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The IHG® Rewards Premier Business Mastercard 140k offer
IHG just overhauled their credit card portfolio adding new benefits to their personal cards, and unveiling the IHG Rewards Premier Business Mastercard. IHG Rewards has certainly piqued my interest with their commitment to improve the program this year, and if their credit cards are any sign of what’s to come… it’s look good.
I already have 2 IHG Rewards personal cards: The IHG Rewards Premier and the now retired IHG Rewards Select. I keep them for whenever I stay at IHG properties, but they also give me a free night every single year on my cardmember anniversary date, valued at up to 40k points. This alone recoups my annual fees, but IHG has improved those nights by allowing members to add points to them to stay at properties pricing about 40k.
If you’re a business or sole proprietor and you’re looking to gain exposure to the IHG Rewards portfolio, I think this is a really compelling card for you. Without even considering the welcome offer, you can easily recoup the $99 annual fee via these two benefits:
- 4th night free on award bookings
- free night on account anniversary
- up to 40k points ( you can add points to this tho for more expensive properties )
Let’s dig into the other benefits, but this is a card that I plan to add to my wallet.
I used the 4th night free benefit at the Six Senses Maldives for my honeymoon
IHG® Rewards Premier Business Mastercard
- 140k 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
- Spend $60k on the card + 1 purchase and get another anniversary night
- 4th night free when redeeming points on a 4 consecutive night point redemption
- 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
- 5x
- 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
- 20% off purchased points
- Can’t be stacked with points sales tho
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Fee Credit –
- The primary cardholder receives a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Fee Credit of up to $100 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the Card
- Platinum status at IHG while holding the card
- No Foreign Transaction
- $99 annual fee
140k bonus points is very competitive
This card just dropped so this is the highest we’ve ever seen.
A free night issued after your cardmember anniversary date
Every year, on your anniversary date, you’ll be issued a free night certificate valid on award stays 40k or less. However… IHG now allows you to add points to that free night award to make the difference if you want to stay at a property that was more expensive than 40k points.
For instance, if you wanted to stay at the new Kimpton Seafire in April you’d be looking at 70k for a single night vs $1234 cash. Ouch. Prior to the update, you couldn’t use your free night here, but now you could just add 30k points and redeem.
But I don’t have a small business, Miles. You may, and not know it… Keep reading.
Chase is very friendly to entrepreneurs and small business owners. In fact, if you haven’t been in business for long, or you haven’t established yourself with an EIN, you can still apply as a Sole Proprietor ( fill in your SSN ). If you run a small side business (think bloggers, ebay sellers, tutors, consultants, etc) and want a card to segregate your business income from your personal income at tax time…this is a great opportunity to earn a load of points and help yourself out.
If you’re like me and already have the now retired IHG Rewards Select…you’ll save even more by stacking.
Let’s take my honeymoon for example.
With the IHG Rewards Premier Business 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!
Power up your status with 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.
Is it restricted by 5/24?
All Chase cards are now restricted by 5/24
Do you have this card?
Not yet, but I plan on adding it to my wallet. 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
- Annual Free Night at 40k and under properties
These two alone easily recoup the $99 fee and then some.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
80k offer in branch currently – I think this should be online soon
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Super solid welcome offer.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
There is currently an 80k offer after $4k spend in 3 months available in branch, and up to 90k after $6k spend in 6 months. I suspect some version of this will be online soon if you don’t want the hassle of going into a branch.
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 60k is a very, very good offer. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back. .
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.