This is the first post in a series about the different status levels in IHG Rewards Club:
- Club
- Gold Elite
- Platinum Elite
- Spire Elite
- Ambassador & Royal Ambassador (for stays only at the InterContinental brand)
When you first join IHG Rewards Club, you’ll start off with their entry-level Club status.
Although it’s a status you receive even if you haven’t spent a cent at one of their hotels, you still receive some useful benefits that can save you money.
Here’s a guide to everything you can expect simply for registering with the IHG Rewards loyalty scheme for free.
Important Note: You’ll only receive these benefits when you book a hotel stay directly with IHG, either on their website, mobile app or by phone. If you book a stay using an OTA (Online Travel Agency) like Expedia, you’re not eligible to receive any of these benefits.
IHG Rewards – Club Status Benefits
1) Collect Points Or Miles
It can be easy to accumulate points through hotel stays with IHG Rewards as you earn 10 points per dollar at most of their hotel brands (only 5 points per dollar at Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites), plus they tend to have several generous promotions throughout the year.
Alternatively, you can choose to earn airline miles with most of the major airlines.
2) Pay Discounted Rates
When you book a hotel stay through OTAs like Hotels.com, Expedia, Orbitz, etc., the hotel has to pay them a commission.
To cut out the costs of these middlemen, IHG Rewards offers members of its loyalty scheme – even those at this basic Club level – a discount on their room rate. The discount will vary, but you can see how much you’d save by looking at the ‘Your Rate’ option.
For example, a stay at the Holiday Inn Express Orlando Airport would be $104 per night for non-members, but that’d be reduced to $99.84 simply for having IHG Rewards Club status.
3) Customer Service Phone Assistance
I’m not sure how valuable a benefit this is given that you can contact them by phone even if you aren’t part of their loyalty scheme; I guess maybe the calls are answered more quickly???
I’m more of an introvert though and don’t enjoy making phone calls so I haven’t ever taken advantage of this benefit.
4) No Blackout Dates For Reward Nights
This can be a useful benefit if you’re wanting to book a reward night during a busy period when cash rates are high. New Orleans during Mardi Gras, New York at New Year’s Eve or San Diego during Comic-Con – so long as there are standard rooms available, you can use your points to book a free stay.
5) Reward Nights Count Towards Elite Status
Not all hotel loyalty schemes offer this benefit, so it’s nice that reward nights count towards status with IHG.
To give an idea of what this means, you need to stay ten nights per calendar year to be upgraded from IHG Rewards Club status to their Gold Elite level. Those ten nights don’t all have to be paid nights though; for example, you could use points that you’ve earned for four nights and pay for six nights which would get you to the ten nights needed for Gold Elite status.
6) Free Internet
Given that most of us travel with at least one internet-connected device, it’s nice that you won’t have to pay a fee to use the internet at the hotel.
How To Get Club Level Status With IHG Rewards
So how do you get all these benefits? Simple – just take the minute or two it takes to register with IHG Rewards.
Next – how to get Gold Elite status.
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