Chase IHG(R) Rewards Premier Credit Card

IHG has a monster footprint repping 5000+ hotels in 100 countries and have brands that meet the needs of every traveler across the spectrum. There are endless ways to accrue large amounts of IHG points, and having this card in your wallet means you can stretch those points even further since it offers a 4th night free on award bookings. IHG also added a TON of new benefits which make the card even more valuable. Let’s take a look

IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card

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Current Offer and benefits IHG Rewards Premier card?

• 175k bonus points after spending $3k in the first 3 months of account opening
• A free night after each account anniversary year
  • These are currently valid at properties 40k points and below
  • You can now add points to these nights should you want to stay at a pricier property
• 4th night free when redeeming points for a 4 consecutive night stay
• 10x at IHG Hotels & Resorts worldwide ( this is on top of the bonus you get as a IHG Rewards member )
  • 5x
    • travel
    • gas stations
    • dining/restaurants
    • social media and search engine advertising
    • office supply stores
  • 3x everywhere else
• Spend your way to Diamond with $40k in annual purchases
• Get a 10k bonus points and $100 statement credit when you spend $20k + one additional purchase in a year
• $50 United Travel Bank credit
• Earn up to 26x points at IHG hotels
• 20% off purchased points
  • Can’t be stacked with points sales tho
• Platinum status at IHG while holding the card
• No Foreign Transaction
• $99 annual fee
  • Current cardholders will see their fee increase from $89 to $99 in 2023

Annual night certificate effectively pays for the card’s annual fee year after year.

As I mentioned above, every year you keep the card, you’ll get a free night certificate. There are a ton of 40k and under hotels in the world whose nightly rate is WAY over $99.  In fact…I wrote an entire article about it. Read that here.

Even better…you can now add points to the award night to stay at pricier properties. For instance, I stayed at the Six Senses Maldives which cost 100k a night. When I did it, I took advantage of the 4th night free, but I also added on a 5th night for 100k points.  Now, I could do the same thing, but instead of paying 100k, I could apply this free night award and add 60k IHG points to it. A pretty awesome deal if you ask me.

Read about the Six Senses Maldives here

IHG Platinum Status

IHG Platinum status gives a 50% bonus when staying at IHG properties and has lead to some pretty nice upgrades. I’m currently at a Kimpton and they upgraded us to the nicest, non suite, room at the property. For what it’s worth I’m Ambassador as well, but we were using free annual night certs and it was a $75+ spread in price between base room and the room they gave us. It’s not something I expect with Platinum, but it happens.

There is also a promo running that gives you triple points when staying at IHG properties – that’s 45x

The 4th night free benefit offers tons of value.

I think one of the most interesting benefits is the 4th night free benefit when using points for the redemption. I mentioned this for my honeymoon, but I’ve been able to take advantage of it multiple times. I made use of the benefit twice at the Kimpton La Peer in Los Angeles.

Case in point: Kimpton La Peer LA.

 

175k is arguably the best deal ever

We have seen a 150k after $3k spend in 3 months and no annual fee first year. We have seen 140k + a free night up to 40k.

Personally, I’d rather have 175k bonus vs the free night (since it was capped at 40k and below and expired).

If you’re like me and already have the now retired IHG Rewards Select…you’ll save even more by stacking.

Let’s take the situation I was describing above. A 4 night stay at the Six Senses Maldives = 100k points per night

With the IHG Rewards Club Premier card we’re talking about 300k for a 4 night stay ( 4th night at 100k isn’t charged).

The now retired, IHG Rewards Select offers a 10% discount ( up to 100k points per year ) on IHG redemptions. That means I’d get another 30k points back, reducing the 4 night stay to just 270k points. Unreal!

Stacking benefits with Intercontinental Ambassador

Intercontinental Ambassador is a membership program that you buy for $200 a year or 40k points. It comes with several benefits for members – the biggest are listed below.

But…there some really cool things that stack with Six Senses in particular. Since I mentioned Six Senses above – I figured it was worth pointing a couple out. These are valid on point bookings as well

• Free breakfast ( very valuable at Six Senses )
• Signature Amenity ( like a 50 min massage for two )
• Room upgrade
• Wellness platter

If you’re thinking of going to a Six Senses property and using IHG points…it could very well be worth buying an Ambassador membership.

20% discount on purchased points.

This discount DOES NOT apply to points purchased during targeted sales. So…that almost makes the discount moot.

Is it restricted by 5/24?

All Chase cards are now restricted by 5/24

Do you have this card?

Yes, I picked the IHG Premier up during 2021 and hold it concurrently with the now retired IHG Rewards Select

Overall:

There are two big reasons I think this card makes sense for people

• 4th night free benefit when booking with points
• Annual Free Night at 40k and under properties

These two alone easily recoup the $99 fee and then some.