For years, IHG free night certificates were locked into a strict limit: you could only use them at hotels costing 40,000 points or less. That made it a challenge to find good redemptions, especially in expensive cities or during peak travel dates.
Now, if you have an IHG Premier (personal or business) card, there’s good news: you can top off your certificate with additional points. That means your free night can now be used at properties charging well over 40,000 points—opening up far more valuable and exciting options, such as a stay in Manhattan over the Thanksgiving weekend.
However, if you still have the older IHG Select card, you’re still subject to the original rules. You’ll need to keep hunting for hotels that price at 40,000 points or less, which is still possible, but requires more strategy and flexibility.
Here’s how to make the most of your IHG free night certificate, no matter which card you hold.
IHG Rewards Select Free Nights
My approach to using these free nights remains the same, as the redemption rules have not changed. I learned my lesson when I almost let a free night expire. The annual fee for this card is only $49, so any time I can use the free night at a room that costs over $50, I’m getting my money’s worth. Honestly, is there any hotel room you’d want to stay in that costs less than $50?
Holiday Inn Express – Palm Desert
This doesn’t mean that I’m always using this free night at a roadside HI Express. There are still plenty of IHG properties that cost 40K points or less. It does mean that I’m not going to hold onto these certificates for the perfect redemption, which may or may not materialize.
IHG Rewards Premier Free Nights
The IHG Rewards Premier (personal and business) cards provide a free night at hotels charging up to 40,000 points, with the ability to add points if a hotel charges a higher amount.
An interesting aspect of IHG’s free night certificate and points rules is that there’s no limit to the number of points you can add for a redemption. In comparison, Marriott Bonvoy only lets you add up to 15,000 points to a certificate.
This means that any hotel is on the table. Do you want to stay in Manhattan on Thanksgiving weekend?
That’s a whole lot of points (100,000 for a Candlewood Suites.) It’s better than if you are looking for a cash booking.
I don’t plan on using my free night from the IHG Premier at just any hotel anymore. No more using it somewhere that charges 25,000 points, because I might not find a 40,000-point redemption. I’m now viewing it as a 40K point voucher, which I can use at hotels charging that much or more.
This means I’ll have no problems finding a hotel in Manhattan, London or Tokyo.
Final Thoughts
My wife and I are in a different situation from most because we each have the IHG Select and IHG Premier cards. From them, we get two of the 40K capped free nights and two 40K point “Vouchers.” Even if you only have one IHG Premier card, I think it’s worthwhile to save the free night for a hotel that charges 40,000 points or more, which isn’t very difficult.
I’ll have to see how well this plan works when I put it into practice. It helps that I have plenty of Marriott Bonvoy free nights from credit cards, which I’ll be able to use at those roadside hotels when I need them.
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