The IHG One Rewards program offers benefits to members with elite status by providing incremental perks when staying at IHG hotels.
In addition to elite status, IHG One Rewards offers Milestone Rewards, which allow members the chance to choose additional perks once they’ve earned enough qualifying nights.
In this guide, we’ll look at IHG One Rewards Milestone Rewards, including what you need to earn to hit each milestone, and what reward you should choose when you do.
What Are IHG One Rewards Milestone Rewards?
IHG One Rewards Milestone Rewards are extra perks given to members as they cross thresholds of nights stayed each year.
For every 10 qualifying nights you stay at an IHG property in a calendar year, starting after you’ve stayed 20 nights and ending at 100 nights, you’ll get to choose one or two Milestone Reward benefits.
Milestone Rewards are earned alongside elite status, and they provide an incentive to members to keep staying at IHG hotels even if they won’t hit the next elite status tier, or if they already hold top-tier Diamond Elite status.
As a reminder, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Elite status can be reached after earning 10, 20, 40, and 70 qualifying nights, respectively.
Since Milestone Rewards are earned at each increment of 10 nights stayed, they fill in the gaps between the various elite status levels.
For example, if you’ve earned 20 qualifying nights and reached IHG One Rewards Gold Elite status, but you don’t think 40 nights and Platinum Elite status is within reach, you’ll still be rewarded with a Milestone Reward if you’re able to reach 30 qualifying nights.
What’s more, IHG One Rewards members who’ve earned status through credit cards or by earning qualifying points can pick up extra IHG points and other benefits with Milestone Rewards when they hit the qualifying night thresholds.
What Can You Earn with IHG One Rewards Milestone Rewards?
There are nine Milestone Rewards levels, and although six of them are identical, each one requires you to make a choice.
Once you reach a specific Milestone Reward threshold, you’ll have 90 days to select your rewards. Failing to do so will result in losing the Milestone Reward benefit.
Once chosen, Milestone Rewards can’t be transferred or gifted to another IHG member, unlike World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards.
Let’s take a look at the Milestone Rewards available at each level, and then determine which reward is the best choice.
20 Qualifying Nights: Bonus Points, Food & Beverage Rewards, or Confirmable Suite Upgrade
After earning 20 qualifying nights, you’ll be able to choose one of the following Milestone Rewards:
- 5,000 bonus points
- Two Food & Beverage Rewards
- One Confirmable Suite Upgrade
At first glance, the 5,000 bonus points may be tempting, and they’re certainly the easiest to redeem, but there’s decent value to be found in the other choices as well.
Each Food & Beverage Reward is valid for 12 months from the date of selection, and is worth $20 (all figures in USD) towards applicable food and beverage charges at IHG hotels and resorts.
You can also redeem multiple Food & Beverage Rewards at the same time; however, keep in mind that if your eligible food and beverage expense is less than $20, you’ll still have to redeem the full reward for that expense.
Two Food & Beverage Rewards are equal to $40, and using our valuation of IHG Rewards points of 0.4 cents per point, we’d value 5,000 bonus points at $20.
Now, it’s certainly possible to get value above 0.4 cents per point with some redemptions, so this is certainly not a terrible option, especially if you’re in need of IHG points.
However, if you plan on spending money on food or beverages at an IHG property within the next 12 months, the food and beverage credit will likely provide greater value.
Lastly, the Confirmable Suite Upgrade allows for an upgrade to an entry-level suite or a premium room, valid for 12 months from the time of selection.
With this choice, if you have a specific redemption in mind, or if you’re relying on a suite upgrade to enhance a special trip, the Confirmable Suite Upgrade may be worth considering.
What’s more, one Confirmable Suite Upgrade can be used for a stay of up to five nights.
However, note that Confirmable Suite Upgrades that upgrade you to a Club-level room won’t include lounge access at IHG hotels that have Club Lounges.
Even though the best Milestone Reward choice is ultimately up to individual preference, the two Food & Beverage Rewards provide the most dollar value, followed by 5,000 points, and lastly the Confirmable Suite Upgrade.
As a general tip, if you’re going to select the two Food & Beverage Rewards or the Confirmable Suite Upgrade, and you don’t have a plan to redeem the reward anytime soon, you should wait to make your selection.
This is because the 12-month expiry date won’t kick in until after you’ve chosen your reward, and you have 90 days to do so. Just remember to select it before the expiration date, otherwise you’ll lose out.
30 Qualifying Nights: Bonus Points or Food & Beverage Rewards
Upon reaching 30 qualifying nights, you can choose from the following Milestone Rewards:
- 5,000 bonus points
- Two Food & Beverage Rewards
At this level, the choice of Milestone Rewards is almost identical to the one before, only without the Confirmable Suite Upgrade.
Once again, the two Food & Beverage Rewards likely carry a higher dollar value than the 5,000 bonus points.
40 Qualifying Nights: 10,000 Bonus Points, 5 Food & Beverage Rewards, 1 Confirmable Suite Upgrade, or 1 Annual Lounge Membership
At 40 qualifying nights, members are offered a few more options to choose from, and they get to choose two rewards rather than just one.
Once you’ve crossed this threshold, you can choose from the following Milestone Rewards:
- 10,000 bonus points
- Five Food & Beverage Rewards
- One Confirmable Suite Upgrade
- One Annual Lounge Membership
Note that if you’ve already selected a Confirmable Suite Upgrade as the 20-night Milestone Reward, you won’t be able to choose it again here.
At 40 qualifying nights, we also see the introduction of the Annual Lounge Membership as an option.
The Annual Lounge Membership is valid for the remainder of the year in which it was chosen, plus the entire next year.
For example, if you choose it as a Milestone Reward in April 2024, it will be good through to December 2025.
This award allows a member plus one guest to access Club Lounges at participating IHG hotels, with the exception of the InterContinental Alliance Resorts in Las Vegas and Macau.
IHG Club Lounges usually feature complimentary breakfast, snacks and drinks throughout the day, and appetizers in the evening, which are often generous enough to qualify as a meal.
Unlike other hotel loyalty programs, IHG doesn’t offer lounge access to elite members, so unless you book a more expensive room that grants you entry to the Club Lounges, the Annual Lounge Membership is the only way in.
In fact, as we mentioned earlier, even IHG room upgrades to Club-level rooms and higher don’t automatically come with Club Lounge access.
What’s more, if you reach 40 qualifying nights towards the end of the year, you could delay your selection until the start of the next year to essentially get two full years of Club Lounge access.
The other Milestone Rewards options at this level are similar to the previous choices, but better. Five Food & Beverage Rewards are worth up to $100, and we’d place a value of $40 on 10,000 IHG Rewards points.
Based on this, at the 40-night Milestone Rewards threshold, the two best choices will likely be the Annual Lounge Membership and the five Food & Beverage Rewards.
50 and 60 Qualifying Nights: Bonus Points or Food & Beverage Rewards
Upon reaching 50 and 60 qualifying nights, you can choose from the following Milestone Rewards:
- 10,000 bonus points
- Five Food & Beverage Rewards
The Food & Beverage Rewards likely have a higher dollar value than the 10,000 bonus points, so it’s likely best to choose them, unless you need to top up your account for a redemption.
70 Qualifying Nights: Choose Two Among 10,000 Bonus Points, 5 Food & Beverage Rewards, 2 Confirmable Suite Upgrades, or 1 Annual Lounge Membership
Upon reaching 70 qualifying nights, you’ll earn top-tier Diamond Elite status, and you’ll also be able to choose two of the following Milestone Rewards:
- 10,000 bonus points
- Five Food & Beverage Rewards
- Two Confirmable Suite Upgrades
- One Annual Lounge Membership
At 70 qualifying nights, you’ll have a very similar choice to the one at the 40 qualifying night Milestone Reward level; however, you’ll now get the choice of two Confirmable Suite Upgrades instead of just one.
Additionally, if you’ve already chosen the Annual Lounge Membership at the 40-night level, you won’t be able to choose it again here.
Similarly, if you chose the Confirmable Suite Upgrades at either the 20- or 40-night level, you won’t be able to choose the two Confirmable Suite Upgrades at the 70-night level.
However, if you didn’t choose the Annual Lounge Membership at 40 nights, then this will certainly be the best choice at 70 nights.
After the Annual Lounge Membership, you’ll have to decide what you value more: the two Confirmable Suite Upgrades, $100 worth of food and beverages, or 10,000 IHG bonus points.
If you haven’t chosen a Confirmable Suite Upgrade Reward previously, and you picked the Annual Lounge Membership at 40 nights, it might be better to pick the five Food & Beverage Rewards and the two Confirmable Suite Upgrade Rewards.
80, 90, and 100 Qualifying Nights: Bonus Points or Food & Beverage Rewards
Upon reaching the final three tiers with Milestone Rewards at 80, 90, and 100 qualifying nights, you can choose one of the following:
- 10,000 bonus points
- Five Food & Beverage Rewards
The final three Milestone Rewards are all the same, offering either 10,000 IHG bonus points or $100 worth of food and beverage credits.
At this stage, members should have a pretty clear idea of what suits their travel needs best.
On the one hand, if you find that you’ve already accumulated more Food & Beverage Rewards than you’ll be able to make good use of, it’ll make sense to choose the bonus points, which don’t come with the same 12-month expiration date.
On the other hand, if you know you’ll be able to use the credits, then you’ll get the most value by choosing the Food & Beverage Rewards.
Conclusion
Milestone Rewards incentivize IHG One Rewards members to continue engaging with the program and earning qualifying nights even if they won’t reach the next elite status level.
The program allows members to choose a Milestone Reward, such as bonus points or a food and beverage credit, for each 10 qualifying nights they earn, beginning at 20 nights.
Although the rewards aren’t necessarily worth chasing if you don’t already have a trip planned, some of the choices, like the Annual Lounge Membership, can be particularly valuable if you tend to frequent hotels with a lounge.
Plus, there’s certainly no harm in racking up Food & Beverage Rewards to help offset costs on your next trip, especially since breakfast is a benefit only offered to top-tier Diamond members.
