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IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) Rewards Points do expire for non-elite members. Specifically, if you are a Club level member in the IHG program, which is the beginning level, your IHG points will expire if your account becomes inactive for the period of twelve (12) months.
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| Photo: InterContinental The Clement Monterey |
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Do IHG Rewards Points Expire?
Yes. IHG Rewards Points expire for non-elite members. IHG Rewards has the following membership tier levels:
- IHG Club
- IHG Gold Elite
- IHG Platinum Elite
- IHG Spire Elite
Therefore, if you are an IHG Club level member, you do not have elite status with IHG. Your points will expire if you have twelve (12) months of inactivity in your IHG account.
In summary, based on the IHG Rewards Club Membership terms and conditions:
- IHG Rewards points do NOT expire for elite members such as IHG Gold Elite, IHG Platinum Elite, and IHG Spire Elite members.
- IHG Rewards points expire after twelve (12) months of inactivity for Club or non-elite members.
- Earning and redeeming points during a 12-month period will prevent your IHG points from expiring.
- If you redeem IHG points for a stay and then cancel that stay, the redemption activity does not prevent your points from expiring.
- Using the IHG Anniversary Free Night provided to IHG Rewards Club credit cardholders also does not prevent points expiration. However, for simply being the cardholder of the Chase IHG Premier Credit Card that offers you that IHG anniversary free night, you receive automatic complimentary IHG Platinum Elite status, and therefore your IHG points will never expire.
- See the IHG Rewards Club Membership Terms and Conditions page for more information on the IHG points expiration policy.
IHG Points Expire Extension
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IHG had extended points expiration for non-elite members through December 31, 2021.
It is not known at this time whether IHG will extend the points expiration again given that traveling is not fully recovered yet. I’ll update this post once IHG makes such an announcement, so be sure to subscribe to our blog posts below for the update.
How do I know when my IHG points expire?
On the IHG Website:
- Go directly to the IHG points portal site here. Log into your IHG account if prompted.
- Underneath Available Points, you should see the date of when your points will expire. See the screenshot below.
- Please note if you are an IHG elite member, this information will not show because your points do not expire.
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| IHG Points Expiration on IHG Website |
On the IHG App:
- Launch the IHG app and sign in if you are not signed in.
- Tap your name in the top right-hand corner.
- Tap the [Current Year] Track to Elite Status section to go to the Earning Summary. You will see the date when your points will expire. See the screenshot below.
- If you are an IHG elite member, your points will not expire and it will say so there as well.
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| IHG Points Expiration in IHG App |
How to Keep Your IHG Rewards Points From Expiring
There are quite a few ways to keep your IHG points from expiring. It’s all about the “activity” in your IHG Rewards account. Earning and redeeming IHG points are counted as “activity” except for the following:
- If you redeem IHG points for a stay and then cancel that stay, the redemption activity does not prevent your points from expiring.
- The use of the IHG Anniversary Free Night provided to IHG Rewards Club credit cardholders also does not prevent your points from expiring.
IHG Points Do Not Expire For Elite Members
As a reminder, IHG points do not expire for elite members such as IHG Gold Elite, IHG Platinum Elite, and IHG Spire Elite members.
Editor’s Tip: The quickest way to earn IHG Platinum Elite status is to get the Chase IHG Premier Credit Card. You remain an IHG Platinum Elite member as long as you do not close the card. Therefore, your IHG points will never expire and you get to receive other benefits that the card has to offer such as the IHG Anniversary Free Night, 4th IHG Reward Night Free, and more.
Preventing IHG Points From Expiring With IHG Credit Cards
There are three IHG credit cards issued by Chase:
- The Chase IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card is no longer available for new applicants, but it offers automatic complimentary IHG Platinum Elite status, so your points will never expire for being an elite member.
- The currently available Chase IHG Premier Credit Card also offers automatic complimentary IHG Platinum Elite status, so your IHG points do not expire as long as you remain the Platinum Elite member by simply holding on to the credit card.
- The currently available Chase IHG Traveler Credit Card has no annual fee, but it does not offer any IHG elite status. You can, however, earning IHG points for everyday spending with the card to keep your IHG points active.
- Do note though that points that are earned from the IHG credit card spending do not get deposited into your IHG account immediately. So plan accordingly to ensure you will receive your points from credit card spending before the 12-month deadline.
The Easiest Way to Keep IHG Points From Expiring With Digital Rewards
IHG program allows members to redeem points for digital products such as eBooks, eMagazines, games, software, and more.
Perhaps, the easiest way to prevent your IHG points from expiring is to redeem just 100 points for the City Press Careers eMagazine. That’s the current lowest point required for redemption that I can find. Let us know in the comment if you find any other digital products that require lower points.
Keeping IHG Points From Expiring By Buying Points
There are a couple ways to purchase IHG Rewards points:
- You can buy IHG points directly to top off your IHG account. That will accrue your points to keep your IHG account active.
- You can speculatively redeem for a stay using IHG points and cash. You then can cancel that stay. The cash amount portion will not be refunded to you but you will receive the amount of IHG points that you purchased with that cash amount instead. This will make your account active by earning those points.
Keeping IHG Points From Expiring With Dining
There are two dining opportunities for you to earn points. However, keep in mind that earning points through dining does not give you points immediately. So plan accordingly to ensure you will receive your points from dining before your 12-month deadline is up.
- IHG Rewards Club Dine & Earn – This dining program is provided by Rewards Network which is the same dining program that is available for MARRIOTT, HILTON, etc. Each time you dine at a participating restaurant with your registered payment card, you receive IHG points.
- Current Offer: Earn 1,000 IHG Rewards Club bonus points when you join the IHG Rewards Club Dine & Earn program and complete tasks.
- GrubHub – You can earn IHG points every time you order food through Grubhub. IHG has a dedicated page (direct link below) for that to make sure you earn eligible IHG points via Grubhub.
- Current Offer: Earn up to 500 points on food delivery when you order from Grubhub.
- Direct Link to the IHG & Grubhub Offer
Other Ways to Prevent IHG Points From Expiring
You may want to evaluate any points value if you decide to prevent your IHG points from expiring with the following methods:
- Points Transfer: Unless you feel that there’s a compelling reason to do so, otherwise, I do not recommend this because transferring points to IHG Rewards may represent a poor value.
- You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) points to IHG Rewards at a ratio of 1:1. For example, 1,000 Chase UR points = 1,000 IHG Rewards points.
- You can transfer airline miles to IHG Rewards points or convert IHG Rewards points to airline miles at a rate of 10,000 IHG points to 2,000 miles.
- You can transfer IHG points to other IHG members but it will cost you $5 per 1,000 points transferred.
- Shopping Catalogs, Gift Cards, and Donations: While IHG Rewards does not have a shopping portal that you can earn points by shopping online, you can redeem IHG points for some products and gift cards online via the IHG Shopping Catalog.
- Car Rental: You can rent a car with IHG’s partner programs such as Avis, Budget, and Hertz and earn IHG points from each rental.
- Donations: Donate your IHG points for a good cause or to an organization that you support. Donating points starting at 2,500 IHG points.
There you have it! If you know of other easy ways to extend IHG Rewards points, let us know in the comment section below.
