I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Barclays and Capital One. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all credit cards that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.
For several years the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase has offered generous up front bonuses and has been worth keeping for its benefits – Platinum status, annual free night, and 4th night free on awards.
Now, though, the card has gotten much better with new benefits, and they’re offering the biggest ever points offer the card has had to earn an up front bonus.
- Initial bonus offer: Earn 175,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Anniversary free night: You’ll enjoy a Reward Night after each account anniversary year at eligible IHG hotels worldwide. That’s valid on nights that cost up to 40,000 points but there’s also a new top off option so you aren’t so restricted where you spend the night.
- Free night on redemption stays: Cardmembers enjoy a reward night free when you redeem points for any stay of 3 or more nights (e.g. 4th night free, better than competitor 5th night free on redemptions).
- Earn: I still don’t see the card as go-to for ongoing spend, but it’s compelling for IHG stays 10 points per dollar, plus you earn 10 points as a base member of the program and 6 bonus points as a Platinum (status comes with the card) so that means you can earn 26 points per dollar on IHG hotel spend. You also earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants.
- Elite status: The card comes with Platinum status, and IHG started getting serious about elite benefits about a year ago. In addition you can earn IHG’s new top tier Diamond status after $40,000 spend on the card in a calendar year.
- Credit: The card comes with $25 United Travel Bank funds twice a year to spend and there’s a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card as well. Finally there’s also 10,000 bonus points and a $100 statement credit after $20,000 spend on the card in a calendar year.
Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur
That’s all great value on a $99 annual fee card, well worth getting and well worth keeping in my view even if it isn’t going to be my everyday spend card. Naturally 5/24 applies so if you’ve had 5 or more new cards in the past 24 months you may not be eligible.
Meanwhile Chase has brought back their biggest offer for the no annual fee
IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card to earn 120,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. One of the best features is that cardholders can Redeem 3 Nights, Get the 4th Night Free. That’s outstanding on a no annual fee card that also has no foreign transaction fees.
IHG hotels are a cut below the Hiltons and Marriotts with which they compete. I was in a holiday inn express the other night. The bath towels were thin, the room had an odor, the wall mounted hvac roared like a jet engine. This is a common experience at IHG hotels. They do have a very large footprint. So does motel 6.
Pity that the UK version is nowhere near as generous. Ok the £90 annual fee gets Platinum status and a free night but ordinary earning is paltry, 2 points for domestic spend per £1, 4 points for IHG spend and international, and they charge 2.99% on foreign transactions which is more than those 4 points is worth. I’ll only use it if I cannot use one of my AMEX cards, the BA or Platinum.
Pity that the UK version is nowhere near as generous. Ok the £90 annual fee gets Platinum status and a free night but ordinary earning is paltry, 2 points for domestic spend per £1, 4 points for IHG spend and international, and they charge 2.99% on foreign transactions which is more than those 4 points is worth. I’ll only use it if I cannot use one of my AMEX cards, the BA or Platinum.
So, I currently have the old IHG card that had the $49 annual fee. Had it for over 9 years. Would I need to cancel before I could apply for this one?
This bonus is good for MAYBE 2 nights at one of their better hotels, in a desirable location.
Large on paper, but not so much in the real world.
I have this card. The problem is IHG only allows redemptions for standard rooms, like Marriott, but as earn-and-burn Marriott is better – bigger footprint, better redemption options. Also IHG has a gap in upper midscale-upscale range (CrownePlaza is a joke), so the only viable redemptions are either IC in big cities or Holiday Inn Express in the middle of nowhere. Technically this card makes you Platinum with free upgrades, but don’t get me started on that 🙂
To get this I’d need to cancel my old $49 IHG card unfortunately.
Just got the card a week ago at the old bonus. Anyone have any luck asking chase for the new bonus amount? Thanks.
Hi Gary,
Any news on the business card going up to the same 175,000?
@Michael – none I know of (which doesn’t mean it won’t)
@ pm, William- I have both the old and new IHG card, got bonuses on both, and the complement each other. I get both 4th night free and a 10% rebate on point redemptions. Plus 2 free nights a year is better than one!
One other difference between this card and the old card is the free night can be topped up, so if you want to do a higher level redemption, you can just pay the points for the difference from the free night. The old card free night is only good for the 40,000 points and below hotels.
The conditions say you if already have a personal card you are not eligible for this bonus. Holiday Inns and Crowne Plazas are better in Europe than the stereotype we have in the US of tired and dated. The points prices and free night awards are usually a better redemption value in high cost cities of Europe compared to the US.
It’s too bad they don’t offer the same sign-up bonus for the individual referral program (only 140,000 points/$3000 spend). Hmmm, which blogger should we have P2 link through to give them the referral credit??
LOL. That quoted claim, which has already thoroughly debunked, is senseless, so please update these posts when you recycle them!
One free night is one free night regardless of whether it is part of a 4-night or a 5-night stay. The one program that is not competitive in this respect, because it does not offer what is the single most valuable perk in hotel loyalty, is World of Hyatt. 😉
“…already b>been thoroughly debunked…”
This isn’t the medium for me to address my full complaint with IHG & IHG Chase. I will say that I’ve been a loyal IHG customer for years and attained “diamond elite” status. After a recent stay, and with NO reply from IHG corporate regarding my complaint and an insulting reply from Chase, I closed my IHG Chase account and will use up my accumulated IHG points and kiss them “buh bye”. I will continue to expand my loyalty to another brand.
4th night free is better than 5th night free because it is easier to use. It takes only a 3 night stay to earn it and you only need enough points for 3 nights.
IHG is rigidly inflexible
Had a big chunk of points expire based on inactivity and was told suck it
Haven’t send any business to Intercontinental since that happened.