One of the best perks of booking hotel stays with points is getting extra nights for free. Several hotel loyalty programs—Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, and IHG One Rewards—offer discounts on award stays of a certain length, allowing members to stretch their points further.
While all three programs have similar features, IHG’s 4th Night Free benefit stands out in two key ways. I’ve covered the details of each program in this post, but here’s a quick summary:
How Other Hotel Programs Offer Free Nights
Marriott Bonvoy: Stay for 5, Pay for 4
- Available to all Marriott Bonvoy members.
- For award stays of 5 nights or more, the lowest-cost night is free.
- For 10-night stays, two of the lowest-cost nights are free, no matter when they occur.
- More details: Marriott Bonvoy Terms.
Hilton Honors: 5th Night Free
- Available to Silver Elite members and above (which can be earned easily with the right Hilton credit card).
- For award stays of 5 nights or more, Hilton averages the nightly cost of the stay and deducts one night’s worth of points. For every 5th night, you’ll receive an additional free night up to 4 nights.
- This means the amount you save is based on the average nightly cost rather than a specific night.
What Makes IHG’s 4th Night Free Benefit Different?
Shorter Stays Qualify
Unlike Hilton and Marriott, which require a minimum of five nights for a free night benefit, IHG provides a free night on four-night reservations. This makes it much more helpful for travelers who don’t always stay in one place for an extended period.
A “True” 4th Night Free
Unlike Marriott, which offers the cheapest night free and Hilton, which averages your stay costs, IHG completely waives the cost of the fourth night, irrespective of its price. This can be advantageous but may also pose risks, depending on the pricing of your stay.
Consider this four-night award stay with IHG:
- Night 1 – 58,000 points
- Night 2 – 69,000 points
- Night 3 – 52,000 points
- Night 4 – 64,000 points
With IHG, the fourth night (64,000 points) is completely free, so the total cost for four nights is 179,000 points instead of 243,000 points.
However, if the 4th night had been the cheapest night instead, you might not save as much. This leaves it up to IHG’s dynamic pricing system to determine the value of your 4th free night.
IHG automatically adjusts the displayed nightly average cost on its website, dividing the total points by the number of nights, but the free night is always the 4th one.
IHG’s Free Night Benefit Stacks for Longer Stays
Another advantage of IHG’s 4th Night Free benefit is that it applies to every fourth night in a single stay. This means:
- 8-night stays get two free nights.
- 12-night stays get three free nights.
- 16-night stays get four free nights.
This stacking benefit makes IHG an excellent choice for longer award stays, as long as you stay in increments of four nights.
Potential Downsides of IHG’s 4th Night Free
While the IHG benefit is great for short trips, it does have a few drawbacks compared to Hilton and Marriott:
- Only Available to IHG Credit Cardholders – Unlike Marriott, which offers its free night benefit to all Bonvoy members, or Hilton, which grants it to anyone with Silver status or higher, IHG’s 4th Night Free is only available to those who hold an IHG co-branded credit card (such as the Premier, Traveler, or Business card). If you don’t have one of these cards, you won’t be eligible.
- Potentially Less Savings Than Other Programs – If the 4th night is the cheapest, IHG’s system won’t adjust like Hilton’s, meaning you could save less than you would under a different structure.
- Not as Useful for Non-4-Night Stays – Since the free night benefit only applies every 4th night, stays that aren’t in multiples of 4 (like 5, 6, or 7 nights) won’t maximize savings as effectively.
Is IHG’s 4th Night Free a Good Deal?
IHG’s 4th Night Free is one of the best ways to stretch your points, especially if you typically stay for 4 nights at a time. The fact that the 4th night is completely free—rather than the cheapest night or an average discount—can lead to outsized value in certain situations.
However, if you don’t have an IHG co-branded credit card, you’re out of luck entirely.
For the right traveler—one who stays at IHG properties for 4-night trips and holds an IHG credit card—this benefit can be a fantastic way to save points. But if your travel habits differ, other programs might offer better overall savings.
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