When it comes to hotel loyalty programs, IHG One Rewards is one of the simplest to understand. You earn points that can be redeemed for hotel rooms. There’s no need to worry about getting a suite upgrade, as it’s not a part of the program. Similarly, free breakfast is only provided to top-tier Diamond Elite members Their co-branded credit card also follows this no-fuss approach. The IHG Rewards Premier Mastercard by Chase offers excellent benefits at a reasonable annual fee, making it an ideal addition to your card collection.
Here are eight reasons you should consider getting the IHG Rewards Premier Mastercard by Chase:
Great sign-up bonus
The IHG Rewards Club Premier card is currently offering 165,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
As with most Chase cards that earn rewards, this card falls under the 5/24 rule. If you’ve applied for more than 5 cards in the last 24 months, chances are almost 100% that you’re going to be denied when applying for additional cards from Chase.
This offer is available if you don’t have a current IHG One Rewards Credit Card and have not received a new cardmember bonus within the last 24 months.
Hotel Options Where You Can Redeem Points For Oversized Value
I put the base value of IHG points at 0.5 cents since that’s what I can purchase them for during one of IHG’s frequent point sales. However, if you pick your spots, they can be worth much more, and I find them to be some of the most useful hotel points out there because of the value across the wide variety of IHG hotel brands.
You’re able to redeem points to stay at a really nice hotel, like a Kimpton property in Chicago, or you can use the points to stay at a roadside Holiday Inn Express. It’s this flexibility that I really like about IHG One Rewards in general and using IHG Rewards Club points to redeem for free hotel nights.
Earn 10x Points For IHG Hotel Stays
The IHG Rewards Club Premier card earns 10X points when you stay at any of the 5,200+ hotels worldwide. That’s a great return, netting a minimum of 5% back if you value points at 0.5 cents each. It’s worth even more if you can get a 1 cent per point value or more. There’s no other card, not even the Sapphire Reserve or Citi Prestige, where you can earn 10% or more back on an IHG hotel stay.
Fourth Night Free On Award Bookings
When you have the IHG Rewards Club Premier card, you receive the fourth night free on any reward night stay of four nights or more.
For each standard room Reward Night stay of 4 or more nights, every 4th night is free. Applies only to 4 or more consecutive nights within the same Reward Night point redemption room stay at the same property. With this benefit, eligible members will be charged the Reward Night point redemption rate for the first 3 nights, and 0 points for the 4th night of the stay, as applicable.
You Get A Free Night Every Year On Your Card Anniversary
Every year, you receive a voucher for a free night, which is good at hotels with a current point redemption level of 40,000 points or less. Free night stays must be redeemed, and stay must be completed, within 12 months from date of issue. IHG will also allow you to add points to a free night certificate so you can stay at a hotel that costs 60,000 points by using a free night + 20,000 points.
Automatic IHG Rewards Club Platinum Status
Cardholders are upgraded to IHG Rewards Club Platinum Elite status. This usually requires 40 stays at IHG hotels per year. IHG Platinum is one of the best hotel loyalty levels that can be obtained through having a co-brand card.
As I said in the opening, IHG’s loyalty program isn’t the most beneficial one for top-tier elites, but you’ll get a 60% bonus on points earned when staying at IHG hotels, complimentary room upgrades, priority check-in and extended checkout (if available).
I’ve never gotten much at a fancy IHG hotel for being a Platinum guest. Still, we received an upgraded room at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport.
$50 United TravelBank Cash
After registering your United MileagePlus account with IHG, you’ll receive $25 in United TravelBank cash twice a year. The cash does expire if you don’t use it (but there’s a small window when you can combine both amounts).
TSA Pre-Check, NEXUS or Global Entry Reimbursement
Since so many other cards offer this benefit now, it’s losing some of its value. You’ll receive up to a $100 credit every four years for application fees charged to the card. This is the only base-level hotel card to offer this benefit. It also leaves one less excuse not to get Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check.
Final Thoughts
Those are eight reasons you should get the IHG Rewards Club Premier card. You’ll recover the $99 annual fee with the 165,000 points from the signup bonus for the first year and from the free night certificate for the following years. I view the IHG card as a great one to sign up for and keep for the long term.
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3 comments
The deal breaker on this is “if you don’t have a current IHG One Rewards Credit Card “. Once chase will allow you to have both I will apply and I certainly won’t use their 5,000 upgrade offers either.
Isn’t the SUB open if you have an IHG Business card? It’s just not available if you have a personal IHG card (Select, Traveler, or Premier).
I think 10% back on an IHG stay is pushing it. That’s only *if* you can get a $0.01/point value, which is rarely the case. Based on how they price their paid rates and rewards, most people can probably do better than $0.005/point or 5%, so maybe 6-7% is a better overall estimate.
The United TravelBank credit is $25 each in January/July or $50 per year, and not $100.
Yes, the business card is considered seperately from the Select, Premier and Traveler cards.