IHG finally letting members ditch the PIN, create a more-secure passwords

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For years, one of my big frustrations with IHG Rewards has been the lack of security for its online account login. Rather than having members use a secure password, logging into your IHG account only required a four-digit numerical PIN.

While IHG has some protections in place to prevent brute force hacks — in which hackers try every option — it was still an insecure way of protecting accounts. Not surprisingly, we have seen many reports from TPG readers that have had their IHG accounts hacked over the past few years.

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But finally, the era of insecure IHG logins is coming to an end. Starting earlier this week, all IHG Rewards members can ditch their four-digit PIN for a new password, and new IHG members will have to create a secure password when they open a new account.

In confirming the news, an IHG spokesperson confirmed that "existing members are not required to make this update, but new members joining IHG Rewards Club will need to create a password for their account instead of a four-digit PIN. Members will be required to use a password if they forget their PIN. This change underscores our continued commitment to our IHG Rewards Club members."

It takes just a couple of minutes for you to create a secure password, and there's no time like the present to secure your points and miles accounts. So, let's walk through how to do it.

Perhaps the easiest way to create a new account is by starting on IHG's reset password page. By entering your email address on this page, you'll get an email with a link to create your new account.

The other option is to log into your IHG Rewards account and browse to the Personal Information page — which is also accessible by clicking Personal Information on the left side of your IHG "My Account" page. Once on this page, click "edit" next to password to start the password change process:

Your new IHG password needs to be at least eight characters and include at least three of the following: capital letter, lowercase letter, number, special character.

Related: IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card current offer

It's great that IHG Rewards has finally taken this simple but important step to help members keep their accounts more secure. If you haven't followed the above steps yet to set up a new password, I'd recommend doing so now. It's much easier to invest a little bit of time now to make it harder for your account to be hacked than to have to go through the process to restore your points after they've been stolen.