As the end of the year approaches, you may wonder how you’ll earn your desired level of elite status with IHG One Rewards[1]. This guide will discuss strategies for earning IHG elite status before the end of the year, including methods to accumulate more qualifying nights or points.
IHG elite status overview
Here are the current IHG One Rewards elite tiers and the requirements for each:
- Silver Elite: 10 qualifying nights
- Gold Elite: 20 qualifying nights or 40,000 qualifying points
- Platinum Elite: 40 qualifying nights or 60,000 qualifying points
- Diamond Elite: 70 qualifying nights or 120,000 qualifying points
As you can see, you can earn most IHG elite status tiers via qualifying nights or qualifying points. IHG uses a calendar year as its qualification period, so you have from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 each year to accrue enough nights or points for your desired elite tier. Then, you’ll keep your status through the end of the following calendar year.
Additionally, you can earn IHG Milestone Rewards[2] based on your qualifying nights each calendar year. Starting at just 20 qualifying nights per calendar year, you’ll earn Milestone Rewards for every 10 qualifying nights you stay (up to 100 qualifying nights per calendar year).
Related: IHG elite status: What it is and how to earn it[3]
Strategies for earning more qualifying nights
Unfortunately, there isn’t a shortcut to accruing qualifying nights with IHG One Rewards. You’ll earn one elite qualifying night for every night of a qualifying stay, including reward stays.
The IHG terms and conditions[4] explicitly note that you won’t earn any qualifying nights for a stay if you no-show or cancel after the hotel cancellation time (even if you’ve paid for the room in full and it’s nonrefundable). Therefore, you’ll need to check in to the hotel and stay on a qualifying paid rate or award stay to earn qualifying nights.
Additionally, if you book two rooms for the same calendar day, only one night will count as a qualifying night. As such, if you need more qualifying nights than the number left in the calendar year, you won’t be able to qualify for your desired status based on nights. Also note that elite qualifying nights count toward the calendar year in which the checkout day occurs, so you won’t want to check out in 2026 if you want the elite qualifying nights to count toward 2025.
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If you need additional qualifying nights, review your plans for the remainder of the year and identify opportunities to stay at an IHG hotel. Even if an IHG hotel is more expensive than your other options, it may be worthwhile if it helps you earn a higher elite tier or an additional milestone reward.
If you can’t get the qualifying nights you need on trips you plan to take, consider doing a staycation or mattress run[7] near your house. Or plan a getaway to a destination with inexpensive IHG hotels or resorts.
Related: The best IHG hotels in the world[8]
Strategies for earning more qualifying points
Based on IHG’s terms and conditions[9], only the following activities earn elite qualifying points:
- Paying qualifying rates for hotel stays
- Spending on Hertz car rentals, OpenTable reservations and Viator experiences
- Purchasing an IHG One Rewards bonus points package
- Qualifying spending through IHG Business Rewards
- Purchases on IHG One Rewards credit cards issued in the United Kingdom and Greater China
Earning through IHG partners like Hertz, OpenTable and Viator may help if you only need to earn a small number of additional qualifying points to reach your desired elite status. And if you happen to be eligible for an IHG card issued in the U.K. or Greater China, you could use it to earn more qualifying points on your purchases.
But for most U.S.-based IHG loyalists, the best way to earn more qualifying points is to add bonus points packages to upcoming paid stays. For example, here’s an offer I saw for a two-night stay at the Staybridge Suites Savannah Historic District:
If you add 3,000 points for $21 per night, you’ll buy points for 0.7 cents each. This purchase rate is higher than TPG’s October 2025 valuation[10] of IHG points (0.5 cents each) but still lower than I can typically get when redeeming IHG points[11].
Related: How to earn IHG points via stays, credit cards and more[12]
Other strategies for earning IHG elite status quickly
As you might have noticed, there aren’t many shortcuts to earning more IHG qualifying nights or points. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any shortcuts for earning IHG elite status. Here are some ways to quickly earn IHG elite status.
Get an IHG credit card
Several IHG credit cards[13] provide automatic elite status as a cardholder perk and let you spend toward higher elite status tiers:
You can also enroll in complimentary IHG Platinum Elite status with the United Club℠ Card[14] (see rates and fees[15]). And if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®[16] (see rates and fees[17]) or Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠[18] (see rates and fees[19]), you can enroll in IHG Platinum Elite status through Dec. 31, 2027.
Plus, after spending $75,000 on purchases on the Chase Sapphire Reserve[20] during a calendar year, you can activate IHG Diamond Elite status for the remainder of the calendar year in which you qualify and the following calendar year. And after spending $125,000 on purchases on the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business[21] during a calendar year, you can activate Diamond Elite status for the remainder of the calendar year in which you qualify and the following calendar year.
Related: Why you should get (and keep) the IHG One Rewards Premier card[22]
Pay for InterContinental Ambassador membership
Another way to quickly earn IHG Platinum Elite status is to purchase an InterContinental Ambassador[23] membership. A 12-month Ambassador membership costs $225 or 45,000 points. Membership provides Platinum Elite status in the IHG One Rewards program and the following perks when staying at InterContinental properties:
- Guaranteed one-category room upgrade
- Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout
- Complimentary weekend night[24]
- Restaurants and bars credit of up to $20 per stay
- Complimentary mineral water
- Complimentary internet
- Dedicated check-in area
- Single room rate for double occupancy
If you want IHG Platinum Elite status and don’t have a credit card that provides this status, maintaining an InterContinental Ambassador membership may be a good choice, even if you only occasionally stay at InterContinental properties.
Related: How much value does the IHG One Rewards program provide when you book directly?[25]
Utilize a targeted offer
It’s also worth checking your email and the offers section in your IHG account to see whether you have any targeted offers.
After all, some IHG members have received targeted offers to earn Platinum Elite status after staying five qualifying nights by Dec. 31 and Diamond Elite status after staying 10 qualifying nights by Dec. 31. And other IHG members have received targeted offers for one bonus elite night credit for every night stayed (up to 10 nights) through Dec. 31, 2025.
Related: Earn up to triple points through the end of 2025 with IHG’s new promotion[26]
Bottom line
You can earn IHG elite qualifying points quicker by adding bonus points to upcoming paid IHG stays. But unless you’re targeted for a special offer, there’s no shortcut to earning IHG elite qualifying nights.
Earning IHG elite status isn’t difficult, though. You can enjoy Platinum Elite status as a perk of InterContinental Ambassador membership, and several cards offer Platinum Elite status as a cardmember perk. Plus, you can earn top-tier Diamond Elite status through the end of the following year by spending large amounts on select cards within a calendar year.
References
- ^ IHG One Rewards (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ IHG Milestone Rewards (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ IHG elite status: What it is and how to earn it (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ IHG terms and conditions (www.ihg.com)
- ^ Terms of Use (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ Privacy Policy (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ mattress run (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ The best IHG hotels in the world (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ IHG’s terms and conditions (www.ihg.com)
- ^ valuation (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ redeeming IHG points (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ How to earn IHG points via stays, credit cards and more (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ IHG credit cards (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ United Club℠ Card (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ rates and fees (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ Chase Sapphire Reserve® (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ rates and fees (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ rates and fees (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ Chase Sapphire Reserve (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ Why you should get (and keep) the IHG One Rewards Premier card (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ InterContinental Ambassador (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ Complimentary weekend night (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ How much value does the IHG One Rewards program provide when you book directly? (thepointsguy.com)
- ^ Earn up to triple points through the end of 2025 with IHG’s new promotion (thepointsguy.com)