Beginner’s Guide to IHG Rewards Club membership

Join IHG Rewards Club to unlock exclusive rewards and benefits.

IHG Rewards Club is the world’s largest hotel loyalty program. Backed by InterContinental Hotels Group and completely free to join, an IHG Rewards Club membership could see you earning points and perks at more than 5,500 properties around the world.

Right now, the program boasts an impressive array of high-end hotel brands – think InterContinental, Kimpton, Crowne Plaza, voco and more. Plus, an exclusive partnership with Mr & Mrs Smith will soon allow IHG Rewards Club members to earn and redeem points at over 500 additional luxury and boutique hotels.

Join now. Or, read on to discover why IHG Rewards Club is a loyalty program that all New Zealand travellers should know about.

IHG Rewards Club Membership: How it works

IHG Rewards Club won’t cost you anything to join, and it takes just a few minutes to sign up here.

Once you’re a member, you’ll automatically be awarded base-level ‘Club’ IHG Rewards membership. This delivers automatic access to a range of rewards that could come in handy during your next stay. Key benefits include:

• Free internet: Forget pesky Wi-Fi fees. You’ll enjoy free internet at all participating IHG properties.
• Earn and redeem IHG Reward points: The ability to collect IHG Rewards points or miles with leading airline programs
• Exclusive booking rates: Access ‘Your Rate’, an exclusive booking rate when you book directly with IHG hotels.
• No blackout dates: Planning to book a hotel stay with points on a specific date? Unlike other hotel loyalty programs, IHG Rewards Club promises no blackout dates for reward night redemptions.
• Redeem your way to elite status: Reward nights count towards elite status, which could see you move up the IHG Rewards Club membership tiers faster.

IHG Rewards Club brands

IHG boasts an expansive network of thousands of properties around the world.

RELATED: Discover the best of IHG brands

IHG boasts 14 brands, including a wide range of luxury and boutique hotels. There are 13 chains in total, covering over 5500 hotels globally. These are:

• Intercontinental Hotels
• Kimpton
• Crowne Plaza
• Hotel Indigo
• Regent
• voco
• Holiday Inn
• Holiday Inn Express
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations
• Holiday Inn Resort  
• Staybridge Suites
• Candlewood Suites
• Avid
• Even Hotels
• Hualuxe

There are plenty of properties to choose from across New Zealand and the wider Pacific region. IHG operates a large portfolio of local properties under leading brands such as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, voco, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

IHG dials up the luxe with Mr & Mrs Smith

Starting soon, IHG’s new partnership with Mr & Mrs Smith will add a whole new suite of ultra-luxe, boutique properties to the mix. In fact, it will more than double the number of luxury and boutique hotels which members can choose from.

Mr & Mrs Smith boasts an extraordinary portfolio of properties. Top picks include Jasper Conran’s self-styled riad hideaway L’Hôtel Marrakech, 18th-century organic Tuscan estate Borgo Pignano and high-in-the-Himalayas retreat The Kumaon. IHG’s most loyal members can expect free room upgrades whenever available and a free gift, called a “Smith Extra”, on arrival at each Mr & Mrs Smith hotel.

IHG Rewards Club Membership tiers

There are four membership levels within IHG Rewards Club. These are:

• Club: Entry-level, assigned at 0 stays per year.
• Gold Elite: Requires 10 nights / 10,000 Elite qualifying points
• Platinum Elite: Requires 40 nights / 40 000 Elite qualifying points.
• Spire Elite: Requires 75 nights / 75,000 Elite qualifying points.

Completing stays at participating IHG properties will see you move up the tiers, unlocking exclusive benefits along the way. The full list of benefits by membership tiers can be found in the table below:

How to earn IHG Rewards Club points

There are so many different ways for members to earn IHG Rewards Club points.

Earn when you stay, travel, shop and dine

Members earn points toward rewards when staying with participating IHG properties and also when travelling, shopping and dining with IHG Rewards Club partners.

Earn with IHG Rewards Club offers

From time to time, IHG runs offers which allow members to earn bonus points or free nights. Featured deals and promotions are published regularly on the IHG website.

To ensure your points don’t expire, you must earn or redeem points within a 12-month period.

How to redeem IHG Reward points

Once you’ve amassed a stash of points, it’s time to spend them. There are many different ways for IHG Rewards Club members to redeem points. The most popular redemption options are as follows:

Reward Nights

For clued-in travellers, exchanging IHG Reward points for hotel nights typically represents the best value. IHG Reward points can be used to stay at IHG hotels worldwide. And, unlike some other leading hotel loyalty programs, there are no blackout dates. Reward Nights cost between 10,000 points to 70,000 points per night. As you’d expect, high-end properties command the highest prices.

Points & Cash

Points & Cash provides IHG Rewards Club members with the ability to combine points and cash for booking redemptions. You can combine points with cash to redeem for a variety of rewards, including stays at participating IHG hotels and resorts worldwide.

PointBreaks

PointBreaks is an extremely popular promotion, loved by savvy travellers. The promotion allows IHG Rewards Club members to unlock rewards nights from just 5,000 points per night at select locations.

It works like this: Every few months, IHG releases discounted rewards nights at selected locations. The properties are discounted sharply to between 5,000 to 15,000 points per night. PointBreaks promotional rates are in high demand, and reward night availability is limited, so it pays to book as quickly as possible. Depending on where you redeem, it’s possible to extract significant value with this promotion.

You can browse the current list of PointBreaks properties here.

Joining IHG Rewards Club: Conclusion

IHG Rewards Club membership could deliver you valuable benefits when you stay at an IHG hotel here in New Zealand or overseas.

With over 5,000 participating hotels globally, there are so many reasons why joining IHG Rewards Club is worthwhile. And, IHG’s new partnership with Mr & Mrs Smith is set to add a whole new suite of ultra-luxe, boutique properties to the mix.