How to Use IHG Rewards Club Dining to Earn More Points [2020]
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There are several ways IHG Rewards Club members can earn some extra points, including capitalizing on dining. If you’re already going out to eat or ordering takeout, this method is pretty darned simple!
This article will walk you through everything you need to know about joining and utilizing the IHG Rewards Club Dining program.
Table of contents
Table of Contents
How to Sign up and Log in
To earn reward points for dining experiences, customers must log in or join the program. This process just takes a quick couple of minutes to complete.
If you are already an IHG Rewards Club member, you will still need to fill out a few simple forms to join the dining program. Be sure to use the same name and email that’s on your IHG Rewards Club membership.
If you are not an IHG Rewards Club member, you will need to sign up (1 basic form) since you must enter your Rewards Club membership number to submit on your other forms for the dining program.
Additionally, before your sign-up process can be finalized, IHG will ask you to provide a credit card to link to the program. There is no fee to join the program, and don’t worry — you can link more cards later.
Don’t miss the section below on which credit cards you should link to maximize your earnings in this program.
Basics of Using the Program
There are 3 membership tiers within the IHG Rewards Club Dining program. Depending on your tier, you’ll earn a different amount of points and be offered certain additional benefits when you dine.
You’ll see that simply by signing up to receive emails, you’re bumped up to earning 5 points per $1. If you dine 12+ times a year, you’re considered a VIP member and can earn up to 8 points per $1.
To earn points when dining, the restaurant must also be an IHG Rewards Club Dining restaurant. You can easily search for these by city, state, zip code, or restaurant name.
You will then be presented with a list view, or you can choose a map view. Many details are listed including neighborhood, member rating, the average price of an entree, days of the week that rewards are applicable, and more.
Once you dine at a participating restaurant, be sure to pay with a card that is registered/linked with your IHG Rewards Club Dining program. You’ll earn bonus points based on the cost of your meal, including tax and tip.
Remember, it may take up to 5 days after dining to view the transaction in your club account.
Each restaurant in the program earns the same ratio of points per dollar depending on your membership status.
Intro Bonuses
At the time of this writing, IHG was offering a new member bonus of 1,000 points if you spend $30 within the first 30 days. To earn any applicable introductory bonus, you’ll need to pay for purchases with your linked card and complete an online review.
If you’re doing this solely for the points, this bonus isn’t especially lucrative. You can just as easily buy 1,000 points for $13.50 straight from the Buy Points section of the website (at the time of writing).
However, if you’re already planning to dine out at one of IHG Rewards Club Dining’s participating restaurants, it’s not an awful way to earn 1,000 extra points.
Example Restaurants
As previously mentioned, each IHG Rewards Club Dining restaurant earns the same ratio of points to spend. So, whether you spend $30 at a cafe or $30 at a fine dining location, you’ll receive the same number of points.
Regarding example restaurants: at the time of writing this article, a search of the Chicago area revealed 410 participating restaurants within 30 miles of the city center.
Most of these restaurants are smaller, local restaurants rather than chains, so the participating venues will vary quite a bit from city to city.
Similarly, each city may have a vastly different number of participating merchants. For example, at the time of writing, Atlanta had 358 participating restaurants within 30 miles of the city center, while Boston had 247, San Diego had 146, and Dallas had 229.
While most participating restaurants are local spots, you’ll want to note the address in case there is a chain you’re interested in visiting (not every restaurant of the same name may be participating).
This is also applicable for the few regional or national chains you may find — check the address so you’re not disappointed.
Using Credit Cards to Earn Extra Points
You have several card options to link with the IHG Rewards Club Dining program to help you earn even more IHG points.
IHG Rewards Club Credit Cards
Chase offers 2 credit cards to earn IHG points directly. The IHG® Rewards Club Traveler Credit Card and the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card give cardholders 2 points per $1 spent at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants.
If you link these cards to the IHG Rewards Club Dining program, you will earn these 2x points for using the card in addition to points earned from the dining program.
Take a look at our in-depth comparison for these 2 credit cards.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards
Using a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards can also help boost your account since you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to the IHG Rewards Club at a 1:1 ratio in up to 24 hours. A couple of these cards even include restaurants as a bonus category.
Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® - This is our favorite beginners travel rewards card which currently has a limited time offer of 80,000 point bonus (highest ever!) after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, this card earns 2x points per $1 on travel and dining worldwide, eligible delivery services, take out and dining out, 5x points per $1 on Lyft rides, a 12-month subscription for DoorDash DashPass, flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and great travel insurance coverage. This sign up bonus is worth $1,000 in travel purchases (flights, hotels, car rentals etc) when you redeem your points through Chase's travel portal, which works like Expedia. The bonus alone could get you multiple round-trip flights or hotel stays. |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Consider this premium card if you want to get into a lot of airport lounges. The current sign up bonus is 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll also get a $300 travel credit per year which wipes away a big chunk of the $550 annual fee. |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited® - A fantastic, no annual fee card that earns you a $200 bonus after you spend $500 in your first 3 months. Earn 5% cash-back on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% cash-back on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1.5% cash-back on all other purchases, but you won't get any travel benefits with this card. |
Recommended Chase Cards (Business)
| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card - this is our #1 recommended business card and right now comes with a 100,000 sign up bonus after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. This bonus is worth $1,250 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards for travel purchases (flights, hotels etc). Pay your cell phone bill with this card to receive up to $600 in cell phone insurance coverage per year. Earn 3x on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year, plus 1x on all other purchases—with no limit to the amount you can earn. All for an annual fee of $95. |
| Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card - earn $500 bonus cash back after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. This no annual fee business card earns up to 5% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year, plus 2% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary. |
| Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card - earn unlimited 1.5% cash back rewards on every purchase made for your business. Earn $500 bonus cash back after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. There's no annual fee. |
Final Thoughts
By joining the IHG Rewards Club Dining program and linking a couple of credit cards, you can earn some easy IHG Rewards Club points.
If you’re already dining out, why not earn a few extra points on your burger and that pint of beer? Grabbing takeout? You might even earn extra IHG Rewards Club points at your favorite Thai place.
Plus, if you pair your IHG Rewards Club program membership with a credit card that earns a category bonus on dining, you’re earning points on top of points.
