IHG One Rewards Annual Lounge Membership Guide

Most hotels do not provide club rooms. But if you’re staying at a hotel with a club lounge and want to use the lounge, you’ll typically need to book a room that includes this access. After all, even if a IHG Assets upgrade you to a club level roomyou will not automatically be admitted to the Club Lounge.

However, there are other ways to enter the hotel’s clubroom. For example, programs like Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton title And Hyatt’s World provides lounge access to senior elite members at most properties with lounges. Meanwhile, IHG One Rewards offers lounge access during an eligible stay to members with an annual lounge membership that you can earn through IHG Important Rewards programme.

At these club lounges, you’re usually served free breakfast and drinks throughout the day. Sometimes you even get afternoon tea and evening appetizers that can replace meals. This can save you quite a bit of money on food, especially over a longer stay.

Here’s what you need to know about IHG’s annual lounge membership, including how to earn and use it.

Related: 19 best IHG hotels in the world

IHG annual lounge membership — which you can earn through IHG Important Rewards program — providing access to the Club Lounge for a member (while staying at IHG properties with a Club Lounge) and one guest (not necessarily staying at the hotel).

An annual lounge membership entitles you to use the Club Lounge and its amenities during your stay. However, Terms and Conditions of IHG allows restricted access to the lounge “due to renovations, closures, or other facility limitations.” This membership also does not include Club Regent or Club InterContinental amenities or services other than physical lounges.

Based on Terms and Conditions of IHG, an annual club membership that provides lounge access to eligible stays, including bonus nights, free nights, and vacations booked through online travel agents. It is worth mentioning that the membership does not include lounge access at the Mr and Mrs Smith properties and the Intercontinental Union Resorts in Las Vegas and Macau.

Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to determine which IHG hotels in a particular city have Club Lounges. You can find that out by seeing if a hotel sells guest rooms. However, you may occasionally come across a hotel with a closed lounge, such as the one I met at IHG’s Grand Pacific Hotel in Fiji (hotel staff said the lounge was closed when guests arrived). hotel changed to the InterContinental brand).

Related: Top InterContinental Hotels in the World

The only way to win the annual IHG lounge membership is to choose it as a 40-night or 70-night Milestone Reward. You earn IHG One Rewards Milestone Rewards when you reach the following milestones each calendar year:

• 20 nights: 5,000 bonus points, two $20 food and drink rewards, or one claimable set upgrade.
• 30 nights: 5,000 bonus points or two $20 food and drink rewards.
• 40 nights (choose two): 10,000 bonus points, five $20 food and drink rewards, one claimable suite upgrade (limit one), or one annual lounge membership (limit one).
• 50 nights: 10,000 bonus points or five $20 food and drink rewards.
• 60 nights: 10,000 bonus points or five $20 food and drink rewards.
• 70 nights (choose two): 10,000 bonus points, five $20 food and drink rewards, two claimable set upgrades (limit one), or one annual lounge membership (limit one).
• 80 nights: 10,000 bonus points or five $20 food and drink rewards.
• 90 nights110,000 bonus points or five $20 food and drink rewards.
• 100 nights: 10,000 bonus points or five $20 food and drink rewards.

Once you select an annual lounge membership as a Milestone Reward, it will be valid through the end of the next calendar year. So if you opt for an annual lounge membership any time this year, it will be valid through December 31 of next year. Since you have 90 days to choose Milestone Rewards after reaching a specific milestone, Regular Miller discovered that you can win an annual lounge membership valid for nearly two calendar years if you hit the milestones on or after October 3rd and choose the queue lounge membership year in early January.

Intercontinental Ambassador membership does not entitle you to access to InterContinental Clubs at InterContinental hotels and resorts. But if you are selected as a Royal Ambassador member, you will have access to Club InterContinental at InterContinental hotels and resorts with exclusive Club InterContinental lounges. However, this type of lounge access is different (and more limited, as it is only available at InterContinental hotels and resorts) than the annual lounge membership you may choose to do. Milestone Rewards.

Related: I Paid $200 to Renew Ambassador Even though I Rarely Stay at InterContinental: Here’s Why

When you check in, your annual lounge membership won’t appear to hotel staff. So you must show your membership card to the front desk upon check-in. Your annual lounge membership is in your account reward wallet under “Rewards to enhance your stay.”

Click “Redeem” and show the results page to the front desk staff. The staff will then add lounge access to your room key or tell you how to enter the lounge.

In addition to brands like InterContinental and Regent, where you can find Club Lounges, you’ll sometimes find hotels at other IHG brands like Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn that offer club lounges.

Related: The best IHG beach hotels, from family-friendly resorts to luxury vacations

Other loyalty programs tie lounge access to room type or the hotel’s elite status floor. While you can access the lounge by making a club reservation at select IHG hotels, lounge access is not a Elite status of IHG benefit. Instead, you can opt for an annual lounge membership that’s valid for at least one year until the end IHG Important Rewards program at the 40 or 70 night mark per calendar year.

So, should you opt for an annual lounge membership at the 40-night mark or the 70-night mark? And should you try to stay 40 nights with IHG to win an annual lounge membership as one of your Milestone Rewards options?

Unfortunately, the answer is not always yes or no to either of these questions. All three Club Lounges that I have visited so far at IHG hotels and resorts offer a good selection of food and drinks, including complimentary alcoholic beverages in the evening. So I’m happy with our choice to choose an annual lounge membership as my Milestone Reward this year.

In short, consider how much money you’ll use for your annual lounge membership. Also, consider the availability of club rooms that determine where you stay. For example, I chose InterContinental Cartagena de Indias in Colombia and Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium in Singapore because their bonus rates are reasonable and I know hotels with Club Lounges.

After you decide what value you think an annual lounge membership will bring, consider the value you get from other Milestone Rewards options at the 40-night or 70-night tier. For example, at the 40-night mark, do you value 10,000 bonus points, 5 $20 food and drink rewards, or a room upgrade that could claim more than an annual lounge membership? TPG value 10,000 bonus points are worth about $50, while five $20 food and drink rewards will be worth about $100.

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I am very pleased with my annual lounge membership of IHG. If you stay at some of the IHG properties that have a Club Lounge each year, I hope you’ll also find it worthwhile to opt for an annual lounge membership through IHG Important Rewards program after staying 40 or 70 nights in a calendar year.

However, if you rarely stay at IHG hotels and resorts with Club Lounges, frequently travel with more than one guest, or don’t value lounge use, you can doesn’t get enough value from the annual lounge membership to justify choosing it over other Milestone Rewards.