• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Globetrotting Teacher

Experience the World Point by Point

  • Destinations
  • Miles and Points
    • Miles & Points Guides
    • Travel Hacking Basics
    • Student Course Log-In
  • Credit Cards
    • Travel Rewards Credit Cards
    • Airline Credit Cards
    • Hotel Credit Cards
    • Business Credit Cards
  • New York City
  • Travel Tips
    • Travel Resources
    • Travel Gear
  • About
    • Work With Us
    • Blogging Tools I Use

Updated on April 20, 2020 By Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie 24 Comments
This post contains affiliate links which earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please read my Disclosure and Privacy pages for more info. Additionally, The Globetrotting Teacher has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. The Globetrotting Teacher and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

5 Ways to Earn IHG Points and Benefit from their Rewards Program

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links that earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The Globetrotting Teacher has also partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. The Globetrotting Teacher and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Please read my Disclosure to learn more.

Updated on April 20, 2020

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.

With over 5,500 hotels around the world, IHG offers a wide range of hotels in all comfort categories. What’s even better is how easy it can be to earn IHG points. In this guide, I’ll highlight some of the most lucrative ways to build up your IHG points balance to use for award nights.

5 Ways to Earn IHG Points & Benefit from the IHG Rewards Program

5 Ways to Earn IHG Points &
Benefit from their Rewards Program

1. Get a co-branded IHG credit card.

Chase offers 2 IHG cards, the IHG Premier Card and the IHG Traveler Card. These are updated card offerings from the old IHG card with its $49 annual fee and free night certificate at any IHG property around the globe.
 
The IHG Rewards Club Premier is IHG’s premium credit card. Currently, it has the highest welcome bonus ever offered on the 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

 
Hotel Room
 
The IHG Traveler Card is also a great option if you’re looking to earn free nights at IHG hotels. This no-fee card is offering its highest welcome bonus ever, too!
 

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

 
Both of the IHG cards are subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule. But the good news is you can also apply for a new IHG card even if you have the old version. Each IHG card is considered a different product.
 
The IHG Rewards Club Premier card with its anniversary night can offer great value, even though the perk is restricted to hotels up to 40k per night.
 
The Holiday Inn Express in Springdale, Utah, just 5 minutes from Zion National Park, is $250+ a night during the peak spring, summer, and fall seasons! Paying the $89 annual fee in exchange for a free night certificate can return a decent value when redeemed strategically.

angels landing Zion National Park

2. Be an IHG Member who does IHG promotions.

First and foremost, IHG members earn more points for paid stays than non-members. It’s free to join and an absolute no-brainer if you’re a miles and points enthusiast.
 
While there haven’t been any recent 100k IHG promotions for mailing in promotion entries, IHG does have frequent Accelerate promotions that allow you to earn IHG points for completing a series of tasks in a set amount of time.
 
As an IHG member, you’ll get emails announcing these promotions. Once registered, you’ll see your personal Accelerate offer. It’s a good idea to always register because you never know where or when you might end up staying in an IHG hotel.
 
Dining Program
You could be eating here instead of your local pizza place sooner than you realize!

3. Earn IHG points from dining rewards.

Airline and Hotel dining rewards programs are a set it and forget it way to earn miles and points. The IHG dine and earn program is the same. Essentially, you can earn 5 or 8 IHG points (depending on your dining rewards status level) for every $ you spend at a participating restaurant.
 
Even if there are just 2-3 restaurants in your area and you dine or take out just once in a while, the points will add up. Once you’re signed up (it’s free!), you’ll earn points automatically without you needing to do anything else.
 
You can read more in my dining rewards guide.

4. Use the Cash and Points trick.

Don’t have enough points for a free night? IHG allows a combination of cash and points to book that reward night. When searching for availability on IHG, set the rate preference as “Reward Nights.” The search results will display showing the number of IHG points needed per reward night. Just beneath this, note the smaller text showing the cash and point options.
IHG Search Results Screenshot
Staybridge Suites is an IHG Brand. Do you see the cash and point options listed? Credit: IHG Screenshot
 
IHG lets you purchase the extra points you need for the redemption. And, here’s the trick.
 
First, make sure you have at least 5k IHG points in your account or else it won’t work. A paid stay, the co-branded credit card, the IHG Dining Program, and IHG promotions are all easy ways to earn this minimum. As a last resort, you could also transfer Chase UR points to IHG.
 
If you have just 5k IHG points in your account, find a hotel on IHG’s website needing 15k IHG points per night. (Otherwise, any hotel that you’re short points for a reward night will do.) That’ll be a lower-tier property, probably in a small town or less popular area. Note the cash and points option will allow you to pay 15k IHG points, 10k IHG points + $40, or 5k IHG points + $70.
 
IHG Cash and Points Trick
Here’s a 15k Holiday Inn Express in Southington, Connecticut. Credit: IHG Screenshot
 
The 10k + $40 option gets you the remaining 5k points needed for a reward night for .8 cents each but the 5k + $70 option values the needed 10k points at .7 cents each. (Keep your eyes peeled for select hotels offering the purchase of 15k points at $90 for an even better .6 cents each!)
 
Choose the $70 option for better value (every tenth of a penny counts!). You’ll now be using your existing points plus the $70 option to purchase the remaining 10k IHG points needed for a reward night.
 
Complete the booking. Note the $70 you used to purchase points is non-refundable. You WON’T get your money back.
 
Are you wondering what the “trick” is? Here it is.
 
Afterward, cancel the booking you just made. Your existing IHG points will be put back into your account. BUT, so will the 10k IHG points you purchased for $70! The cash and points trick helped you add 10k IHG points to your account for just .7 cents each. This process can be repeated until you have the needed points for your actual booking.
 
Are you wondering how this is a good deal if you’re paying $70 for each increment of 10k IHG points?
 
Let’s say you wanted to stay at the Intercontinental Paris Le-Grand for a night in June. Who doesn’t love Paris in June?
 
IHG cash and points trick
Search results for the Intercontinental in Paris Credit: IHG Screenshot
 
The rate per night is 558 Euros or roughly $643 U.S. dollars! Let’s imagine you have 10k existing IHG points. You’re 50k points shy, right? IHG is a Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partner, but not a great value at all for your UR points.
 
You go through the IHG cash and points trick 5 times to top up your account with 50k points for a total of $350 U.S. dollars. (You’ll need to do this over 2 days, as IHG caps the amount you can spend on points at $280 a day.) You now have the 60k IHG points needed for a “reward night” and you paid $350 instead of the $643 quoted in the cash rate.
 
Even with a lower-tier property like the Southington Holiday Inn Express shown above, the rate is $98. If you had 5k IHG points and spent $70 to buy the needed 10k, it would still come equal savings.
 
Of course, always check IHG to make sure there are reward nights available, as well as check the hotel nightly rate on IHG’s website to make sure this “trick” works out to be a good value.

5. Take Advantage of IHG Partner Offers.

Whether you’re renting a car with Hertz, completing surveys, or shopping a partner offer, there are opportunities to add to your IHG points balance. Make a habit to check on the IHG website for the latest partner-earning offers.
 
For example, you can earn 4x the IHG points for every dollar spent at Apple. This can be a great way to rack up points, especially if you’re making a big purchase on a new phone or laptop.
IHG APPLE Earning
 

 

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?

Like this post? Please share it on social media using the share buttons below!

Other Posts You're Sure to Love

  • Why It (Sometimes) Makes Sense to Pay For Hotel StaysWhy It (Sometimes) Makes Sense to Pay For Hotel Stays
  • The Wonders of Shopping PortalsThe Wonders of Shopping Portals
  • Which Travel Rewards Credit Cards to Look at Right Now (January 2021)Which Travel Rewards Credit Cards to Look at Right Now (January 2021)
  • 15 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make as a Points and Miles Beginner15 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make as a Points and Miles Beginner
  • 324shares
  • Facebook126
  • Twitter0
  • Pinterest198
  • LinkedIn0
  • Reddit0
  • Flipboard

Filed Under: Miles and Points Tagged With: hotel, IHG, miles, points, travel hacking

Affiliate Disclosure

The Globetrotting Teacher is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Additionally, The Globetrotting Teacher has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. The Globetrotting Teacher and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Comments & responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Arzo Travels says

    May 5, 2016 at 3:02 am

    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 🙂

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 5, 2016 at 9:01 pm

      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.

  2. Katja says

    May 7, 2016 at 10:41 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 8, 2016 at 5:59 pm

      The cash and points option adds such value to hotel redemptions, Katja. Hope the information will be helpful for you!

  3. Amelie Gagne says

    May 7, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 8, 2016 at 5:57 pm

      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. 🙂

  4. Tamara Elliott says

    May 8, 2016 at 12:00 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 8, 2016 at 5:50 pm

      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. 🙂

  5. Meg Jerrard says

    May 8, 2016 at 7:33 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 8, 2016 at 5:45 pm

      So smart, Meg! The miles and points game is so strong in the US. Best to take advantage while you can. 🙂

  6. Mar says

    May 8, 2016 at 9:04 am

    Fabulous! These are some amazing tricks I had not heard before and I’m A points hoarder! The refunding is gold.

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 8, 2016 at 5:43 pm

      Thanks, Mar. Us “point hoarders” have to stick together and share tricks! Hope IHG’s cash and points trick comes in handy!

  7. melody pittman says

    May 8, 2016 at 10:35 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 8, 2016 at 5:41 pm

      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.

  8. Rosemary says

    May 8, 2016 at 7:50 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 8, 2016 at 9:16 pm

      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.

  9. Laura Lynch says

    May 9, 2016 at 11:52 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 9, 2016 at 6:30 pm

      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.

  10. Nisha says

    May 10, 2016 at 6:11 am

    Very informative post, thanks.

    Sounds like a cool good deal. I liked the fact that are no blackout dates for us. Great tips.

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 10, 2016 at 6:15 am

      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!

  11. shiv says

    May 13, 2016 at 6:53 pm

    I am an IHG memeber and this is really helpful!

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      May 14, 2016 at 9:18 am

      So glad to hear, Shiv! Thanks so much for reading!

  12. Tracy Spiegner says

    April 23, 2020 at 2:42 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie says

      April 24, 2020 at 12:37 pm

      Thanks for reading, Tracy. Points Break hotels are great. I hope they’re not gone for good!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About Me

Hi, I'm Jackie, the Globetrotting Teacher. Travel has been life-changing for me whether I'm traveling solo or with my favorite travel partner, Peter my husband! Learn more about my travels and how I use miles and points to travel around the globe. About Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

TGT Holiday Deals!

12-must-have-gifts-sidebar

Search the Site

Get Started with Points and Miles!

12-must-have-gifts-sidebar

New Chase Freedom Flex!

Earn $200 after spending $500 in 3 months!
Earn 5% on groceries up to $12k in the 1st year, quarterly bonus categories (up to $1,500 each quarter), & for travel booked in the Chase Travel Portal
Earn 3% on drug stores & dining
Earn 1% on all other purchases

This is an excellent offer(!)
for anyone wanting to earn cashback and/or travel rewards points from their everyday spending!

Learn more about the
Freedom Flex!

Footer

Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, The Globetrotting Teacher earns from qualifying purchases.

The Globetrotting Teacher has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. The Globetrotting Teacher and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

[Disclosure]

[Privacy Policy]

Copyright

All photos & content are copyrighted & belong to Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie at The Globetrotting Teacher unless otherwise cited and may not be reproduced or used elsewhere without permission. DMCA.com Protection Status
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Like every website with social media buttons, commenting, affiliates, and analytics embedded, The Globetrotting Teacher uses cookies. Please click ok to accept and/or visit my Privacy Policy to learn more. OK Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.