The window and the registration gate
IHG One Rewards opened pre-registration for its fourth-quarter 2026 promotion on 17 September 2026 and closed the pre-registration period on 30 September 2026. A member who misses that window may still register during the promotion period. A member can register once, and stays completed before registration do not earn.
Stays count from 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026, both dates included. The terms carry no booking deadline, so nights consumed inside the period qualify.
The bonus starts on the second qualifying stay
IHG pays no bonus on the first qualifying stay. From the second qualifying stay onward the member earns 2X points on stays booked through an IHG-owned direct channel, and 3X points on stays booked through the IHG One Rewards app on HarmonyOS, Android or iOS, or through WeChat or LINE.
The booking channel for each stay sets its own multiplier, so one account can carry 2X on some stays and 3X on others. Bonus earning is unlimited, and IHG posts bonus points within six weeks of an eligible stay.
The qualifying-stay definition
A qualifying stay is at least one night at a participating hotel on a qualifying rate with total spend above US$30 a night, booked through an IHG-owned direct channel. The first qualifying stay must also be booked through a direct channel.
Third-party bookings do not count. Reward Nights and Points plus Cash stays do not count.
The market carve-outs
The HarmonyOS build and WeChat sit in the eligible channel list for mainland China. LINE covers Japan, Taiwan and Thailand. The remaining markets reach the 3X tier through the Android and iOS builds.
What the terms leave out
The terms carry no cap on bonus earning. The promotional points do not count toward elite status. Where two registered members check into one room, one member earns for those nights.
What the second-stay trigger decides for a property
The promotion pushes repeat stays into IHG's own channels for the length of the quarter. The programme pays the points, and the member has to book direct to earn them. A revenue manager reads the offer as a distribution-mix change on stays that would otherwise arrive through a third party.