The Essential Guide to Becoming an IHG Annual Lounge Member
With the launch of IHG One Rewards The 2022 program has arrived IHG Key Rewards programme. You can Earn IHG Points or Food and beverage rewards at most Milestone Rewards tiers. You can also choose IHG annual lounge memberships at 40-night and 70-night tiers.
Most IHG hotels and resorts do not offer club lounges, but if you want to use a club lounge at IHG properties you can DO To have one, you will need to do one of the following:
- Book a room with lounge access included or purchase lounge access during your stay
- Get an annual IHG lounge membership
- Stay at the InterContinental while there Royal Ambassadorship
Also, remember that even if IHG properties upgrade you to a club-level roomYou won’t automatically get access to the lounge. At IHG club lounges, you’ll usually get complimentary breakfast and non-alcoholic drinks throughout the day. Sometimes you’ll even get afternoon tea, evening drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Here’s everything 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
What is an IHG Annual Lounge Membership?
IHG Annual Lounge Memberships — which you can earn through IHG’s Milestone Rewards program — provide lounge access for one member and one guest, if you stay at an IHG property There is a club lounge.
An annual lounge membership gives you access to the club lounge and its amenities during your stay. However, IHG Terms and Conditions allows limited access to lounges “due to renovations, closures or other facility limitations”. This membership also does not include Club Regent or Club InterContinental amenities or services other than the actual lounge.
Subject to IHG terms and conditions, annual lounge membership will provide access to the club lounge for qualifying stays, including reward nights, free nights and stays booked through online travel agencies. During the participating stay Iberostar coastal resortAn annual lounge membership entitles you to use Star Prestige facilities and services (but not Star Prestige rooms). However, an annual lounge membership does not provide access to lounges at InterContinental Alliance Resorts in Las Vegas and Macau.
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Unfortunately, there is no quick way to determine which IHG hotels in a particular city have club lounges. Instead, I find the most efficient way is to simply check to see if a particular hotel lists rooms with lounge access in the room name or description.
Related: Top InterContinental hotels in the world
How to Earn an IHG Annual Lounge Membership
The only way to earn an IHG annual lounge membership is to choose it as a 40-night or 70-night Milestone Reward. You will earn IHG Milestone Rewards for achieving the following levels each calendar year:
- 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 (limited to one) or one annual lounge membership (limited to 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 drink rewards
- 70 nights (choose 2): 10,000 bonus points, five $20 food and beverage rewards, two verifiable suite upgrades (limited to one) or one annual lounge membership (limited to 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 drink rewards
When you select an annual lounge membership as your Milestone Reward, it will be valid through the end of the following calendar year. So if you select an annual lounge membership at any point this year, it will be valid through December 31 of the following year.
Since you have 90 days to select a Milestone Reward after achieving a specific milestone, Regular Miler found that you can earn an annual lounge membership that’s valid for nearly two calendar years if you hit the 40-night or 70-night mark on or after October 3 and select the annual lounge membership in early January.
Related: How much value does the IHG One Rewards card give you when you book direct?
How to use your IHG annual lounge membership
There is no limit to the number of times you can use your IHG annual lounge membership until the membership expires.
When you check into an IHG hotel or resort with a club lounge, show the front desk agent your annual lounge membership. You can find your membership in your IHG account’s Rewards Wallet under “Rewards to enhance your stay.” Click “Redeem” and show the front desk agent the resulting page. The agent will then add club lounge access to your room key or show you how to access the lounge.
You can only use your annual lounge membership if you are the primary member on the qualifying stay. An IHG spokesperson told TPG that the annual lounge membership member must be the primary member on the reservation so that “the hotel can confirm the existence of the Annual Lounge Pass on the account.”
In addition to brands like InterContinental, where you might expect to find club lounges, you’ll sometimes find other IHG brands (like Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn) offering lounges as well.
Related: The best IHG beach hotels, from family-friendly resorts to luxury stays
Is it worth getting an IHG lounge membership?
So, should you opt for an annual lounge membership at the 40-night or 70-night mark? And should you try to stay 40 nights at IHG hotels to earn an annual lounge membership as one of your Milestone Rewards options?
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t always a clear “yes” or “no.” My husband upgraded his annual lounge membership in early 2023, and I’ve had the opportunity to experience a few IHG lounges since then. All of the club lounges I visited offered a wide selection of food and drinks, including complimentary alcoholic drinks in the evenings, so I was happy with my decision to go with the 40-night Milestone Rewards annual lounge membership.
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Tea service at the Club InterContinental Lounge at the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort in Australia. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
However, you’ll also want to consider how much you think you’ll use your IHG annual lounge membership. Specifically, you may want to consider how important it is to you to have club lounges at the destinations you’ll be visiting. For example, we chose the InterContinental Cartagena de Indias in Colombia and the Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium in Singapore primarily because their reward rates were reasonable and we knew they had club lounges.
Once you’ve decided on the value you think an annual lounge membership will provide, consider the value you’ll get from other Milestone Rewards options in the 40-night or 70-night tier. For example, at the 40-night milestone, do you value having 10,000 bonus points, five $20 food and beverage rewards, or a verifiable suite upgrade more than a lounge membership? every year? June 2024 by TPG valuation peg 10,000 bonus points at around $50, while five $20 food and beverage rewards would be worth around $100.
Related: Which credit card should you use when staying at IHG?
Bottom line
I am very pleased with my IHG annual lounge membership. If you stay at certain IHG hotels with club lounges each year, I hope you’ll also see the option of an annual lounge membership through IHG’s Milestone Rewards program after 40 stays. or 70 nights in a calendar year is worth it.
However, if you rarely stay at IHG hotels and resorts with club lounges, frequently travel with other people, or don’t value lounge access, you may not get enough value from an annual lounge membership to justify choosing it over other 40-night or 70-night Vital Rewards.
