#4 Among Hotels
Point Value
0.6 ¢
Program Score
7.1
IHG is our “utility” hotel points system. If you just need a night or two, and aren’t looking for glitz and glamor, IHG points go a long way.
The best way to earn IHG One Rewards is through paid stays at one of their properties. If you book an IHG property through an online travel agency like Expedia or Booking.com, you will not earn IHG points. There are also three co-branded credit cards to earn points for stays at IHG properties. Chase and Bilt are also IHG transfer partners, so you can use points from either of those systems to top up or book stays.
IHG, or the InterContinental Hotels Group, includes many different properties. From mid-tier hotels like Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, to extended stay options like Candlewood and Staybridge Suites, to luxury hotels like InterContinental, Kimpton, and Six Senses, there are a variety of properties to earn IHG One Rewards.
If you have elite status with IHG, you will receive a bonus on points earned through stays:
IHG currently has three co-branded credit cards — two personal and one business card. They have varying signup bonuses, annual fees, benefits, and perks. Two of the three cards are keepers in our book, particularly if you stay at an IHG property at least once per year.
IHG is transfer partners with both Chase and Bilt, so any Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Bilt points you earn through their programs can be transferred to IHG at 1:1 ratios. These are nice for topping up or booking entire stays provided you can find a good redemption. Most in the hobby who use Chase points for hotel bookings transfer to Hyatt because the value is typically better, but there are decent opportunities at IHG.
Transfer points to another member
IHG One Rewards lets members transfer points to another account in increments of 1,000 points. Most members pay a fee of $5 per 1,000 points transferred, making paid transfers a poor value since IHG frequently sells points for about the same price.
Diamond Elite members can transfer up to 100,000 points per calendar year without paying transfer fees. Eligible IHG Business Rewards members can also receive free transfers, provided they've held a qualifying Business Rewards event during the current or previous calendar year.
Members can transfer up to 100,000 points and receive up to 500,000 points per calendar year, with a limit of six transfers annually. Both accounts must have been enrolled in IHG One Rewards for at least 30 days before sending or receiving points.
All three IHG cards have a big spend bonus, but we don’t recommend spending to get any of them:
Special Offers Related to IHG One Rewards. Click the arrow to see more.
Chase and IHG have overhauled the IHG One Rewards credit card lineup, refreshing all three existing cards while also introducing a new premium card, the IHG One Rewards Premier Select Card. The changes include new and updated benefits, higher anniversary free night certificates on the Premier and Business cards, changes to earning rates, and higher annual fees. All four cards also have elevated welcome offers through November 18, 2026. The IHG One Rewards Card is offering 125,000 points after spending $2,000 in three months, up from its standard 80,000-point offer. The IHG One Rewards Premier Card is offering 180,000 points after spending $3,000 in three months, up from its standard 140,000 points with the same spending requirement. The new IHG One Rewards Premier Select Card is offering 200,000 points after spending $5,000 in three months, while the IHG One Rewards Business Card is offering 190,000 points after spending $5,000 in three months, compared with its standard 140,000 points after $4,000 in spending. Existing cardholders get access to most of the new benefits immediately, while some changes phase in later. We’ve updated each card page with the full details, including the new benefits, earning rates, annual fees, and welcome offers, along with adding a new page for the new IHG One Rewards Premier Select.
IHG has a new promotion offering up to 3X points on qualifying paid stays through December 31, 2026. 3X is always better than 1X, but IHG is underselling the potential of this promo. IHG members normally earn 10 points per dollar at most properties. With this promotion, you'll earn 3X the normal amount, so that means you'll earn 30 points per dollar when booking through the IHG app. It gets better if you hold an IHG-branded credit card. IHG Premier or Premier Business cardholders will earn another 10 points per dollar by paying with the card, while the Platinum status included with both cards adds another 6 points per dollar. Add it all together and you can earn 46 IHG points per dollar on qualifying stays!
There are several caveats to be aware of. You must register first, only stays booked after October 1 qualify, and your first qualifying stay does not earn the promo bonus! Starting with your second stay, you'll earn 2X the normal points when booking through an eligible IHG direct channel or 3X when booking through the IHG app. Reward Nights and Points + Cash stays do not qualify, but bonus earning is unlimited. If you have an expensive IHG stay planned later in the promotion period, it might even make sense to do a cheap mattress run to get the non-bonused first stay out of the way and allow your more expensive stay to earn the full 3X rate. For anyone with substantial IHG spending planned between October and December, that could make this promotion significantly more valuable.
The IHG One Rewards Premier Card has a welcome offer for five 40,000-point Free Night Awards after spending $4,000 in the first three months, which could provide up to 200,000 points worth of hotel nights. You can top off each 40K Free Night Award with your own points for a more expensive stay. The catch is that the five Free Night Awards expire after 12 months, making them much less flexible than points. Go here to find this offer. This is an alternative to the public offer of 140,000 IHG points after spending $3,000 in three months. Which offer is better depends entirely on your travel plans over the next year. If you know you'll use all five certificates before they expire, this offer provides the equivalent of 60,000 more points. Keep in mind that you cannot use IHG's fourth-night-free benefit when redeeming Free Night Awards, but you can when booking entirely with points. The 140,000-point offer is more flexible for anyone who isn't certain they'll use all five Free Night Awards.
September 16, 2026 update: IHG has brought back its 100% points bonus through October 5, 2026. This time, you only need to buy 5,000 points to receive the full bonus, dropping the cost to 0.5¢ per point. IHG has also temporarily increased the maximum number of points you can purchase to 300,000, although previous 2026 purchases count toward that limit.
August 18, 2026 update: This promo has been extended until September 1, 2026.
IHG is once again offering up to a 100% bonus on purchased points through August 17, 2026. This is a tiered points sale. Buy at least 5,000 points to receive an 80% bonus, 10,000 points for a 90% bonus, or 30,000 points for the full 100% bonus. When receiving the 100% bonus, you'll pay 0.5¢ per point. The offer may be targeted, so some members could see different bonus amounts or thresholds. Buying IHG points at this price can make sense if you have a specific redemption in mind, especially when stacking cardholder benefits such as fourth-night free or a 10% award rebate. IHG runs these sales frequently, so we would not recommend buying speculatively.
Booking stays at IHG properties is the best use of your IHG One Rewards points. While redemptions start at 5,000 points per night at the lowest-tier properties, this is uncommon and rarely available in major cities or tourist destinations. Because IHG covers a wide range of brands, award prices can reach 150,000–200,000 points points per night.
Notes on best redemption options:
IHG also offers a cash+points booking option on all stays. Since award prices are dynamically set, these combinations vary widely. You’re effectively “buying” points when choosing this option, so always check the math:
Discover your points' highest-value redemption options. Use the filters to find the optimal sweet spot for your next trip.
IHG Premier and Premier Business cardholders can use 40,000-point anniversary free night certificates at higher-priced properties by adding IHG points. You cannot top off with cash, only points.
IHG Points & Cash can be useful when award prices are high, but the cash portion is really a points purchase. If you cancel within the hotel’s policy, you get the points back, not the cash.
While award redemptions tend to be higher than a program like Hyatt (to be fair, most hotel programs can say the same), there is still solid value to be had with IHG One Rewards. It’s a good utility system, and with IHG’s huge global footprint, you can almost always find a property to redeem points at. The variety and sheer number of hotels are major perks of the program.
IHG also has two very strong co-branded credit cards, and we recommend holding at least one if you stay at an IHG property at least once per year. The value from either IHG One Premier card — personal or business — is well worth the $99 annual fee. And because IHG partners with Chase Ultimate Rewards, it’s easy to top up when necessary. It’s an easy-to-understand rewards program, and while rooms are dynamically priced, there’s still something to be said for simplicity.
There are five IHG elite status tiers, including IHG One Rewards Club Member, which you earn simply by signing up.
IHG One Rewards members receive:
The other four elite tiers are earned by staying a certain number of qualifying nights per year or earning a set number of qualifying points. You can also earn status by holding an IHG co-branded credit card.
Here are the elite status levels for IHG One Rewards, what it takes to reach each level, and benefits of each. The last two are elite-type programs that are separate from the top 4 status tiers
Gold Elite members have all Silver Elite benefits plus:
You also earn Platinum Elite by holding either the IHG One Rewards Premier or IHG One Premier Business card. Platinum Elite members have all Gold Elite benefits plus:
Diamond Elite members have all Platinum Elite benefits plus:
You will earn the following perks at luxury InterContinental locations:
You will receive the following benefits at Kimpton properties:
You can also earn rewards outside of the different status levels by staying at IHG properties a certain number of qualifying nights per year
Choose one of the following:
Choose two of the following:
Choose one of the following:
Choose one of the following:
Choose two of the following:
Choose one of the following:
Choose one of the following:
Choose one of the following:
If you have one of the IHG Premier credit cards and stay at an IHG property at least once per year, don't cancel it. The $99 annual fee is worth the free night (up to 40,000 points). You also receive Platinum Elite status, which means your points never expire.
If you cancel any of your cards, your points will expire after 12 months of inactivity, so use them before losing them. The two IHG Personal cards follow the IHG Personal 1/24 Rule, The business card follows the 24 From Bonus Rule. If it’s been over two years since you earned the bonus from any of these cards, canceling and reapplying may earn you another bonus. If you’re in good standing with Chase, wait at least 30 days from canceling before applying again.
There are IHG rooms for as low as 5,000 points, but that’s uncommon. Since IHG uses dynamic pricing, award rates vary widely by property, date, and season. Expect to pay more in major cities, at premium brands, or during peak travel periods.
The best value comes from holding an IHG co-branded credit card. Cardholders get the 4th night free on award stays, so booking four nights with points gives you the last night at no cost. You can even stack it—stay eight nights and get two free.
IHG points expire after one year of inactivity. However, points never expire if you hold any IHG elite status. Since all three IHG credit cards provide Silver or Platinum status, your points stay safe as long as you keep at least one card.
You can, but it’s not a good deal. Most transfers are 5:1, so 5,000 IHG points becomes only 1,000 airline miles. These poor ratios make transfers bad value. You’ll get far more from using points for IHG hotel stays.
Yes. You must requalify each calendar year through qualifying nights or points. If you hold an IHG credit card, though, you keep Silver or Platinum Elite automatically every year you keep the card, without needing additional stays.
Tracking Points & Transfer Options
