Easy methods to redeem IHG factors

I often keep at IHG properties, primarily due to the worth I can get when redeeming IHG factors. Though IHG moved to dynamic award pricing in 2020, I’ve continued getting stable worth from my IHG factors.

Here is what you might want to learn about redeeming IHG One Rewards factors for stays, flights and extra.

You possibly can redeem IHG factors for many IHG stays by IHG’s web site, app or buyer care. Nevertheless, chances are you’ll be unable to redeem IHG factors at some InterContinental Residences, IHG Military Motels and Six Senses properties.

You possibly can often solely redeem IHG factors for traditional room varieties. Reward nights embrace taxes and charges — besides at Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, the place you will have to pay native and conditional taxes or charges — however do not embrace resort charges, service fees, transportation, gratuities and incidentals.

Since IHG makes use of dynamic award pricing, the variety of factors you will have to redeem for a reward night time will differ. IHG’s phrases and situations say reward night time pricing “might differ in accordance with a number of components, together with however not restricted to model, lodge, and day of week.” Though there are no reward night time blackout dates, chances are you’ll not discover award availability for some stays as a result of “room stock is restricted and topic to prior sale,” in accordance with IHG’s phrases and situations.

To examine award night time availability and pricing, begin on IHG’s web site or app. Enter your vacation spot, check-in date, checkout date and variety of visitors. Choose “Reward Nights” from the drop-down menu below “Fee Choice.”

The following web page will present you the award night time outcomes to your search question. You possibly can filter these outcomes by facilities or manufacturers. You can too kind by numerous metrics, together with distance, value and ranking.

Click on on “Map” to see the place the properties are positioned inside your vacation spot.

When you click on “Choose Lodge” for one of many properties, you will see the room choices you possibly can e-book with factors to your keep. Some properties might solely provide one room sort, whereas others might provide a wide range of room setups or views. Scroll by the choices, and choose the most effective room sort to your journey.

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It is also price checking paid charges by clicking the “Cash” button. For instance, I might e-book a versatile charge with free cancellation till two days earlier than check-in at this Lodge Indigo for both 31,000 IHG factors or $202 on the pattern date I picked. So, redeeming factors for this keep would yield a redemption charge of 0.65 cents per level. (That is increased than TPG’s October 2024 valuation of IHG factors at 0.5 cents per level, so it is a redemption we would advocate.)

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Let’s assume you toggled again to the “Factors” tab, clicked on the 31,000 factors per night time choice and clicked “Choose.” Doing so would take you to the final web page earlier than confirming your reservation. Be sure you examine the cancellation coverage on this closing web page. Most reward night time stays are free to cancel till shortly earlier than your keep, however cancellation insurance policies differ.

IHG often affords reward night time reductions to eligible Platinum Elite, Diamond Elite and IHG One Rewards bank card holders. You may often get an e-mail from IHG about these reward night time reductions, however you usually should e-book rapidly to benefit from the discounted charges.

Lastly, observe that IHG’s phrases and situations now enable a second visitor listed on a reward night time reservation to remain even when the member who booked the reward night time is not staying. So you possibly can redeem your IHG factors for a buddy or member of the family’s keep. Nevertheless, there are extra necessities in case your keep is inside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.

Associated: Easy methods to maximize redemptions with the IHG One Rewards program

Fourth-night-free reward

Maybe one of the best ways to get higher worth when redeeming IHG factors is to get an IHG bank card with the fourth-night-free reward perk. This perk lets cardholders of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit score Card, the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit score Card and the IHG One Rewards Premier Enterprise Credit score Card pay zero factors for each fourth night time when redeeming factors for stays of 4 nights or extra.

With out this profit, this four-night keep on the Vacation Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives would price 220,000 factors.

Since I’ve the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit score Card, which affords the fourth-night-free reward perk to cardholders, I might solely have to redeem 125,000 factors for this four-night keep. (Sure, the fourth night time was 95,000 factors on the dates I randomly chosen.)

Even if you happen to redeem IHG factors solely a few times a 12 months for stays of 4 nights or longer, this precious perk alone makes it price getting and protecting an IHG bank card.

Associated: Why you need to get (and hold) the IHG One Rewards Premier card

Factors and money

As you might need observed in some screenshots above, you may as well e-book factors and money charges. Know, although, that you just’re successfully shopping for factors once you e-book an IHG factors and money charge, so you will be refunded solely in IHG factors if you happen to cancel your reserving inside the free cancellation interval.

It is price working by the mathematics and checking the speed at which you’ll be able to purchase IHG factors outright earlier than you e-book a factors and money charge. For instance, contemplate this one-night keep in New York Metropolis.

For a one-night keep in an ordinary room with a king-size mattress and free cancellation till sooner or later earlier than your arrival, you would pay:

• 52,000 factors
• 42,000 factors and $69
• 32,000 factors and $134
• 22,000 factors and $194
• 17,000 factors and $219
• 12,000 factors and $239
• $351

If you happen to redeemed 52,000 factors for this night time that might in any other case price $351, you’d get a redemption charge of 0.675 cents per level. In the meantime, if you happen to booked a points-and-cash charge, you’d successfully purchase IHG factors for between 0.598 and 0.69 cents per level.

Associated: Easy methods to earn IHG factors through stays, bank cards and extra

Like many lodge rewards packages, you possibly can switch your IHG factors to varied airline companions. You possibly can see all of the airline choices on IHG’s earn miles web page. Nevertheless, most packages switch at a charge of 10,000 IHG factors to 2,000 airline miles. So, you are virtually sure to lose worth once you redeem your IHG factors for airline miles.

Due to this, you need to solely contemplate transferring IHG factors to an airline if you might want to high up your account stability for a particular redemption. In any other case, you will virtually actually get higher worth when redeeming IHG factors for lodge stays.

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IHG One Rewards Entry

By IHG One Rewards Entry, you possibly can redeem IHG factors for choose experiences, together with sports activities and unique occasions. Generally, you possibly can safe an expertise for a set variety of factors; different instances, you will have to enter a bid in a web-based public sale for the possibility to win.

Journey add-ons

You can too redeem IHG factors for actions in choose cities, together with Las Vegas.

Whereas this might sound interesting, examine comparable paid charges earlier than redeeming your IHG factors to make sure you get an excellent redemption worth.

IHG One Rewards catalog

You possibly can redeem IHG factors for merchandise, reward playing cards, donations and extra by the IHG One Rewards catalog. For instance, you possibly can redeem between 1,000 and a pair of,500 IHG factors for a yearlong journal subscription.

You can too redeem IHG factors for reward playing cards to varied retailers. Here is what number of factors you will have to redeem for bodily reward playing cards of various quantities:

• $100 reward card: 49,000 factors (redemption charge of 0.2 cents per level)
• $50 reward card: 25,000 factors (redemption charge of 0.2 cents per level)
• $25 reward card: 13,000 factors (redemption charge of 0.19 cents per level)
• $15 reward card: 8,000 factors (redemption charge of 0.19 cents per level)
• $10 reward card: 5,500 factors (redemption charge of 0.18 cents per level)

You can too redeem IHG factors for merchandise, together with headphones, backpacks and laptop computer computer systems. If you happen to do not see what you need, you possibly can request distinctive devices and big-ticket gadgets by the rewards concierge.

Lastly, you possibly can donate your factors to charity, with choices beginning at simply 2,500 factors.

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