How To Maximize IHG One Rewards

Like many large hotel chains, InterContinental Hotels offers its own loyalty rewards program. Whether you stay at a luxurious InterContinental or a budget-friendly Holiday Inn, you’ll earn points towards free nights.

But free nights aren’t the only way to use your rewards! To help you decide whether IHG One Rewards is worth it for you, we’ll give you the lowdown on how to earn points and redeem them for the most value.

What are IHG One Rewards?

IHG (also known as InterContinental Hotels Group) is one of the world's largest hotel chains, with over 6,000 hotels worldwide – and IHG One Rewards is its rewards program. Essentially, it’s your ticket to earning free nights.

The loyalty program offers multiple redemption options, including free nights, transfers to airline partners, donations, merchandise, and more.

IHG brands

The IHG family includes some of the biggest names in hotels. IHG breaks down the 19 hotel brands into the following categories:

• Luxury and lifestyle: Six Senses, InterContinental, Regent, Vignette, Kimpton, Hotel Indigo
• Premium: Voco, Hualuxe, Even, Crowne Plaza
• Essentials: Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Garner, Avid
• Suites: Atwell, Staybridge, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Candlewood
• Exclusive partners: Iberostar Beachfront Resorts

IHG One Rewards membership benefits

As a One Rewards member, you’ll enjoy:

• Points earned for reward nights
• No blackout dates
• Access to member rates and offers
• Free Wi-Fi
• Late check-out

IHG One Rewards elite status

As a basic club member, you can earn and redeem points – but the savings and benefits of One Rewards really kick in when you gain status. The more nights you stay or points you earn, the higher your membership tier (and the more rewards you get).

• Silver Elite: Stay 10 nights to qualify
• Gold Elite: Stay 20 nights or earn 40,000 points to qualify
• Platinum Elite: Stay 40 nights or earn 60,000 points to qualify
• Diamond Elite: Stay 70 nights or earn 120,000 points to qualify

Depending on the tier, you’ll earn bonus points for your stays, enjoy complimentary room upgrades, get welcome snacks and beverages, get late check-out, receive guaranteed room availability, and more.

How to earn IHG One Rewards

Earning IHG One Rewards is fairly simple: just stay at the group’s hotels. With 19 different brands to choose from and hotels in over 6,000 destinations worldwide, there’s probably one that fits your budget and travel preferences.

Here’s what you’ll earn:

• 10 points per US$1 spent on hotel nights at most hotels, excluding taxes and fees
• 5 points per US$1 spent on hotel nights at Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, excluding taxes and fees

You can get more points by taking advantage of Milestone Rewards. For every 10 nights you stay (up to 100 nights), you’ll earn your choice of bonus rewards. Choices include up to 10,000 points, suite upgrades, annual lounge membership, and food and beverage rewards.

And then, of course, you can purchase points. The program allows you to buy up to 150,000 points to cover the reward you want. Remember: buying points is rarely worth it, so be sure to crunch those numbers and ensure it makes sense.

Pro Tip: Watch for limited-time bonus offers that can earn you more points.

How to redeem IHG One Rewards

When you’re ready to redeem the points you’ve been collecting, you have numerous options:

• Hotel nights. Reward night starts at just 5,000 points – plus, you can combine points and cash if you don’t have enough points to cover your entire stay.
• Airline miles. If you prefer to use your points to fly, you can transfer them to your favourite airline loyalty program. IHG partners with over 40 airlines, including Air Canada, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Air France/KLM, United Airlines, Qantas, Emirates, and more.
• Events and experiences. Use your points to cover trip add-ons or unforgettable experiences, like VIP passes to concerts or courtside tickets to a sporting event.
• Merchandise. Shop the IHG rewards catalogue across categories like electronics, home goods, sports and leisure, toys, gift cards, and much more.
• Points donation. You can donate your points to one of IHG’s 15+ nonprofit partners, including Action Against Hunger, American Red Cross, Polaris, Just a Drop.
• Digital rewards. Rent movies, buy software, purchase video games, and even get mobile phone top ups with your points.

You can redeem your IHG points by logging into your IHG One Rewards account, selecting your preferred redemption category, and following the instructions,

How much are IHG One Rewards points worth?

It should be no surprise that redeeming for free hotel nights provides the best value for your points. And while the other options don't provide nearly the same value, if you don't collect many points, they're an easy way to get something back.

Value of reward in $CAD / value of reward in points x 100 = value of reward in cents per point (CPP)

Reward nights: 0.84 CPP

To get our average value, we looked at 3 nights over a weekend at 22 hotels in cities across Canada – from St John’s to Victoria – and compared the price in dollars and the price in points.

We came to an average value of 0.84 cents per point. There wasn't much of a range; some stays had slightly less value, some had slightly more.

We did run into limited rewards inventory as IHG stated. In 3 cities, we couldn't book a hotel on reward points as there was no availability but we were able to pay for a stay. So, while there are no blackout dates, IHG does limit how many rooms can be booked using reward points.

To redeem your points for free nights, head to ihg.com and log in to your rewards account. Go to book a hotel and under "Rate Preference," select "Reward Nights."

Transfer to airline partners: 0.4 CPP

IHG has a long list of airline partners that you can transfer points to simply by calling – and Air Canada is one of them, so we looked at what kind of value that gets you.

Most of the partners transfer points at a 5:1 ratio and require a minimum transfer of 10,000 points. Those 10,000 points will give you 2,000 Aeroplan points, which are worth up to $40. That means 10,000 IHG points are worth just 0.4 cents each – about half the value of redeeming for a free hotel night.

Merchandise: 0.31 CPP

There are a wide variety of items you can choose from if you want to redeem through the catalogue, but merchandise gives you the least value for your points. We averaged all of the reward values to come up with an average of 0.31 CPP.

Here are the items we looked at, how many points they cost, the price at a retailer, and the value of 1 point for each.

Gift cards: 0.19 CPP

If you feel like treating someone else to your IHG rewards points, you can redeem points for a gift card. Choose from dozens of retailers or get an IHG gift card. Every dollar denomination of a gift card gives the same value.

Points donation

Although IHG doesn’t specify how much your points are worth, you can donate the points directly to the charity of your choice. Unlike many rewards programs, you’ve got lots of options when it comes to choosing a charity.

IHG allows you to donate points to organizations in the following categories:

• Disaster relief
• Skills training
• Food security
• Human rights
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Water, sanitation, and hygiene

IHG One Rewards vs. other loyalty programs

The easiest way to compare hotel loyalty programs is to compare the redemption rate for hotel stays. If you remember, IHG has a pretty impressive hotel stay value of 0.84 CPP, which is just a bit better than the Best Western Rewards Program (0.83 CPP).

Both of these are behind the Wyndham Rewards Program, which earns a generous 0.90 CPP on hotel stays. Falling at the bottom of the pack is the Hilton Honors Rewards Program, which only gives a 0.64 CPP for hotel stays.

FAQ

Is IHG One Rewards free?

Yes, it’s free to join the loyalty program. You can sign up online or at an IHG-branded hotel or resort.

How many IHG points do you need for a free night?

A free night starts at just 5,000 points, but this depends on your location, hotel, and the date of your stay.

Do IHG members get free upgrades?

At the basic level, you’ll get free internet and discounted room rates. As you gain more points and status, you’ll get things like complimentary room upgrades, welcome snacks and drinks, promotions, late check-out, and more.

Do my IHG points expire?

IHG Rewards points themselves have no expiration date – but if you don't make a transaction on your account at least once every 12 months, you will lose any points you have accumulated.

Which hotel chains are part of IHG?

IHG comprises 19 different brands, including popular ones like InterContinental, Holiday Inn, and Crowne Plaza. Stays at properties from any of the 19 brands will earn you One Rewards points.