IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card review

Hotel Card

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

Top Features

• Rewards
• Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• Welcome Bonus
• Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• Annual Fee
• $99

5.0

Credit Score: Excellent, Good

Apply Now

on Chase's secure website

Terms and Limitations Apply

ALTERNATE CARD TO CONSIDER

card_name

discontinued_disclaimer

editor_rating

Credit Score: credit_score_needed

description

Read Review

See Rates and Fees

card_name basics

You’ll get great rewards with the CardName in exchange for your devoted loyalty. Stay at one of the Intercontinental Hotel Group’s properties, which include the Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo, and you’ll earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel. The welcome bonus is also solid: earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

CardName‘s best features:

• Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Earn a reward hotel night every year after your account anniversary.
• Enjoy a reward night when you redeem points for any consecutive four-night stay at an IHG hotel.
• Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel.
• Earn 5X points on travel and at gas stations and restaurants and 3X points per $1 on all other purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Receive up to a $100 ($120 starting 10/1/24) reimbursement every four years for your Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus application reimbursement.

What do our editors like best about this card? Let’s start with the basics: a good size chunk of bonus points for every $1 spent with a particular hotel brand is a pretty standard feature of hotel credit cards. Most competitor hotel groups have similar points structures. Same goes for the annual reward night in one of IHG’s hotels. These incentives are the price of admission for any hotel that wants to be competitive in the credit card market.

However, a couple of things differentiate the CardName. In particular, that free night when you redeem your rewards for a consecutive four-night stay; the Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or Nexus fee credit; some bonus points for everyday purchases and the Platinum Elite Status offered to cardholders. Let’s take a closer look.

When CardName cardholders redeem points for at least a consecutive four-night stay, you’ll be docked points for three nights and your fourth night will be free. That’s a highly unusual perk – most hotel rewards cards offer you a once-annually free night reward, but this card goes a step further and offers you that annual reward night as well as a reward night whenever you redeem for any consecutive four-night stay. The reward night opportunities should more than offset the card’s annual_fees annual fee.

Further helping you offset the fee is the once-every-four-years reimbursement of up to $100 ($120 starting 10/1/24) for your Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus application fee – a perk usually reserved for cards with much higher annual fees.

Lastly, and worth noting, is CardName cardholders receive an automatic upgrade to Platinum Elite status. Typically, you’d have to stay at qualifying hotels a minimum of 40 nights a year to get this status – which is really only feasible for perpetually jetlagged business travelers. Some of the perks of platinum include extended check-out, no blackout dates on reward nights, complimentary room upgrades and guaranteed room availability. But the best perk is 50% bonus earnings on top of your base points.

Potential downsides of the card_name

The biggest rewards with the CardName come when you stay at IHG hotels and resorts. For everything else, the rewards rate is on the low side: five points per $1 spent on purchases on travel and at gas stations and restaurants and three points for every $1 spent on all other purchases is comparable to other rewards cards, but you can do better than that if you don’t plan to use your rewards for IHG stays.

How do cardholders rate the card_name?

CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results for the card_name:

How the card_name compares to other hotel credit cards

CardName vs. CardName

discontinued

This is an interesting comparison because, while the CardName is a general travel rewards card, you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points earned with the card to your IHG One Rewards account and redeem them directly through the hotel’s loyalty program. In other words, both cards could technically help you earn discounted stays at IHG properties; it’s just that the CardName offers you the flexibility to use your points for lots of other discounted or "free" travel as well.

New CardName members can earn up to $1,050 in Chase Travel℠ value – earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first three months from account opening (worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel); plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year. You could choose to transfer your bonus points to one of several Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners (including IHG, as mentioned above) or you could redeem them directly through Chase Travel℠. If you redeem through Chase Travel, your points are worth 25% more, which means the bonus is worth $1,050 in that case.

All that said, you’re still dealing with a general travel rewards card and not a brand-specific card, so you will miss out on those loyalty perks offered by the CardName.

CardName vs. CardName

discontinued

The CardName isn’t a hotel-branded card but it does give you the chance to earn rewards that you can redeem for hotel stays – and any number of other travel-related purchases for that matter.

What you’ll get with the CardName is the opportunity to earn unlimited two miles per $1 spent on every purchase and five miles per $1 spent on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. What you won’t get is the perks that go along with loyalty, like free annual night stays or a free night when you redeem a certain amount of rewards.

For a limited-time, new CardName cardholders can earn 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel! You can fly any airline, stay at any hotel, anytime and not have to worry about blackout dates. Plus, you can transfer your miles to multiple leading travel loyalty programs. Cardholders are also eligible for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee reimbursement.

Ultimately, you’ll need to decide whether your loyalty to the IHG brand is strong enough that you’ll be satisfied earning the bulk of your rewards through purchases with that hotel group and redeeming your rewards for stays there as well.

Who should apply for the CardName?

Loyal customers of IHG and business travelers who only stay at its hotels every time they travel should definitely consider the CardName. The perks that come with Platinum Elite Status, the free night opportunities, the hefty welcome bonus and the ongoing rewards earning should entice customers who are looking for a hotel they can call a home away from home.