Estate planning as a IHG One Rewards account holder
IHG Hotels & Resorts allows points to transfer directly to family members
(General customer service)
IHG One Rewards is the loyalty program of InterContinental Hotels Group, spanning 19 brands including InterContinental, Regent, Six Senses, Kimpton, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Staybridge Suites with more than 6,000 properties worldwide. Points can be redeemed for free nights, Points + Cash bookings, room upgrades, and transfers to airline partner programs. The IHG One Rewards Member Terms and Conditions include an explicit provision allowing points to pass to a member's beneficiaries upon death, with transfer fees waived and two documentation paths (executor with court authority, or sole beneficiary with will and death certificate).
IHG One Rewards offers a no-cost transfer of points to family members after the account holder's death.
Members can transfer points to other IHG One Rewards participants while their account is active. Fees generally apply, but this is the most direct way to move points to family members.
What happens at death
The IHG One Rewards Member Terms and Conditions contain a broad non-transferability clause stating that points may not be sold, bartered, attached, seized, levied upon, pledged, or transferred under any circumstances, including by operation of law or upon death. A specific exception follows: when an IHG One Rewards member passes away, the member's points may be transferred to the IHG One Rewards account(s) of the member's beneficiary(ies). The standard per-point transfer fee is waived for estate transfers. The request must be received within one year of the date of death. Two documentation paths are available: (1) the executor or administrator of the estate submits court documents showing authority, or (2) a sole beneficiary submits copies of the decedent's will and death certificate.
Planning your estate
Protecting IHG One Rewards points while the account is active
No beneficiary designation, lifetime transfer options for points, and 6-step plan.
View details →When someone dies
Handling IHG One Rewards points after a death
Points can be transferred to family members, 7-step process, and 3 required documents.
View details →IHG One Rewards does not offer a beneficiary designation feature. Without this option, points cannot be assigned to a named recipient through the program's own settings.
Frequently asked questions
Keep the account active (the inactivity window is 12 months for standard members, compared to 24 months for other major hotel programs), transfer points to family during life, confirm each intended beneficiary has an active IHG One Rewards account, and leave the executor a copy of the one-year estate transfer deadline and required documents. Maintaining Elite status removes the 12-month inactivity risk entirely.
Yes. Standard members can transfer points in 1,000-point increments for $5 per 1,000 points. Diamond Elite members and qualifying IHG Business Rewards members may transfer up to 100,000 points per calendar year with the fee waived, capped at six transfers per year as of the December 2025 policy update. Receiving accounts may accept up to 500,000 points per calendar year.
For standard members, yes. Points expire after 12 consecutive months with no qualifying earn or redeem activity. Elite members' points do not expire while Elite status is held. Qualifying activity includes hotel stays, IHG co-branded credit card purchases, purchased points, catalog redemptions, dining partner activity, and airline partner conversions. The free annual night from the IHG credit card does not count as qualifying activity.
Yes. IHG One Rewards partners with roughly three dozen airline programs. Most conversions run at a 5:1 ratio (5,000 IHG points to 1,000 airline miles), with several exceptions at different ratios. Transfers typically require a phone call to Customer Care and can take several weeks to process.
Sources
Data sourced from IHG Hotels & Resorts primary sources (6 pages reviewed). How we research.
(General customer service)
