If you hold a fee-charging IHG One Rewards credit card in the US, that anniversary free night certificate sitting in your account may be worth more than you think - and recent changes have quietly boosted its value.
Three US-issued IHG cards currently hand out a free night certificate each cardmember year. The IHG Premier Select ($350 annual fee) issues one redeemable for a night costing up to 60,000 points; the IHG Business card ($200 fee) and the Traveler ($150 fee) both issue certificates capped at 50,000 points. Even better, two of them let heavy spenders earn a second certificate each calendar year: put $40,000 on the Premier Select or $60,000 on the Business card, and another certificate lands in your account within eight weeks.
Grandfathered cardholders opened accounts before the portfolio revamp will keep receiving 40,000-point certificates through the end of 2026, upgrading to the higher caps from 2027. Longtime holders of the discontinued IHG Select card will also start getting top-off-eligible 50,000-point certificates from 2027.
Redemption rules are worth knowing before you book. Certificates generally expire 12 months after issuance, and you must complete your stay within that window. Most current certificates can be topped off with points from your balance if a hotel prices above the cap. Watch for resort or amenity fees, which aren't always covered, and note that not every room type is available on certificate rates.
There are a couple of quirks. IHG won't let you chain a certificate night with points or cash on a single reservation, so a longer stay means booking separate consecutive reservations (the hotel can usually link them afterwards). And the fourth-night-free perk that applies to points bookings doesn't extend to certificate stays. On the plus side, certificate nights still count toward elite status and Milestone Rewards, and you'll earn points on incidentals.
To find your certificates, log in to your IHG account, check the "Enjoy your rewards" panel, and click through to see each certificate's booking window, point cap and top-off eligibility. From there, search with the certificate rate selected and look for properties showing "FREE per night" - or a points figure, meaning a top-off is required.
The real value move is comparing cash rates against the cap. A certificate burned on a $90 roadside room wastes potential; put it towards a night that would otherwise cost several hundred dollars and it can single-handedly offset the card's annual fee. Even a modest redemption beats letting a free night expire.
