Introduction

The IHG One Rewards program is the loyalty platform for the Intercontinental Hotels Group. From the base range of long-term options like Staybridge and Candlewood Suites to the very expensive Six Sense, Kimpton and of course, the Intercontinental, the IHG One Rewards is a great program for those that venture into Europe and Asia frequently. Given their massive footprint globally, the IHG credit cards in the United States, as well as their points offer at times may give splendid returns.

So what makes this program different? Read on to find out!

Advantages

A ton of properties, like over 6,000!
Points and Cash Process
Abundant redemption options
WIth Intercontinental Ambassador, your benefit value grows exponentially
Breakfast guaranteed with Diamond Elite Members
Automatic Card Elite Status is superb (Hilton is still #1)

Disadvantages

No Award Chart, Dynamic Award Pricing
Low Transfer values
Elite Status not as comparable to counterparts
IHG charges resort fees on award stays
Transferring points is not worth it

Say What? NO Award Chart?

IHG One Rewards does not utilize an award chart, not like Hyatt. Hotels can range from 10,000 points a night o a whopping 150,000 points a night (this is super rare, as 70,000 is usually a strong upper bound for redemptions. However, there are some great usages for this:

Points + Cash Rates are really useful in buying points back. When you book a reservation utilizing this system, your cash co-pays the points. Once you cancel the booking, you are refunded the number of points that were required to book the free night award.
Award prices are quite great for standard rooms.
4th Night Free Awards is a very unique advantage that I take advantage of at times. For example, if you book a 4 night hotel stay that averages 25,000 points per night, you would actually only pay 75,000 points since the 4th night is free. That’s right, free! Now imagine doing this for a more expensive property. Suddenly the value proposition is quite high! This is what got us some amazing deals at the Kimpton Da An and the Regent Taipei!

Redeeming IHG Points

IHG One Rewards offers various ways for you to redeem points, from the basic award nights to transferring points to airlines (which we usually don’t recommend).

Award Nights

Unfortunately, IHG prices its award nights dynamically, meaning there is no longer a published award chart. This means prices can fluctuate based on demand, making it harder to actually lock down a booking at times. You’ll want to research and check their website. If you have the IHG Credit Cards, you can leverage the 4th Night Reward benefit when redeeming points, essentially allowing you to pay 3/4 of the price for a 4 night stay.

Points & Cash

This is a great option for those that don’t have the number of points required for a reward night - instead, you search for an award night, choose this option, and book your stay. This is a great option for those that want to save money, use fewer points or refund points back on when there is a sale.

Transfer to Airlines

You can also redeem IHG points for airline miles with select partners through increments of 10,000 IHG points, though I honestly would not recommend this route at all.

IHG One Rewards Elite Status

IHG One Rewards runs on four elite tiers, and also include milestone rewards similar to Hyatt for each night of nights you stay with the IHG brand. For most folks, you can bypass the first 2 by going straight for Intercontinental Ambassador for $200 or 40,000 IHG points, which will immediately catapult you to Platinum Elite - the other option is simply to open an IHG credit card (links below) and also get Platinum status right away.

Let’s take a look at the breakdown of their membership tiers.

The Loyalty Program starts like this:

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

Then there are the invites are paid invitations:

Intercontinental Ambassador: $200 per year
- This Ambassador program is quite useful and provides substantial value, provided you stay at Intercontinental hotels. It comes with a free weekend night certificate, guaranteed room upgrades, 4pm late checkout and $20 F&B credit. This combination with a Platinum Status is great, and even greater with the Diamond Elite Status. This made our stay at the Intercontinental Singapore and Intercontinental Robertson Quay an amazing one!
- One cool thing: if you do get the ambassador status, you immediately get complimentary IHG Platinum Status and is applied across all IHG brands, so that’s a massive win!
- If you’re interested, you can join InterContinental Ambassador online here. Benefits are available instantly upon paying the annual fee of $200.
Intercontinental Royal Ambassador: By invitation only.
- Royal Ambassador (invitation only) offers all of the benefits listed above, plus the following:
  - 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
Kimpton Inner Circle: By invitation only.
- Since the acquisition by IHG, Kimpton has continued to offer its own special level of status to its most loyal customers. To even get an invite, it does requires an existing member to earn IHG Diamond Elite status and show particular loyalty to Kimpton by staying at Kimpton hotels often (this isn’t defined). Invitations go out in January each year by email.
- Benefits are quite amazing:
  - 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

IHG One Rewards Breakdown

IHG Rewards Club Member

This is the entry-level tier awarded to each new member, with discounted rates, complimentary internet and free 2pm late check-out instantly available as base benefits.

IHG Rewards Silver Elite Member

Silver Elite can only be achieved after staying 10 nights – spending alone won’t help. Silver Elite members receive perks such as no expiry on points earned. But apart from that, benefits are the same as Club level.

IHG Rewards Gold Elite member

On top of the benefits available to all IHG Rewards members, Gold Elite members also currently get the following perks:

Extended checkout.
Points don't expire.
10% bonus earnings on top of base points (will jump to 40% when the new program launches in March).
Priority check-in.
Welcome amenity (Raid the Bar at Kimpton hotels and wellness platter at Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas).

IHG Rewards Platinum Elite Member

On top of the benefits available to all IHG Rewards members, Platinum Elite members also currently get the following perks:

60% bonus on base points.
Reward night discounts.
Early Check-In
Guaranteed room availability (up to 72 hours in advance).
Free room upgrades when available.
Welcome amenity (either bonus points or a drink/snack).

IHG Rewards Diamond Elite Member

In addition to Platinum Elite benefits, Diamond members can expect:

Dedicated Diamond support
100% more points earned on top of the base points
Welcome amenity including free daily hot breakfast for two

IHG One Rewards Credit Card

The IHG Chase credit cards come with an annual free night that can be valuable when redeeming for hotels up to 40,000 IHG points. We’ve redeemed some amazing hotels such as the Intercontinental Singapore, the Hotel Indigo Kaohsiung Central Park, Regent Taipei, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, just to name a few.

Hotel credit cards, like the World of Hyatt and Amex Hilton Honors card are underrated. You can often leverage perks such as statues and free nights to help make your stay more memorable. The annual fee for these cards are often offset by the free night award or their credits, which makes these hotel cards worth keeping at time.