To begin earning IHG One Rewards points, you’ll first need to head over to IHG and sign up for a free loyalty account. Enrolling is easy and only takes a few minutes. Once you are enrolled, you can immediately begin earning IHG One Rewards points.
Earn Through Hotel Stays
IHG members can earn IHG One Rewards points through many different outlets—hotel stays being the first comes to mind.
Each night you stay at an eligible IHG brand property you will earn the following:
- 10 IHG One Rewards points for each dollar spent at most IHG hotels
- 5 IHG One Rewards points for every dollar spent at Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites
Elite status holders can earn even more IHG points on each stay. In addition to the standard base points given for every dollar spent at an IHG, you can earn up to 100% more points by having elite status.
These are IHG’s elite status levels and the respective bonus earning rates:
- Club: No bonus IHG points earned
- Silver Elite: 20% bonus
- Gold Elite: 40% bonus
- Platinum Elite: 60% bonus
- Diamond Elite: 100% bonus
Earning Elite Status
In addition to earning bonus IHG One Rewards points during stays, each status tier comes with its own perks and benefits. Status is earned by either nights stayed or elite qualifying points accumulated.
These activities generate elite qualifying points and therefore count towards earning status:
- Qualifying rates paid for hotel stays
- Spend on select partner activity which includes Hertz car rentals, OpenTable reservations, Grubhub orders and Viator experiences
- IHG One Rewards bonus points packages
- Qualified spending through IHG Business Rewards
- Purchases on IHG One credit cards in China
Notably, spending on an IHG co-branded credit card does not earn elite qualifying points. Conversions from transferable rewards programs also do not count. Bonus earnings due to elite tier status are not considered elite qualifying points either. So, for example, if you are an IHG Rewards Diamond member, you earn an additional 100% in points on qualifying stays. However, only the base points (not the bonus points) count toward status.
The table below shows the qualification requirements for each tier of elite status and the bonus points earned on stays for each tier.
Club: No Nights or Stays Required
Club is IHG’s base level for all members. When you sign up for IHG One Rewards you will automatically receive Club status.
- Exclusive rates
- No blackout dates when using points to book
- Complimentary internet
- Reward nights count towards elite status
- Members-only promotions
- 2 p.m. late check out upon availability (preference given to higher status elites)
Silver Elite: 10 Nights, No Points Requirement
IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Cardmembers receive complimentary Silver Elite status with the option to earn Gold Elite Status when you spend $20,000 on purchases with your card in a calendar year.
Silver Elite members receive all of the benefits of Club membership plus the following:
- Points do not expire
- 20% points bonus
Gold Elite: 20 Nights or 40,000 IHG One Rewards Points
IHG Gold Elite status gives you all the benefits of Silver status and the following perks:
- Rollover nights towards next year’s status
- 40% points bonus
Platinum Elite: 40 Nights or 60,000 IHG One Rewards Points
Platinum Elite is complimentary for card holders of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card. Additionally, IHG Rewards Premier cardholders can earn Diamond Elite status after spending $40,000 on purchases in one calendar year. Platinum Elite status includes all of the benefits of Gold Elite, as well as the following:
- Complimentary room upgrades (subject to availability)
- Guaranteed room availability up to 72 hours
- Welcome amenity of either points or drink/snack at check-in
- Reward Night discount promotions
- Early check-in (subject to availability)
Diamond Elite: 70 Nights or 120,000 IHG One Rewards Points
Diamond Elite members get all the previously listed perks in addition to the following:
- Welcome Amenity choice: points, drink/snack or free breakfast for the Diamond Elite member and one additional guest
- Dedicated Diamond Elite customer service phone line
IHG InterContinental Ambassador
The InterContinental Ambassador program is another loyalty program offered by IHG that is exclusively for InterContinental Hotels and Resorts. It’s open to all IHG One Rewards Club members, but it requires either a yearly $200 fee or 40,000 points. Perks include:
- Room upgrade of one category guaranteed
- 4 p.m. check-out
- Free weekend night certificate useable with a paid night on the same reservation,excluding InterContinental Alliance Resorts
- Automatic Platinum Elite IHG One Rewards Club status
- $20 restaurant and bar credit each stay
- Complimentary water
- Free internet
- Dedicated check-in area
- Single room rate for double occupancy
- Breakfast for one each night you stay, available only in Mainland China
InterContinental Ambassador status doesn’t make sense for everyone but if you can utilize the benefits it could come in handy.
Status Match and Challenges
IHG periodically offers status challenges so if you’re interested in a higher level of IHG status, keep an eye open for these. You can see an example of a challenge IHG frequently runs below.
This offer is not available.
Recently, IHG gave members the opportunity to fast track their way to IHG’s Gold and Platinum statuses. Registration was required by April 30, 2023 and following requirements were needed to keep your new status through Dec. 2024.
- Platinum Elite: Stay five nights within 90 days of registration
- Gold Elite: Stay two nights 90 days of registration
Award nights did not count as qualifying nights for this promotion.
Earn Through Credit Cards
The fastest way to load up on IHG One Rewards points is by signing up for an IHG credit card. Currently, there are three co-branded credit cards on the market which allow you to earn IHG One Rewards points.
- IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card: up to 17 points per dollar spent at IHG Hotels & Resorts, 3 points on qualifying monthly bills, gas stations, select streaming services and restaurants and 2 points on all other purchases
- IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card: up to 26 points per dollar spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts, 5 points on travel, gas stations, and restaurants and 3 points on all other purchases
- IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card: up to 26 total points per dollar at IHG® Hotels and Resorts, 5 points per dollar on travel, dining, select business, and at gas stations and 3 points per dollar on all other purchases
IHG credit cards are issued through Chase bank, which can be picky when it comes to approving new accounts. Most importantly you’ll need to make sure that you qualify under Chase’s 5/24 rule, otherwise you will automatically be rejected for a new card.
Earn Through Transfer Partners
Not all points are created equally, and that is especially true when it comes to transferable currencies like American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points and Capital One Rewards. What makes these points so valuable is the flexibility they provide thanks to the numerous travel partners they can be transferred to.
For IHG One Rewards points, you can transfer your points from Chase Ultimate Rewards at a rate of 1:1. This is not generally thought of as an optimal redemption as Chase has more valuable transfer partners, but the ability to transfer can be useful to top off an account if you have a specific redemption in mind.
Featured Partner Offers
Welcome Bonus
75,000 bonus points
Annual Fee
$550
Credit Score
Excellent
Regular APR
22.49%-29.49% Variable
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,125 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
On Capital One's Website
Welcome Bonus
Earn 75,000 bonus miles
Annual Fee
$395
Credit Score
Excellent
Regular APR
19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
Welcome Bonus
75,000 bonus points
Annual Fee
$95
Credit Score
Excellent, Good
Regular APR
21.49%-28.49% Variable
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Hertz Car Rental
You can earn a minimum of 1,500 IHG Rewards Points each time you rent a car with Hertz by booking through its designated website.
Dining Rewards
You can earn even more IHG One Rewards points each time you dine out at eligible restaurants. IHG’s Dine & Earn program is easy to join and gives lots of great incentives to enroll, as well—the current offer lets you earn 1,000 IHG One Rewards points after spending $30 and filling out a review within 30 days of enrollment.
Tour and Activities
Booking your tours, activities or attractions, whether close to home or while traveling can net you 1,000 IHG rewards each time.
Buying IHG One Rewards
Every year IHG One Rewards members can purchase points, up to 150,000 per year. You can buy points to give to friends or family, but those points count within the 150,000 annual limit. Members may receive a maximum of 150,000 gift points per year. Purchases are processed by a third party called Points.com so you will not receive any travel category bonuses from credit card spend.
Speculatively buying IHG One Rewards points—or any points, for that matter—is not something we generally recommend, even when they are on sale. However, if you need to top off your account for an upcoming stay then buying points could make sense.
Make sure to crunch the numbers to ensure you are getting good value from the points. Additionally, IHG runs frequent promotions for up to 100% bonus points with purchase, so if you can wait for one to roll around you will get a much better deal.
