This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. For an explanation of our Advertising Disclosure, visit this page.
The Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is a great hotel credit card option for those travelers who use IHG Rewards. Not only can you earn mega rewards on a variety of purchases, but you also get benefits like Reward Nights, elite status, and TSA PreCheck or Global Entry (a rare airport benefit that comes with a hotel card).
New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card cardholders can earn 5 Free Nights after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
That’s a sweet bonus! Below, we’ll break down the full details of the Chase IHG hotel credit card, which is also the best credit card for Holiday Inn hotels.
5 Free Nights Bonus Points: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card Review
The Chase IHG Premier credit card is a hotel rewards card that comes with a few air travel benefits thrown into the mix. Yet, it still has an annual fee of less than $100.
The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card has an annual fee of $99. You don’t have to worry about paying any foreign transaction fees.
Earn Points When Staying at an IHG Hotel
You’ll earn up to 26x total points for each $1 spent on purchases made at IHG properties. Properties include:
- InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts
- InterContinental Alliance® Resorts
- Kimpton® Hotels
- Crowne Plaza®
- Hotel Indigo®
- Holiday Inn®
- Holiday Inn Express®
- Holiday Inn Resort®
- Holiday Inn Club Vacations®
- Staybridge Suites®
- Candlewood Suites®
- EVEN™ Hotels
- HUALUXE™
Earning up to 26x points total is a good deal, especially if you frequent IHG properties. The other travel benefits and these points-earning opportunities will help you get those reward nights.
One Reward Night Annual Certificate with IHG Card
The much-beloved IHG reward night annual certificate after your account anniversary is one of the best hotel night certificates offered. However, the annual reward night certificate is only good for hotels in categories 1-7 or that cost 40,000 points or less a night.
Since the annual fee is only $99, one IHG night could still easily offset the annual fee. You can book your reward night at almost any IHG property as well. See here for instructions and locations that are eligible for the reward anniversary night.
There are no blackout dates when you can use your reward night certificate either. However, it is only for eligible hotels. Each hotel only has so many spots. You will need to act quickly if you want to book it at a high-demand property or during the peak travel season.
Get a 4th Reward Night With the Chase IHG Credit Card
You get a reward night when you book 3 or more consecutive nights with IHG points. This benefit is unlimited as long as you have enough points to cover your multi-night stay.
Automatic IHG Platinum Elite Status
You will also enjoy automatic IHG Platinum Elite Status, the 2nd highest reward tier in the IHG program. You’ll maintain that status as long as you are a Premier cardholder.
Some of the key Platinum Elite benefits include:
- 50% point bonus in addition to base points earned during a stay
- Rewards nights count toward Elite status
- Complimentary room upgrades (when available)
- Extended checkout
- Guaranteed 72-hour room availability
Your IHG points and status will never expire as long as you own the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. Without the IHG credit card, you must stay 40 nights or earn 40,000 elite bonus points in a calendar year to earn Platinum Elite Status.
TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS Application Fee Credit
Cardholders can get a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to their card.
This perk virtually pays the annual fee in addition to the reward anniversary night. It used to be that you could only get a fee credit for TSA PreCheck and Global Entry access if you owned a premium travel credit card with an annual fee of $450 or higher.
In 2017, credit card companies started including this benefit for credit cards with an annual fee of $100 or less. Who would have thought a hotel rewards card would offer an air travel benefit?
TSA PreCheck costs $85 every five years and lets you skip the long security lines for domestic flights. It’s easier of the three security clearances to get as well. You don’t need a passport, and there are more enrollment centers.
Global Entry costs $100 every five years and lets you enter the expedited security lanes to re-enter the United States when you travel abroad. You will also enjoy the benefits of TSA PreCheck by skipping the regular TSA security line when you depart from a domestic airport.
If you have a valid passport and can visit a Global Entry enrollment center, apply for Global Entry instead of TSA PreCheck. The extra effort can be worth it if you travel outside the U.S. during the five-year enrollment period.
Perks of the Chase IHG Premier Credit Card
Here are some of the other perks of owning the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card.
You will also be able to enjoy a Reward Night annually after each account anniversary. This is valid at eligible IHG hotels around the globe. You can also enjoy a reward night after you redeem points for any stay of 3 or more nights.
You’ll have the opportunity to earn the following:
- Up to 26x total points per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 5x points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants
- 3x points per $1 spent on all other purchases
You can redeem your IHG Rewards bonus points at hotels such as Crowne Plaza®, Indigo® Hotels, & Holiday Inn®.
New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card cardholders can earn 5 Free Nights after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
As mentioned above, the annual fee is $99.
Bonus: IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card
Note that if you’re interested in a no-annual fee IHG card, consider the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card. With this card, cardholders can enjoy a reward night when they redeem points for any stay of 3 or more nights. This card also earns:
- Up to 17x points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 3x points per $1 spent on purchases on monthly bills, gas stations, and restaurants
- 2x points per $1 spent on all other purchases
New IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card cardholders can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
You can learn more in our IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card review.
Bonus Business Option: IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
This IHG business card, the latest addition to the IHG family, can be a great option for business owners. For one, the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card earns up to 26x points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel. Additionally, IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card cardholders earn:
- 5x points per $1 spent on purchases on:
- Travel
- Gas stations
- Select advertising
- Restaurants
- 3x points per $1 spent on all other purchases
Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay.
As long as you remain a Premier Business card member, you will have Platinum Elite status.
Platinum Elite status and Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or a NEXUS Statement Credit are also included with this card.
New IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card cardholders can earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
The annual fee is $99.
The Best Ways to Use Your IHG Rewards Points
You might decide to only keep the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card in your wallet for the reward anniversary night and the TSA PreCheck application fee reimbursement. But, when you have points to spend for a reward night, consider these options to maximize the value of your IHG points.
Stay at Candlewood Suites
The IHG portfolio includes several brands, including Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, and InterContinental. But, have you ever stayed at a Candlewood Suites?
Candlewood Suites is a business traveler-friendly extended-stay brand. Some rooms come with a mini-kitchen. Amenities include a cooktop stove, fridge, and a few kitchen gadgets that let you cook a real meal inside your hotel room. These properties are sometimes cheaper than other IHG properties, even in the same town.
It’s not uncommon to find a Candlewood Suites for 10,000 points per night when a Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express might start at 15,000 points. Even if you only stay for one night, Candlewood Suites gladly welcomes Platinum Elite members like yourself.
Book with Points and Cash
You also have the option to use points and cash to book a rewards night instead of burning through your entire points balance in one stay. This option is better if you only book one or two nights at a time.
Summary of the Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
Not every hotel credit card is a good deal, but the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card pays for itself with the reward night after your account anniversary and the TSA PreCheck application fee waiver. The addition of the 4th reward night is an added bonus.
Plus, the signup bonus and the ability to earn up to 26x points per stay make it easy to earn more reward nights.
New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card cardholders can earn 5 Free Nights after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
The One Credit Card That I Regret Canceling: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
There’s one credit card I had to cancel that still haunts me today – the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. In general, I don’t like canceling credit cards, but I prefer to downgrade them to a no-annual fee credit card or receive retention to keep them open.
But when I do cancel a card, I will move over my existing credit limit to another card (if possible) so that my credit utilization stays the same. That way, I keep my existing credit as a bargaining chip during the reconsideration process if I need it. Also, canceling a credit card won’t hurt your average age of account as long as it’s not your oldest card.
A canceled credit card will stay on your credit report for 10 years.
I canceled my IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card because I had applied for the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card when there was a limited-time offer, and they didn’t want to open up another credit card account for me without having me close a current one first. They wouldn’t even let me move around some existing credit.
I respect that, but in hindsight, I would’ve closed a different card. But this was a few years back, and we all make mistakes…
Why I’m Bummed That I Closed My IHG Card
Annual Reward Night Certificate
I’m mainly bummed that I canceled my IHG card because it comes with an annual reward night certificate after each account anniversary, and the annual fee is only $99. I was basically paying $99 a year for a nice stay at an Intercontinental property.
Yup, the annual certificate would’ve enabled me to stay at some awesome properties, like the Mark Hopkins in San Francisco that I stayed at a couple of years ago. There’s also the Venetian or Palazzo in Las Vegas, Intercontinental in Paris, and the ever-popular Intercontinental in Bora Bora.
Of course, you can always use your IHG reward certificate at a Holiday Inn, and it will still offset the annual fee. I know a lot of families that spread out their IHG points by staying at lower-level Holiday Inn, Staybridge, or Candlewood properties.
It’s also worth mentioning that the IHG Rewards program is a transfer partner of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards.
Platinum Status
Platinum status with the IHG isn’t the best elite status, but it’s an automatic benefit with the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. I like free status. Platinum status with the IHG card also allowed me to get a status match trial a couple of years ago with Hyatt.
IHG Platinum status benefits are:
- Free internet
- Rollover your extra nights towards next year’s qualification
- Priority Check-in on guaranteed reservations
- Complimentary room upgrades (subject to availability)
- Guaranteed room availability (72 hours in advance)
- 50% bonus on base points
- Access to exclusive Platinum Elite Phone Number
As you can see, nothing too sexy, but I have received room upgrades on all my IHG hotel stays with Platinum status. And I always enjoy priority check-in and free internet.
Conclusion
I’m still bummed that I let this card get away from me, but I’m eligible to apply for the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card again since it’s been over 24 months since I last received a bonus for my previous card. So, the IHG is definitely on my radar.
Remember to think before canceling a credit card. What are the perks that you will be losing? Do the benefits justify the annual fee? Also, don’t forget about the options of downgrading your card or receiving a retention bonus to keep it.
Member FDIC
5 Free Nights: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
Related Articles:
Can I apply for the ihg traveler and get the bonus being that i already have the ihg Premier? Recieved the (140k bonus) within the last year
I’m sorry, I don’t have any personal experience and there’s no way to guarantee w/o know your full credit profile. But they are different products so you should be eligible for both credit cards.
Can I apply for the ihg traveler and get the bonus being that i already have the ihg Premier? Recieved the (140k bonus) within the last year. I read data points that someone downgraded to the ihg traveler from the Premier, waited a week or 2 then applied for the Premier again and got approved.however I’m guessing they had recieved the bonus from the 1st premier over 24months ago.
It is a rewards credit card aimed at 20-somethings and it costs $9.95 in the first year and offers all the benefits of typical cards, including balance transfer protection and international room rates. This card’s standout feature is its rewards program – every purchases nets you three points per dollar spent. Put another way, that means if you charge $1,000 to your Club Premier account in any given month, then add up all the purchases made that month across all categories, you will have racked up 3,000 points when everything’s counted at year-end. The value of these points would be anywhere from $36 to almost $100 depending on how they’re redeemed.
Don’t forget the welcome bonus points too. There’s a lot of value there.