How To Calculate IHG Rewards Points
Full breakdown of earning IHG base points, elite status points, and credit card points. Earn up to 30 IHG Points per $1 spent at IHG brand hotels.
If you're dedicated to IHG, you have the possibility to rake in anywhere between 10 to 30 IHG Points per $1 spent at IHG brand hotels when you factor in IHG Base Points along with bonus points earned with IHG elite status and IHG credit cards.
Getting Started & Things To Note
IHG Points are most commonly earned by booking stays at IHG brand hotels. Before I dive into the earning structure within the IHG Rewards Club program, there's a few things you'll want to do and know about beforehand.
Sign Up For An IHG Rewards Club Account
You can't build IHG Points without having an IHG Rewards Club account. IHG accounts are free to sign up for and only requires a few bits of information.
How To Sign Up
- Head over to IHG.com.
- Click Sign Up/Join at the top of the page.
- Click on the option that says Join Now.
- Fill out the requested information and create a 4-digit PIN.
- Confirm everything by clicking Join Now.
You'll be give an IHG Rewards Club number. You'll need this number and the 4-digit PIN number you created to sign into your account, so be sure to keep up with both.
Book Direct With IHG
In order to earn IHG Points on your hotel stays, you will need to book your IHG stays directly with IHG. This means booking your hotel stays via:
- IHG.com
- Through any IHG hotel brand page (such as holidayinn.com)
- The IHG mobile app
- Over the phone with IHG (1-877-424-2449)
Booking your stay through a third party site such as Hotels.com, Expedia, and Orbitz will not earn you IHG Points on your stay. If you have elite status with IHG and book through a third party, it will more than likely not be honored. Booking direct is usually the best way to go if you're loyal to any specific brand.
IHG Hotel Brands
You can't earn IHG Points booking at a non-IHG brand hotel and since their no 'IHG Hotel'-brand, you'll need to know where you can book your stays at. IHG has more than 15 brand hotels you can choose from which ranges from mainstream to luxury. You can book with any of the following IHG brands to earn IHG Points:
- InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
- Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
- Regent Hotels & Resorts
- Six Senses Hotels & Resorts
- Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts
- EVEN Hotels
- Hotel Indigo
- Hualuxe Hotels & Resorts
- voco
- Avid Hotels
- Candlewood Suites
- Holiday Inn
- Holiday Inn Club Vacations
- Holiday Inn Express
- Holiday Inn Resort
- Staybridge Suites
- Atwell Hotels
Most of these IHG brands have their own website (such as holidayinn.com). You can book through the brands website or directly through IHG.com.
How To Calculate IHG Points
As previously stated, IHG Points are primarily earned staying at IHG brand hotels. The IHG Points you earn will consist of base points, elite points, and points earned using IHG credit cards. You can also earn additional IHG Points through various promotions.
IHG Base Points
All IHG members will earn 10 IHG Points per $1 spent on the base cost of the room rate at IHG brand hotels (except Staybridge and Candlewood in which you will earn 5 points). You will not earn IHG Points on the taxes and fees associated with your stay.
If the total cost of your room rate is $187.50, you would earn a total of 1,875 base points on your stay. This is calculate by multiplying the room rate cost by 10. Remember to not include the taxes and fees which included in the final price when booking your IHG hotel.
| How To Calculate Base Rate - Examples IHG Rewards Club |
||
|---|---|---|
| Cost Per Night | Nights Stayed | Points Earned |
| $85 | 3 Nights = $85 x 3 x 10 |
2,550 Points |
| $120 | 4 Nights = $120 x 4 x 10 |
4,800 Points |
| $200 | 2 Nights = $200 x 2 x 10 |
4,000 Points |
Another things to note is that you will only earn IHG Points on paid nights. Award nights booked with IHG Points will not earn you points since you will not be paying the room rate.
IHG Elite Points
IHG elite status comes with many benefits and amongst those benefits are bonus points when staying at IHG brand hotels. IHG elite status is based on nights stayed or base points earned at IHG hotels. The percentage of bonus points you earn will be based on your tier which can earn you a 10% to 100% boost which is based on the base earning rate of 10 points per $1 spent.
| IHG Elite Status Requirements Based on nights or base points per calendar year |
||
|---|---|---|
| Tier | How To Qualify | Bonus |
| IHG Member | Signing Up | No Bonus |
| IHG Gold Elite | 10 Nights, 10,000 Points, or IHG Traveler Card | 10% Bonus 11 Points Per $1 Total |
| IHG Platinum Elite | 40 Nights, 40,000 Points, or IHG Premier Card | 50% Bonus 15 Points Per $1 Total |
| IHG Spire Elite | 75 Nights or 75,000 Points | 100% Bonus 20 Points Per $1 Total |
Points earned via elite status bonuses are in addition to your IHG base points. If you the base cost of your room costs $100 and you have IHG Gold Elite status, you would earn:
- 1,000 Base Points ($100 x 10)
- 100 Elite Points ($100 x 0.10)
So you would end up with a total of 1,100 IHG Points. This is equal to earning 11 IHG Points per $1 spent thanks to the 10% boost. As you continue to stay with IHG and move up in tiers, you'll earn more points per $1 spent.
Let's assume you're paying a total of $150 in room rate costs. Based on your status, you would earn a different amount of points. Check out the table below.
| IHG Elite Status - Examples Based on $150 room rate |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier | Base Points | Elite Points | Total Earned |
| IHG Member | 1,500 Points | 0 Elite No Bonus |
1,500 Points |
| IHG Gold Elite | 1,500 Points | 150 Elite = 1,500 x 0.10 |
1,650 Points |
| IHG Platinum Elite | 1,500 Points | 750 Elite = 1,500 x 0.50 |
2,250 Points |
| IHG Spire Elite | 1,500 Points | 1,500 Elite = 1,500 x 1.00 |
3,000 Points |
As you can see, the difference between a $150 stay as a member and a $150 stay as an IHG Spire Elite makes a big difference. That's one of the benefits of earning elite status.
IHG Credit Card Points
The last piece of the puzzle to maximizing your IHG Rewards Points comes with using an IHG brand credit card. Points earned from credit card usage is in addition to base points and elite points. These points are typically added after the statement cuts for your IHG credit card and are not reflected within a few days like base points and elite points are. This means you'll receive points earned from IHG spend on a specific day of the month based on your statement end date.
Based on which IHG credit cards are available to you, you can earn anywhere between 2 and 10 IHG Points per $1 USD spent at IHG brand hotels.
Spend ran through IHG credit cards do not distinguish between base costs and taxes/fees. You will earn IHG Points on the entire cost of the IHG stay. So if the total cost of your hotel was $250 (including taxes/fees), you would earn points based on the entire $250 and the multiplier offered on the IHG credit card you're using.
Calculate IHG Points
If you want to estimate how many IHG Points you'll earn on your next stay, there's a calculator for that and it's down below. The calculator below will estimate how many IHG Points you can earn based on your base spend, elite status, whether or not you use an IHG credit card, and the brand of IHG hotel you're staying at. Do note that this calculator only focuses on IHG spend. If you want to know how much you'll earn with IHG credit cards spending on all categories, calculate how much you can earn with the IHG Premier Card Point Calculator and IHG Traveler Card Point Calculator.
| Status | Points Earned | Value of Points |
|---|---|---|
| IHG Member Earning Rates | ||
| IHG Member Base Points |
0 Points | 0 Cash Value |
| IHG Gold Earning Rates | ||
| IHG Gold Elite 10% Bonus |
0 Points | 0 Cash Value |
| IHG Platinum Earning Rates | ||
| IHG Platinum Elite 50% Bonus |
0 Points | 0 Cash Value |
| IHG Spire Earning Rates | ||
| IHG Spire Elite 100% Bonus |
0 Points | 0 Cash Value |
Summary
IHG offers the ability to earn a good amount of points staying at IHG brand hotels. If you're looking to maximize your point earnings, picking up an IHG credit card can help thanks to the bonus credit card points and complimentary elite status.
If you're looking for great ways to earn more IHG Points, I recommend reading up on IHG's transfer partners. Transferring rewards from other programs directly to your IHG account can easily earn you lots of points.
If you're based in the United States, you can earn up to 8x points eating out at your favorite restaurants with the IHG Rewards Club Dining Program.
