Is IHG Diamond Elite Worth It? And How To Get It

• Written by Meghan Hunter
  

  Meghan Hunter

  Credit cards, travel rewards, real estate

  Meghan Hunter is a personal finance and travel expert with over a decade of experience. She specializes in credit cards, travel rewards, insurance, and real estate investing. She is also deeply committed to promoting women's financial independence. You can find Meghan's work in major media publications, including The Points Guy, Forbes Advisor, Million Mile Secrets, and Business Insider.

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• Edited by Emily Gadd, CCC™
  

  Emily Gadd, CCC™

  Credit Cards, Personal Finance, Health and Wellness

  Emily Gadd is a NACCC Certified Credit Counselor™, editor and personal finance expert responsible for writing about personal finance and credit cards. She got her start writing and editing at Healthline. She is passionate about creating educational content that makes complex topics accessible. Emily holds a credit counselor certification, accredited by the National Association of Certified Credit Counselors (NACCC). She lives in Seattle with her husband and two cats.

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• Reviewed by Jasmin Baron, CCC™
  

  Jasmin Baron, CCC™

  Credit Cards, Travel Rewards, Loyalty Programs, Family Travel, Credit Building, Credit Scores

  Jasmin Baron is a NACCC Certified Credit Counselor™ and CardCritics’ senior editor, responsible for editing and writing credit cards, travel rewards, loyalty program, and other credit-related content. She is passionate about personal finance education and enjoys sharing tips and tricks for making the most of credit card points and miles with her readers. Her expertise in maximizing credit card travel rewards originated from over two decades of aviation industry experience, including 18 years working as a pilot and college professor/flight instructor in her native Canada. Her work has appeared on sites such as CNN Underscored Money, Business Insider, The Points Guy, and point.me. When she’s not planning her next trip with credit card rewards, you’ll probably find her tinkering around in the kitchen, hanging out with her three kids, or playing with her dog, Benji.

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• Last Updated Feb 24, 2026

The benefits of IHG Diamond Elite status, including late checkout, free breakfast (as a welcome amenity choice) and room upgrades, are truly valuable. However, achieving Diamond Elite status is quite challenging for anyone who isn’t a frequent traveler. In fact, most people will not reach this status without either extensive travel or a well-planned strategy. 

Whether it’s worth pursuing depends on your travel habits and which path to earning Diamond status makes sense for you.

What Is IHG Diamond Elite Status?

Diamond Elite is the highest tier in the IHG One Rewards system, sitting above Silver, Gold and Platinum. It covers all IHG brands where the perks apply, like InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Kimpton, Hotel Indigo, voco and others, so it’s relevant across a fairly wide range of properties, not just the top end.

Status earned in a calendar year carries through the end of the following year. So, for example, if you earn Diamond status in 2026, you’re covered through December 2027, after which you’d need to re-qualify. Unlike other hotel status programs, there’s no lifetime Diamond status in IHG, which is worth knowing before you decide how much energy to put into chasing it.

What Are the Benefits of IHG Diamond Elite Status?

Diamond is IHG’s top tier, and the benefits reflect that. Here’s what you get:

• Free daily breakfast for two as a welcome amenity, available upon check-in. This benefit is only available at full-service brands, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Kimpton, Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn, among others. It doesn’t apply at limited-service brands like Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites or Candlewood Suites.
• 100% bonus points on base points earned during paid stays, a meaningful jump from Platinum’s 60%.
• Room upgrades at check-in, subject to availability and property discretion. Worth having, but not guaranteed — an important distinction if a confirmed upgrade is your main motivation.
• Dedicated Diamond support line, which sounds minor until you’re dealing with a booking issue at midnight before an early flight. IHG’s general customer service has a mixed reputation, so having a direct line to a dedicated team is more useful than it appears on paper.
• Hertz President’s Circle status, the top tier of Hertz’s loyalty program, includes benefits such as guaranteed car availability and priority service.
• All Platinum Elite benefits, including guaranteed room availability when booked at least 72 hours in advance, reward night discounts and Milestone Rewards.

How Do You Earn Diamond Elite Status With IHG?

There are a few different ways to earn Diamond Elite status. Each is suited to a different kind of traveler.

• 70 qualifying nights in a calendar year: This is the most straightforward path to Diamond status. You need to hit all 70 within the same calendar year, and they have to be booked directly through IHG (their website or app). The good news is that award nights count, which helps if you’re mixing cash and points. Just keep in mind that some discounted or third-party bookings won’t count toward your total.
• 120,000 elite qualifying points: At 10 points per dollar at most IHG brands, you’d need $12,000 in qualifying hotel spend to earn Diamond status. Credit card bonus points and transferred points don’t count. Only points earned on paid stays at IHG properties qualify. For most people, the 70-qualifying-nights path is more accessible than this one, which tells you something about how realistic this route really is.
• $40,000 on the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card  or IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card: This is the path that makes Diamond accessible for people who aren’t hitting 70 nights organically. Spend $40,000 on the IHG Premier Card or IHG Premier Business Card in a calendar year, and you earn Diamond Elite through the end of the following year. If you’re already putting significant everyday spend on a card or running business expenses through one, this could make sense. At a $99 annual fee, the barrier to entry is low relative to what you get. And when you factor in the card’s Platinum baseline status and annual free night certificate, there’s value to be had even before you earn Diamond status.
• Targeted fast-track promotions: IHG periodically runs status offers that can dramatically shorten the path to Diamond. In past years, there have been offers for as few as eight stays within a limited window. These are targeted, so not everyone receives them. But it’s worth keeping your eye out for these offers if you have IHG stays coming up.

How Much Are IHG Points Worth?

IHG points are worth around 0.6 cents each on average, which is on the lower end compared to competing hotel loyalty programs. That said, how you use them matters. Diamond status paired with the right credit card can be a solid combo. The 100% points bonus bumps your earnings on every paid stay, and the fourth-night-free perk available to IHG cardholders effectively stretches your points 25% further on longer redemptions. 

One thing worth saying plainly: don’t transfer IHG points to airline miles. The ratios are poor, and you give up more flexibility than you gain. Stick with hotel redemptions, lean toward mid-range properties where the value is better and use reward night discounts when they’re available.

My Personal Experience With IHG One Rewards Status

Last summer, I used my Diamond status on a trip to Geneva, a status I partly earned through the IHG Premier Card’s $40,000 spending path rather than 70 nights of heroic business travel. We stayed at the InterContinental Geneva, got upgraded to a nicer room without asking, and had free breakfast for two covered each morning. The property even threw in a third breakfast for my kid without us having to ask. Diamond technically only covers two, but that’s the kind of goodwill that tends to show up at full-service InterContinental properties.

The breakfast thing mattered more than it might sound. Switzerland is brutally expensive. I paid $35 for a hamburger at dinner one night, so having a full hotel breakfast covered each morning took a significant bite (pun intended) out of the daily spend, especially traveling with a hungry kid.

Who Should Go After IHG Diamond Elite Status?

Becoming a Diamond member makes sense if you regularly stay at IHG properties and are already close to 70 nights. The benefits you receive are likely worth the effort. It also makes sense if you can reach $40,000 in spending on the IHG Premier Card, especially if you run a small business or have everyday expenses you can consolidate. 

Additionally, if you frequently stay at full-service IHG brands, the benefits become even more valuable. For instance, free breakfast for two each morning at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Kimpton or Hotel Indigo can cost upward of $60 per person at most properties. Over a week-long stay, this adds up to significant savings.

Who Shouldn’t Go After IHG Diamond Elite Status?

Most travelers don’t need to chase Diamond. If you’re not already landing in IHG properties regularly, overhauling your habits just to earn status rarely pays off.

Brand choice matters too. If your typical IHG stay is a Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites or Candlewood Suites, the main Diamond perk — free breakfast — doesn’t apply at any of them. That changes the math considerably.

Diamond also doesn’t work in your favor if you’re splitting nights across IHG, Marriott and Hilton without building meaningful status anywhere. At that point, you’re better off with a flexible travel credit card earning transferable points until your travel naturally settles into a pattern.

Worth noting: Diamond doesn’t guarantee upgrades any more than Platinum does. Availability and property discretion drive that decision, so if a confirmed suite is the whole point, Diamond won’t deliver consistently.

For most people, automatic Platinum through the IHG Premier Card hits the sweet spot. You get it just by holding the card, the perks are solid and you’re not locked into 70 nights to keep it.

The information related to the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card was collected by CardCritics™ and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this product/card. Product details may vary. Please see issuer website for current information. CardCritics™ does not receive a commission for this product.