Comments on: IHG Rewards review: Everything you need to know

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 13:46:34 +0000

What hotel programs do you recommend for budget travelers over IHG?

By: EC

EC — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 14:12:02 +0000

In reply to NJturtlePower. I did not realize that Chase would allow you to hold the IHG Select and the IHG Premier at the same time. Is there a trick to this?

By: NJturtlePower

NJturtlePower — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 20:32:52 +0000

As an IHG Spire Ambassador for a few years now I’ll share some of my tips and top redemptions to date. I currently hold both the Select and Premier cards…Yes, they were much better with the unlimited annual reward night but they both still have their perks to hold on to for the $138 AF combined.

The Select Card still gets you a 10% points rebate on all reward redemptions plus a free night each year capped at 40k points.

The Premier Card gets you the 4th Night Free perk as well as a free (40K) night each year.

An IHG Ambassador membership gets you a BOGO Weekend Night, and an additional 10% points rebate on Reward stays.

All these perks can be combined for some GREAT vacation deals.

Resorts and hotels to check out…

Holiday Inn Aruba – 40k per Night, can stack award nights back to back with free nights and/or 4th night free from Premier. Platinum and higher get a reserved beach hut all week.

Kimpton Seafire – Grand Cayman (70k P/N) Awesome redemption value here… Rooms go for $500+ in the summer…stayed 7nts last summer all on points + free 4th night. Got 20% back on the 420k points stay which came to 84k points back.

IC Times Square NYC, IC Palazzo or Venetian in Las Vegas are great too for AMB BOGO certs and or 70k reward nights. Loved the few random Kimptons we tried recently as well…

By: Barry

Barry — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 18:52:41 +0000

This should be updated to note that the PointBreaks program has apparently ended, and IHG is saying that they have no current plans to reinstate it. It wasn’t a huge selling point for me, as I rarely found a property on sale that was any place I would be going, but I’m sure some travelers found it valuable.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 03:13:45 +0000

My spouse and I both have the IHG credit card. We stay at Holiday Inn Express when we travel seasonally between 2 homes. So, for the $49 annual fee, we get 2 free nights at hotels that would normally cost us $125.00. However, we have been holding on to our nearly 200,000 IHG points with the hope of scoring some nice hotels via the Points Break program. No such luck. After reading this article, we’ll probably use the points as soon as we can, before they lose more value. We love the relaxed atmosphere of Holiday Inn Express and the attentive service that we always receive there. But, IHG never notifies members of the upcoming Points Break. I always have to remember to do an internet search quarterly. And, they are always stingy about having rooms available. Sometimes, I wonder if the reward rooms actually exist.

By: Jason Stauffer

Jason Stauffer — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 13:52:55 +0000

In reply to Terry Quinn. Good catch, added it.

By: Terry Quinn

Terry Quinn — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 09:21:51 +0000

You have forgotten to mention one new luxury chain IHG now has. Regent. They are mostly in Asia right now but will be expanding globally as I understand it. The HK IC will soon be converted to a Regent.

By: josh

josh — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 07:37:56 +0000

IHG is a bad program. is free night is worth the annual fee? Not if u have marriot platinum and hilton gold who have SO MUCH BETTER benefits (free breakfast, suite upgrqdes) so very difficult for me to ever use IHG. they offer nothing in exchange for loyalty. their free night is worthless to me if i add in the extra cost of breakfast for 2:)

By: Andrew Wan

Andrew Wan — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 19:42:15 +0000

In reply to Daniel Ware. That’s good to know. Yeah, IHG seems to have a pretty good footprint nationwide. I’ll admit I’m a bit partial to Hyatt, but mostly out of habit. I had a great experience the first few times I stayed at a Hyatt property and figured why try something else when I’m happy with their service.

By: Daniel Ware

Daniel Ware — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 01:52:28 +0000

As a former business traveler who had an extensive amount of clients in smaller towns and cities; I found IHG to be more prevalent than Marriott, Hyatt or Hilton. I just took an extensive cross country road trip and found IHG properties where the others either weren’t located allowing my daily driving to be more flexible. I’ve valued the points at ~$0.006/point but on my recent trip without having a single ‘freebie’ by staying 4 or more nights; I averaged about $0.008-1.2/point. These guys aren’t flashy but when I need a safe and comfortable place to sleep they fit the bill.