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• IHG has revamped its rewards program, now called IHG One.
• Loyalty members can now earn valuable benefits like confirmed suite upgrades, free breakfast, and much more.
• These changes make IHG credit cards more appealing.
• Read Insider’s guide to the best hotel credit cards.

Starting today, April 13, 2022, IHG credit cards are more valuable than ever.

That’s because IHG has completely revamped its loyalty program — with nearly all changes being positive.

Granted, IHG has made some nearly unforgivable changes lately. It now charges 100,000+ points per night for its best hotels; it has completely abandoned its award chart; and it no longer publishes valuable promotions like “IHG PointBreaks” and “IHG Accelerate.”

Read more: The best ways to earn and use IHG points

IHG needed to make a change, and it’s now on the right path. Here’s why you should care about this new loyalty program — and why you should now consider cards like the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, even if they weren’t previously on your radar.

Introducing IHG One

IHG has tossed its previous elite status tiers and recently created new ones. Accompanying these tiers are new qualification requirements and point bonuses for IHG purchases.

Here’s what IHG elites have earned in years past:

• Gold: 10% bonus points
• Platinum: 50% bonus points
• Spire: 100% bonus points

Here’s what they earn now.

The most notable changes are for Platinum Elite members who will now earn 60% bonus points (10% more than before) and Gold Elite members who will now earn 40% bonus points (30% more than before). Silver Elite status exists for the first time, offering a 20% bonus.

New IHG elite status benefits

Here is a chart of the benefits offered to IHG members of all status levels. We’ll examine the highlights.

Free breakfast

If you’ve got Diamond elite status, you can choose free breakfast as your welcome amenity at full-service brands:

• Six Senses
• REGENT
• InterContinental
• Hualuxe
• Hotel Indigo
• voco
• Crowne Plaza
• Even
• Holiday Inn
• Select Kimpton properties

This can save you a fortune, especially when visiting upscale hotels like InterContinental and Six Senses, where breakfast can be exorbitant.

Diamond Elite members will receive free breakfast for two guests registered to the same room. You’ll each receive one main menu item with unlimited non-alcoholic beverages or full buffet with unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.

Note that you can’t order in-room dining or eat at specialty restaurants with this benefit. Also, if you use Digital Check-in, you may only receive points as your welcome amenity.

Discounts on reward nights

IHG wouldn’t comment on the exact promotions Platinum and Diamond Elite members can look forward to. However, representatives likened this benefit to the recent promotion for IHG cardholders — a 20% discount on award nights.

Frequent discounts like this may prove to be a fantastic deal. Hopefully they’ll imitate the much beloved “IHG PointBreaks” promotion where select hotels dropped their award prices to between 5,000 and 15,000 points per night.

Room upgrades

IHG claims there will be “more opportunities for elite members to receive room upgrades.” While there’s no way yet to measure what that means, IHG should, in theory, more liberally hand out upgrades at the front desk upon check-in.

Room upgrades can means suites, corner rooms, higher floors, or simply the next best available room from what you booked.

Read more: IHG Premier Business Card review

Early check-in/late checkout

If you’ve got Platinum or Diamond elite status, you can request early check-in. The specific time will vary at the hotel’s discretion.

All members — even those without elite status — can now request 2 pm checkout, if it’s available. That’s a great benefit, but opening it up to every single IHG member may result in 100 million loyalty members squabbling over the same late checkout dates.

IHG Milestones

Similar to Hyatt, IHG now rewards you for meeting certain stay requirements each year. You can earn things like bonus points, Food & Beverage Rewards, confirmable suite upgrades, and annual lounge membership.

Its Milestone benefits aren’t quite as valuable, but this is an incredibly welcome addition to IHG’s award program which has been steadily declining over the years.

Confirmable suite upgrades

Likely the most exciting Milestone reward is Confirmable Suite Upgrades. These entitle you to an entry-level suite — or premium room when a suite isn’t available — confirmed as early as 14 days before arrival. Note that you can’t use them later than 24 hours before check-in.

Each Suite Upgrade is valid for stays up to five nights. Currently, you can only redeem them with paid stays (Best Flexible Rate, Member Discount, Government, and select Corporate and package rates). Hopefully award stays will be included in the near future. 

Here are some details you should know:

• These upgrades expire 12 months after you achieve them.
• You can’t use them for bookings that require advance payment.
• You can’t transfer them — you can only use them for your room.
• You can’t use them if you’re staying as part of a group, package tour or convention where charges are being paid by a third party.
• If you already have a confirmed suite upgrade thanks to your elite status(Royal Ambassador, Ambassador, or Inner Circle), you can’t use this for a further upgrade.

Read more: IHG Premier credit card review

There are also a handful of hotels brands where you cannot redeem Suite Upgrades:

• avid hotels
• Atwell Suites
• IHG Army Hotels
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations
• InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau)
• Six Senses Hotels Resort Spas

The only real bummer here is Six Senses, the ultra-luxury IHG brand. The ability to confirm suites at these properties would have been outstanding.

IHG also gives itself some room to deny you a suite if it feels like it. It claims that “suite inventory is limited at some hotels,” and “Confirmable Suite Upgrade availability exceptions may apply during special events that result in extraordinary demand, as determined by the hotel.” When suite inventory is limited, IHG may only offer you a premium room. Time will tell how offensively the hotel uses these terms to deny members a suite.

Food & Beverage Rewards

When selecting a Food & Beverage credit as your Milestone reward, you’ll receive a credit worth up to $20 which can be used toward food, beverage, and gratuities on-property. If you spend more than $20, you’ll have to pay the difference. If you spend less than $20, you’ll forfeit the remaining value of the reward.

There are a couple things to know about this credit:

• They are valid for 12 months from Milestone selection.
• You can use as many Food & Beverage rewards as you want each stay.
• You can’t gift the benefit to someone else.
• You can’t use it if you’re staying as part of a group, package tour or convention where charges are being paid by a third party.
• You can use it everywhere except Holiday Inn Club Vacations, at Mr. & Mrs. Smith properties, and at InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau).
• You can’t use it at hotel marketplaces or with vending machines.

Depending on which Milestone you achieve, you’ll receive between two and five Food & Beverage rewards. That gives you a maximum value between $40 and $100 in food.

Annual lounge membership

More than 140 hotels worldwide house an IHG lounge. With Club access, you’ll typically receive things like:

• Free breakfast
• Free snacks and other food intermittently throughout the day
• Free alcohol in the evening
• Farewell amenity
• Airport transportation
• Free garment pressing
• A library
• A meeting room and business station

The specific amenities vary based on the hotel.

To gain access to these lounges, you’ll need to book a Club Access room rate, which is often significantly higher than the standard rate. However, by choosing lounge membership as your Milestone reward, you and a guest will get access to lounges for the remainder of the current year, as well as the following year. For example, if you earn a lounge membership in 2022, it won’t expire until 2023.

A better loyalty program makes IHG credit cards more valuable

All the changes and elite status restructuring greatly benefit IHG credit card holders. As a reminder, there are three cards to choose from:

• IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card — 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card — 120,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
• IHG® Rewards Premier Business Mastercard® — 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

There are four ways that the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG® Rewards Premier Business Mastercard® in particular have improved as a result of the new IHG One program. That’s because these cards come with automatic Platinum elite status.

Read more: Best hotel credit cards of 2022

1. Discounts make points (and certificates) more valuable

One of the benefits offered to IHG Platinum and Diamond members is “discounts on reward nights.” Again, the exact value remains to be seen, but reward discounts will mean your points are stretched further. If you hold either of these cards, you’re eligible.

You should also be able to use this benefit jointly with your card’s “fourth award night free” benefit. When you book four consecutive award nights, you’ll won’t have to pay any points for one of the nights.

Read more: The best ways to use an IHG free night certificate

2. More bonus points for cardholders

IHG Platinum status now comes with a 60% points bonus when making purchases with IHG. That’s 10% higher than before.

Most IHG hotels offer 10 base points per dollar. An extra 10% bonus would equal an extra point per dollar (which Insider values at 0.7 cents). Not enough value to alert the media, but yet another contribution to getting potentially 26 points per dollar on your spending:

• 10 base points per dollar at IHG hotels just for being a member
• 6 bonus points per dollar for having Platinum status
• 10 bonus points for paying for your IHG hotel stay with your IHG Premier or Premier Business card

Earning 26 points back equals an estimated 18.2% return on your spending. That’s great!

3. Early check-in

Platinum elite members now have access to early check-in — a benefit that was previously enjoyed only by top-tier elites. The benefit is subject to availability, but it’s an extremely convenient benefit if you can get it. If you’re like me, you rarely show up to a hotel after 3 pm. 

4. Free breakfast

Welcome amenities are another benefit that until now has eluded Platinum elite members by one status tier. IHG Premier and Premier Business cardholders can now choose free breakfast for themselves and one guest staying in their room upon check-in.

Read more: Credit cards that offer hotel elite status

Bottom line

IHG has made some meaningful steps toward redeeming itself in the eyes of many loyalty members. Its new rewards program offers new perks such as confirmed suite upgrades (valid for a stay of up to five nights), free breakfast for Platinum and Diamond elites, the ability to earn annual lounge membership to IHG hotels worldwide, and much more.

If you’ve been hesitant to invest in the IHG rewards program, these changes should be enough to put you back on the fence. And with IHG recently debuting a new IHG credit card — the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Mastercard® — you’ve got more opportunities than ever to earn IHG points.