Why you should get (and keep) an IHG Rewards Premier card

Have a lot of travel rewards card vying for your attention, but one of my favorite cards is IHG® Rewards Premier credit card.

The IHG Rewards Premier card offers attractive sign-up rewards to attract new cardholders. The card is also a good option for long-term retention due to its many perks that can easily offset the modest $99 annual fee. This is why I love IHG Rewards Premier Card and plan to keep it in my wallet for the near future.

signup bonus

The IHG Rewards Premier credit card currently offering the best signup bonus ever of 175,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first three months of account opening. Based Valuation of TPG175,000 IHG ​​points worth about 875 USD.

IHG One Rewards uses dynamic rewards pricing, so the number of bonus nights you will receive from 175,000 points will depend entirely on when and where you want to redeem your points.

Note that the IHG Rewards Premier card and its sign-up rewards are not available if you are:

• Current cardholder of any individual IHG Rewards Credit Card.
• Be a previous cardholder of any individual IHG Rewards Credit Card and you have received a new cardholder bonus for an individual IHG Rewards Credit Card within the last 24 months.

Chase’s 5/24 Rule It can also prevent you from getting approved for a new job chase the card. Check out our article on calculate your 5/24 position for more information.

Related: Is the IHG Rewards Premier Card worth the annual fee?

Anniversary night

Even if you don’t stay many nights in a hotel or prefer another loyalty program, IHG Rewards Premier credit card may still be worth the $99 annual fee per year. After all, most cardholders can get more than $99 in value per year from one benefit: anniversary night you get after every account anniversary.

You can use the anniversary night for a night with a redemption rate of 40,000 points or less. But you can too bonus points from your IHG Rewards account in exchange for a night worth more than 40,000 points. You must redeem your night and complete your stay within 12 months of the date the free night is issued.

I have received good value from my anniversary nights over the years. For example, I am writing this story during my stay at Kimpton De Witt in Amsterdam which I booked over a couple of free anniversary nights. My nightly reward rate is 40,000 points, while the paid rate will be around $281 a night. Even ignoring the price paid, I would happily trade a few nights of celebration to stay at this Kimpton near Amsterdam Centraal.

But you can also get enough value off your anniversary night to justify the annual fee of the card closer to home. While it’s becoming less common to find nights under $99 in many US cities, you’ll still often see IHG award nights with 40,000 points or less.

There are many different ways to use the anniversary night. But as long as you’re getting more than $99 in value from your anniversary night each year, it can make sense to keep the IHG Rewards Premier card for the long term — especially when you consider the card’s other valuable perks .

Related: The 19 best IHG hotels in the world

My favorite perks of IHG Rewards Premier credit card is the “exchange three nights, get a free Wednesday bonus night” benefit. In a nutshell, this perk allows you to pay 0 points every Wednesday night when you exchange IHG points for stays of four nights or longer.

Let’s see an example. For this stay at InterContinental Phuket Resort in ThailandI can pay an average of 27,250 points per night (instead of 37,750 points per night) do Wednesday night rewards.

This perk also works for longer stays. For example, this is an 8 night stay, where 2 nights will have no points after the Wednesday night bonus privilege. (Note that the first and fourth lines in the screenshot below lump the two nights together as they both cost 11,000 points per night.)

You can use this benefit an unlimited number of times and for a longer stay. For example, you’ll get free Wednesday, eighth, and twelfth nights for your 12-night stay. And those will always be free nights, regardless of whether those nights are the cheapest or most expensive of the entire stay.

For example, for a four-night stay, where nights cost 10,000 per night for the first three nights and 12,000 on the fourth night, that fourth night will be free despite the highest price.

Most travelers will only use this privilege a few times a year, but I’ve benefited from over 35 Wednesday night bonuses over the past six years. If you often exchange IHG points for stays of four nights or more, this card benefit can save you some significant points.

Related: How much is IHG One Awards elite status worth?

Other valuable benefits

The IHG Rewards Premier Card including some other valuable perks. For example, the card earns 10 points for every dollar spent at IHG hotels and resorts, 5% interest based on Valuation of TPG. The IHG Rewards Premier card also earns 5 points for every dollar spent on purchases at the gas stationon other travel and at restaurant and 3 points for every dollar spent on all other purchases.

In addition, the IHG Rewards Premier card also offers the following benefits:

• Automatic Platinum Elite Status IHG One Rewards as long as you keep your IHG Rewards Premier card.
• Earn IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite status through the end of the next calendar year in any calendar year in which you make purchases totaling $40,000 or more with your IHG Rewards Premier card.
• Save 20% on points purchase when you pay with IHG Rewards Premier card. However, you cannot combine this discount with any other point purchase offers. So usually you’ll do better waiting for a Promotion to accumulate points to buy IHG instead save 20% through this privilege.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Have one Global Entry, Pre-check TSA or joint credit up to $100 every four years to reimburse the subscription fee charged to your card.
• Earn a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points any calendar year you spend at least $20,000 on a purchase.
• Get $25 United TravelBank cash deposit in your United MileagePlus account twice a year (on or about January 1st and July 1st) after you complete a one-time registration for this privilege.

Elite Platinum status entitles you to a number of useful perks while staying at IHG properties, including more bonus points for paid stays and free upgrades (subject to availability). yes and at the discretion of the hotel).

Related: Best hotel credit cards with annual fees under $100

The IHG® Rewards Premier credit card currently offering the best signup bonus ever of 175,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first three months of account opening. Based Valuation of TPGThese bonus points are worth $875.

And once you have the IHG Rewards Premier card, its two benefits — anniversary night certificate and Wednesday night privileges — will offer significantly more value than the $99 per year annual fee. Therefore, I believe that the IHG Rewards Premier card is a valid card to receive and then keep every year.

our test full IHG Rewards Premier credit card review For more details.

Official app link: IHG® Rewards Premier credit card