Joint IHG and American Airlines Promotion Offers Bonus Miles on Stays

You may not know it, but you can choose to earn airline miles rather than IHG points on your hotel stays. Right now, making that decision could earn you an extra 2,000 bonus American Airlines miles.

There are some positives and negatives to making that choice. Is it worth pursuing this offer? Let’s take a look.

American Airlines and IHG Promotion Details

IHG One Rewards has long allowed members to choose to earn airline miles in several programs — though only 1 at a time — instead of IHG points during their stays. Doing so requires changing your earning preference in your account.

One such partner is American Airlines AAdvantage, and choosing to earn AA miles can be extra rewarding until September 3, 2025.

For every 3 nights you stay from June 1 until September 3, 2025, you can earn 2,000 bonus AAdvantage miles. That’s on top of your normal earnings. At most IHG brands, you’ll earn 2 AA miles per $1 spent on qualifying room rates.

This AA bonus miles offer requires stays of at least 3 consecutive nights to qualify, so a stay of 1 night and another stay of 2 nights wouldn’t qualify. You can earn a maximum of 15,000 bonus miles with this offer, and miles will post to your account within 6 weeks of qualifying activity. Only bookings made between June 1 and September 3 qualify, so previously made reservations aren’t eligible.

Lastly, you must book a specific rate for this offer. The “2,000 bonus miles per stay” rate may cost more or less than other available rates when you make a reservation.

Is It Worth It?

Should you change your earning preferences with IHG? That depends.

We value IHG points at 0.5 cents each, and you’ll earn 10 points per $1 spent at most IHG brands. That means you’re getting a 5% return on spending. Conversely, we value American Airlines miles at 1.4 cents apiece, and you’ll earn 2 miles per $1 spent at most IHG brands. That’s a 2.8% return on spending — significantly less.

The 2,000 bonus miles available in this promotion are worth $28 in our valuations. You should carefully check the math to ensure you aren’t paying a higher rate or sacrificing value in the rewards you choose to earn.

Final Thoughts

IHG and American Airlines are offering 2,000 bonus miles on stays of 3 or more nights through September 3, 2025. To qualify, you need to choose to earn AA miles instead of IHG points, book a particular rate, and stay at least 3 consecutive nights. This promotion sounds great at first, but the math won’t make sense for most people.