How to earn and redeem IHG food and beverage rewards

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

IHG Hotels & Resorts launched a new loyalty program named IHG One Rewards in mid-2022. One appealing aspect of this program is Milestone Rewards, which you can start earning after just 20 nights at IHG properties in a calendar year.

You can choose food and beverage rewards at every Milestone Rewards tier if you wish. IHG initially only rolled out food and beverage rewards redemptions at select brands in the U.S. and Canada. But now, you can redeem food and beverage rewards at IHG hotels and resorts worldwide.

Here’s everything you need to know about IHG food and beverage rewards.

What are IHG food and beverage rewards?

The InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

IHG One Rewards‘ food and beverage rewards are credits you can apply against food and beverage purchases charged to your room at most IHG hotels and resorts. The types of charges eligible for food and beverage rewards vary by property. Still, restaurant purchases, in-room dining, minibar food and drink items, associated gratuity charges and some taxes are typically eligible.

Exceptions include purchases at vending machines and gift shops, third-party outside food deliveries, restaurants that don’t allow charges to a guest room bill and taxes associated with minibar charges.

Purchases at Holiday Inn Express, Avid, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites on-site markets, pantries and cupboards are also currently excluded. However, IHG plans to allow guests at these brands to redeem food and beverage rewards for select purchases soon.

How to earn food and beverage rewards

InterContinental Phuket Resort pool — Stay at IHG hotels and resorts, like the InterContinental Phuket Resort in Thailand, to earn food and beverage rewards as Milestone Rewards. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

You can earn food and beverage rewards through the IHG One Rewards program’s Milestone Rewards. You earn Milestone Rewards every 10 elite qualifying nights each calendar year, beginning at 20 and continuing through 100 nights.

The Milestone Rewards choices vary as follows:

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

As you can see, you could choose food and beverage rewards at each milestone. Food and beverage rewards typically expire 12 months after selection, although IHG extended all food and beverage rewards selected in 2022 through the end of 2023.

IHG issues food and beverage rewards in six currencies based on your country of residence. United States residents get $20, but IHG also issues food and beverage rewards in euros, pounds sterling, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen and Saudi riyals. If your country doesn’t use one of these currencies, IHG will issue your food and beverage rewards in U.S. dollars.

TPG values IHG points at 0.5 cents each. If you agree with this valuation, you should get more value from food and beverage rewards than bonus points at each milestone. However, you may want to select a confirmable suite upgrade or an annual lounge membership at select milestones if you believe these would provide more value.

How to use food and beverage rewards

Bokkuraa Coffee Club — Poolside dining at the Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

Now that you know how to earn food and beverage rewards, let’s go over how to use them. You can redeem food and beverage rewards when checked in to most IHG brands. The primary exclusions are Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Mr & Mrs Smith properties (which are no longer bookable through IHG, since Hyatt acquired Mr & Mrs Smith) and InterContinental Alliance Resorts.

If you redeem food and beverage rewards at a property that uses a different currency than your reward was issued in, your reward amount will be converted to the hotel’s local currency. And if you redeem a food and beverage reward for less than its face value — such as redeeming a $20 reward when you only have $15 of eligible food and beverage charges on your room bill — you’ll forfeit the remaining value.

To redeem food and beverage rewards during a stay, open your IHG One Rewards app or log in to your account on the IHG website. If you go to IHG’s website to redeem, click “See rewards” under “Enjoy your rewards” on your account’s homepage.

Redeeming IHG food and beverage rewards — Food and beverage rewards can be found in your rewards wallet. IHG.COM

Under “Rewards to enhance your stay,” you’ll see food and beverage rewards. Click “Redeem” on one of the food and beverage rewards to start the redemption process.

I recently redeemed one of my food and beverage rewards at Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives. The following screenshots are from my redemption. Select your eligible stay — Room 001 at Kandooma Maldives in my case — and click “Continue to redeem.”

The next page showed my food and beverage reward credit, applicable charges and remaining charges after the credit. I clicked, “Yes, apply this credit to my bill.”

Next, I saw a page reminding me that I’d only be able to use each food and beverage reward once. The page also linked to the food and beverage rewards terms and conditions. I clicked “Yes, redeem this reward” to use my food and beverage reward.

On the next page, I saw confirmation that IHG had applied my food and beverage reward to my bill.

Note that you’ll need to redeem food and beverage rewards before checking out if you want to use any for your stay.

Bottom line

It’s great that IHG One Rewards members can now redeem food and beverage rewards worldwide. Most guests who stay with IHG hotels and resorts frequently enough to earn Milestone Rewards will likely find ample opportunities to use them. Best of all, the redemption process is quick and easy.