As the end of the year approaches, you may be wondering how to get the elite status you want with IHG One Rewards. This guide will discuss strategies for achieving IHG elite status before the end of the year, including ways 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 tier:
- Silver Elite: 10 qualifying nights
- Golden 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 levels with qualifying nights or qualifying points. IHG uses the calendar year as its qualification period, so you have between January 1st and December 31st of each year to accrue enough stays or points for your desired elite status. Your status will then be retained until the end of the next calendar year.
Additionally, you can earn IHG Milestone Rewards based on qualifying nights each calendar year. You can earn Milestone Bonuses for every 10 qualifying nights, starting with 20 qualifying nights per calendar year (up to a maximum of 100 qualifying nights per calendar year).
RELATED: IHG Elite Status: What It Is and How to Get It
Strategies to earn more qualifying nights
Unfortunately, there’s no shortcut to earning qualifying nights through IHG One Rewards. For every night of qualifying stays, including award nights, you’ll earn one elite night.
The IHG Terms and Conditions clearly state that if you no-show or cancel after the hotel’s cancellation time, you will not earn any qualifying nights (even if you have paid for the room in full and it is non-refundable). Therefore, you need to stay at the hotel and stay at a qualifying paid rate or award night to earn qualifying nights.
Additionally, if you book two rooms on the same calendar day, only one night will be considered a qualifying stay. Therefore, if you require more qualifying nights than you have remaining in the calendar year, you will not receive the required membership based on the number of nights. Also note that elite qualifying nights count toward the calendar year in which the checkout date occurs, so if you want your elite qualifying nights to count toward 2025, you don’t want to check out in 2026.
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If you need additional qualifying nights, check your plans for the rest of the year and look for opportunities to stay at IHG hotels. Even if an IHG hotel is more expensive than your other options, it may be worth it if it helps you achieve higher elite status or additional milestone rewards.
If you can’t get the number of qualifying nights you need on your planned trip, consider a staycation or a mattress run near your home. Or plan a destination vacation at an affordable IHG hotel or resort.
Related: The Best IHG Hotels in the World
Strategies to Earn More Qualification Points
Per IHG’s terms and conditions, Elite Qualification Points will only be awarded for the following activities:
- Pay the price of a qualifying hotel stay
- Spend on Hertz car rentals, OpenTable reservations, and Viator experiences
- Purchase IHG One Rewards points packages
- Make qualifying purchases through IHG Business Rewards
- Make purchases with an IHG One Rewards credit card issued in the UK and Greater China
If you only need to earn a few extra qualifying points to reach the elite level you want, earning points through IHG partners like Hertz, OpenTable, and Viator may help. If you happen to qualify for an IHG card issued in the UK or Greater China, you can use it to earn more qualifying points on purchases.
But for most U.S. IHG loyalists, the best way to earn more qualifying points is to add a bonus points package to an upcoming paid stay. For example, here’s a deal I saw for a two-night stay at the Staybridge Suites Savannah Historic District:
If you add 3,000 points at $21 per night, you can purchase points for just 0.7 cents per point. This purchase rate is higher than TPG’s October 2025 valuation of IHG points (0.5 cents each), but still lower than what I typically get when redeeming IHG points.
RELATED: How to Earn IHG Points on Stays, Credit Cards, and More
Other Strategies to Quickly Earn IHG Elite Status
You may have noticed that there aren’t many shortcuts to earning more IHG qualifying nights or points. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any shortcuts to achieving IHG elite status. Here are some ways to quickly earn IHG elite status.
Get an IHG Credit Card
Some IHG credit cards automatically offer elite status as a cardholder benefit, allowing you to spend toward higher elite status levels:
You can also sign up for free IHG Platinum Elite membership via: United Club℠ Card (See Rates and Fees). if you have Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and charges) or Chase Sapphire Business Reserve℠ (see rates and fees), you have until December 31, 2027 to join IHG Platinum Elite status.
Additionally, after spending $75,000 on Chase Sapphire Reserve Within a calendar year, you can activate IHG Diamond Elite status for the remainder of the calendar year in which you are eligible, as well as the following calendar year. After spending $125,000 on merchandise Chase Sapphire Commercial Reserve Within a calendar year, you may activate Diamond Elite status for the remainder of the calendar year in which you are eligible and for the following calendar year.
Related: Why you should get (and keep) the IHG One Rewards Premier card
Pay your Intercontinental Ambassador membership fee
Another way to quickly achieve IHG Platinum Elite status is to purchase an InterContinental Ambassador 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 benefits when staying at an InterContinental hotel:
- Guaranteed first-class room upgrade
- Guaranteed late check-out at 4pm
- Free weekend nights
- Earn up to $20 in restaurant and bar points per stay
- Free mineral water
- free internet
- Dedicated check-in area
- Single room price for double occupancy
If you want to earn IHG Platinum Elite status but don’t have a credit card that offers this membership, maintaining an InterContinental Ambassador membership might be a good option even if you only stay at InterContinental hotels occasionally.
Related: How much value does the IHG One Rewards program provide when you book direct?
Take advantage of targeted offers
It’s also worth checking your email and the offers section in your IHG account to see if you have any offers targeted at you.
After all, some IHG members have received targeted offers to earn Platinum Elite status after staying five qualifying nights before December 31 and Diamond Elite status after staying 10 qualifying nights before December 31. Other IHG members have received a targeted offer to earn one Elite Stay Point bonus for every night stayed (up to 10 nights) through December 31, 2025.
RELATED: Earn up to triple points through the end of 2025 with IHG’s new promotion
bottom line
You can earn IHG Elite Qualification Points faster by adding bonus points toward your upcoming IHG paid stays. But unless your goal is to score special offers, there’s no shortcut to earning IHG Elite Nights.
However, obtaining IHG elite membership is not difficult. You can enjoy the perks of Platinum Elite status as an InterContinental Ambassador member, and there are several cards that offer the perks of Platinum Elite status as a card-carrying member. Additionally, you can earn top-tier Diamond Elite status by the end of the following year by spending significant amounts on select cards in a calendar year.
