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The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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How to earn and redeem points with IHG Rewards Club partners
Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
January 21, 2021 • 20 min read
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Quick summary
IHG Rewards Club offers a variety of partners that allow members to earn and redeem points beyond hotel stays, including through car rentals, dining, tours and select retail purchases.
Members can choose to earn airline miles instead of IHG points on qualifying stays, but this often results in lower value compared to earning IHG points, per TPG's valuations as of June 2024.
Redeeming IHG points for airline miles is possible with over 30 partners, though the conversion rates typically reduce the value of your points significantly.
IHG points are valued at 0.5 cents each as of June 2024 per TPG's valuations, and maximizing value is generally achieved by redeeming for hotel stays, especially with certain booking benefits.
What to consider
Some partner earning and redemption options may not provide optimal value, so comparing rates and potential returns is important before choosing how to use points.
Transferring points to airline partners or using points for non-hotel redemptions usually offers less value than redeeming for hotel nights.
Certain offers and promotions mentioned may no longer be available.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of partner earning rates, redemption ratios and specific strategies to maximize IHG Rewards Club points value.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
If you’re looking for new ways to earn and burn IHG points, you should look into IHG Rewards Club’s various partners. Similar to other hotel loyalty programs, these partners provide options for earning points on everyday activities. These partners also offer some non-travel options for redeeming points. Today I'll take a closer look at the IHG Rewards Club program’s partners and how they can help you maximize your rewards.
IHG credit card partners
One way to earn IHG points and get elite status is through cobranded IHG credit cards. There are currently two IHG credit cards available: the $89 annual fee IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card and the no annual fee IHG Rewards Traveler Credit Card.
IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card
(Photo by The Points Guy)
Even if you only stay with IHG a few times each year, the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card may be worth it. The IHG Premier comes with many benefits, including:
Up to 25x points at IHG hotels and resorts (12.5% return based on TPG’s valuations)
10x points when you pay with your IHG Premier Card, up to 10x base points as an IHG member and up to 5x bonus points as a Platinum Elite
2x points at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants (1% return)
Currently, the card also offers a sign-up bonus of 125,000 bonus points, plus a reward night (worth up to 40k points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. Based on TPG’s valuations, this bonus is worth up to $825 (including reward night).
If you can’t justify the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card's annual fee, you may want to consider the no-annual-fee IHG Rewards Traveler Credit Card.
The IHG Traveler Card currently offers a sign-up bonus of 80,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. TPG values this bonus at $400.
With the IHG Traveler Card, you’ll get access to the same fourth-night reward benefit as the IHG Premier Card and you won’t need to pay any foreign transaction fees. The IHG Traveler card earns up to 15x points at IHG hotels and resorts (5x points when you pay with your IHG Traveler Card and up to 10x points as an IHG member), 2x points at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants and 1x points on everything else. However, since TPG values IHG points at 0.5 cents each, the IHG Traveler Card's return rate isn’t impressive.
IHG Trip Extras is a booking platform that allows you to earn IHG points on car rentals, tours and activities, restaurants and transportation services. Specifically, you’ll earn IHG points as follows when you book through the IHG Trip Extras portal:
Hertz car rentals: Save on rentals and earn 1,500 IHG Rewards Club points. Elite members earn an extra 500 points per day. Club members earn 125 points per day
Dollar and Thrifty car rentals: Get discounts and earn 125 IHG Rewards Club points per day
Viator tours and activities: Earn 1,000 IHG Rewards Club points per activity booking
OpenTable reservations: Earn up to 500 IHG Rewards Club points when you make an OpenTable restaurant reservation, although many restaurants only earn 150 points (worth less than $1)
GrubHub food delivery to select U.S. IHG hotels: Earn 500 IHG points for your first Grubhub order placed through IHG’s food delivery page and 250 points for every subsequent order
Viator transport services: Earn up to 1,000 IHG Rewards Club points per transportation booking
While you can earn IHG points on rentals and services, you should compare prices to ensure you aren’t paying more just to earn points.
IHG and the Rewards Network have partnered on the IHG Rewards Club Dining program to offer IHG points at select restaurants. You simply need to join the program, enroll a credit or debit card, then use it for dining at eligible restaurants, bars and clubs.
The earning rate depends on your elite status level within the IHG Rewards Club Dining program:
VIP members earn 8x points (4% return based on TPG’s valuations)
Select members earn 5x points (2.5% return)
Basic members earn 1x (0.5% return)
To earn Select status, opt-in to receive emails. To earn VIP status, opt-in to receive emails and complete 11 qualified transactions in a calendar year. Once you reach VIP status, you’ll keep it for the rest of the current year as well as the following calendar year.
You can currently earn 1,000 bonus IHG points when you join, spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant within 30 days, pay with an enrolled card, and then complete an online review within 30 days of your visit.
Thanks to IHG’s partnership with Apple, you can earn 4x IHG points on Apple products. You’ll need to enter the email address associated with your IHG account and then you’ll be redirected to the online Apple store. There, you’ll earn IHG points when you purchase select products.
You’ll want to double-check that your purchases aren't on the list of excluded items. It’s also worth considering whether you can get a higher return through a different online shopping portal.
IHG Rewards Club members can choose to earn airline miles or points instead of IHG points on qualifying stays. To do so, simply change your earning preferences from points to miles in your online IHG Rewards Club account. Click on the preferences tab and scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you’ll see an “Earning Preferences” section.
Currently, you can earn miles or points with the following airline programs:
Airline programs
Airline earning rate (return based on TPG’s valuations when available)
3 points per $1 AUD at all IHG hotels located in Australia
600 points per stay at all IHG hotels located outside Australia
By earning airline miles, you won’t earn IHG points or elite bonus points on your stays. To put this into perspective, a Club member would typically earn 5x IHG points at Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites (2.5% return based on TPG’s valuations) and 10x at most other IHG properties (5% return).
Due to a 50% bonus, a Platinum Elite member would earn 7.5x IHG points at Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites (3.75% return) and 15x at most other IHG properties (7.5% return). So, it usually won’t make sense to earn airline miles instead of IHG points on your stays.
IHG Rewards Club members can redeem their IHG points for airline miles with select airline partners. To do so, you must call the IHG Rewards Club Customer Care Center.
You can redeem IHG points in increments of 10,000 points, which TPG values at $50. Here are the current redemption rates for each of IHG’s airline partners:
As you can tell from the table, transferring your IHG points to these airline partners isn’t always a good idea. In most cases, you’ll slash the value of your IHG points by almost half if you redeem them for airline miles.
TPG values IHG points at 0.5 cents each. However, I'm often able to get higher value from my points by utilizing the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card’s fourth-night reward benefit.
Can I transfer IHG points to airlines?
You can transfer IHG points to over 30 different airlines. See the “Redeem for airline miles” section above for more details.
How much does it cost to transfer IHG points?
You can transfer IHG points to another IHG Rewards Club member in 1,000-point increments at a rate of $5 per 1,000 points. There are no caps on how many points you can transfer or receive.
Is IHG membership free?
There is no cost to become an IHG Rewards Club member.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
