5 Ways to Earn IHG Points and Benefit from their Rewards Program
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Are you familiar with the IHG hotel rewards program and how easy it can be to earn IHG points? Their hotels include brands like Intercontinental, Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, as well as the boutique line of Kimpton hotels.
I’ve stayed in IHG hotels throughout my travels. On a last-minute road trip, I stayed almost primarily at Holiday Inn Expresses. It was the first time I’d stayed at so many hotels in the same loyalty program in that short period of time. And, I was impressed with the consistency of cleanliness and comfort from state to state.
5 Ways to Earn IHG Points &
Benefit from their Rewards Program
1. Get a co-branded IHG credit card.
Current Welcome Bonus: 140,000 IHG points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months.
Favorite Card Features:
- Earn a free night each card anniversary at eligible hotels up to 35k points per night
- 25x on IHG purchases
- 2x on restaurants, gas, and grocery spend, 1x on all other purchases
- 4th night free on award stays
- Platinum Elite status
- No foreign Exchange Fees
Annual Fee: $89
Current Welcome Bonus: 60,000 IHG points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months.
Favorite Card Features:
- 15x on IHG purchases (5x from the card & 10x as an IHG Loyalty Member)
- 2x on restaurants, gas, and grocery spend, 1x on all other purchases
- 4th night free on award stays
- No foreign Exchange Fees
Annual Fee: $0
2. Be an IHG Member who does IHG promotions.
3. Earn IHG points from dining rewards.
4. Use the Cash and Points trick.
5. Take Advantage of IHG Partner Offers.
IHG points are a solid point currency to earn for free hotel award nights.
And, with so many ways for IHG points earning, from the IHG Rewards Club Premier card and the no-fee(!) IHG Traveler Card to the IHG dining program, you could be on your way to an award night sooner than you’d imagined.
How do you earn IHG points and take advantage of the program’s benefits?
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That sounds cool. Signed up for it a couple of weeks ago but so far I have not booked ay hotel yet (would love to have that credit card actually, but I am from Germany so I need to figure out about that 🙂
The 1st step is signing up so great work! The credit card is for U.S. residents so that may be a bit trickier to figure out. Keep an eye out for IHG promotions. They can be quite lucrative and involve paid stays or not.
Sounds like a really good deal. I especially like the fact that are no blackout dates! And that you can use a combination of cash and points. Very informative, thanks!
The cash and points option adds such value to hotel redemptions, Katja. Hope the information will be helpful for you!
Jackie, I am always so impressed how savvy you are with loyalty programs! Is this an American credit card? Seems too good to be true!
Thanks, Amelie! It is an American credit card. But, you can join the IHG loyalty program and take part in some of their promotions and benefits. The cash and points trick can be done with any credit card. 🙂
Wow, that’s quite the hack! I also always look to book through InterContinental, because their best rate guarantee means you get the first night FREE if you find a lower price somewhere else!
I love that best rate guarantee, Tamara. It’s a great IHG perk to add to this post! Hope the cash and points trick comes in handy for you. 🙂
We got the Chase co branded credit card and loving it – were clever enough to apply and have the card come before we moved from the States to Australia, because we have pretty limited options re points here in Aus!
So smart, Meg! The miles and points game is so strong in the US. Best to take advantage while you can. 🙂
Fabulous! These are some amazing tricks I had not heard before and I’m A points hoarder! The refunding is gold.
Thanks, Mar. Us “point hoarders” have to stick together and share tricks! Hope IHG’s cash and points trick comes in handy!
Great suggestions. My best friends use this program and they are always racking up free rooms all over the place. I’m not a Holiday Inn fan so I use my Marriott card for the same but they don’t seem to rack up so easily.
Marriott is a solid program, Melody, and with the acquisition of Starwood, I’d imagine the program gets even better at least on the Marriott side of things. Holiday Inn Express and IHG properties offer really great value. Like you said, the points are just so easy to earn.
Smart strategies with a great program. We prefer to stay at airbnb’s instead of hotels, so this particular program would not apply. However, we do accumulate points through other programs like Chase and United. Like you said, playing the points game can be very beneficial.
Airbnb is a great option for lodging, Rosemary. Chase and United are great miles and points earning programs. Just FYI, although not the best use of your Chase points, you could transfer some to IHG in a pinch or to get started with the cash and points trick.
I love Intercontinental and we stay there often (in fact staying there now in Monterey!), so the points are a big thing for us. I really need to stay informed about the contests and participate in those.
Enjoy your stay in Monterey, Laura! You can log into your IHG account and check your email preferences. Make sure you’re getting promotions to be sure you don’t miss out on anything.
Very informative post, thanks.
Sounds like a cool good deal. I liked the fact that are no blackout dates for us. Great tips.
That’s always the complaint, right Nisha? You have the points but can’t use them because of blackout dates. IHG makes it really simple to earn and burn those points!
I am an IHG memeber and this is really helpful!
So glad to hear, Shiv! Thanks so much for reading!
I actually use the IHG program a lot. I use Hilton, Marriott, & Hyatt too. I try to get the best from each program. I am a blogger who loves hotels. Great post. I like their “Points Break” hotels too. I find that each program has a sweet spot, so love IHG too. I love hotels though again. As always, very helpful post.
Thanks for reading, Tracy. Points Break hotels are great. I hope they’re not gone for good!