How to Redeem IHG Points for Hotel Stays and Airline Miles

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redeem points

You have earned piles of IHG rewards points from hotel stays and all-qualifying charges. These points can be redeemed for free hotel nights, hotel upgrades, airline miles and spent on other rewards such as transportation, travel packages, and shopping vouchers. Learn about the different ways you can redeem rewards, and how to maximize your IHG Rewards points value.

Redeem IHG points for hotel stays

IHG has some of the most fair redemption prices of all the hotel chains. The number of points required for Reward nights ranges from 10,000 to 50,000 and varies by property. IHG’s Hotels Anywhere program lets you use points or points+cash to book nights at over 70,000 hotels worldwide that are not affiliated with IHG. Below are the numbers of points needed for one free night at an IHG hotel:

Hotel Category
Points Required per Night
110,000
215,000
320,000
425,000
530,000
635,000
740,000
845,000
950,000

Book IHG award nights

To book award nights, go to IHG.com, choose the destination and the date. In the rate preference dropdown box, select “Rewards Nights”; In your search results, you will see the hotel list along with the room rate and points required for the room.

If you don’t have enough points, you can choose cash+points to pay the room rate.  You may choose to redeem IHG® Rewards Club points for a Reward Night in three ways: using your existing points for all required points for the desired Reward Night; using your existing points and 5,000 points purchased for $40USD to total the required points; or using your existing points and 10,000 points purchased for $70USD to total the required points. The total purchase on any single day may not exceed $280USD.

When you book a rewards night, the points are instantly deducted from your account. Reward nights can be canceled easily as well. In general, reservations can be cancelled up to 4pm of the day before checking in; cancellation time may vary by location, so you can check the information when booking your room under “rate details”. When you cancel, your points will be reimbursed to your account.

ihg reservation rewards night

Redeem PointBreaks

PointBreaks is one of the most rewarding promotions in the hotel industry, in which select IHG hotels can be booked for just 5,000 points per night. Every couple of months, IHG picks about 100 hotels to be part of the PointBreak promotion for the next few months. For the current period, there are 89 hotels on the list. This is a great redemption opportunity if you book high-end hotel brands. Each member can only book 2 PointBreaks Reward Nights reservations per hotel during the offer time period (the current period is from July 27 – October 31, 2015). There is also limited room availability; IHG often posts a preview of the list participating hotels a few days before booking is officially possible.

Redeem IHG points for airline miles

IHG Rewards Points can also be used toward airline miles. IHG’s partnership with over 400 air carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airline and Alaska Airlines, allows points to be converted into frequent flier miles. However, to redeem points for airline miles, you have to contact your regional IHG Rewards Club Customer Care. The points will be converted at a 10,000-point minimum, and in increments of 1,000 points. When converting, both accounts must be under the same name. The posting time of frequent flyer miles varies by airline and can take up to six weeks to be credited to your frequent flyer account. Below is a list of redemption rates of IHG’s partner airlines.

Partner Airlines
Conversion Rate (per 10,000 points)
Aeromexico2,000 miles
Air China2,000 kilometers
Air France2,000 miles
Air New Zealand Airports25 Airpoints
Airberlin Topbonus2,000 miles
Alaska Airlines2,000 miles
Alitalia MilleMiglia2,000 miles
All Nippon Airways2,000 miles
American Airlines AAdvantage2,000 miles
Asia Miles2,000 miles
Asiana Airlines2,000 miles
British Airways2,000 Avios
China Eastern2,000 kilometers
China Southern Airlines2,000 kilometers
Delta SkyMiles2,000 miles
El Al Israel Airlines40 El Al Points
Emirates2,000 miles
Etihad Airways2,000 miles
GlobalPass2,000 miles
Gulf Air2,000 miles
Hainan Airlines2,000 kilometers
Hawaiian Airlines2,000 miles
Japan Airlines2,000 miles
Jet Airways2,000 miles
JetBlue TrueBlue2,000 miles
KLM2,000 miles
Lanchile2,000 kilometers
LifeMiles2,000 miles
Lufthansa2,000 miles
Malaysia Airlines1,500 miles
Qantas Airlines2,000 miles
Saudi Arabian Airlines2,000 miles
Singapore Airlines2,000 miles
South African Airways2,000 miles
TAP Air Portugal2,000 miles
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus2,000 miles
United Airlines2,000 miles
US Airways2,000 miles
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club2,000 miles
Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer2,000 miles

Other ways to redeem IHG points

IHG rewards points can also be redeemed for gift cards, golf lessons, wine tours and other offers, as well as donated to charity. For example, you can redeem 20,000 points for a $50 Amazon gift card or 11,000 points for a $25 gift card. You can redeem for an Apple TV for 45,000 points. You can also purchase, transfer, or gift your points.

How to maximize your IHG Rewards points value

When redeeming points, you can compare the rewards earn rate of different redemption options to see if you are getting the most for your points. To estimate the rewards earn rate, divide the standard rate of the hotel stay by the number of IHG Rewards Points required to redeem one night. Let’s look at 2 Holiday Inn hotel stay redemption examples:

Screenshot 2015-08-17 12.59.38

This Holiday Inn in Victorville, California has a nightly rate starting at $80.10, and requires 20,000 Reward points to redeem one night, so each point is roughly worth:

$80.10/20,000 = 0.004, or 0.4 cents per point

This is an example of a low value redemption. As a general rule, you want to aim for a rewards earn rate above 1 cent.

Screenshot 2015-08-17 12.52.31Here is another Holiday Inn located in downtown Long Beach, California. The rates start from $181.00 a night, and only requires 15,000 Rewards points to redeem one night.

$181.00/15,000 = 0.0121, or 1.21 cents per point

This redemption rate is already 3 times better than the Victorville Holiday Inn rate.

Calculating reward earn rates cannot account for all factors that go into making a hotel decision, but browsing around and comparing will definitely help you spot the better redemption options.

Earn more points with IHG credit card

Credit CardsPurchase APRTransfer InfoAnnual Fee Credit Level
IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

21.49% - 28.49% Variable

21.49% - 28.49% Variable

$99

Good To ExcellentLearn MoreView Card Details
  • Earn 140,000 Bonus Points
  • Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay.
  • Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts
  • Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier cardmember
  • Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 ($120 starting 10/1/24) every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
  • IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®
  • Member FDIC
  • Earn 140,000 Bonus Points
  • Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay.
  • Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts
  • Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier cardmember
  • Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 ($120 starting 10/1/24) every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
  • IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®
  • Member FDIC

Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is prepared by CardBenefit staff. Opinions expressed herein are author's alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotels, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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