500 Avios (or 1,500 IHG points) for a two-night IHG stay + 500 FREE Avios for new members

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UPDATE – DECEMBER 2021: This article is now out of date, but don’t worry. We produce a monthly summary of the top hotel bonus point offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ menu above.

You can earn up to triple IHG Rewards base points with IHG’s new Autumn promotion. It runs from 1st October to 31st December 2021. You can register here and our full article on the offer is here.

You will get a 100% bonus when you buy IHG Rewards points by 4th January 2022. Click here to buy or learn more.

Avios and IHG Rewards Club have joined forces to offer you 500 Avios points for signing up – no stay required.

500 Avios (or 1500 IHG Rewards Club points) are also available to EXISTING IHG Rewards Club members with their next stay.

This is the third offer of this type we have seen in recent months. First up was Virgin Atlantic, second was Avios but only via Iberia Plus. We now have the British Airways Avios version – and this time there is something in it for existing IHG members too.

Full details are on the IHG website here.

Part 1: 500 Avios for new members

IHG Rewards Club is the loyalty programme for Holiday Inn, InterContinental, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo etc.

A lot of Head for Points readers will already be IHG Rewards Club members – but perhaps there are members of your family, perhaps people with whom you share a British Airways Executive Club household account, who are not?

The small print, and indeed the large print, makes it clear that NO STAY IS REQUIRED. All you need to do is:

Sign up for IHG Rewards Club via this page of their website – DO NOT USE ANY OTHER PAGE

Set up your profile so that you earn British Airways Avios and not IHG Rewards Club points from your stays

Do it before 31st December

Intriguingly, the small print says that if you use the BA IHG page to join but do not select BA Avios as your preferred earning partner, you will receive 1,500 IHG Rewards Club points instead. These may be more useful than 500 Avios to some people although they are worth the same in my book.

New members also receive a ‘fast track to Gold’ challenge. Stay three nights within 90 days of registration and you will be upgraded. Gold status is not worth a huge amount with IHG, however, and in any event comes automatically with the free IHG Rewards Club credit card.

When do you get the Avios?

The wording is suitably vague:

“Avios will automatically be awarded by Airline partners on completion of Registration, and in any event before 15th February 2018”

but there is a good chance they arrive quickly.

Part 2 – 500 Avios or 1,500 IHG points for EXISTING members

The majority of Head for Points will already be IHG Rewards Club members.

The good news is that this deal has something for you too.

You will receive 500 bonus Avios or 1,500 IHG Rewards Club points with your next booking, as long as you follow these rules:

You MUST book via this special BA page of ihg.com, using the ‘Book Now’ link in the top right

You must book by 31st December

You must stay by 28th February

You must stay at least two nights

If your IHG account is set to earning points, your stay will earn 1,500 bonus points. If your account is set to earn Avios in British Airways from your stays, you will receive 500 bonus Avios.

You can sign up, or discover more details, on this page of the IHG website.

IHG Rewards update – December 2021:

Get bonus points: You can earn up to triple IHG Rewards base points with IHG’s new Autumn promotion. It runs from 1st October to 31st December. You can register here and our full article on the offer is here.

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

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

You will get a 100% bonus when you buy IHG Rewards points by 4th January 2022. Click here to buy or learn more.

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.

Category

British Airways and Avios, IHG Rewards

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Wally1976 says:

1 Dec1 December 09:23

Slightly OT – can someone tell me how I can see when my IHG status expires? I cancelled my free IHG credit card and just wondering when the Gold status will lapse. Thanks.
- Liz says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 10:16
  
  It’s on the member page underneath your points total.
  - Wally1976 says:
    
    1 Dec1 December 11:41
    
    It says “Gold Elite” under my total in a nice gold coloured box but no expiry date!?
    - Genghis says:
      
      1 Dec1 December 11:45
      
      What does it say next to “Elite Status Expiration Date”?
    - Wally1976 says:
      
      1 Dec1 December 12:56
      
      I don’t seem to have that field at all! Under ‘Account Status’ it has my name, rewards club number and earning preference on the left and points balance and membership level on the right. Then below that there’s a 2017 Year-to-date summary with total points earned, elite qualifying points earned, reward nights, 2016 elite rollover nights and elite qualifying nights.
    - Liz says:
      
      1 Dec1 December 13:24
      
      You seem to be missing the line between elite qualifying pts earned and reward nights – it should say elite status expiration date – then the date. I cancelled my hubby’s Black IHG Card on 12/11 and his account still shows Platinum till 31/12/18. Not expecting it to stay like that though but will keep a check on it.
    - Wally1976 says:
      
      1 Dec1 December 14:23
      
      Strange – I can’t see it on my wife’s account either. Anyway, thanks Liz and Genghis for the help.
- Lyn says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 15:21
  
  It may not show elite expiration date unless you have Ambassador (which Liz and Genghis probably do).
  - Liz says:
    
    1 Dec1 December 17:37
    
    I don’t have Ambassador so that theory is out – I have Spire to Dec 18
    - Lyn says:
      
      1 Dec1 December 17:48
      
      Definitely out then, sorry to create confusion
    - Lyn says:
      
      1 Dec1 December 18:01
      
      Another theory after checking our IHG accounts. I have platinum and don’t have have the elite expiration date line either. My husband is spire and does have it.
  - Alan says:
    
    3 Dec3 December 20:32
    
    It separately lists Ambassador expiry and status expiry on my page.
TripRep says:

1 Dec1 December 09:53

Rob – Is the Virgin 500 miles with IHG sign up dead?

Searched all I found was this…
https://headforpoints.com/2017/07/30/500-virgin-miles-for-joining-ihg-rewards-club-no-stay-required/
- Rob says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 10:36
  
  Yes, now dead. We only picked this up very late in the day.
Macca says:

1 Dec1 December 09:58

How does this offer affect the Accelerate targets? If I book a stay through this deal with it qualify in my Accelerate targets?

Thanks!
- JamesB says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 10:04
  
  To remove any risk that is why I switched my earning preference back to points before my next stay.
KP says:

1 Dec1 December 10:04

The points market in the UK is now so bad that we jump over 500 bonus avios. I mean…500 avios only gets me a coffee and cashew nuts in BA BoB, if that! 🙁
- Lumma says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 10:27
  
  To be fair, it’s £4-5 worth of points for not much work
Lewis Watson says:

1 Dec1 December 11:07

Igys snow globe competition has a promo code section. Anyone know any codes?
David says:

1 Dec1 December 11:41

OT – Hilton honors reward stays.

I’m looking to book the Hilton Tokyo in May for 3 nights with points. If I state that it’s a room for one person, it’s 51k/night. If I say it’s for double occupancy it’s 56k/night.

Given that there’s the additional guest stays free rule, and that as a Diamond I get free breakfast anyway, is there a risk that if I turn up with my partner having booked a room for one that something might go wrong?

Any advice much appreciated!
- Rob says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 12:02
  
  No, this is the only way you can book (given that the hotel cannot easily refund the extra points) given the ‘partner stays free’ rule.
  - David says:
    
    1 Dec1 December 12:30
    
    So just book for one? This has made my day!
    
    Thanks Rob
    - TripRep says:
      
      1 Dec1 December 20:53
      
      yep, done this a few times, works with cash rates too, it’s a neat feature of Gold and higher, esp. when you expect to get breakfast and hope to get exec access. No wonder Hilton Gold is so popular for a mid tier status.
Tom says:

1 Dec1 December 12:15

OT.

Referred my other half from my Amex plat. She chose the Gold card, was accepted, and 18k MR points have landed in my account. BOOM!
- Anne says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 13:25
  
  Had the same – great result! Now does anyone have a data point for Plat referral to free BA card? Not expecting 18k but wondered if anyone had already tried?
  - Rob MC says:
    
    1 Dec1 December 19:40
    
    Yes I have done it and definitely 18k bonus points
    - Anne says:
      
      1 Dec1 December 19:50
      
      Brilliant news, many thanks Rob.
  - Peter K says:
    
    1 Dec1 December 22:46
    
    I just got 18k MR points for referring my wife for the Nectar Amex card.
- Genghis says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 14:05
  
  @Tom. Have you tried buying the Harvey Nic’s gift cards yet?
  - Tom says:
    
    2 Dec2 December 08:35
    
    Hi Genghis – not yet. Might head into town today prior to the cousin coming up.
    
    Either way I’ll drop my donation into St Gemma’s!
DS says:

1 Dec1 December 13:22

The hotel on the photo looks like the Heathrow Holiday Inn Bath Rd. which was sold to Leonardo years ago and is no longer an IHG hotel 😉

This reminds me, what happened with the Staybridge Heathrow project?

“Due to open in 2018, the 190-room Staybridge Suites property will be built alongside the new 433-room Holiday Inn and will be located on Bath Road, close to the main entrances to terminals one, two and three at the airport.”
https://www.hotelowner.co.uk/5698-ihg-to-open-dual-branded-hotel-at-heathrow-airport/
- Rob says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 15:42
  
  It was indeed, I had it in the system from the announcement of the Leonardo deal!