IHG Points: How to Redeem for Reward Nights and Points & Cash in 2026

IHG's Reward Nights page, FAQ and membership terms give no value per point. The terms say points "have no retail value" and cannot be redeemed for cash. So the practical way to judge a redemption is to compare the points price of a night with the cash price of the same room on the same dates. This guide shows how to make that comparison, then covers Points & Cash, the credit-card free nights, airline miles, expiry, and buying or transferring points.

What can you use IHG One Rewards points for?

You may not be able to redeem Reward Nights at IHG Army Hotels or at Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas (membership terms, last updated 24 June 2026).

Members earn points on stays, and a Reward Night counts as a qualifying night toward elite status. The room rate on a Reward Night earns no points, but other eligible charges still do.

How do you book a Reward Night?

You book on the IHG website, in the IHG One Rewards app, or through IHG Customer Care. Online, you must be logged in. A credit card is required to guarantee the reservation.

On the website, use the booking tool with Reward Nights selected as your rate preference. Choose the hotel, room type and a point option. IHG's Reward Nights page says you need at least 5,000 points to use Points & Cash or redeem a Reward Night.

On timing, the terms say advance reservations are required. The FAQ says most Reward Nights can be booked as late as the check-in date, as long as Reward Night rates are still available at your hotel. To use points on an existing reservation, the FAQ says some can be modified in My Account: open My Stays and click "change rate".

What a Reward Night covers:

• One night in a standard room, including government-mandated taxes and fees. At Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, room types vary. At Iberostar Beachfront Resorts you pay local or conditional taxes and fees yourself.
• Not included: food and beverage (except at all-inclusive properties), tips and incidentals.
• Resort fees and service charges at individual hotels may apply. You pay them to the hotel before check-out.
• Extra-person charges, including for children, may apply beyond double occupancy if more guests check in than the reservation includes.

The terms allow up to 9 rooms on the same stay date at the same hotel. Each reservation must carry your member number, you redeem the required points for each room, and there must be inventory. The FAQ says you book one room at a time, then duplicate the reservation.

You can add a secondary guest who checks in without you, unless local law does not allow it. If the guest's details are wrong or local law does not allow it, the guest cannot check in and the reservation may be cancelled. The FAQ says you can book a Reward Night for someone else by adding an additional name to the reservation. The secondary guest must show valid photo ID and pay their own incidentals. For Reward Night stays in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan), you must contact IHG Customer Care at least 7 days before the stay date to give the guest's details, and any change to those details must also go through IHG Customer Care.

Member benefits apply on Reward Night stays, except the Guaranteed Room Availability benefit for Platinum Elite and Diamond Elite members. IHG's tier benefits page lists Reward Night Discounts for Platinum Elite and Diamond Elite. The terms and FAQ add eligible IHG One Rewards credit-cardholders, who get early access, at participating hotels.

How many points does one night cost?

It depends on the hotel and the date. IHG's Reward Nights page and FAQ give no points chart. The FAQ says a hotel's point amount moves up and down like cash rates. It lists factors including, but not limited to, the Best Flexible Rate, demand, brand, location and day of the week. The terms list brand, hotel and day of the week.

Points prices can change daily. For a multi-night stay, the page shows both an average and a daily point amount, as it does for cash bookings. The Reward Nights page says that "as of November 2022" a Reward Night can cost as few as 5,000 points per night.

You can search and book rates, including Reward Nights, up to 50 weeks ahead. The FAQ gives participating Iberostar Beachfront Resorts up to 2 years (IHG FAQ).

Once you book, the points amount is locked. If the price drops later, the only way to get the lower amount is to cancel and rebook. The lower rate may no longer be available by then.

How do you compare points and cash for the same night?

Use the same hotel and the same dates in both searches. A Reward Night is valid for a standard room, as each hotel defines it (room types at Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas vary), so compare against the cash price of the same room.

1. Search the hotel and dates with Reward Nights selected as your rate preference.
2. Read the points per night. For a multi-night stay, check both the average and the daily amounts.
3. Search the same hotel and dates again at the cash rate and note the price for the same room.
4. Put the two side by side. Add any resort fee or service charge the hotel lists, because a Reward Night does not cover it.

IHG gives no value per point, so the answer comes from your own two numbers. IHG's pages do not say which result counts as good.

How does Points & Cash work?

Points & Cash lets you use some of your existing points and buy the remaining points at the time of booking, to book a Reward Night. The cash part is an immediate purchase of extra points toward that booking.

• You pay the cash portion by credit card or an approved payment method, in US dollars. If you view the price in another currency, it is adjusted to the US dollar amount at the time of payment.
• The amount to buy can change at any time. The official pages do not explain how it is worked out.
• IHG charges the total at once when the purchase completes.
• VAT invoices in Mainland China: the cash part is paid to SCH, an entity outside Mainland China, not to the hotel, so neither SCH nor the hotel can issue a VAT invoice there.

What happens if you cancel?

You can cancel on the IHG website, in the app or through IHG Customer Care. The FAQ says most Reward Night reservations allow cancellation a day before check-in, and individual hotels may differ, so read the rate details.

The FAQ adds that Reward Nights cancelled on the day of arrival are subject to review, and the points refund may be delayed. The Reward Nights page puts the rule this way: if you cancel a Reward Night or Points & Cash booking, you are refunded in points only.

At Six Senses hotels, a cancellation or no-show after the cancellation window means the points are forfeited.

Is there a "fourth night free" or an Anniversary Free Night?

On IHG's pages, both are benefits of IHG One Rewards credit cards, not a general member benefit. IHG's U.S. credit card page (titled "Introducing the new IHG One Rewards Credit Cards") describes the U.S. cards issued by Chase. IHG's pages we checked do not describe fourth-night or free-night benefits outside the U.S. Chase cards.

Fourth night free. The card page's card sections say that if you redeem points for a consecutive four-night stay, the fourth Reward Night is free at the same hotel during the same stay. They list this for the Premier, Premier Select and Business cards. For the no-annual-fee card, it starts in 2027: you must spend $5,000 on the card in a calendar year to unlock it. It stays available for the rest of that calendar year and the next.

The wording differs between pages. The card page's own FAQ says any stay of four or more nights. The general FAQ says any stay of 4 or more consecutive nights, regardless of the fourth night's point amount, and names a different set of cards.

Anniversary Free Night. The card page gives a current point redemption cap for each card that lists the night, and the cap depends on the card. The Premier Select and Business sections say the night is earned each account anniversary year. The cardholder can add points from the IHG account to book hotels above the cap.

The card page also lists an additional Free Night after calendar-year spending: $40,000 on the Premier Select card (60,000-point cap) and $60,000 on the Business card (50,000-point cap).

The two pages do not agree on the cap. The U.S. credit card page shows 50,000 or 60,000 by card. IHG's general FAQ (Reward Nights section) says the Anniversary Free Night is valid for Reward Nights priced at 40,000 points or less, and uses different card names. Check the current page for your own card.

The card page also says cardholders can save 30% when they buy points with the card (U.S. cards only).

Can you convert IHG points to airline miles?

Yes, for the listed partners. IHG's pages say to call IHG Customer Care or your regional IHG One Rewards Service Center. Conversions are only in block increments, and IHG's FAQ does not give the block size. Posting can take up to six weeks. Once converted, the miles cannot be converted back or moved to another program.

Each row comes from that program's own IHG page; sources are listed at the end. The Hainan page says Fortune Wings Club points are awarded within 21 days. The FAQ's general figure is up to six weeks.

The other direction exists for some programs. The FAQ says Finnair Plus Points and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points can be converted into IHG points. The Hainan page gives 2,500 Fortune Wings Club points to 500 IHG points. IHG's partner page lists more airlines than the ones above, but that list is mainly for earning miles on stays. IHG's pages above give no conversion ratio for the other airline partners; ask IHG Customer Care. IHG's FAQ also says members can exchange IHG points for Rakuten Points at a rate of 3:1, with a minimum of 1,500 points and in increments of 1,500 points.

Do IHG points expire?

For Club-level members, yes. The terms say points expire if the account has no "earn" or "redeem" transaction for 12 months or longer, and the points are removed. To keep them, you need at least one earn or redeem transaction posted every 12 months. The FAQ says you can earn or redeem through IHG hotels or IHG One Rewards program partners. Using the one night per year that credit-cardholders receive does not count as an earn or redeem transaction for this purpose.

Elite members' points do not expire as long as elite membership is kept. The tier benefits page shows "Points Don't Expire" as not included for Club Member and included for Silver Elite and above.

Separately, the terms say IHG may permanently cancel a membership with no activity for five years. A cancelled account loses its points.

When a member dies, the points may be transferred to the beneficiary's account. The request must reach IHG Customer Care within one year of the date of death. The executor or administrator of the estate sends it with court documents showing authority; a sole beneficiary sends it with copies of the will and the death certificate. Transfer fees are waived.

Can you buy or transfer points?

A transfer goes between two specifically designated member accounts, and an authorization form is required (membership terms). Except for transfers the terms allow or that IHG authorizes in writing, points cannot be sold or transferred.

Which should you choose?

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