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IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card Review

Updated on:
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
LendingTree's Review

How LendingTree Rates Credit Cards?

Our experts rate credit cards based on several factors including card benefits, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers do not influence or have a say in our card ratings. Read our credit card methodology here.
3.6
IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
Sign-Up Bonus
Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Rewards Rate
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.
Extra Perks
Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 ($120 starting 10/1/24) every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
We receive commissions from our advertising partners. These commissions do not influence our recommendations. Click here to learn more.

Our take: For frequent guests of IHG, the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is worth its annual fee, offering an outstanding welcome bonus and a free hotel night each year on your anniversary.

Pros and cons

  • Large initial welcome offer
  • Free anniversary night each year
  • Fourth night free on award stays
  • IHG Platinum status
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® reimbursement
  • Annual fee
  • IHG points not as valuable as other types of points
  • Not a great source of points on everyday spending

Is the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card worth it?

Citi is an advertising partner.
The information related to the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is the best of the two hotel credit cards co-branded between Chase and IHG. It offers an outstanding initial welcome offer: Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, automatic Platinum Elite Status and the fourth night free on all award stays.

The annual fee is $99, and each year you’ll get an Anniversary Night certificate good for one night at any hotel up to 40,000 points. The anniversary night alone is more than enough to offset the cost of the annual fee.

Quick facts

    • Earn 140,000 Bonus Points
    • 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.
    • 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
    • Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier cardmember
    • Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 ($120 starting 10/1/24) every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
    • IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®
    • Member FDIC
  • Recommended Credit
    Credit scores ranges may vary. Your individual chance at approval may vary due to factors such as creditors using a particular variation at their discretion
  • 660 720 850
    Good / Excellent
  • Automatic Platinum Elite status
  • Redeem three nights get the fourth night free
  • Credit available to use on United flights 
  • Opportunity to earn a yearly statement credit
  • Chance to qualify for Diamond Elite status
  • Anniversary Free Night
  • Global Entry, TSA PreCheck Nexus statement credit

Intro Purchase APR

N/A

Regular Purchase APR

20.74% - 27.74% Variable

Intro BT APR

N/A

Regular BT APR

20.74% - 27.74% Variable

Annual Fee

$99

Cash Advance Fee

Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.

Foreign Transaction Fee

$0

Balance Transfer Fee

Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Earn 140,000 points

With the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, you can currently Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

What are IHG points worth?

We estimate IHG points to be worth about 0.5 cents each. The true value of IHG points depends on where you choose to redeem them, since value will depend on the number of points you need to book the hotel where you want to stay, compared to the cash cost of the same hotel night.

What is the sign-up bonus worth? Around $700 in IHG hotel nights

While 140,000 points sounds like a lot, remember that IHG points aren’t worth as much as some other miles and points.

Who’s eligible to earn this offer? You aren’t eligible for this offer if you are either a current IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card card member of this credit card, or have received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months. You’re also not likely to be approved if you are over the Chase 5/24 rule.

Another way to think about the value of the sign-up bonus is in terms of the number of free nights that you can get. With IHG points, you’ll book each night for the hotel’s cost in points instead of the nightly cash rate. IHG no longer has an award chart, but many hotels will cost between 15,000 and 75,000 points per night. That means your sign-up bonus will likely get you between two and 10 free nights. (Remember, though, that you also get the fourth night free on award stays.)

Given the low value of IHG points, you can find more valuable sign-up bonuses that can net you more hotel nights with IHG. For instance, you could redeem the bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for a hotel stay with IHG through the Ultimate Rewards portal and get a 25% bonus on those points, making your points worth 1.25 cents each.

Earn up to 26X points at IHG hotels

Like many credit cards, how many points you earn with the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card depends on where you spend with the card.

You’ll 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.

This is a solid earning rate on spending at IHG hotels.

It’s important to note that the 26 points per $1 spent at IHG hotels includes the base points you already earn as an IHG member:

All IHG Rewards Club members get 10 points per $1 spent for staying at an IHG hotel.

Platinum Elite members (a status you’ll get from having the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card) get an additional 5 points per $1 spent.

You’ll earn 10 more points per $1 spent for paying with your IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card.

15 base points + 10 credit card points = 25 points per $1 on IHG purchases

Unfortunately, The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card does not compare favorably to other hotel and travel credit cards on everyday spending, due to the low value of its points.

As you can see from the chart below, its overall rewards earned on spending for the average cardholder is low compared to other popular travel cards:

We estimate an earning rate for the average consumer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor data and multiply that by the value of each card’s points or miles. Learn more about LendingTree’s methodology.

Redeeming points

The cost to redeem points for a free night will vary wildly by location and date, but you’ll find most IHG hotels range generally between 15,000 and 75,000 points per night. 

IHG no longer has a set award chart where hotels always cost a certain amount of points. Instead, the cost in points for a given hotel will vary from night to night. IHG does have a decent search engine where you can put in the address or city where you’d like to stay, and easily see the cost in points of various nearby hotels.

Point value calculator

To calculate the value that you’re getting for your points, use the following formula:

Cost of a room in cash (including taxes and fees) ÷ Number of points = Point value

We value IHG points at around 0.5 cents per point, so anything above that number is decent value.

A higher-end IHG hotel can require a large number of points. For example, an award night with EVEN Hotels New York – Time Squares South costs around 80,000 points. In other words, your IHG points may not go very far for highly desirable properties.

However, there are good values to be found here and there. Going back to our Holiday Inn Express Cleveland – Richfield example from earlier, you could book the hotel for 13,000 IHG Rewards points or $157.65 in cash. In that case, you would be getting 1.21 cents per point in value if you booked with points. That’s over twice as much as our average value for IHG points, making that an outstanding redemption. As a general rule, it is often easier to find better value at lower-end IHG brands.

IHG offers 19 hotel brands in more than 6,000 locations:

IHG brands

  • Atwell Suites
  • AVID™ Hotels
  • Candlewood Suites®
  • Crowne Plaza®
  • Even™ Hotels
  • Garner Hotels
  • Holiday Inn®
  • Holiday Inn Club Vacations®
  • Holiday Inn Express®
  • Hotel Indigo®
  • HUALUXE™
  • InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts
  • Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
  • Regent
  • Six Senses
  • Staybridge Suites®
  • Vignette Collection
  • VOCO

In addition, luxury travel clubs Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas and Mr & Mrs Smith partners with IHG Rewards, allowing members to earn and redeem points through stays at its more than 400 boutique properties.

There are no blackout dates for reward nights with IHG according to IHG’s terms and conditions. However, room inventory is limited and subject to prior sale, so you may not always find an award night. You also may not be able to redeem points for rewards nights at InterContinental Residences, IHG Army Hotels, Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, participating Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas. New Reward Night bookings are not available at Mr & Mrs Smith hotels.
Learn more about redeeming IHG points with our IHG Hotels & Resorts guide

Fourth night free

One of the best benefits of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is that you get the fourth night free on an unlimited number of award stays per year. On any stay of four nights or longer, your fourth night will cost zero points. On longer stays, your eighth and 12th nights will also be free, and so on. This can be a great way to stretch the value of your IHG Rewards Club points.

Free anniversary night

With the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, you’ll get an anniversary night each year, starting 12 months from the date you open your account. You do have to pay the card’s annual fee to claim the anniversary night, so it is not exactly free — but it is still pretty good value for a free hotel night.

A few restrictions to keep in mind:

  • You must redeem and complete the stay using your anniversary night within 12 months from when it’s issued.
  • Anniversary night certificates are good on hotels costing 40,000 points or less, and you’re responsible for any resort fees, parking or other charges for your stay.
  • Because the nightly points cost to stay at a particular hotel varies from date to date, it is possible or even likely that a hotel might be eligible for an anniversary night redemption on some nights, but not on others.

Other IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card benefits

Here are a couple of the other benefits of having the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card:

Having the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card will give you Platinum elite status with IHG for as long as you have the card. This is IHG’s midtier status, and in theory it’ll help you get hotel room upgrades when you stay with IHG. Unlike competing rewards programs, though, IHG Platinum status doesn’t come with complimentary breakfast or lounge access. However, it does get you extra points when paying for stays with IHG and points that don’t expire.

Platinum elite status benefits include:

 

  • 60% Bonus points on top of base points
  • Early check-in (subject to availability)
  • Late checkout
  • Priority check-in
  • Complimentary room upgrade (subject to availability)
  • Welcome amenity
  • Reward night discounts

You can get a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points each account anniversary year if you spend at least $20,000. Your account anniversary date is calculated as your account open date through the first statement after the anniversary of your account open date.

10,000 IHG points are worth around $50, so this isn’t an amazing return on spending. If you spent that same $20,000 on a 2% card like the Citi Double Cash® Card, you’d get $400.

If you pay for your Global Entry or TSA Precheck application with the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, you’re eligible for up to a $100 reimbursement. You can get this reimbursement once every four years.

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card charges $0 foreign transaction fees, so you can use it while traveling out of the country without having to pay any additional fees.

Like many Chase cards, the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card includes a solid set of travel and purchase protections:

  • Baggage delay insurance: Reimburses you for over six hours by passenger carrier up to $100 for three days.
  • Purchase protection: Covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
  • Lost luggage reimbursement: Covered up to $3,000 per passenger for you or an immediate family member.
  • Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance: Reimbursement for up to $5,000 per person and $10,000 per trip if your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather or other circumstances.

Compare IHG credit cards

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card vs. IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card

| Disclosures
IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card*
IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card
Learn More
on Chase's secure site
N/A
20.99% - 27.99% Variable
$0
Earn up to 17 total points per $1 spent when you stay
  • Limited Time Offer! Earn 100,000 Bonus Points
  • No Annual Fee
  • Earn up to 17 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts
  • Earn 3 points per $1 spent on purchases on monthly bills, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees
  • Redeem 3 Nights, Get the 4th Night Free
  • IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®
  • Member FDIC
660 720 850
Good / Excellent
*The information related to the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply

How Does LendingTree Get Paid?

LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appears on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.

If you stay at IHG properties only a few times per year, the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card may be better, since it doesn’t charge an annual fee. You will still earn rewards on IHG purchases and get a sign-up bonus, though at a much lower rate than the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. The card also offers automatic Silver Elite Status, which comes with a couple notable benefits, including points that don’t expire and a 20% boost on point earnings.

If you stay at IHG properties frequently and are looking for more luxury travel perks like annual free nights and Platinum Elite Status, you will be better off with the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card.

Alternatives to IHG

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card vs. Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

| Disclosures
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card*
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
N/A
20.24%-29.24% Variable
$150
Earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases
  • Earn 165,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 1/8/2025.
  • Get up to $200 back each year on eligible Hilton purchases after you use your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.
  • Earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio.
  • Earn 6X Points for each dollar of purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations.
  • Earn 4X Points for each dollar on U.S. Online Retail Purchases.
  • Earn 3X Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
  • Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
  • Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors ™ Gold Status with your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.
  • Spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status through the end of the next calendar year.
  • Enjoy complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status. Enrollment in the complimentary Emerald Club® program is required. Terms apply.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
  • $150 annual fee.
  • Terms Apply.
660 720 850
Good / Excellent
*The information related to the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply

How Does LendingTree Get Paid?

LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appears on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.

The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card beats the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card at earning points. Though Hilton points are worth about as much as IHG points, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card lets you earn far more points on many categories of spending.

The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card also comes with much more valuable hotel benefits. It offers a free weekend awards night that requires $15,000 in spending each year but is redeemable for a standard room at basically any available Hilton property. Plus, you’ll receive Gold status with Hilton (enrollment required).

The card also performs a little better than the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card on its hotel benefits. While the card’s free weekend award night requires $15,000 in spending each year, it’s redeemable for a standard room at basically any available Hilton property, making it much more valuable. You’ll also get better base-point earnings and a food and beverage credit at U.S. hotels (or a continental breakfast at non-U.S. hotels). However, it doesn’t include a credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry.

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

| Disclosures
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card*
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
N/A
20.99% - 27.99% Variable
$95
Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on
  • Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
  • Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
  • Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
  • Member FDIC
720 850
Excellent
*The information related to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply

How Does LendingTree Get Paid?

LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appears on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.

If you are looking for a card that allows you earn points on a variety of travel and everyday purchases rather than just on IHG purchases, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great option. The card offers a 1:1 transfer rate to 11 airline and three hotel partners including IHG. This card also offers a valuable sign-up bonus and an annual $50 hotel credit. Chase points are more flexible and valuable than IHG points — you’ll get at least 1.25 cent per point by redeeming them for any travel purchase through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. You can get even better values than this by transferring points to a travel partner.

Should you apply?

If you’re a loyal guest of IHG, The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is worth applying for. You’ll find plenty of value in benefits like automatic Platinum Elite status, fourth free night award and bonus rewards on IHG purchases

However, it’s not a great card to put any ongoing spending on, with the possible exception of stays at IHG hotels. Plus, the benefits will be difficult to use for those who prefer more flexible hotel options. This card also offers a lower point value than other hotel and travel credit cards. If you prefer more flexibility in your travel, a general travel credit card may be the better way to go.

Frequently asked questions

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card does have $0 foreign transaction fees, which means you can opt to be billed in a foreign currency and not be hit with any additional fees. This makes it a great card to use when traveling abroad.

You can have both the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card. If you’re trying to decide between the two cards, you can check out our comparison of which one is best here.

The easiest way to link your IHG account with your credit card is to make sure to put your IHG Rewards number into the card application. If you don’t put in your IHG number, you will be enrolled into the IHG Rewards program and given a membership number. If you accidentally end up with two IHG Rewards accounts, you can contact IHG customer service to merge your accounts.

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is designed for travelers with good / excellent credit. That roughly corresponds to a credit score of 660 or above.

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card does have an annual fee: $99. This means your first annual fee will be charged 12 months from when you apply for the card. That can be a great opportunity to try out the benefits of the card and make sure it’s something that works for you before needing to pay the annual fee.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
The information related to the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.

The information related to the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Citi Double Cash® Card, IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.

The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.