IHG One Rewards is a great loyalty program covering nearly two dozen international brands. You’ll find budget-friendly Holiday Inn Express hotels and luxurious Regent Hotels in the portfolio, and you can earn and redeem points whenever you have an eligible stay.
Recently, I have started paying more attention to IHG’s loyalty program, especially since I stumbled upon the fact that I was an IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite member. Here’s what I’ve learned about the perks that come with membership in the IHG program.
1. Chase Sapphire Reserve® awards Diamond status to high spenders
In a recent benefits change, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (annual fee: $795) now provides Diamond Elite status (the highest) with IHG after spending $75,000 in a calendar year. While I had read the news (and even reported it here), I completely forgot about it until one day, I was doing a little research in the benefits section of my Chase account and discovered that I had spent enough to achieve Diamond Elite status.
To take advantage of the IHG offer, I had to link my Chase and IHG accounts and activate this elite status perk.
While IHG’s Diamond Elite is missing some important benefits (notably club lounge access, a perk that other top-tier hotel status provides), it does come with bonus points, late checkout considerations, space-available room upgrades and the option to choose breakfast as a welcome amenity (instead of bonus points) at many hotels.
If you don’t have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, you can also get to Diamond Elite through spending $40,000 on the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (annual fee: $99), notably cheaper than the Chase Sapphire Reserve®) or the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (annual fee: $99).
2. You can buy your way into an even higher tier
IHG One Rewards offers a unique program, Ambassador, which provides benefits specifically at InterContinental Hotels and Resorts. For $225 per year or 45,000 IHG One Rewards points, you instantly become an Ambassador member and can take advantage of a slew of elite status-style benefits, which include:
- Guaranteed one category room upgrade.
- Guaranteed 4 p.m. checkout.
- Complimentary weekend night (valid for second night of an eligible stay).
- IHG Platinum Elite status benefits.
- Food and beverage credit of up to $20 for every stay.
- Complimentary mineral water.
- Complimentary Wi-Fi.
- Dedicated check-in desk.
- Single room rate for double occupancy.
- Complimentary breakfast for one each morning (mainland China only).
For travelers who stay often at InterContinental properties (or have one important stay coming up), paying the fee to gain potential room upgrades, dining perks and an anniversary night could be worth the cost. Note that an additional offer, Royal Ambassador, is extended only by invitation from IHG.
3. You can get lounge access with 40 eligible nights
If you reach 40 eligible nights with IHG in a calendar year, IHG offers a unique benefit as one of its Milestone Rewards that you can select. It’s called the annual lounge membership benefit and provides instant access to most club lounges across the IHG portfolio. Typically, you will find them at Regent, InterContinental or Crowne Plaza hotels. Most other IHG brands do not offer a club lounge.
This could be a valuable VIP perk and it’s available to select after reaching 40 eligible nights. It is valid for the rest of the year when it's selected and the following calendar year.
4. You can get a free hotel night for signing up for a credit card
The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card comes with perks that more than offset the cost of the annual fee. This includes instant Platinum Elite status (leading to bonus points and space-available room upgrades) as well as a free anniversary night (up to 40,000 points in value) at any IHG One Rewards hotel.
For me, this benefit was a no-brainer because I can use this free night certificate at hotels that can cost several hundred dollars a night. That puts me ahead of the annual $99 fee, before accounting for the bonus points and elite status perks that come with Platinum Elite, the second-highest status.
5. You can get a fourth night free
Anyone with an IHG co-branded credit card and who redeems their IHG One Rewards points is eligible for the fourth award night free when redeeming at least four nights using points. This can yield big savings, depending on where you are staying, and it’s definitely worth it if you plan to stay for at least four nights.
You don’t even have to pay an annual fee on a credit card to get this perk. For example, the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card has a $0 annual fee and offers this benefit.
6. One-time Chase The Edit IHG benefit
If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, you have the opportunity to receive a $250 credit for a prepaid, two-night booking at IHG properties between now and the end of 2026 using Chase’s The Edit travel portal. This is Chase’s premium hotel booking portal that comes with extra benefits like potential room upgrades, property credits and complimentary breakfast among other perks.
The card also offers a separate $250 credit twice a year using The Edit for IHG and other hotels in the program. I took great advantage of it at the InterContinental Madrid. With The Edit booking, I received complimentary breakfast, a $100 food and beverage credit, late checkout and room upgrade.
I had breakfast included anyway as a Diamond Elite, but would have received it as part of The Edit. Instead, I was able to select the bonus points as part of my welcome amenity instead. The best part is, even when you book through The Edit, you receive IHG One Rewards perks and points. That all helped me build up my points balance, even while most of it was covered by the credit from Chase.
7. Rental car elite status
I rarely rent cars but was excited to learn that with my comped Diamond Elite status, I also earned Hertz President’s Circle status. While this is not unique to this program and other credit cards or loyalty programs come with this perk, it’s still a valuable benefit for car renters. Other IHG elite status tiers earn Hertz Gold+ status, too, depending on your level.
During the pandemic, I rented cars often for road trips, but now not so much. But that did prove to me that having elite status with a rental car company was certainly worth it.
Dig into all of your IHG One Rewards benefits
While IHG does not offer the most substantial of elite tiers in the industry, it does offer great value for those that know how to use benefits from every perk in the program. And that means learning how to best maximize those perks when and where you have them.
The more I learn about IHG, the more I appreciate my Diamond Elite status. Don’t forget that if you earned it via the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, you will need to link your accounts to take advantage of it.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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