Air India’s Maharaja Club Partners With IHG One Rewards: Earn Maharaja Points on Hotel Stays

Air India’s Maharaja Club is adding another major name to its growing loyalty ecosystem, with the airline announcing a new partnership with IHG Hotels & Resorts that connects Maharaja Club with IHG One Rewards.

For frequent travellers, this is a particularly useful tie-up: Maharaja Club members can now earn Maharaja Points when staying at participating IHG hotels around the world, while IHG One Rewards members can convert their hotel points into Maharaja Points for future Air India travel.

Earn Maharaja Points when you stay at IHG

The simplest part of the partnership is the ability to earn Maharaja Points from eligible IHG stays. Maharaja Club members will earn:

• 2 Maharaja Points per USD 1 of eligible spend at participating IHG brands
• 1 Maharaja Point per USD 1 at Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, IHG Residences and IHG Army Hotels

Importantly, earnings are based on eligible room spend. Taxes, fees, food and beverage and other incidental charges are excluded. IHG’s portfolio gives this partnership considerable reach. The group has more than 7,000 hotels across more than 100 countries, spanning brands such as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, and Holiday Inn.

There’s also a launch bonus

The initial promotion makes the deal considerably more interesting. Maharaja Club members can earn 3X Maharaja Points on qualifying IHG stays between September 15 and December 31, 2026. There are no blackout dates for the promotion, although members need to register for the offer and comply with the applicable terms.

Already have IHG One Rewards points? You can move them to Maharaja Club The partnership works in the other direction as well. IHG One Rewards members can convert their hotel points into Maharaja Points at a rate of  1,000 IHG One Rewards points = 200 Maharaja Points. The minimum transfer is 1,000 IHG One Rewards points. The conversion has to be requested through the IHG One Rewards contact centre, with Maharaja Points subsequently credited to the member’s account. Air India says this can take up to 60 business days.

That makes this more than a conventional airline-hotel earning partnership. It gives travellers a way to move some of their hotel loyalty currency into an airline programme and ultimately use Maharaja Points for award flights and cabin upgrades.

How to set it up?

Maharaja Club members need to link their accounts through the IHG One Rewards programme. The process is essentially:

1. Join or sign in to IHG One Rewards
2. Select Air India | Maharaja Club as the earning preference
3.  Add your 9-digit Maharaja Club ID to your IHG profile
4. Earn Maharaja Points on qualifying IHG stay

There is an important catch: members must book through the dedicated Air India/IHG channel to qualify for the Maharaja Points offer. Third-party bookings, travel-agent bookings and other non-qualifying channels do not earn the points. Another important detail: you can’t double dip There is one trade-off that frequent IHG members should know about. For an eligible stay, members must choose their loyalty currency. You cannot earn both IHG One Rewards points and Maharaja Points on the same stay.

That means the question for a frequent traveller becomes: Which currency is more valuable to me right now?

For someone chasing an IHG status milestone or saving up for an IHG redemption, retaining IHG One Rewards points could make more sense. But for an Air India loyalist building a Maharaja Club balance for a premium-cabin upgrade or award ticket, directing hotel stays towards Maharaja Points could be attractive.

Bottomline

This is a meaningful addition to Maharaja Club, particularly for travellers who regularly stay at IHG hotels. The standard earning rate isn’t spectacular, but the ability to earn Maharaja Points from hotel stays worldwide — and the introductory 3X offer from September 15 through December 31, 2026 — makes this worth activating if you’re already an Air India loyalist.

The bigger story, however, is the direction Maharaja Club is taking. Air India is steadily building an ecosystem where Maharaja Points can be earned beyond the aircraft, and adding IHG to the mix gives the programme another globally recognised travel partner.

What do you think of IHG Rewards x Maharaja Club?

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