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

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?

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 2024
• your meeting, room booking or event must take place by 30th June 2025

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.

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IHG One Rewards update – October 2024:

Get bonus points:

You will earn 3,000 bonus points for every two cash nights you stay between 19th September and 31st December 2024.

Nights to do not need to be consecutive. Read more in our article here and click here to register.

IHG is running a second promotion for stays at five of its smaller brands. You will receive triple base points between 1st October and 31st December 2024 on stays at voco, avid hotels, EVEN Hotels, Atwell Suites and Garner Hotels. Read more in our article here and click here to register.

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.

IHG One Rewards is offering a 100% bonus when you buy points by 5th October 2024. Click here to buy.

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.