The Essential Guide to IHG Rewards Dine & Earn [2024]

Do you enjoy dining out and getting rewarded with free money? If you do, you should join IHG Rewards Dine & Earn. Signing up is free, and earning rewards points is as simple as registering one of your credit cards and using it at one of more than 10,000 IHG Rewards Dine & Earn participating restaurants, bars, and clubs.

IHG Rewards is much broader than just a dining rewards program, though. IHG points can be earned lots of ways, which include staying at participating hotels and using certain credit cards that either earn you IHG rewards or rewards you can transfer for IHG points.

All of your IHG points — including those earned from joining IHG Rewards Dine & Earn — can be redeemed for free nights at hotels; merchandise from online catalogs; magazine subscriptions; digital media; or airline miles. Points can also be transferred to other IHG Rewards account members or donated to charity.

With so many ways to earn and redeem IHG rewards, there's no reason not to join IHG Rewards Dine & Earn. Here’s how it works and what to expect.

What is IHG Rewards Dine & Earn?

IHG Rewards Dine & Earn is a program operated by IHG Rewards. You can join Dine & Earn for free by signing up at IHG Rewards Dine & Earn. You'll need to be an IHG Rewards member first, though, so join the loyalty program if you haven't already.

Once you've signed up for Dine & Earn, the next step is to register all of the credit and debit cards you use to make purchases at restaurants and other food venues. You can register as many as you want, so add any card you'd potentially use to dine out.

After your cards are registered, you'll get points when you pay with them at one of more than 10,000 participating restaurants, clubs, and bars. You'll also earn points for taxes and tip. The number of points you get will vary depending on your membership level within the IHG loyalty program.

How many points can you earn with IHG Rewards Dine & Earn?

When you've joined IHG Rewards Dine & Earn, you’ll earn:

• One point per dollar spent if you're a Basic member
• Five points per dollar spent if you're a Select member
• Eight points per dollar spent if you're a VIP member

For a Basic membership, simply sign up for IHG Rewards. You can move up to the Select membership tier by opting to receive email offers from IHG Rewards Dine & Earn — just make sure you use a valid email address.

Finally, you can earn VIP status and the most points by both opting to receiving email offers and completing 11 qualifying transactions per calendar year. The extra points per dollar spent start on your 12th transaction.

When you first sign up for IHG Rewards Dine & Earn, you can also earn 1,000 bonus points if you spend at least $30 within the first 30 days of joining. To earn your bonus points, just sign up, spend at least $30 at participating restaurants within one month, pay with a debit or credit card you’ve registered, and complete an online review of the restaurant within 30 days of your visit.

How does IHG Rewards Dine & Earn work?

Once you've joined IHG Rewards Dine & Earn, you can visit the program's website to find out what restaurants, bars, and clubs allow you to earn points. You can search by either the name of the dining establishment or by ZIP code or city and state to find participating restaurants near you.

Then visit a restaurant that participates in the program and pay using a credit or debit card you've registered on the IHG website. You'll earn between one and eight points per dollar spent on your food and drink purchases, as well as on tax and tip, with the number of points determined by your membership level.

Your Dine & Earn points will be added to other IHG points you get from other activities, such as staying at a participating hotel, using a credit card that earns IHG points, or scoring points with another credit card and transferring them to IHG Rewards. For example, you might have one of the best hotel credit cards that you use frequently. You may also be able to register this card with IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card to earn additional rewards. 

What are the benefits of enrolling in IHG Rewards Dine & Earn?

The benefits of enrolling in this program are obvious. Once you register your cards, you effortlessly earn more IHG points whenever you dine at a participating restaurant or visit a club or bar that’s an IHG partner.

By signing up for free and taking a few seconds to register your cards, you can earn IHG rewards quickly and accrue points to score free travel or cool merchandise.

How to find IHG Rewards Dine & Earn participating restaurants

You can only earn points at IHG Rewards Dine & Earn participating restaurants, but fortunately, finding one is easy. Simply visit the IHG Rewards website and search by either restaurant name or geographic location.

Once you've completed the search, you’ll see a list of participating restaurants that match the name you provided or are located within the city or ZIP code you entered.

You can choose to see the participating restaurants in list view or map view. You can also conduct an advanced search to narrow down restaurants by cuisine or limit the results to only new restaurants or establishments that have been reviewed by other customers.

How to use your credit cards to earn more IHG Rewards Dine & Earn points

Dining at IHG Rewards Dine & Earn participating restaurants helps you earn IHG points, but you can also rack up significantly more rewards by opening a credit card that offers IHG points for spending. Or you can opt for a credit card that lets you score rewards in another program that can be transferred and converted into IHG points.

Here are a few of the travel credit cards we recommend:

Common questions about IHG Rewards Dine & Earn

How to sign up for IHG Rewards Dine & Earn

Signing up for IHG Rewards Dine & Earn takes just a few minutes. However, you need to be an IHG Rewards member before you can join Dine & Earn. To do this, visit the IHG Rewards page and select "Join Now."

Next, input:

• Your first and last name
• Your street address
• Your email address
• The country where you’re located
• A four-digit PIN of your choosing

After submitting the form with this information, you'll officially be an IHG Rewards member. Now, you just need to join Dine & Earn.

• Visit the IHG Rewards Dine & Earn website
• Select "Join Now"
• Input your first and last name, ZIP code, and the email address you use for your IHG Rewards account
• Agree to the terms and conditions of the program
• Choose whether to opt in to receiving emails from participating restaurants — which would allow you to earn five points per dollar instead of one point per dollar spent
• Create a username and input your name, address, password, and IHG Rewards number

Complete the process by linking the credit or debit cards you'll use when dining out. Then you're ready to earn points on every meal at any participating establishment.

Joining IHG Rewards Dine & Earn is worth the effort

Since it’s free and takes only seconds to start earning points for dining at IHG Dine & Earn Rewards participating restaurants, just about everyone who eats out would benefit by joining IHG Rewards. And remember, you can earn points even faster if you also have a credit card that provides IHG points or if you stay at participating hotels. With the right strategy, you could be well on your way to deep discounts on travel, especially if you have one of the best travel credit cards in your pocket.

Earn an Annual Free Night

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

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IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

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Current Offer

Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

Annual Fee

$99

Rewards Rate

up to 26X total points on stays at IHG hotels & resorts; 5X points on travel, gas stations, and restaurants; and 3X points on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• Up to 26X total points at IHG hotels & resorts
• Earn 5X points on travel, gas stations, and restaurants, 3X points on all other purchases
• Free night every year
• Fourth reward night free

Drawbacks

• Has annual fee

Card Details

• Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• up to 26X total points on stays at IHG hotels & resorts; 5X points on travel, gas stations, and restaurants; and 3X points on all other purchases