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IHG Accommodations & Resorts has seen quite a lot of adjustments over the previous few years. From opening its first Atwell Suites resort in Miami to launching the new IHG One Rewards loyalty program and forming a strategic alliance with Iberostar, IHG is increasing and advancing.

I steadily keep at IHG Accommodations & Resorts properties, primarily due to the worth I can get when redeeming IHG One Rewards factors. Though IHG moved to dynamic award pricing in 2020, I’ve continued getting stable worth from my IHG factors. In reality, I hardly ever e-book paid IHG stays due to the wonderful worth I can get when redeeming IHG factors.

This is what that you must learn about redeeming IHG One Rewards factors for stays, flights and extra.

Redeem IHG One Rewards factors for resort stays

You’ll be able to redeem IHG One Rewards factors for many IHG stays by way of IHG’s web site, app or buyer care. Nonetheless, you could be unable to redeem IHG factors at some InterContinental Residences, IHG Military Accommodations, Iberostar Beachfront Resorts and Six Senses properties.

You’ll be able to normally solely redeem IHG factors for traditional room sorts. Reward nights embrace taxes and costs however do not embrace resort charges, service prices, transportation, gratuities and incidentals. For stays at all-inclusive resorts, reward nights are based mostly on double occupancy.

Since IHG makes use of dynamic award pricing, the variety of factors you will have to redeem for a reward evening will range. IHG’s phrases and circumstances say reward evening pricing “could range in response to a number of components, together with however not restricted to model, resort, and day of week.” Though there are no reward evening blackout dates, you could not discover award availability for some stays as a result of “room stock is restricted and topic to prior sale,” in response to IHG’s phrases and circumstances.

To examine award evening availability and pricing, begin on IHG’s web site or app. Enter your vacation spot, check-in date, checkout date and variety of friends. Choose “reward nights” from the drop-down menu beneath price choice.

The following web page will present you the award evening outcomes on your search question. You’ll be able to filter these outcomes by facilities or manufacturers. You can too kind by varied metrics, together with distance, value and ranking.

Click on on “map” to see the place the properties are situated inside your vacation spot.

When you click on “choose resort” for one of many properties, you will see the room choices you’ll be able to e-book with factors on your keep. Some properties could solely provide one room kind, whereas others could provide a wide range of room setups or views. Scroll by way of the choices, and choose the perfect room kind on your journey.

It is also price checking paid charges by clicking the “money” button. For instance, this Vacation Inn would price both 33,000 IHG One Rewards factors or $264 on the pattern date I picked. So, redeeming factors for this keep would yield a redemption price of 0.8 cents per level. (That is increased than TPG’s valuation of IHG factors at 0.5 cents per level, so it is a redemption we would advocate.)

Let’s assume you toggled again to the “factors” tab, clicked on the 33,000 factors per evening choice and clicked “choose.” Doing so would take you to the final web page earlier than confirming your reservation.

Make sure you examine the cancellation coverage earlier than reserving. Most reward evening stays are free to cancel till shortly earlier than your keep, however cancellation insurance policies can range.

IHG often affords reward evening reductions to eligible Platinum Elite, Diamond Elite and IHG One Rewards bank card holders. You will normally get an e mail from IHG about these reward evening reductions, however you usually should e-book shortly to benefit from the discounted charges.

Lastly, notice that IHG’s phrases and circumstances now enable a second visitor listed on a reward evening reservation to remain even when the member who booked the reward evening is not staying. So, you’ll be able to redeem your IHG factors for a good friend or member of the family’s keep. Nonetheless, there are extra necessities in case your keep is inside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.

Associated: Tips on how to maximize redemptions with the IHG One Rewards program

Fourth-night-free reward

Maybe one of the simplest ways to get higher worth when redeeming IHG One Rewards factors is to get an IHG bank card with the fourth-night-free reward perk. This perk lets cardholders of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit score Card, the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit score Card and the IHG One Rewards Premier Enterprise Credit score Card pay 0 factors for each fourth evening when redeeming factors for stays of 4 nights or extra.

With out this profit, this four-night keep on the Vacation Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives would price 127,000 factors.

Since I’ve the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit score Card, which affords the fourth-night-free reward perk to cardholders, I might solely have to redeem 95,000 factors for this four-night keep.

Even for those who solely redeem IHG factors a few times a yr for stays of 4 nights or longer, it is price getting and protecting an IHG bank card due to this priceless perk.

Associated: Why you need to get (and preserve) the IHG One Rewards Premier card

Factors and money

As you may need seen in some screenshots above, you may as well e-book factors and money charges. Know, although, that you just’re successfully shopping for factors once you e-book an IHG One Rewards factors and money price, so you will be refunded solely in IHG factors for those who cancel your reserving inside the free cancellation interval.

It is price working by way of the maths and checking the speed at which you’ll be able to at the moment purchase IHG factors outright earlier than you e-book a factors and money price. For instance, contemplate this one-night keep in New York Metropolis.

For a one-night keep in a normal room with a king-size mattress and free cancellation till sooner or later earlier than your arrival, you might pay:

• 25,000 factors
• 20,000 factors and $34
• 15,000 factors and $68
• 10,000 factors and $102
• 5,000 factors and $136
• $204

For those who redeemed 25,000 factors for this evening that will in any other case price $204, you’d get a redemption price of 0.816 cents per level (which is considerably increased than TPG’s valuation of IHG factors).

For those who booked a factors and money price, you’d successfully purchase IHG factors at a price of 0.68 cents per level. This price is increased than the bottom price IHG often sells factors for (0.5 cents per level); it is also decrease than the redemption price you’d get when solely redeeming factors.

Associated: 7 methods to earn extra IHG One Rewards factors on your subsequent redemption

Pay with factors

Pay with factors allows you to redeem IHG One Rewards factors throughout stays at taking part motels for a credit score towards eligible prices in your room invoice. Eligible prices range by property, however IHG’s pay with factors phrases and circumstances say eligible room prices usually embrace “meals and beverage, spa and salon providers, spa and salon retail gadgets, room upgrades, laundry, dry cleansing, phone prices, pay-per-view motion pictures, parking, present/retail store, service prices, and gratuities.”

After you examine in, you will get a message if pay with factors is obtainable on your keep. If you wish to know forward of time whether or not a property participates in pay with factors, you will have to examine with the person property.

As soon as you’ve got checked right into a taking part property and have charged eligible purchases to your room, you’ll be able to go to IHG’s pay with factors web site or the IHG app to redeem IHG factors. From this web page, you’ll be able to choose an quantity to credit score to your invoice or enter a customized quantity and see what number of factors a credit score in that quantity would require. Notice that IHG could restrict your variety of transactions or the variety of factors you redeem towards pay with factors per day.

Associated: What bank card must you use for IHG stays?

Like many resort rewards applications, you’ll be able to switch your IHG One Rewards factors to numerous airline companions. You’ll be able to see all of the airline choices on IHG’s earn miles web page, however know that the majority applications switch at a price of 10,000 IHG factors to 2,000 airline miles, so that you’re nearly sure to lose worth once you redeem your IHG factors for airline miles.

Due to this, you will solely need to contemplate transferring IHG factors to an airline if that you must high up your account stability for a particular redemption. In any other case, you will nearly definitely get higher worth when redeeming IHG factors for resort stays.

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You’ll be able to redeem IHG One Rewards factors for merchandise, present certificates, donations and extra by way of the IHG One Rewards catalog. For instance, you’ll be able to redeem between 1,000 and a couple of,500 IHG factors for a yearlong journal subscription.

You can too redeem IHG factors for present playing cards to numerous retailers. This is what number of factors you will have to redeem for bodily present playing cards of various quantities:

• $100 present card: 49,000 factors (redemption price of 0.2 cents per level)
• $60 present card: 30,000 factors (redemption price of 0.2 cents per level)
• $50 present card: 25,000 factors (redemption price of 0.2 cents per level)
• $25 present card: 13,000 factors (redemption price of 0.19 cents per level)
• $15 present card: 8,000 factors (redemption price of 0.19 cents per level)
• $10 present card: 5,500 factors (redemption price of 0.18 cents per level)
• $5 present card: 3,000 factors (redemption price of 0.17 cents per level)

You’ll be able to redeem IHG factors for actions and occasion tickets by way of the IHG One Rewards catalog. For instance, listed below are some ticket examples for a live performance at New York Metropolis’s Madison Sq. Backyard, in addition to varied actions in New York Metropolis you could e-book with IHG factors.

Moreover, you’ll be able to redeem 30,000 IHG factors to cowl a TSA PreCheck utility price. Or, you might donate your factors to charity, with choices beginning at simply 2,500 factors.

It is also doable to redeem IHG factors for merchandise, together with headphones, backpacks and even laptop computer computer systems. For those who do not see what you need, you’ll be able to request distinctive devices and big-ticket gadgets by way of the rewards concierge.

Associated: The most effective IHG all-inclusive resorts, from Jamaica to Mexico

Digital rewards

You’ll be able to redeem IHG One Rewards factors for digital rewards as properly. Choices embrace motion pictures, music, video games, magazines, books and software program.

As with the IHG One Rewards catalog, you will need to contemplate whether or not you are getting good worth from this sort of redemption earlier than you employ your IHG factors for digital rewards.

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