What changed
IHG One Rewards now pays members 10 points for each US dollar of Hertz base fare. The structure replaces a flat rental bonus plus a daily rate for elite members.
The previous structure paid 1,500 points for starting a rental. Elite members also earned 500 points for each rental day. Other members earned 100 points for each day.
A LoyaltyLobby reader reported the change on 17 October 2026. The site published the note as a reader comment.
The reader's own numbers
The reader reads base fare as the daily rate before location fees, insurance and taxes. IHG's Trip Extras page carries the new structure.
He calls the change a significant cutback for anyone who rents ordinary cars. He adds that a renter of expensive vehicles may come out ahead.
His note quotes no IHG definition of base fare. The treatment of fees and taxes rests on his reading.
What the switch costs a renter
Take a three-day rental at a base rate of US$60 a day. The base fare totals US$180.
Under the old structure an elite member earned 1,500 points plus 500 for each of three days, or 3,000 points. A non-elite member earned 1,500 plus 100 a day, or 1,800 points.
Under the new structure both members earn 10 points for each dollar of the US$180 base, or 1,800 points. The elite member loses 1,200 points on the rental. The non-elite member holds the old total.
An elite member holds the old total on a base fare of US$300 for that rental, or US$100 a day across three days.
The daily rate that replaces the old bonus
The required daily rate follows the length of the rental. Divide 150 by the number of days, then add 50 for an elite member or 10 for a non-elite member.
On a one-day rental an elite member needs a base rate of US$200 a day to match the old 2,000 points. On a five-day rental the same member needs US$80 a day.
The old earn rose with the days a car sat on rent. The new earn rises with the base rate the renter pays. A long rental at a low daily rate moves further behind.
The reader puts the purchase price of IHG points at 0.5 US cents each in a sale. On that price the 1,200-point loss on the three-day rental is worth about US$6. A five-day rental at US$40 a day costs an elite member 2,000 points against the old structure, or about US$10 at the same price.
The elite-qualifying question
The reader quotes IHG's member terms: "Members earn Elite Qualifying Points on Hertz car rentals, OpenTable reservations, and Viator experiences." Hertz remains on that list as of the day he wrote.
He reports no documented statement that the new per-dollar points keep that status. IHG's Trip Extras page shows the new structure while the terms still list Hertz among the elite-qualifying partners.
Members who chase status hold a stake in the answer. Elite Qualifying Points feed tier progress, and a rental that pays them counts toward the next tier.
The price gap on the rental itself
The reader priced a weekend Hertz rental in Tallinn for December through IHG. His bookings elsewhere run about 50 per cent lower.
Most of his rentals this year went through Trip.com. He names Orbitz and Booking.com among his other routes.
His advice runs two ways: book where the price is lowest when points carry no value to the trip, and buy IHG points in a sale at 0.5 US cents each when points are the goal.
Where the reader lands
He calls the change a devaluation pushed through without notice. That judgement is his own.
The arithmetic sets the scale. A member who rents at ordinary daily rates loses most of the daily earning, and the flat 1,500-point start no longer arrives with the rental.