Use this calculator to decide whether to pay cash or use your points for an IHG stay. Enter your number of nights, whether you have the Chase IHG One Rewards Premier card, your points and cash price per night, and whether you purchased any of those points, and it’ll factor in the 4th-night-free benefit and show you a clear recommendation with the numbers behind it.

If you’re just getting started, I have a post on how I get insane value from IHG points as a full-time traveler.

How to fill this out

Number of nights
How many nights you’re staying at the property. This determines whether the 4th-night-free benefit applies, since that perk kicks in on stays of 4 nights or more, and repeats every 4 nights, so you get a free night at 4, 8, 12, 16, and so on.

Chase IHG One Rewards Premier card
Let the calculator know if you hold this card. If you do and you’re staying 4 or more nights, every 4th night is free when booking with points, which changes how many points you’re actually paying for the stay.

Points per night
If you have the Chase card and your stay qualifies for a free night, enter the average points per night after removing the free night or nights, not the raw redemption rate. The calculator shows you an example of how to do this once you answer the card question, so you don’t have to do that math by hand elsewhere.

Cash price per night ($)
What the room costs per night if you paid with a card instead of points, at the same property and dates.

Did you purchase IHG points?
If you bought some or all of the points you’re using for this stay instead of earning them, say yes here. This matters because purchased points have an actual cost, and the calculator needs that to compare properly against paying cash.

Purchase bonus
If you purchased points, select the bonus you received on that purchase, like a 100 percent bonus promotion, or enter your own percentage if it’s not listed. This is what determines the real cost of the points you bought.