IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card Review 

The IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card offers a generous sign-up bonus and other rewards that can earn you several free nights a year at one of the world’s biggest hotel chains.

The card has a $99 annual fee, but that’s not usual among hotel credit cards. And its features—including a welcome bonus, statement credits and annual free-night stay at one of InterContinental Group’s 6,000 hotels (with brands ranging from Kimpton to Holiday Inn)—are more generous than on most other hotel cards.

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

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Key Stats:

• Base rewards rate: 3x
• Bonus rewards: 10x at IHG hotels; 5x on travel, dining and gas stations.
• Sign-up bonus: 140,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first three months.
• Key perks: Annual free night award, fourth night free on consecutive award redemptions, automatic IHG® Platinum status, $100 trusted traveler program application fee credit every four years.
• Annual fee: $99
• APR: 21.49% to 28.49% variable
• Foreign transaction fee: None

A standout perk: When you use points to book four or more consecutive nights, you’ll receive the fourth night free. And, if you spend $20,000 a year on the card (about $1,700 a month) you will earn a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points.

Other benefits include: credit toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS every four years and United Airlines travel credits each year. 

Frequent travelers who want more hotel flexibility may be better off with a general travel credit card, but if you’re loyal to IHG, the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card could be a good fit.

Are the rewards worth the fees?

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card charges a $99 annual fee, but it’s relatively easy to get that value back in card benefits alone. 

For starters, you’ll get a free night certificate worth the equivalent of 40,000 points each year. While there’s no fixed value for IHG points, it could save you upwards of $200 on a one-night stay at brands like Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Kimpton. If you have enough points to book four or more consecutive nights, you’ll also get the fourth night for free. 

If you spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year—which is doable if you spend $3,000 on credit cards like the typical Wall Street Journal Reader—you’ll also earn a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points. Every four years you can get another $100 credit toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS. Finally, if you add the card to your United MileagePlus frequent flier account, you’ll get $50 in United TravelBank credits, which you can use to book flights. 

In terms of rewards, the card offers 140,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months. You’ll also earn 3 points per dollar on general purchases, 5 points per dollar on travel, dining and gas and 10 points per dollar spent at IHG hotels and resorts. If you spend $3,000 per month on the card, you’ll earn a minimum of 108,000 points each year (not including the welcome offer).

Again, there’s no set value for IHG points, but on average, you’ll generally get less than 1 cent per point in value, which is the standard for general travel cards. So, while it’s easy to amass a sizable rewards balance, it also requires a lot of points to book free stays. While free nights technically start at 5,000 points apiece, many hotels start at 20,000 or more per night. 

When you do stay at IHG hotels—regardless of whether you pay with points or out of pocket—you’ll enjoy Platinum Elite status benefits, which include discounts on stays booked with points, early check-in, late checkout and complimentary room upgrades. You can’t put a price on those perks, but they can elevate your travel experience. 

Card details you might miss

While the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card offers a lot of standout perks, it’s important to familiarize yourself with all the card’s benefits, so you can make the most of the $99 annual fee. Here are some other key details:

• Up to $100 per day in baggage delay insurance, which covers essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for delays of more than six hours, up to a three-day maximum
• Up to $3,000 in lost luggage reimbursement, which covers lost and damaged luggage for you and immediate family members
• Up to $5,000 per person in trip cancellation and interruption insurance—up to a maximum of $10,000 per trip—if your trip is canceled or cut short due to illness, severe weather or another eligible reason
• Up to $500 in purchase protection on eligible items that are stolen or damaged within 120 days of the purchase date when you use the card
• Complimentary one-year DoorDash DashPass, which offers free delivery and reduced service fees on eligible purchases
• No foreign transaction fees

Who benefits most from the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card?

Because hotel rewards points are generally less flexible than general travel rewards, the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is best suited for travelers who prefer IHG hotels over other chains. Some of the more well-known IHG brands include Holiday Inn, Candlewood Suites, Crowne Plaza, Kimpton, Regent and InterContinental. 

Even if you only travel once a year, the card’s annual free night certificate may be enough to offset the annual fee. However, if you’re unsure about paying a fee or you want more flexibility, consider some alternatives. 

For instance, the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card doesn’t charge an annual fee, though its benefits are muted compared with its sister card. The sign up bonus and rewards rates are lower, and you won’t get a free annual night certificate. Instead of Platinum, you’ll also get Silver Elite status, which offers negligible perks. But you’ll still get a fourth night free on award stays of four or more consecutive nights, and you’ll earn 10,000 bonus points when you spend $10,000 in a year. 

If you’re interested in more flexibility, you may consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. It charges a $95 annual fee, but comes with a sizable sign up bonus and bonus rewards on a variety of everyday purchases like dining, online grocery purchases, streaming services and travel. Points are worth 25% more if you redeem them for travel through Chase’s online travel portal. But you can also transfer your points to a variety of airline and hotel loyalty programs, including IHG. 

Methodology: How we evaluated the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

To choose Buy Side from WSJ’s Best Hotel Cards, we compared 15 credit cards from seven major hotel chains. We started our search with cards that offer the standard benefits you can expect from a hotel card, such as elite status and an annual free night benefit or points bonus. 

Then, we considered other valuable benefits that make it easy to offset the card’s annual fee, even without earning rewards. Examples include things like a second free night benefit, discounts on stays booked with points and perks for other travel expenses like flights and rental cars.

To find out more about how we choose credit cards—and to meet our panel of experts—you can also check out Buy Side from WSJ’s full best credit cards methodology.

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