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Earn double points with IHG Business Rewards – the small business and PA loyalty scheme

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Not many people know that IHG – owner of the InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza etc hotel brands – has a scheme aimed at travel bookers and small businesses.  It is called IHG Business Rewards.

IHG has launched a ‘double points’ promotion for Business Rewards members. This makes it worth taking a look at exactly how the scheme works.

Full details can be found on the IHG website here.

How does IHG Business Rewards work?

How does IHG Business Rewards work?

IHG Business Rewards is a very simple scheme.

The person who makes a hotel or meeting room booking – but who cannot be the traveller themselves – earns 3 IHG One Rewards points per $1 spent. 

We value IHG One Rewards points at 0.4p.  This means that the travel booker gets 1.2p of points for every 78p ($1) spent.  This is a decent deal given that, for room bookings, the traveller also earns their points as usual.

You get double points for the next few months

IHG is currently running a ‘double points’ promotion. Once you have registered via the Business Rewards website:

  • you will receive double points (6 per $1) on each booking
  • your meeting, room booking or event must be booked by 31st December 2023
  • your meeting, room booking or event must take place by 30th June 2024
IHG Business Rewards

Who gets the points?

The points are deposited into the personal account of the booker.  Accounts cannot be opened in the name of a company.  There is a cap of 60,000 points per event (excluding the current double points bonus) but, given that you would need to spend $20,000 to hit this, it is unlikely to be a major problem.

To be clear, the guest in the room still receives their own points and elite night credit as usual. The points from IHG Business Rewards are in addition.

It is worth noting that, for meeting or events where multiple people may be organising, the rules allow for the IHG Business Rewards points to be split between two people.  This needs to be agreed in advance in the contract for the event.

The rules state that points may take up to 45 days to arrive.

IHG Business Rewards is bolted on to an existing IHG One Rewards account, so a travel booker does not need to have two separate account numbers.

Points earned via IHG Business Rewards DO count for elite status.  However, they do not qualify for any elite status bonus.  A Diamond Elite member earns the same 3 points per $1 as a base level member.

I presume, if you are a very small family business, you could potentially set your partner up as the booker if you are the one who undertakes most of the travel.

Note that not all hotels take part in IHG Business Rewards, although the vast majority do. The list of non-participating hotels in IHG Business Rewards is here.

You can sign up via the IHG Business Rewards website here.


IHG One Rewards update – April 2024:

Get bonus points: IHG One Rewards is offering 2,000 bonus points for every two cash nights you stay (not necessarily consecutive) between 1st April and 31st May 2024. You can read our full article here and you can register here.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Comments (9)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Chaz says:

    Not sure why only small businesses could set the other half up as the booker? I work for a large business but frequently book direct rather than the travel service as: I think they’re rubbish, and charge excessive fees negating any rate benefit.

    Am I missing something?

    • Bagoly says:

      The T&Cs have various exclusions for China, anti-bribery laws, master-agreements etc.
      But I don’t see anything in the terms requiring the booking to be for business purposes, and 74.3 says “An individual booker is a person who books Qualifying Spend at Participating Hotels on their own behalf or on behalf of someone else.”
      However, I think the IHG system does apply a term not there, stated by Rob as: “but who cannot be the traveller themselves”.

  • sayling says:

    It’s not so much about ‘only’ methinks – more that it’s a method of qualifying for the scheme of you are part of a small business.

    You, for example, cannot earn from this scheme if you are booking rooms for yourself.

    Same with a small business owner – unless they have a family member as part of the business who could make the booking.

  • Bagoly says:

    Having taken advantage of that IHG “Platinum for ?4 months for anyone” offer last year, I was upgraded from Gold to Platinum this July despite not having stayed with them this year.
    Was that universal, or some IT glitch?
    Or possibly *because* I had not stayed with them this year?

  • SammyJ says:

    My husband is working away Mon-Fri and has been staying in various HI/HIEXs (as well as airbnb etc), and I’ve effectively been his PA, arranging and booking for him on a combination of his and my own accounts (to maximise milestones). This sounds as though I could legitimately make these bookings for him, despite the fact he’s within IR35 as a contractor rather than being self-employed, and isn’t paying me for my services. It even says that you can be making the bookings for business or leisure, so I guess he could also set up an account and make leisure bookings for me?!

  • C says:

    Does the traveler receive additional points (the higher earn rate) if they are an elite member?

    It sounds like the answer is no based on the below FAQ, but it’s not very clear, as this could just be referring solely to the booker:

    “Can I earn Elite status by booking on behalf of others?”
    “Yes. You will earn IHG® One Rewards points which count towards IHG® One Rewards membership Elite status. However, Gold, Platinum and Diamond Elite bonus points (a higher earn rate) will only be earned for points associated with your personal stays, and not points associated with bookings through IHG® Business Rewards.”

  • Paul says:

    I have three rooms booked in an IHG hotel over Christmas. How many rooms will I get points for? Should I have set this up as a IHG Business Rewards booking? I’m Diamond Elite.

    • Rob says:

      We have an article on what all brands give for multiple room bookings if you search.

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