InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has 19 hotel brands and more than 6,000 hotels and resorts around the world. IHG stays include luxury getaways at Kimpton, InterContinental Resort properties and even Crowne Plaza, or a quick stop at a local roadside hotel like Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express or Staybridge Suites.
Joining the hotel group’s loyalty program, IHG One Rewards, can help you enhance your vacation with in-hotel perks like discounts, room upgrades and free Internet access. This guide explains how the IHG One Rewards program works, how to earn points and how to best use them.
IHG OneRewards Basics
When IHG Rewards revamped its loyalty program in early 2022, the program name changed to IHG One Rewards, and other updates offered more rewards, more ways to redeem, and more elite status levels, making the program more comprehensive and convenient overall.
Members can earn points on hotel stays and other eligible activities that can then be used for free nights, airline miles, merchandise, and several other redemption options. There are many other ways to earn IHG points, including paid stays at IHG properties, spending with co-branded credit cards, and booking travel with partners.
How many points do I need for a free hotel stay?
As of July 2024, IHG One Rewards offers free nights starting at just 5,000 points at over 6,000 participating hotels. You can also redeem points or a combination of points and cash for hotel nights, commonly called Rewards Nights. And like other hotel programs, IHG One Rewards has elite status levels you can earn, which come with more travel perks and rewards opportunities.
How to sign up for IHG One Rewards
To sign up for IHG One Rewards, follow these simple steps:
- Go to the IHG website and select IHG One Rewards on the top right.
- Scroll down on the offer page and select “Join for Free.”
- Create your account by entering your details such as your name, email address, home address, country of residence and a password.
Enlarge
Once you’ve entered the required information to create your account, you’ll receive an email with your new loyalty account number, which you can use on the IHG One Rewards login page. You’ll then immediately start earning points on hotel stays and more.
Who is IHG One Rewards Best for?
If you want to earn points towards free nights at InterContinental Hotels Group properties, you should sign up for this program. After all, IHG One Rewards membership is completely free.
Once you join IHG One Rewards, you can quickly achieve elite status and start earning lodging rewards. This is especially true once you apply for a partner hotel credit card and start earning points on hotel stays, travel, and other spending.
Frequent travelers can get a better deal, but even if you don’t travel often, it’s still worth joining. Joining the program is free and easy, so there’s nothing to lose by signing up.
How to earn IHG One Rewards points
IHG One Rewards members can earn points in a variety of ways, including:
Book an IHG Hotel
IHG One Rewards members can earn up to 10x base points per dollar spent at most IHG hotels and 5x points per dollar spent at Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. It’s also important to note that you can earn more points depending on your elite status. The following table shows how many bonus points you can earn at each membership level.
| Membership Levels | Club Membership | Silver Elite | Gold Elite | Platinum Elite | Diamond Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonus Points | N/A | 20% | 40% | 60% | 100% |
Receive milestone rewards
The IHG One Rewards program also offers Milestone Rewards, which reward you for frequent stays. After you stay 20 eligible nights, you can choose one reward for every 10 additional nights. When you select an eligible night, you’ll receive a bonus selection benefit, allowing you to choose two rewards instead of one.
The rewards you can choose from are:
| Eligible nights | Reward Options |
|---|---|
| 20 nights |
|
| 30 nights |
|
| 40 nights (Bonus Choice eligible) |
|
| 50 nights |
|
| 60 nights |
|
| 70 nights (Bonus Choice eligible) |
|
| 80 nights |
|
| 90 nights |
|
| 100 nights |
|
Take advantage of IHG promotions
IHG One Rewards members can earn points through special promotions offered by the loyalty program. For example, members can currently earn up to 1,000 points when booking local tours, activities and attractions.
Use our IHG partners
You can also earn IHG One Rewards points on products and packages from IHG partners, including stays at The Venetian Resort, Holiday Inn Club Vacations packages, Hertz car rentals, restaurant reservations through OpenTable and dining at restaurant partners.
Earn points with the right credit cards
IHG offers several co-branded hotel credit cards with Chase as the card issuer, and with some cards, cardholders can automatically receive elite status with the hotel brand as well as additional perks like a fourth night free on reward bookings (when booking four consecutive nights with points) and a free anniversary night.
It’s also important to note that IHG One Rewards is a transfer partner for Chase Ultimate Rewards and a travel partner for the Bilt Rewards program, meaning you can sign up for an elite travel credit card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card or the Bilt Mastercard®, and earn points that can be transferred to your IHG One Rewards account.
How to transfer points to IHG
If you have a credit card with rewards that you can transfer to IHG One Rewards, think carefully before you transfer your points. After all, flexible rewards currencies like Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards are worth significantly more than hotel loyalty program points, especially in IHG One Rewards. This means you might only want to transfer rewards in certain circumstances, like if you’re a few thousand points short of what you want to redeem in IHG One Rewards.
If you want to transfer your points to IHG One Rewards, you can do so through your online account. Here is an example of the steps you need to take to transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG One Rewards.
- Log in to your Chase credit card account dashboard and go to the section that lists your rewards balance.
- Once you’re in the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, click “Travel” at the top of the page and then click “Transfer Points to Partners.”
- Select IHG One Rewards as your transfer partner and decide how many points you’d like to transfer. Note that transfers must be in increments of 1,000 points.
- Make the transfer and wait for the reward to appear in your IHG One Rewards account.
If you haven’t transferred points to IHG One Rewards before, you’ll also need to enter your IHG One Rewards membership number and other information before proceeding.
Enlarge
Chase will save your loyalty program information the first time you submit it, so you won’t have to enter it the next time you send money.
IHG One Rewards Elite Status
There are five IHG One Rewards membership levels. The following table outlines the benefits available at each level and the requirements to achieve elite status at each level.
| club | Silver Elite | Gold Elite | Platinum Elite | Diamond Elite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stays or points required to achieve status | N/A | 10 nights | 20 stays or 40,000 points | 40 stays or 60,000 points | 70 stays or 120,000 points |
| Earn bonus points | N/A | 20% | 40% | 60% | 100% |
| Earn points on Reward Nights | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| There are no blackout dates for reward stays | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Membership Rates and Promotions | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Free Internet | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 2pm check-out | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Points never expire | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
| Carry-over nights for next year’s status | yes | yes | yes | ||
| Free room upgrade based on availability | yes | yes | |||
| Guaranteed room availability | 72 hours (blackout dates apply) | 72 hours (blackout dates apply) | |||
| Welcome amenities upon check-in | Points or drinks/snacks | Free breakfast, points, drinks/snacks | |||
| Early check-in if available | yes | yes | |||
| Reward Night Discount | yes | yes | |||
| Diamond Status Exclusive Support | yes |
How to use your IHG One Rewards points
Although the IHG One Rewards program doesn’t have as many redemption options as other programs, there are still a few ways to redeem your points. For example:
Free hotel stay
The best redemption option with IHG One Rewards is by far Rewards Nights. As mentioned above, hotel stays start at 5,000 points per night, and you can also use a combination of points and cash to pay for your hotel stay.
Gift cards or merchandise
You can also exchange your points for merchandise or gift cards, but you won’t get much value out of your points this way.
Digital Rewards
Another option is to use your rewards for digital books, games, movies, music, and magazine subscriptions. Keep in mind that digital rewards may vary depending on your location. Also, like gift cards and merchandise, your points will be worth less, so we don’t recommend this option.
Airline miles
You can also exchange your IHG One Rewards points for airline miles, but this isn’t a great use of your points either. Most airline partners let you exchange 10,000 IHG points for 2,000 airline miles, which is a low exchange rate. However, there are quite a few airline partners to choose from, so if you need to book an award ticket but don’t have enough miles, this option might make sense.
Charitable Donations
If you want to donate your points to charity, IHG has several non-profit partners, including the American Red Cross, Goodwill, and The Global FoodBanking Network.
What are IHG One Rewards points worth?
According to Bankrate’s latest valuation, IHG One Rewards points are worth about 0.7 cents per point. While some hotel loyalty points are certainly worth more, it’s important to note that they’re not as easy to earn.
How does IHG One Rewards compare to other programs?
| Hotel Programs | Average point value* |
|---|---|
| IHG OneRewards | 0.7 cents |
| Best Western Rewards | 0.6 cents |
| Hilton Honors | 0.6 cents |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 0.7 cents |
| Radisson Rewards America | 0.4 cents |
| World of Hyatt | 2.3 cents |
| Wyndham Rewards | 0.9 cents |
*Ratings provided by Bankrate
IHG One Rewards Transfer Partner
IHG One Rewards has over 40 airline partners. You can earn miles or points with all of the partners below, however, some partners do not allow you to transfer your IHG One Rewards points to airline miles/points.
Below are IHG’s airline partners where you can earn or transfer rewards and the reward transfer rates:
| Airlines | Transfer speed |
|---|---|
| Aeromexico | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Premier Points |
| plane | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Aeroplan miles |
| Air China | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 PhoenixMiles |
| Air France | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 miles |
| Air Miles | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 250 miles |
| Air New Zealand | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 25 Airpoints |
| Air Portugal | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 miles |
| Alaska Airlines | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 miles |
| Alfursan | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 miles |
| ANA | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 ANA Mileage Club miles |
| American Airlines | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 AAdvantage miles |
| Asia Miles | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 Asia Miles |
| Asiana Airlines | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Asiana Club Miles |
| Avianca | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points into 2,000 LifeMiles miles |
| British Airways | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Avios points |
| China Airlines | Transfers are not available |
| China Eastern | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 China Eastern points |
| China Southern | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points into 2,000 Sky Pearl Club Kilometers |
| Delta Airlines | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 SkyMiles |
| Emirates | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points into 2,000 Skywards Miles |
| Etihad Airways | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Etihad Guest Miles |
| EVA Air | Transfers are not available |
| Finnair | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Avios |
| Gulf Air | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points into 2,000 Falconflyer miles |
| Hainan Airlines | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Fortune Wings Club points |
| Iberia | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Avios |
| InterMiles | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 InterMiles |
| Japan Airlines | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 JAL miles |
| JetBlue | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 TrueBlue points |
| Korean Air | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 SKYPASS miles |
| Malaysia Airlines | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Enrich points |
| Mille Miglia | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 MilleMiglia miles |
| Qantas | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Qantas points |
| Singapore Airlines | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 KrisFlyer miles |
| South African Airways | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 Voyager miles |
| Thai Airways | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points into 2,000 Royal Orchid Plus miles |
| United Airlines | Convert 10,000 IHG One Rewards points to 2,000 MileagePlus miles |
| Virgin Atlantic | Exchange 10,000 IHG One Rewards points for 2,000 Virgin Points |
| Virgin Australia | Exchange 10,000 IHG Rewards points for 2,000 Velocity points |
Conclusion
The IHG One Rewards program offers a lot, especially considering it’s free to sign up for. With 19 brands under the IHG umbrella, there are plenty of opportunities to stay at one of their properties and earn points towards a free Rewards Night.
IHG partners with multiple airlines, so it’s easy to earn points that can be transferred to your favorite airlines, though the transfer rates between IHG One Rewards and airline loyalty programs aren’t as high.
A co-branded IHG credit card can help you rack up points even faster, especially given the card’s generous rewards structure. However, if you don’t book hotel stays often enough to earn free nights or higher rewards levels, a hotel credit card might not be the best option for you. You might be better off with a traditional travel rewards credit card that lets you redeem points for extra options beyond hotel stays.
Whether you collect points with your credit card or not, you can’t lose anything by signing up for this free program.
