The incredibly easy way of redeeming IHG’s fourth night reward

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with a new card offer and examples. It was most recently published on Aug. 19, 2019.

As a loyal IHG member — thanks in large part to the status and perks of my old IHG Rewards Club Select card — I jumped on applying for the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card shortly right after the card was introduced in April 2018. One of the marquee perks of the card is a fourth night reward on award stays, and it’s a perk I put to good use in my first year as a cardholder.

When it was time to book my first fourth award night stay, I braced myself for a painful process. Would I have to call in to apply this discount? Would I have to pay the full price for the four nights and then get the fourth night refunded? Would I have to find and apply an ever-changing discount code (like American Airlines’ Reduced Mileage Awards)?

Thankfully, I found out pretty quickly that the answer to all of those questions is no. The process is quite simple, as the discount simply applies automatically. Let me show you how easy it is.

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First, you’re going to want to log into your IHG account that’s tied to your IHG Premier Card. If you were just approved for the card, you’ll need to wait a few days for it to be linked to your account. Once logged in, perform an award night search and select your room type. For example, let’s take a New Year’s Eve award night stay in the Holiday Inn New York City — Times Square:

Once you select the rate, you’ll see the points discount applied on the next page. In this example, the four-night stay at this 50,000-points per night property is pricing at 150,000 total points.

While 150,000 points is a lot of points, you can oftentimes buy IHG Rewards points for 0.5 cents each. At that rate, you can pay $750 total for a four-night stay in Times Square including New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

If you haven’t gotten the new IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card yet, you can get most of the way to this redemption through the current all-time-high140,000-point bonus offer after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

The card also comes with IHG Platinum Elite status, which I found to be worth the annual fee by itself. You get a complimentary hotel night per year at a property costing 40,000 points per night or less — a perk that easily makes up for its $89 annual fee.

Related: Hotel credit cards that come with an annual free night

Want to stay longer than four nights? The good news is this benefit works for stays in increments of four nights. I tested an eight-night reservation at a Hotel Indigo in Newark, and the total cost came out to 150,000 points at this 25,000-point hotel.

The bottom line is that getting the fourth award night benefit from the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card is incredibly easy. The discount is applied automatically online, so there’s no need to involve an agent or deal with rebate messiness.

Related: How to extend your hotel award stays with a free night

Featured photo of the InterContinental Johannesburg Sandton Towers courtesy of IHG.