Short answer: across 313 four-night IHG reward stays we priced on October 30, 2026, the fourth night free cut the points cost by a median 25.9%, and it lifted the value of each point from $53.90 to $74.30 per 10,000 points. The saving ranged from 14.8% to 48.3%, because IHG waives the fourth night itself, not the cheapest one, so which night falls fourth decides how much you save.
That headline is the easy part. The more useful part is where and when the benefit is worth the most, and the data has a clear answer: in leisure cities where Friday is the dearest night, a Tuesday check-in makes the free night worth far more. The median saving was 32.7% in Orlando against 21.9% in London, and one Orlando stay went from $55.80 to $108.10 per 10,000 points. Separately, some reward nights show a 15% points discount; see IHG reward night discounts for where we found them.
Who gets the fourth night free
The benefit comes with the US IHG One Rewards credit cards from Chase. It applies to standard reward nights booked with points, for stays of four nights or more, and every fourth night is free. It does not apply to paid stays or to Points and Cash bookings. Chase's card terms say that from 2027 the no-fee IHG One Rewards Credit Card needs $5,000 of purchases in a calendar year to unlock the benefit, for the rest of that year and the next. Check your own card terms before you book.
If you do not hold one of these cards, the tables below still show you the normal four-night points cost.
The headline numbers
Four nights, check-in Tuesday January 12, check-out Saturday January 16, 2027. The fourth night is Friday January 15.
| Measure | Standard 4 nights | With 4th night free |
|---|---|---|
| Median points for the stay | 107,000 | 78,000 |
| Median value per 10,000 points | $53.90 | $74.30 |
| Stays under $50 per 10k | 29.7% | 0% |
| Stays at $60 per 10k or more | 23.6% | 87.5% |
$50 per 10,000 points matters because it is roughly what points cost when IHG sells them at 0.5 cents each. With the fourth night free, not one of the 313 stays fell below that line.
Savings by city
| City | Stays | Median 4-night points | With 4th night free | Median saving | Value before | Value after | Friday was the priciest night |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando | 39 | 103,000 | 72,000 | 32.7% | $56.90 | $86.60 | 100% |
| Chicago | 51 | 91,000 | 66,000 | 28.4% | $57.50 | $80.30 | 74.5% |
| New York | 67 | 112,000 | 80,000 | 27.2% | $59.40 | $80.90 | 70.1% |
| Tokyo | 6 | 266,500 | 193,000 | 27.2% | $48.40 | $67.60 | 83.3% |
| Sydney | 17 | 133,000 | 95,000 | 26.1% | $49.20 | $66.40 | 58.8% |
| Paris | 15 | 173,000 | 130,000 | 25.3% | $48.40 | $61.50 | 33.3% |
| Istanbul | 20 | 86,000 | 61,500 | 25.2% | $52.90 | $71.30 | 60.0% |
| Singapore | 12 | 142,000 | 107,500 | 23.8% | $59.80 | $79.20 | 25.0% |
| Madrid | 12 | 89,500 | 68,000 | 23.4% | $46.40 | $61.50 | 16.7% |
| London | 74 | 112,000 | 86,500 | 21.9% | $47.90 | $62.40 | 13.5% |
Value is the cash price of the whole 4-night stay divided by the points you pay. "Friday was the priciest night" includes ties. Tokyo has only 6 stays, so treat it as a rough guide.
Why Orlando beats London
On a straight four-night stay the free night is worth exactly one quarter, 25%, only if all four nights cost the same. Above 25% means the free night was dearer than average; below 25% means it was cheaper.
In Orlando, Chicago and New York, Friday is a leisure night and the points price jumps. In London and Madrid, Friday is the night business travellers leave and prices fall. Two real stays from the same pull:
| Hotel | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri (free) | Total | You pay | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holiday Inn Express & Suites Orlando At Seaworld | 18,000 | 21,000 | 23,000 | 58,000 | 120,000 | 62,000 | 48.3% |
| Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill | 62,000 | 63,000 | 43,000 | 33,000 | 201,000 | 168,000 | 16.4% |
The Orlando stay went from $55.80 to $108.10 per 10,000 points. The London stay went from $51.30 to $61.40.
The five smallest savings in the whole sample were all around London or Paris: Holiday Inn Hemel Hempstead 14.8%, Holiday Inn Express Paris Poissy 15.5%, Holiday Inn Express Stevenage 15.5%, Holiday Inn Express St Albans 15.9% and Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill 16.4%.
Big-name hotels in the sample
| Hotel | City | 4 nights | With 4th night free | Saving | Value after |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kimpton Gray Hotel | Chicago | 145,000 | 109,000 | 24.8% | $108.70 |
| InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile | Chicago | 126,000 | 90,000 | 28.6% | $95.60 |
| InterContinental New York Times Square | New York | 218,000 | 160,000 | 26.6% | $85.90 |
| InterContinental Sydney | Sydney | 267,000 | 187,000 | 30.0% | $70.20 |
| ANA InterContinental Tokyo | Tokyo | 243,000 | 171,000 | 29.6% | $68.40 |
| InterContinental London Park Lane | London | 333,000 | 250,000 | 24.9% | $63.50 |
| Kimpton St Honoré Paris | Paris | 517,000 | 386,000 | 25.3% | $60.50 |
How to get more from the fourth night free
- Make the dearest night the fourth one. In a city where weekends are expensive (Orlando, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Tokyo), a Tuesday or Wednesday check-in puts Friday or Saturday fourth. Our weekday vs weekend guide shows which cities flip the other way.
- In business cities like London, Berlin or Singapore, a Saturday night is often the cheap one. A Wednesday to Sunday stay can leave a cheap Saturday as the free night, so price both versions.
- Price each night on its own first. The total only tells you the free night was a quarter if every night costs the same, which in our sample was rare.
- Stays of eight nights get two free nights, so the same logic applies to the 4th and 8th nights.
- If the cash rate is low, even 25% off may not beat paying cash. Check the value per 10,000 points before you redeem.
Method
We used IHG Points Finder's live search on Friday October 30, 2026, 14:42 to 14:58 Dublin time, in USD. For 10 cities (London, Paris, Madrid, Istanbul, New York, Chicago, Orlando, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney) we priced a 4-night stay from Tuesday January 12 to Saturday January 16, 2027, and each of the four nights as a single-night stay. 325 hotels returned a 4-night points price and 322 of them also priced all four single nights; we kept the 313 where the 4-night total matched the four single nights exactly, so we know which night was fourth. Points with the benefit are the 4-night total minus the Friday night. Cash is the 4-night cash total from the same search. IHG Points Finder does not apply the benefit itself; these figures are our own calculation. This is one mid-January window, and prices change daily.
Quick answers
Is the IHG fourth night free worth it?
Yes, in our October 30, 2026 sample of 313 stays it saved a median 25.9% of the points and pushed every stay above $50 per 10,000 points. Only 29.7% of stays were under $50 before the benefit; none were after.
Does IHG make the cheapest night free?
No. IHG waives the fourth night of the stay. That is why savings ranged from 14.8% to 48.3% in our data, depending on what the fourth night cost.
Which cities get the most from the fourth night free?
Orlando (median 32.7%), Chicago (28.4%) and New York (27.2%), where Friday was usually the priciest night. London had the smallest median saving at 21.9%.
Does the fourth night free work on Points and Cash?
No. It applies to standard reward nights paid fully in points, on stays of four or more nights in a row at one hotel. Paid stays and Points and Cash bookings do not qualify.
How many points do I save on a 4-night IHG stay?
The median stay in our sample cost 107,000 points. The median free night was worth 28,000 points, and the median stay after the benefit came to 78,000 points.
Related guides
- IHG points on weekdays vs weekends
- What are 10,000 IHG points worth?
- Should I buy IHG points?
- Best time to book IHG with points
- How many IHG points for a free night
- IHG points value by country
- IHG points value by city
- Best IHG hotels for points in London
- Best IHG hotels for points in New York
Data note: figures come from IHG Points Finder's live search on Friday October 30, 2026. IHG Points Finder is independent and not affiliated with IHG. Points prices and availability change daily; always confirm on IHG before booking.