When I first jumped headlong into the award travel world, IHG was the hottest thing on the market as far as hotel programs. Sure, SPG had it major following as well. But my thinking was influenced by the amazing things I was reading you could do with IHG points, mainly in posts I found over at Travel is Free. However, the program has not aged well the past few years, and I can state with confidence that it no longer represents the same value it did back when I first jumped into hotel loyalty programs.
Then and now: 2015 Canada trip case study
My wife and I first each picked up the Chase IHG Mastercard in spring of 2015, our sights set on using the points for free travel during our trip to Canada that summer. I used my 70,000-point bonus to book a weekend in San Francisco. We used her bonus to book four different IHG hotels: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Buffalo Airport (25,000 points), Holiday Inn Sydney – Waterfront (10,000 points), Holiday Inn Express Deer Lake (10,000 points), and a Holiday Inn in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (15,000 points) that now appears to be a DoubleTree.
If you check the current award chart, every single one of these hotel now demands 25,000 points per night. I can’t get an exact price for the one near Halifax, as it is no longer flagged as a Holiday Inn. But given the price of the other IHG hotels in the area, 25,000 points is a perfectly fine guess. Where we originally had 10,000 points to spare after using my wife’s sign up bonus for all of these stays, now we’d be 30,000 points short. That’s a net difference of 40,000 points in just 4 years, or an overall devaluation of ~40%. This is almost exactly in line with the original value I had for IHG points then (1.0 cent) and now (0.6 cent).
Annual devaluations, weak elite program, gutted PointBreaks
The 150% award price increase at the hotels we stayed at for 10,000 points back in 2015 didn’t happen overnight. It happened fairly quickly, though, in multiple back-to-back award chart and tier changes that IHG seems intent in rolling out year after year.
Here is a table of nine IHG properties with 2015 prices through the changes that took effect for 2019:
IHG Devaluations Over Time
| Property | 2015 Price | 2016 Price | 2017 Price | 2018 Price | 2019 Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intercontinental Hong Kong | 50,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 70,000 | 70,000 |
| Holiday Inn Express and Suites Eureka | 25,000 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 |
| Holiday Inn Resort Aruba | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 |
| Holiday Inn Express and Suites Victoria - Colwood | 20,000 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 35,000 | 35,000 |
| Intercontinental London Park Lane | 50,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 70,000 | 70,000 |
| Holiday Inn Ft. Lauderdale Airport | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 35,000 | 40,000 |
| Intercontinental Osaka | 35,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 |
| Holiday Inn Express Deer Lake (Newfoundland) | 10,000 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 |
| Intercontinental Sydney | 50,000 | 55,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 65,000 |
On the whole, it is pretty awful. This is just a smattering of properties, some of which experienced the worst devaluation, but the average of these nine is a terrible 153% increase over 4 years. That equates to 38% per year!! If you were eyeing any of these properties a few years ago, I hope you burnt your points on them.
I might be able to forgive IHG on their point-earning and redeeming rates if they had a strong elite program. But their elite program is right in line with their award chart: weak. The old $49 IHG Mastercard offers mid-tier Platinum status, which I haven’t found good for much besides earning additional IHG points. Even their top-tier status is pretty lame. It doesn’t even offer free breakfast at all properties. My upgrade experience for the year I held IHG Spire status wasn’t anything to write home about, either.
To heap on yet another injury, the most amazing thing about the program was gutted as well: PointBreaks. IHG releases a quarterly list of hotels at which you can redeem your points at 5,000 points per night. No matter the property, this is anywhere from a good deal to a downright amazing deal. Back in 2017, however, IHG PointBreaks were changed to a tiered structure, where the discounted rooms cost anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 points. The bulk of the properties are now not in the 5,000-point tier. And the properties on the PointBreaks list are arguably getting worse. Points with a Crew does keep an updated map of all PointBreaks properties each quarter.
Stop mocking Hilton. Mock IHG.
When Hilton made huge changes to their award chart several years back (I think it was 2013?), they took a lot of heat. Hotels started costing huge numbers of points. People laughed at the top-tier properties that demand nearly 100,000 points. But what people didn’t initially realize is that the Hilton earning structure still fits the price structure. Sure, hotels costs seems really high at face value, but do you realize how quickly you can earn Hilton points? The Aspire and Ascend cards earn 7x and 6x Hilton points on restaurant and grocery spend, respectively. Even the base earning rate is 3 points per dollar. Plus, there are numerous credit card product sign-up bonuses that yield Hilton points, either directly or indirectly.
IHG has none of this strength. What does the IHG card earn? Still one point per dollar. What is the transfer ratio from Chase? Still one IHG point per Ultimate Rewards point. This is terrible. At least the new card earns 10x IHG points on IHG stays, up from 5 on the old version of the Mastercard.
The Hilton elite program outshines IHG as well in nearly every facet. Upgrades are more consistent, from what I’ve experienced, and mid-tier Gold status with Hilton (that you can get simply by holding their credit card) gives you free breakfast. Hilton also waives resort fees on award stays.
IHG’s entire loyalty program is laughable, which is something I’ve written about before (SEE: 3 reasons why IHG doesn’t have a REAL hotel loyalty program). With the recent unannounced changes that took effect last month, it’s just that much worse. They acquired Kimpton, which some may see as an improvement. But it was to the complete chagrin of Kimpton Inner Circle members.
Conclusion
Things can’t go on this way. If IHG continues with their devaluation rate, there won’t be much of a program to speak of in a few years. It’s a program that I have no problem gaming, and they seem intent on designing it that way. Even after writing all this, I’m still thinking about trying to maximize my massive 97,000-point “multibrand” promotion offer (SEE: Figuring out how to maximize my 97,000-point IHG offer), since there are so many points on the table.
But 97,000 points really won’t be all that much when every hotel I want to stay at eventually costs 50,000 points per night. At that point, I’d rather have Radisson points.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
The fact that IHG Rewards Club still offers promotions making it reasonable and feasible for many members with a low frequency of hotel stays for travel to earn 100,000 points in a year with about $600 to $1,000 in spend is still more lucrative than most hotel loyalty programs.
I loved PointBreaks at 5,000 points and took advantage of many nights over several years. I traveled from Monterey to Denver hitting PointBreaks hotels every night one summer a few years back. PointBreaks took me to places I would not have visited otherwise like Vilnius, Lithuania and Brno, Czech Republi and Clermont-Ferrand, France. Loved all of those cities in 2015 and 2016 on my extended stays at IHG PointBreaks hotels for 5,000 points per night.
The choice of hotels on PointBreaks was diminishing in number and quality for the last year of 5,000 points hotels.
There have been far more hotels available as PointBreaks since they went to 10,000 and 15,000 points. I have not made an actual count for hotels on the recent PointBreaks lists to the last year with lists of 5,000 points hotels, but my estimate is there are 2x to 3x more hotels offered each PointBreaks since they went to 15,000 points.
I have booked one or two hotels every quarter since the 10,000 and 15,000 points hotels were launched with PointBreaks. They are still generally 50% off hotel reward nights compared to their standard reward rate.
Given the option for IHG Rewards Club members to buy IHG Rewards Club points at $5/1,000 several times a year, these $50 and $75 hotel nights through PointBreaks are still a real bargain for many places where these hotels have discount reward nights.
$300 to buy 60,000 in IHG hotel points for 4 to 6 PointBreaks nights is likely the best deal around compared to the room rate charged for a comparable market segment hotel in the destination.
My experience is my IHG Rewards Club promotion offers generally allow me to pick up 60,000 to 100,000+ points per year for $500 to $1,000 per year in paid stays on 6 to 10 hotel nights. This has been the case for at least the past 5 years.
In general, I have always thought of IHG Rewards Club as one of the weakest hotel loyalty programs for relatively high points cost for hotel reward nights. Their frequent high value promotions and their consistently and regularly offered discount reward rates through PointBreaks still makes this hotel program one of my favorites.
PointBreaks and our travel plans have never really aligned. I’ve thought about being opportunistic with PointBreaks, simply targeting a destination where I can really maximize my points, but this hasn’t happened either.
I do agree the promotions are the only reason I still pay attention to them. The ability to pick up a significant number of points during promotions has been nice. They just don’t go nearly as far as before, which I find the most frustrating.
Since this is a family focused site, you also need to look at two things which I focus on more as my kids get older.
1. No free breakfast with IHG. Especially if there is no kids discount, you can easily pay the equivalent of your room rate once you bought four breakfasts – which also diminishes the value of a reward night vs a cash night with breakfast included.
2. The inability to do any sort of buy-up. Marriott and Hyatt have structures which can get you suites for a cash or points co-pay – eg JW Marriott will give you a junior suite which sleeps 4 for €200 over the standard redemption rate. These are great deals (and of course I get free breakfast as well as an elite). IHG can’t match this either – the best I can do is 2 x standard rooms which are unlikely to connect. And the next stay I get to pay a fortune for breakfast.
Good points. I think I mentioned breakfast, but in passing. It is definitely a big deal when traveling as a family, and one of the reasons I am looking toward Hyatt as the answer for us, as they guarantee breakfast to 2 adults and 2 kids. IHG is completely lacking. Most of our stays are at Holiday Inn Express hotels, where breakfast is free for everyone.
You can get a buy up with IHG, but it’s not embedded in their program, which is certainly frustrating. I’ve successfully contacted individual hotels asking for either a guaranteed complimentary upgrade or a buy-up. We spent a little extra in Paris last year to upgrade to a room with two beds at the Crowne Plaza.
You can most definitely do buy ups. I have done this many times at the Holiday Inn, Indigo, and Intercontinentals. When I check in and cannot get a complimentary upgrade I always ask if I can upgrade for a special price. I actually do this all the time at every single hotel I stay at, at all the chains. If I don’t like the deal they are offering then I don’t pay for the upgrade. The best deal I ever got was paying $100/night to be upgraded to a $2,000 a night suite (from a $350/night room).
As others have noted, it is often possible to get worthwhile paid for upgrades at IHG properties at reasonable prices just by asking, and that includes asking on reward nights. I have had this put as a room charge and then often, but not always, it translates into a stay at the hotel meaning it can count towards te Accelerate promotion, or whatever it is called now [I forget]. I have had Platinum for years as it is worth the annual credit card fee for the Platinum status and the free night, even at the devalued up to 35,000 point level. I have found that Crowne Plaza hotels alone amongst the IHG properties are very good with decent upgrades for Platinums, even on point reservations. A program feature most lacking is the lack of complimentary breakfast at any level.
We have two of these cards. We really do not bother using them at all. We do make use the annual free night when in expensive cities – like NYC.
I guess the moral of this story is “don’t hang onto your points for too long”
Ian….Sorry, but I totally disagree with your assessment. Having the basic chase card for $45 and the premium for $95 for both my wife and I…four nights free per year for those prices is a deal for me. I only use the ihg chase card for their “promotions” and nothing else. I do all the surveys they send me and all the “other games” ihg offers and keeping earning points faster than I can spend them We have amassed over 750k still remaining in ihg points even after all the worldwide ihg hotel stays over the last 6 years, and ONLY use them for point break deals all over the world. Next point break trip is 8 days next week at HIE Hialeah, FL for 8 nights using only 60k of our points (aka 7.5k per night !!). How can you beat the ihg deal for stay for 4 and pay for 3 ?…especially with the 5k and 10k and 15k point break offerings ?..IMO just do the math…easy peasey. Your high point redemption examples are ludicrous for my usage of my ihg points – I would never waste them that way. Coupled with hundreds of thousands of points from all our other credit card hacking hobby reward programs…free air, free car rental and 8 nights courtesy of ihg…make this upcoming vacation a freebie as far as I am concerned for our annual SNOWBIRD vacation. To this point 6 years into ihg, it has always been a no brainer for me that ihg is the lowest priced deal out there. A word to the wise is sufficient IMO.
If you can consistently hit PointBreal hotels, that changes the metrics significantly. I’ve never been able to work them into our plans. Instead, I’m often looking at burning 25,000 IHG points for a HIE when there is a Hyatt Place for 8,000 points nearby. I’ll pick the Hyatt every time.
But glad it works for you. There is definitely still value in Point Breaks and keeping the old credit card. I’m hanging on to mine indefinitely. The program is just nowhere close to as lucrative as it was a few years ago for “traditional” usage.
For me, the worst aspect of the IHG program is how they treat you when you use a reward stay.
No recognition or usual treatment. They look at you like a free loader off the streets, but you either spent a lot of money earning those points on paid stays, you hold their credit card, or you paid cash for points that IHG offered to sell you!
Reward stays should be the equivalent of paid stays: qualifying nights, upgrade, etc and enough with the attitude!
I’ve experienced that, most typically on Chase free nights. Haven’t noticed it as much on points stays. It is true they aren’t obligated to offer you an upgrade on an award stay, but I haven’t experienced any significant upgrades on paid stays either.
CT the ihg property that you use your point break points at has NO idea how many points you are redeeming…all they know is how much ihg admin is paying THEM for the nights stay. I found this out when a HIE newbie erroneously provided me with an invoce copy of what that HIE billed to ihg admin for my 8 night stay….very low per night compared to the nightly RATE we would have had to pay. I have never noted any attitude problems after using over 100 nights point breaks over the last 6 years worldwide and more than 75% got upgraded rooms, just by flaunting platinum elite status to the front desk person and of course they gladly, or begrudgingly helped me out each time and thanked me for being PE status !!
But that is the issue. They know that it is an award stay, or Chase free night. And I’m sure they know how much their hotel costs per night, except in the case of maybe PointBreaks. But someone there knows.
Ian…what are you saying ? It does not matter that THEY know you are using an award stay or chase free night. It has nothing to do with you. You don’t get a lesser room, because of it, and THEY are obligated to accept ihg reward points as part of THEIR contract with IHG. As I said above, each ihg hotel sends an invoice to ihg admin to “GET” their previously agreed to amount of money for each night. Each hotel has rooms and they try to rent them out for as much money as they can get. If too many people try to redeem points, each hotel has a limited number of rooms they are required to be used by ihg members using ihg reward points …period…what are you talking about Ian ?