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With more than 6,900 properties worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group is the fourth-largest hospitality company, with brands ranging from luxury Six Senses resorts to roadside Holiday Inn Express locations.
The loyalty program, IHG One Rewards, may not provide the most valuable redemptions when compared to other hotel programs, but there's still a lot of opportunity for solid value. Typically, AwardWallet users redeem IHG points for 1.44¢ each, though it’s possible to get significantly more value with the right redemption.
Earning IHG One Rewards points is relatively easy, especially if you stay with IHG often, hold one of its co-branded credit cards, or take advantage of promotions. Here’s how many points you can earn on paid stays and how to boost your return.
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Earning IHG Points on Paid Hotel Stays
IHG One Rewards members earn 10 points for every dollar spent on qualifying stays at most IHG properties. There are some notable exceptions, however:
- Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites: Members earn 5 points for every dollar spent
- IHG Army Hotels: Members earn 3 points per $1 spent
Qualifying stays are those stays booked directly through IHG. Stays reserved via third-party platforms like Expedia or Hotels.com won't qualify for points.
With IHG Rewards elite status, you can earn even more points on stays:
- Silver Elite: 20% more points (12X earnings)
- Gold Elite: 40% more points (14X)
- Platinum Elite: 60% more points (16X)
- Diamond Elite: 100% more points (20X)
Earning on Reward Nights and Points & Cash Stays
With Points & Cash bookings, the cash portion is used to purchase additional points toward a reward night, so you won’t earn points on the room rate. However, you can still earn points on eligible charges during your stay.
Eligible charges can include food and drinks, laundry, and other purchases billed to your room. However, you won’t earn points on taxes, service charges, gratuities, or purchases not charged to the room.
Related: Do IHG One Rewards Points Expire?
Can You Earn IHG Points on Multiple Rooms?
You can really rack up the points when booking more than one room for a group trip. That’s because IHG allows you to earn points on each room you book, up to nine rooms per stay. You don’t even need to pay for all of the rooms. Just ensure the same member's number is associated with each room.
Related: How To Use the IHG Calendar Search To Find the Best Award and Cash Rates
How IHG Co-Branded Cards Enhance Your Earnings on Stays
IHG has three co-branded credit cards, all available through Chase. Each cards can significantly boost your earnings on stays and unlock valuable perks like the fourth night free benefit on award bookings.
These are the current options available:
- IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
- 5X points for every $1 spent at IHG properties
- Fourth night free benefit on award stays
- Automatic Silver Elite status (extra 2X on paid stays)
- $0 annual fee
- IHG One Rewards Traveler Card review
- IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
- Additional 10X points per $1 spent at IHG properties
- Fourth night free benefit on award stays
- Automatic Platinum Elite status (extra 6X earned on your stays)
- Anniversary free night (good for award nights valued at up to 40,000 points)
- $99 Annual fee
- IHG One Rewards Premier Card review
- IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
- 10X points for every $1 spent at IHG properties
- Fourth night free benefit on award stays
- Automatic Platinum Elite status
- Anniversary free night (good for award nights valued at up to 40,000 points)
- $99 annual fee
- IHG Business Card review
- Earn up to 17X points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining, utilities, select streaming services, and at gas stations
- 2X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning for spending at IHG hotels breaks down as follows:
- Earn 5X points for being a IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Cardmember
- Earn up to 2X points from IHG® with Silver Elite Status, a benefit of this Card
- Earn up to 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)
$99Rates & Fees
- Earn up to 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 up to 6X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of having this card
- Earn up to 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG® One Rewards member (Being a cardholder is not required to earn this bonus for participating in the IHG® loyalty program)
$99Rates & Fees
- Earn up to 26X total points per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 5X points per $1 spent on travel, dining, social media search engine advertising, and at office supply stores and gas stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning for spending at IHG hotels breaks down as follows:
- Earn 10X points for charging your stay to your IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
- Earn up to 6X bonus points for having IHG®Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of having this card
- Earn up to 10X base points for being an IHG® One Rewards Member (Being a cardholder is not required to earn this bonus for participating in the IHG® loyalty program)
Related: Which IHG One Rewards Credit Card Is Right for You?
Stacking one of these cards with your IHG One Rewards earning rate can further increase your return on a single stay. For example, a IHG One Rewards Premier Card cardholder could combine the 10x base rate, a 6X Platinum Elite bonus, and 10X from the credit card for a total of 26X on hotel spending. That means a $200 stay would earn 5,200 points.
Related: 10 Reasons Six Senses Laamu Is (Still) My Favorite Resort in the World
Boost Your Stay Earnings With IHG Promos
IHG frequently offers promotions for bonus points on stays. Some of these are targeted, but others are available to all members. Keep these details in mind:
- Most promotions require registration before eligible stays.
- Double points promos apply only to base earnings, not elite status or credit card bonuses.
Buying IHG Points
It's also possible to buy IHG points to boost your balance. Buying points typically isn't worth it, but there are two situations in which it can make sense.
The first is if you're a few points short of a valuable redemption and need to top off your account. The second is when you can buy points (such as during a promotion) at a lower price than what you'll get when redeeming the points. Always do the math before pulling out your wallet.
Last Thanksgiving break, I was able to purchase enough points on a BOGO promotion for a four-night stay at Kimpton Seafire at a fraction of the cash price. By combining the points promo with the fourth night free, I was able to stay at this renowned resort for hundreds instead of thousands of dollars.
Bottom Line
With a huge global footprint and a large portfolio of hotel brands, IHG provides many opportunities for great reward redemptions. The program's points may not be as valuable as some other hotel brands, but luckily, it's pretty easy to earn IHG points in large numbers. With just a few stays, you could easily earn enough points for a reward night.
Looking for more IHG content? Check out the following:
- The Top 13 IHG Hotels Redemptions for Luxury Stays
- You Can Now Redeem IHG One Rewards Points for Iberostar Resort Stays
- Get up to 4X Points on Your IHG One Rewards Account Anniversary
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card (Rates & Fees), IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
