The Intercontinental Hotels Group has a loyalty program. Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites are two brands that are included in the program, along with mid-tier properties like Holiday Inn and Six Senses. The program of IHG One rewards has been completely changed in the year 2022. There are many opportunities to earn and burn with a large worldwide footprint and a wide range of brands to choose from. This post is a complete guide to the loyalty program.
IHG One Rewards overview
Most hotel rewards programs share the same characteristics.
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.
Some of the characteristics that set it apart are:
IHG no longer has an award chart. The number of points necessary 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 $200 per year.
Elite members will soon have access to reward night discounts, which is a unique benefit for IHG One Rewards.
There are two 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 award chart
The award chart is no longer held by IHG. Some Six Senses and Mr. and Mrs Smith properties cost in excess of 150K points per night.
Things to know about IHG awards:
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.
Sales on Points + Cash rates can be good opportunities to buy points. IHG sometimes runs a sale on the cash portion of Points + Cash rates and when they do we sometimes see the cash portion buy points at half a cent per point or less.
Confirmed Suite Upgrades (a perk added with the IHG One Rewards revamp in 2022) can not yet be applied to award stays.
New IHG One Rewards benefits are scheduled to begin in June 2022. This means perks like free breakfast for Diamond members have not yet officially launched.
4th Night Free Awards
If you book a 4-night stay at a hotel that costs 25,000 points per night, you will get 4th night for free.
When the 4th night is particularly expensive, this perk can be used to even greater value. When the 4th night is more expensive, the 4th night is free for everyone on an award stay. If New Year's Eve is a high-demand night, this could result in a substantial savings. For more on this, see: New I hg Sweet Spot: Dynamic Pricing + 4th Night Free For Huge Savings.
IHG One Rewards Elite status
Intercontinental Austin
There are 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: $200 per year
Intercontinental Royal Ambassador: By invitation only.
Kimpton Inner Circle: By invitation only
IHG One Rewards Elite status things to know
Elite nights are earned with either cash or award stays. As a IHG Premier / Premier Business / Traveler credit card holder, when booking a three 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.
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.
Newly-enhanced on-property benefits:
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 (Note: this benefit begins sometime in June 2022). IHG excludes limited-service brands that already offer breakfast as well as Candlewood Suites, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau), and Mr. and Mrs. Smith properties.
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:
If you book multiple rooms for the same dates, you’ll earn elite night credits for only one room. That said, you will earn points on up to nine rooms. This can make IHG a great choice if you regularly plan travel for a group.
Milestone Rewards
IHG's Milestone rewards are similar to Hyatt's, with members earning them every 10 nights for up to 100 nights.
What nights are qualified? elite nights are often referred to as qualified nights. You can earn elite status by acquiring a number of qualified elite nights each year. IHG requires 20 elite nights within a year to earn Gold status. There are 20 elite nights when IHG members earn their milestone rewards. Free nights booked with points or certificates as well as paid nights booked directly through IHG are included in qualified nights.
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. 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
Suite upgrades can be confirmed up to 14 days in advance of your stay, which means that if you book now for a stay 10 months in the future, you can upgrade to a base level suite.
Additional information:
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.
Paid stays only (at first): Initially, suite upgrades will only be applicable to paid stays, but IHG tells us that their intent is to allow award stays in the future.
A comparison chart.
IHG
Marriott
Hyatt
# Nights Upgradeable
5
5*
7
Earliest upgrade can be confirmed
14 days in advance
5 days in advance
At booking
Upgrade points stays?
Not yet
Yes
Yes
Upgrade free night certificate stay?
Not yet
Yes
No
Each year Marriott offers 5 1-night Suite Night Awards as a Choice Benefit at 50 elite nights and 75 elite nights.
The lounge membership will be valid for the rest of the year if the member chooses the annual reward option.
Mr and Mrs Smith properties are not included in the Annual Lounge Membership.
Food & Beverage Rewards
Each Food & beverage reward is worth $20 in food and beverage credit.
Benefit Exceptions
There are exceptions to the benefits of breakfast, lounge, and suite upgrade.
Free Breakfast Exceptions
Diamond Elite members will have the option of a free hot breakfast for up to two guests at check-in.
Limited-service brands that already offer breakfast
Candlewood Suites
Holiday Inn Club Vacations
InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith properties
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 one additional guest.
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)
Mr & Mrs Smith properties
IHG properties with a restricted Club Lounge due to renovations, closures, or other facility updates.
Confirmable Suite Upgrade Exceptions
The suites can be confirmed at all IHG properties.
avid hotels
Atwell Suites
IHG Army Hotels
Holiday Inn Club Vacations
Six Senses Resorts & Spas
InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau)
Mr & Mrs Smith properties
Intercontinental Ambassador Status
If you use the free weekend night certificate, the Ambassador program can be worth it.
The InterContinental Ambassador elite status program has two levels: InterContinental Ambassador and Royal Ambassador.
Benefits are available instantly upon joining InterContinental Ambassador online.
Ambassador Status Benefits
InterContinental Ambassador elite status benefits
InterContinental Ambassador now offers benefits across all of its brands.
IHG Platinum status: Great for those who don’t have an IHG credit card which offers this automatically.
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. TIP: Use this link to check for free weekend night prices and availability before joining the Ambassador program (h/t Loyalty Lobby)
Guaranteed room upgrade: Guaranteed one category room upgrade on paid stays. 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: Can be used at most InterContinental hotel restaurants, bars and minibars. Not applicable to in-room dining (weird).
Complimentary mineral water
Complimentary internet service
In greater China only:
Complimentary breakfast for one, each night you stay (Valid in Mainland China only)
15% discount at restaurants and bars
Welcome fruit platter for Platinum & Spire Elite members
RMB120 credit for restaurants and bars for Spire Elite members only
Royal Ambassador elite status benefits
All of the benefits listed above are offered by the Royal Ambassador.
Guaranteed two category room upgrade
Complimentary Club InterContinental lounge access (or free full breakfast for two)
Free Night at an IHG Hotel: Good for any hotel that costs up to 70,000 points per night
Guaranteed Early check-in of 10 a.m. on day of arrival
Minibar credit of $50 per night, up to $200 per stay
In-room welcome amenity choice of fruit, sweet or savory snack on day of arrival
Waived Amenity or Destination fees
Single-room rate for double occupancy
Guaranteed room availability for member’s room with 24-hour advance reservation
Ambassador Benefit Guarantees
If Ambassador benefits are not offered during your stay, IHG will back them up with cash, credits, or points.
Kimpton's most loyal guests are called the Kimpton Inner Circle. The benefits of this status can be great for those selected.
Inner Circle Amenity (A personalized treat on arrival. Anecdotal reports indicate that this is usually pretty nice and often fits preferences well.)
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-out
Waived amenity fee: this includes amenity/destination fees, but does not waive resort fees
IHG Diamond Elite Status
How to get Kimpton Inner Circle status
Kimpton Inner Circle status requires a member to earn Diamond Elite status and stay at Kimpton hotels often in order to be invited, but this isn't defined. January is when invitations are sent out by email.
Elite perks: What and where?
Increased earnings on paid stays are one of the main elite status perks of the IHG One rewards program.
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)
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 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® Rewards Club Customer Care Centre directly and guaranteeing the reservation with a valid credit card, each Platinum Elite or Spire 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 Spire Elite Guarantees may not be dishonored for any reason.” Frequent Miler’s explanation: If you want to stay at a particular IHG hotel, but it is sold out for your desired stay, they’ll let you book the stay anyway, but at standard rack rates. While it says that this type of reservation can not be dishonored, terms do not indicate any compensation if it is not met.
Shortcuts to elite status
Those who have an IHG rewards club card with a $49 annual fee get automatic IHG Platinum Elite status.
Diamond status with $40,000 spend in a year can be reached with one additional purchase.
In some cases, point transfers to IHG are also elite-qualifying. The points from Chase Ultimate rewards to IHG count as elite-qualifying points. It is possible for a member to transfer all or part of the 120,000 points needed for Diamond Elite status. This would not be a good idea since IHG One rewards points are worth less than Chase Ultimate rewards points. It is possible to make a small transfer to meet the next elite status tier.
Your status will be good for the rest of this year, all of the next, and through February of the year after that, if you earn elite status this year.
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 Rewards Club Premier credit card, you are just as far from Diamond Elite status as someone with no status at all — you’ll still need either 70 nights, 120K elite-qualifying points, or $40K 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
Earnings points from stays
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
Spire
20x
10x
The points earned per dollar at Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites are shown in the next column.
Points are not earned with online travel agency bookings.
You can earn points on up to nine rooms at the same time.
You can transfer points without limits for a fee of $5 per 1,000 points. It's a terrible deal at a cost of 0.5c per point. If you want to transfer points to another account, you should wait for a sale and buy points instead of paying to do so.
You can transfer IHG points to another member. I am not positive that the transfer is instant, but for half a cent per point it is better.
How to keep points alive
Points are available as long as you earn or use them at least once a year.
Current IHG One Rewards elite members, who hold the IHG rewards premier credit cards, do not have points expire.
Point transfers to airline miles
At a poor rate of 10,000 I hg points to 2,000 airline miles, I hg rewards club points can be transferred to more than 30 different airline loyalty programs. Unless you're topping off an airline account for a valuable redemption and/or draining IHG points before the end, it's a poor deal.
This can not be done online and takes a few weeks. To make a transfer, you need to call IHG One rewards.
Choice benefits
The choice benefits used to be a benefit of the old IHG rewards club program, but they have been removed from the new one rewards program.
Below you will find information about each credit card.
Card Offer and Details
Chase IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
Mastercard World Elite is the card type.
The earning rate is 10X IHG, 5X travel, gas stations, restaurants and dining, social media and search engine advertising, office supply stores, and 3X on all other purchases.
10K bonus points, $100 statement credit, and one additional purchase are included in the big spend bonus.
There is an annual free night e-certificate good at IHG properties up to 40K points per night, and the ability to add an unlimited number of points to a free night certificate to book a higher-level hotel.
Chase IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card
Mastercard World Elite is the card type.
The earning rate is 10X IHG, 5X travel, dining, and gas stations, and 3X on all other purchases.
Big spend bonus: 10K bonus points + $100 statement credit after you spend $20K in a calendar year and make one additional purchase.
There is an annual free night e-certificate good at IHG properties up to 40K points per night, and the ability to add an unlimited number of points to a free night certificate to book a higher-level hotel.
Chase IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card
The 4th night free from the card would stack with the 10% rebate on the other card, so it would be a great companion card for anyone who still has the old $49 per year IHG card.
Mastercard World is the card type.
The earning rate is 5X IHG, 3X dining, gas stations utilities, cable, Internet, phone, and select streaming services.
10K bonus points are given after $10K in purchases and one additional purchase each year. Gold status after $20K in purchases and one additional purchase is 10X.
Fourth night free on award stays, 20% discount on points purchases, and no foreign exchange fees are noteworthy perks.
IHG pros & cons
The IHG rewards club is better than average.
Large mid-tier footprint
High point 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.
The IHG rewards club 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 are looking to stay at a luxurious property, the best use of IHG points is for Intercontinental and Kimpton properties. As more Six Senses and Mr. Smith properties become bookable with points, we will likely find more hidden gems.
In the near term, those looking for boutique luxury in North America may want to check out the following post: Best Kimpton Hotels in the United States and Canada.
IHG One Rewards Q & A (Questions and Answers)
Q: If I have the old IHG Rewards Club Select credit card ($49 annual fee) which offers a 10% rebate on award stays, can I stack that with the 4th night free if I also get the IHG Rewards Club Premier or Traveler card?
A: Yes. There are benefits in this stack.
Q: If I cancel a Points + Cash stay, will I receive a cash refund?
When you cancel a Points + Cash stay, your refund will be entirely in points. It is sometimes possible to buy IHG points indirectly via Points + Cash for less than the IHG charges.
Q: I completed a stay but it hasn’t credited to my account. What can I do?
You can fill out a missing stay if the stay hasn't appeared yet.
Q: If I book multiple rooms for the same stay will I earn rewards on all of them?
You will earn points for up to nine rooms, but you will only get elite night credit for one room.
Q: Do IHG members lose any benefits with the new IHG One Rewards changes?
A lot is gained, but some benefits are lost.
Gold elite members no longer receive a Welcome Amenity Choice at check-in
Diamond elite members will not receive exclusive Choice Benefits that were previously only for those reaching Spire elite status (now renamed Diamond). For example, those earning Spire Elite status could previously select 25,000 bonus points.
Q: What happens if I don’t select my Milestone Reward?
If you don't select your reward in 90 days, it's gone.
Q: Do rollover nights count towards Milestone Rewards?
Rollover nights are only used for elite status levels.
Q: What happens if I apply a confirmable suite upgrade but then cancel my stay?
The original validity dates will apply if the stay is canceled in advance of the hotel's cancellation policy.
Q: Can I stack a confirmable suite upgrade with a guaranteed Ambassador upgrade?
No.
Q: Do award nights and free night certificate nights count towards Milestone Rewards?
