel in the system!
The InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa seems like an excellent option to enjoy an award night when the pandemic ends.
We’ve enjoyed some very good redemptions in the past . Not sure if they will be as generous in the future.
Excellent information. The benefit of the free night at IHG is only for the account holder, or can additional ones be accessed?
Only for the account holder. Authorized users don’t get a free night certificate as well.
Tkank you for the information!! It was very useful
Was hoping the free night could be used at more hotels. they should allow resorts style hotels so that travel can pick up as well