Big welcome bonus and elevated rewards at IHG hotels and resorts #CashNews.co

Dedicated lodgers of Regent, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and other IHG properties might want to get in on the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. It offers a big welcome bonus and elevated rewards when staying at IHG hotels and resorts.

Every time you use your card to stay at IHG properties, you can earn up to 26x points. You can also earn 5x rewards when you use your card on other travel and dining purchases, as well as gas stations. All other eligible purchases earn 3x points.

You can also earn up to 100,000 points per year for referring friends and family to the IHG One Rewards Premier card. That’s 20,000 points per successful referral per year.

You can redeem your rewards by using points to stay at IHG hotels and resorts worldwide. You get the fourth night free for every three nights you redeem with your rewards. Using your points for award stays typically provides the best value for your rewards.

Other redemption options include transfers to airline loyalty programs, experiences, digital rewards, gift cards, charitable donations, online shopping, and events.

Having the IHG One Rewards Premier card automatically gets you Platinum Elite Status, which gives you 72-hour guaranteed room availability, complimentary upgrades (if available), and reward night discounts. You also get to enjoy no blackout dates on rewards nights and your points don’t expire.

Other benefits include:

• Free anniversary night every year (up to 40,000-point redemption cap)

• Early check-in and late check-out (if available)

• $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points annually after spending $20,000 every year

• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit

• Up to $50 United Airlines TravelBank Cash each year

• 20% off points purchases

This card is a great option for travelers who prefer to stay mostly at IHG properties. It might be best for you if:

• You travel enough to rack up enough rewards

• You don’t mind the $99 annual fee

• You can find an IHG property in most places you travel to

You may want to skip this card if:

• You don’t travel enough to warrant a travel card

• You don’t want to be tied to one hotel or resort company

• You can find better rewards or redemption options elsewhere

• Generous rewards. With a hefty welcome bonus and high earning potential, you can rack up rewards. This gets you redemption faster to take advantage of upgraded rooms, award stays, and more.

• No foreign transaction fee. You can use this card wherever Mastercard is accepted around the world without incurring an extra fee to use it on foreign purchases.

• Nice redemption options and freebies. You can get a fourth night free after redeeming for three nights and receive a free anniversary night every year.

• Limited redemptions. If you don’t end up redeeming points through free nights and discounts, you don’t have many valuable options left. You can’t redeem points as a statement credit or cash back.

• Requires high spending. Beyond the welcome offer, you need to spend $20,000 to get the $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points. This might be a lot for some folks.

• Unclear point worth. While you can rack up points, it’s unclear how much those points are worth until you try to redeem them. This isn’t the case for other cards — including other Chase credit cards — that detail earnings and redemptions. For instance, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card typically provides at least a 1:1 value.

Since the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is a Mastercard, you can use it virtually anywhere credit cards are accepted.

• Online: The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is issued by Chase, so you’ll need to create a Chase account or log into your existing Chase account online or through the mobile app.

• Phone: You can call the number on the back of your card or 1-800-436-7958.

• Mail: You can send a check or money order to Cardmember Services P.O. Box 6294 Carol Stream, IL 60197-6294

• In person: If you live near a Chase branch and want to make a cash payment, you can head to your local Chase branch. Head inside and let the bank teller know you’d like to make a credit card payment with cash.

If you have credit card issues, concerns, or questions, you can call the number on the back of your card or contact Chase directly at 1-800-432-3117. You can also sign into your Chase account to send a secure message.

If you have questions about your rewards, your upcoming stays, redemptions, earnings, or something else, you can contact IHG customer service at 1-888-211-9874.

The IHG One Rewards Premier card is one of many different travel-based credit cards. If this one isn’t for you or you want to compare options, consider these alternative cards in your search.

Why we like it: The Capital One Venture Rewards has a $95 annual fee, but we find it’s one of the easiest travel credit cards to use. You can earn 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars book through Capital One Travel, and unlimited 2x miles on all other eligible purchases.

You can transfer rewards to over 15 airline and hotel loyalty programs or redeem them in other ways, such as covering past travel purchases. That means you can book IHG hotel stays directly and use your rewards to cover those purchases.

Read our full Capital One Venture Rewards review

Why we like it: The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, but you can take advantage of multiple benefits to help offset the cost. That includes earning 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 annual hotel credit), 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services and takeout, 3x points on eligible online grocery purchases, 3x points on select streaming services, 2x points on other travel purchases, and 1x points on all other eligible purchases.

Since it’s a more general travel credit card compared to the IHG One Rewards Premier option, you don’t have to feel constricted to only staying at one place or sticking with one hotel brand.

Read our full Chase Sapphire Preferred review

Why we like it: The Hilton Honors Amex Surpass has a $150 annual fee (see rates and fees, terms apply) that you can more than offset through quarterly credits. This includes up to $50 in statement credits each quarter (up to $200 annually) for making eligible Hilton purchases. You also receive complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status and can earn a Free Night Reward after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases within a calendar year.

Read our full Hilton Honors American Express Surpass review

This article was edited by Ben Walker (CEPF, CFEI®)

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