IHG is one of the most prominent hotel chains in the world. You’ve almost certainly stayed at an IHG hotel, whether you know it or not (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, etc.).
Similar to most travel rewards currencies, the value of IHG points depends on how they’re redeemed. You may get 0.4 cents per point from them at one hotel and 1.5 cents in value from another. Let’s examine how much IHG points are worth on average — and show you the best and worst ways to use them.
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The value of IHG points when booking with IHG
On average, IHG points are worth around 0.5 cents each when redeemed for hotel stays. It’s certainly possible to get much more (or less) value from them — but generally speaking, this is the lowest you should accept from your IHG rewards.
To find the value you’re getting for your IHG points, use the following simple formula:
(Room rate – taxes and fees associated with your award night ) / number of points = value per point.
Let’s look at a couple of examples:
A night at the luxury Six Senses La Sagesse goes for $900. The same room costs just 85,000 IHG points, giving you an excellent value of over 1 cent per point ($900 / 85,000 = 1.05 cents)
Alternatively, the Holiday Inn Express: Branford-New Haven charges 27,000 points for a standard room that otherwise costs $161 per night. This gives you a value of 0.59 cents per point ($161 / 27,000 points = 0.59 cents).
You’ll typically find that the best use of your IHG points is for either luxury or low-category properties. The in-betweeners often return unremarkable value.
The value of IHG points when transferring to a partner
It’s never a bad thing when a hotel program gives you extra options for redeeming your points. But truly one of the absolute worst ways to use your IHG points is to convert them into airline miles.
IHG has partnered with a whopping 40 airline programs, giving you the ability to either earn miles on hotel stays or turn your hotel points into airline miles. The list includes most major airlines – including popular carriers like Delta, United Airlines, JetBlue, American Airlines, and British Airways.
The problem is that the conversion rate is downright offensive. In most cases, you’ll receive 2,000 airline miles for every 10,000 IHG points you transfer (though with Air New Zealand, you’ll get 25 Airpoints). Here’s a list of transfer ratios for each airline:
- Aeromexico Rewards (5:1)
- Air Canada Aeroplan (5:1)
- Air China PhoenixMiles (5:1)
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue (5:1)
- Air Miles (40:1)
- Air New Zealand Airpoints (400:1)
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan (5:1)
- ANA Mileage Club (5:1)
- American Airlines AAdvantage (5:1)
- Avianca Lifemiles (5:1)
- The British Airways Club (5:1)
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (5:1)
- China Eastern Miles (5:1)
- China Southern Sky Pearl Club (5:1)
- Delta SkyMiles (5:1)
- Emirates Skywards (5:1)
- Etihad Guest (5:1)
- Gulf Air Falconflyer (5:1)
- Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club (5:1)
- Club Iberia Plus (5:1)
- Intermiles (5:1)
- Japan Airlines Mileage Bank (5:1)
- JetBlue TrueBlue (5:1)
- Korean Air SkyPass (5:1)
- Malaysia Airlines Enrich (5:1)
- MilleMiglia (5:1)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer (5:1)
- Saudia AlFursan (5:1)
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (5:1)
- South African Airways Voyager (5:1)
- TAP Portugal Miles&Go (5:1)
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus (5:1)
- United Airlines MileagePlus (5:1)
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (5:1)
- Virgin Australia Velocity (5:1)
Seeing as IHG points are worth an average of 0.5 cents each, you’re effectively converting 2.5 cents in value for a single airline mile. That’s considerably more than airline miles are generally worth (more than double, in many cases!), making this an unwise redemption in almost every case.
The one exception would be if you’re just a few thousand points away from a valuable award flight and you don’t want to pay for miles.
What can you get with your IHG points?
IHG has a wide range of brands — from five-star resorts to nondescript hotels along the highway. No matter the occasion of your trip, you can book the perfect hotel with IHG points.
For example, you’ll find luxury brands like InterContinental and Six Senses in big cities and far-flung destinations. Extended stay properties like Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites are often in cities and towns where business and leisure travelers want to stay longer than just a few nights. You’ll find ubiquitous brands like Holiday Inn all along the highway when you need to rest your head during a road trip.
The value of IHG points when redeeming for Amazon.com purchases, statement credits, or gift cards
As a rule, using IHG points for anything other than hotel stays is a bad idea. They give you very little return on anything else (as covered in the airline miles cautionary tale above).
IHG points don’t have an intrinsic cash value. You can’t redeem them for cash or a statement credit on your credit card. However, you can buy merchandise through the IHG One Catalog. You can buy electronics, appliances, sports equipment, event tickets, and more. Again, it’s a spectacularly bad deal.
You can even buy gift cards — meaning you can sort of cash your points out. For example, you can buy a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card for 49,000. That’s a paltry 0.2 cents per point, which is not a good use of points. All gift cards offer around the same value for your points.
The best use of your IHG points
- Five-star hotels
- Low-category hotels
- Combined with an IHG free night certificate
- Award stays of four nights or more when combined with an IHG credit card’s fourth night free perk
The worst use of your IHG points
- Converting into airline miles
- Merchandise and gift cards through the IHG One Catalog
- Anything else not related to IHG hotels
Frequently asked questions about IHG points
How much are 10,000 IHG points worth?
10,000 IHG points are worth around $50 in hotel stays. It’s possible to book a night at a cheap hotel (or two!) with this small points balance, but you’ll generally only find them in other countries like Japan. Expect to pay more within the U.S.
How much are 30,000 IHG points worth?
30,000 IHG points are worth around $150 in hotel stays. You can easily book a mid-tier hotel, such as a Holiday Inn or a Candlewood Suites at this rate.
How much are 50,000 IHG points worth?
50,000 IHG points are worth around $250 in hotel stays. You can book the vast majority of IHG hotels with this many points — and even book a night at select upscale properties like Kimpton.
How much are 75,000 IHG points worth?
75,000 IHG points are worth around $375 in hotel stays. You can book many luxury InterContinental hotels at this rate or less. You can also book a fun three-day weekend at a mid-tier hotel.
How much are 100,000 IHG points worth?
100,000 IHG points are worth around $500 in hotel stays. With this many points, you can book a night at jaw-dropping resorts like Six Senses. These are IHG’s most unique and memorable properties. Some hotels charge more — but with flexible dates, you can book nearly any IHG hotel (as long as there’s standard availability).
How many IHG points does it take for a free hotel night?
IHG hotels start at 5,000 points per night. However, prices tend to start at 10,000 points within the U.S.
How many IHG points does it take for a free flight?
The number of IHG points for a free flight depends on the airline you’re transferring points to. Airlines charge different award prices based on your travel date and route. That said, some airlines allow you to book a flight for as little as 4,500 miles. This would require you to convert at least 22,500 IHG points.
How many IHG points to fly business class to Europe?
To fly business class to Europe, you’ll often need around 50,000 miles or more — though a handful of airlines offer better deals. Iberia lets you book business class seats to Madrid and Barcelona from select East Coast cities for as little as 40,500 Avios. You’ll likely need to convert over 250,000 IHG points to airline miles to get a business class seat to Europe.
Do IHG points expire?
IHG points expire after 12 months of inactivity. You can reset this expiration clock by either earning or redeeming points. This can include purchasing points, swiping your IHG credit card at the grocery store every now and then, transferring points to a friend, etc.
Also, your points will never expire as long as you have IHG Silver elite status or higher.
Summary
IHG points are exceptionally valuable because of IHG’s large footprint. You’ll find their properties in just about every city, as well as many smaller towns. Though their value varies depending on how you use them, you should be able to squeeze a value of 0.5 cents from them without much trouble. Any less than that, and it’s not a good deal.
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