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You don’t need to collect millions of points to stay for free at an IHG hotel. In fact, you can stay for free at an IHG group hotel in the UK from just 12,000 IHG Reward points.
What many people don’t know is that by taking out the IHG Reward Club Credit Card, with no annual fee, you’ll receive a sign-up bonus of 10,000 points – and you only need to spend £200 on your card in the first three months to get it. This means you’ll only need 2,000 more points for a free night.
Here are the cheapest UK IHG hotels to stay for free with IHG Reward Points:
- Holiday Inn Express Bridgwater, Somerset
- Holiday Inn Cardiff – North M4
- Holiday Inn Express Stockport
- Holiday Inn Rochester: Chatham, Kent
- Holiday inn Express Stanstead, Essex
- Holiday Inn Express Glasgow – City River Side
- Holiday inn Express London – Heathrow Terminal 5
- Holiday Inn Express London – Gatwick: Crawley
- Holiday Inn Manchester West
Imagine packing your overnight bag and go off exploring somewhere new, staying the night for free -and in some cases enjoying a free breakfast the next morning too. Whether you take the easy route of the credit card signup bonus to get you 83% of the way there or find other ways to collect the 12,000 IHG Points needed, there are some great places to stay for your points.
Let’s go through some of the 12,000-point reward night hotels, and what you can expect from each:
Holiday Inn Express Bridgwater, Somerset
The Bridgwater Holiday Inn Express hotel is perfectly positioned to explore some of the beautiful sights and scenery within Devon and Cornwall. Situated just to the south of the main town of Bridgwater, it gives you easy access to the M5
Hotel Nights from: 12,000 Points
Breakfast: Included
Hotel Link: IHG Holiday Inn Express Bridgwater
Holiday Inn Cardiff: North M4 – Explore the Brecon Beacons
This hotel is just a 40min drive to the Brecon Beacons. It can make a truly good stop-off point if traveling from the South of England across the bridge into Wales. Cardiff is also just over 25 miles south of the main crossing into Wales from South England, and a great stopping point to explore the south coast of this beautiful country.
It is too far out though to properly explore Cardiff on foot as it’s 6 miles to the North of the capital although the 132 Gold is a great serving bus route from almost outside the hotel straight into Cardiff City Centre – and usually takes, depending on traffic, just under 30mins.
Hotel Nights from: 12,000 Points
Breakfast: Not Included
Hotel Link: IHG Holiday Inn Cardiff: North M4
Holiday Inn Express Stockport – Explore the Peak District
The Holiday Inn Stockport is just 15 miles or 35-minute drive into the Peak District National Park. It can make a great cheap hotel base for exploring the Peak District using your IHG Reward points for a free night. Transport links to the park are not so great, but if you have a car and are driving it can make a really good choice. It’s the closest IHG hotel with the lowest free night redemption rate of 12,000 IHG Points.
Hotel Nights from 12,000 Points
Breakfast: Included
Hotel Link: IHG Holiday Inn Express Stockport
Holiday inn Rochester: Chatham, Kent
Set near the River Strood in Rochester, the town of Rochester in Kent is just bustling with old British quintessential charm. It was also a residence of one of the most famous writers ever to delight us with their storytelling, Charles Dickens. The yearly Rochester Christmas Market is one sure reason to spend your IHG Reward Points and enjoy the Dickens procession complete with the 15-foot walking Ghost of Christmas Past.
Hotel Nights from: 12,000 Points
Breakfast: Not Included
Hotel Link: IHG Holiday Inn Rochester
Holiday inn Express Stansted, Essex
Often the cheapest hotel prices are found out by the airports. The cheap prices are a result of high competition vying for every traveler’s business. This though means the cheapest free nights using IHG Reward points can be found here too. We have three airport hotels on the list, and we start with the Holiday Inn Express Stansted.
Stansted Airport although much smaller than its other London counterparts Heathrow and Gatwick still has a wide range of shops, bars, and restaurants, and the Holiday Inn Express in Stansted is a great way to use your points either before a trip if you have an early flight, or when you land if you arrive late back and would rather stop and refresh before your drive home.
Hotel Nights from: 12,000 Points
Breakfast: Included
Hotel Link: IHG Holiday Inn Stansted
Holiday Inn Express Glasgow – City River Side
Glasgow is a good place to spend a weekend. Having visited there for a concert recently you’ll find the people friendly, the shopping centre and high street vast – just take a coat as it always seems cold there!
Hotel Nights from: 12,000 Points
Breakfast: Included
Hotel Link: IHG Holiday Inn Express Glasgow City River Side
Holiday Inn Express London – Heathrow Terminal 5
The second hotel on our list near an airport. This time an ideal stopover for using Heathrow airport’s terminal 5. The terminals at Heathrow Airport are split across a large area. You can use hotels at other terminals, but you may find local hotel-based shuttles only focus on the nearby terminals.
A local taxi firm will of course travel to any terminal you wish to go to, so this hotel is fine to use for any of Heathrow’s terminals.
Hotel Nights from: 12,000 Points
Breakfast: Included
Hotel Link: IHG Holiday Inn Express London Heathrow Terminal 5
Holiday Inn Express London – Gatwick: Crawley
The third and final airport hotel on the list (before we start branching out across the UK) is the Holiday Inn Express near Gatwick Airport. Gatwick has only two terminals, the North Terminal, and South Terminal, and many of the hotels are a little further out in nearby Crawley.
The hotel though a great choice for a departure from, or arrival to, Gatwick airport and only a 10 minute drive or taxi ride.
Hotel Nights from: 12,000 Points
Breakfast: Included
Hotel Link: IHG Holiday Inn Express Gatwick Crawley
Holiday Inn Manchester West
Sitting to the West of Manchester (the other side of the Irwell) is the Holiday Inn Manchester West hotel, another hotel on our cheapest free night reward list.
It’s around a 30min walk to Oxford Street in Manchester – at 1.5 miles away – or an 8 min drive or taxi ride. An ideal spot for exploring Manchester and one of the lowest room rates in the town.
Hotel Nights from: 12,000 Points
Breakfast: Not Included
Hotel Link: IHG Holiday Inn Manchester West
FAQs
Question: Can I part pay for a hotel night with IHG Reward Points?
Answer: Yes, you can part pay for a hotel night with IHG Points and part with cash. Each IHG Point is worth 0.6p whether you part pay with points and part with cash or if you pay for the full night with IHG points. Your points are worth the same point value regardless of the redemption option.
When searching for a hotel room make sure the Points + Cash option is selected under the ‘Display Money In’ filter to display the prices for a part pay in points and cash.
Question: Can you get free hotel breakfast with 12,000 IHG Points?
Answer: It’s possible to get a free hotel breakfast at IHG hotels if you stay at a Holiday Inn Express. Almost all Holiday Inn Express chain hotels offer free complimentary breakfast which often includes a selection of hot English breakfast items, as well as a continental selection.
Cheapest IHG Point Free Hotel Nights – The Insider’s Notes
The minimum number of IHG Points needed for free UK hotel nights is 12,000 IHG Points.It is a little frustrating this is now above the 10,000 IHG point signup bonus, which means you will need to collect more points by staying at IHG hotels, or collect points on your card, to save enough for the free night redemption rate.
IHG still state the lowest redemption is for 10,000 IHG Points but through extensive Sunday night redemption searches across the UK the minimum we could find is 12,000 IHG Points.Free nights are not just limited to the UK, they are worldwide. It is definitely worth searching for hotels at your chosen destination as there may be cheaper reward nights on offer there.