The Highlights

IHG is our “utility” hotel points system. If you just need a night or two, and aren’t looking for glitz and glamor, IHG points go a long way.

• The IHG brand consists mostly of Holiday Inns, which are in nearly every small town or international city you might want to stay. We use it as the Hyatt’s “not there” filler.
• There are also several luxury hotels part of IHG’s umbrella, and while redemptions can be high, there is plenty of variety in IHG properties
• The generous sign-up bonuses (especially if you wait for a special offer) will cover 6-8 nights per card.
• IHG is part of the Chase partner rewards system, but IHG redemptions can be very high, so this isn't usually a great transfer option except for topping off.

What to Know About This Point System

The IHG Rewards Club offers points toward a substantial network of hotels, including Holiday Inn, StayBridge Suites, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental and Hotel Indigo. It’s one of our personal favorite cards because you have options in more than 5,400 properties in approximately 100 countries, including hotels in major cities like New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris and London.

Once you pick your stay, there are 4 membership levels to benefit from, each with its own perks: Club, Gold Elite, Platinum (which comes with the IHG Chase Visa) and Spire Elite. Earning is super easy through hotel stays within the IHG network, and on everyday purchases with partner vendors like GrubHub, OpenTable and Hertz.

Points can be transferred to more than 200 partner airlines -- but you'll lose 30% of their value. It's an option if you need to get that last-minute flight or if you're desperate to use your account to ensure that your points won't expire after 12 months of inactivity.

But the best redemption will be for hotel stays. When it comes time to book, make sure to check out the IHG PointBreak list that comes out every few months, where you can book hotels starting at just 5,000 points per night and extend your stay with your anniversary night and your fourth night free bonuses that come with the IHG Chase card.

(WRITER’S NOTE: While traveling through France, we were able to use our complimentary anniversary night in the beautiful city of Lyon. We stocked up on stinky cheese, delicious local wine and warm, fresh bread -- and took it all back to our beautiful hotel room. The room was exceptional: a loft layout with plenty of room for 4 more people, even though it was just the 2 of us. Everything was great. But upon check out, they actually charged us the extremely high one-night hotel rate, claiming they didn’t have any record of it being my anniversary night booking. We paid it with our card and when we got back to the States, we called the card company. Here is where a potentially extremely frustrating situation turns to our favor... It was a total of a 5-minute phone call and with a very apologetic tone the IHG rep sent out a check with the total amount of the hotel stay. So, not only did we walk away with 10x points per $1 from “paying” the nightly rate with our IHG card, but we also got completely reimbursed with no hassle. We’re all human and no system works flawlessly, but it sure is nice when customer service actually caters to … customers).

How to Redeem

Redeem for Hotel Stays

Booking stays at IHG properties is the best use of your IHG One Rewards points. While redemptions start at 5,000 points per night at the lowest-tier properties, this is uncommon and rarely available in major cities or tourist destinations. Because IHG covers a wide range of brands, award prices can reach 150,000–200,000 points points per night.

Notes on best redemption options:

• You can transfer IHG points to airlines, but the 5:1 transfer rate offers poor value and isn’t recommended.
• Don’t expect Hyatt-level value when booking IHG properties.
  • We value IHG points at 0.6¢ per point compared to Hyatt at 1.7¢ per point.
  • This is why we only recommend transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to IHG for top ups.
• Fortunately, IHG’s co-branded credit cards offer strong signup bonuses and useful perks, making them the best way to build balances for award stays.

Cash + Points

IHG also offers a cash+points booking option on all stays. Since award prices are dynamically set, these combinations vary widely. You’re effectively “buying” points when choosing this option, so always check the math:

• If the cost per point is below 0.60¢, it may be a good deal.
• If it’s higher, booking entirely with cash or entirely with points is usually better.

Visit IHG One Rewards