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If you're a fan of IHG properties and you're looking for a credit card that can improve your stays with the company, the I hg rewards premier credit card is a great choice.

The IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card

There are some important things you need to know.

Annual fee

Welcome bonus

If you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of your account opening, you'll get 140,000 I hg rewards points.

This product is not available to current card members of any IHG rewards personal credit card or previous card members of any IHG rewards personal credit card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 24 months.

Earnings

  • 10 points/dollar on spending at IHG properties worldwide
  • 5 points/dollar on spending at restaurants
  • 5 points/dollar on spending at gas stations
  • 5 points/dollar on travel spending
  • 3 points/dollar on spending in all other categories

If you use the card to pay for stays at full-service IHG properties, you'll earn 26 points for every dollar you spend.

The earnings are broken down by dollar and points.

  • 10 points/dollar for using the IHG® Rewards Premier card to pay for your spending
  • 10 points/dollar for being an IHG One Rewards member
  • 6 points/dollar for being an IHG One Rewards Platinum member*

One Platinum elite status is one of the benefits of the I hg rewards premier credit card.

InterContinental Singapore

Key benefits

  • Get a certificate of a free night at properties costing up to 40,000 points/night every year. The certificate can be topped up with points for more expensive bookings.
  • IHG One Rewards Platinum elite status for as long as the card is held
  • Get the 4th night free on IHG award bookings of 4 nights or more
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $100 every 4 years
  • $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points after a cardholder spends $20,000 and makes one additional purchase each account anniversary year.
  • United MileagePlus members get up to $50 in TravelBank credits every year.
  • Save 20% on points purchases*
  • No foreign transaction fees

It doesn't apply to IHG One rewards.

InterContinental Le Grand Paris – Image courtesy of IHG

What makes this card great

The welcome bonus

I value the points portion of welcome bonus points at $560 based on how much value I can easily get out of my ihhg rewards account.

For those who prefer to look at the points in terms of free nights, the 140,000 points that the I hg rewards premier credit card is currently offering can be used to book two nights at a variety of top I hg hotels around the world.

The welcome bonus would cover 2 nights at the Kimpton Nine Zero which, on select nights could cost over $670 + taxes/night

Most of the top-tier properties cost between 60,000 and 120,000 points per night during busy times, but thanks to dynamic award pricing, a lot of excellent hotels can be booked for a lot less than that.

The 4th night free on award bookings

This is a benefit that should be enough to cover the annual fee on the I hg rewards premier credit card.

The main aspects of this benefit are listed.

  • Every 4th night of an award booking is free (so an 8-night stay would see a cardholder get two free nights).
  • There is no cap on how many times this benefit may be used
  • The is no cap on the points value of the award booking (this can be used at top-tier IHG properties worldwide)
  • This benefit cannot be used in conjunction with a Points & Cash booking

On a single 4-night stay, this benefit can save a card up to 120,000 points, and there is no cap on how often this benefit can be used, making it a great deal.

You can save up to $480 on a 4-night stay at the InterContinental if you use the benefit at 0.4 cents/point.

InterContinental Doha – Image courtesy of IHG

Annual free night award

Every year on or around their card anniversary, holders of the ihg rewards premier credit card are given a certificate that entitles them to a free night at properties that cost up to 40,000 points per night. The certificates can be used to reduce the cost of most award booking by 40,000 by allowing members to add points to bookings made with these certificates. They are more valuable now than before.

During quieter times of the year, cardholders should be able to find dates on which they can book excellent properties without having to top up their certificates with points.

It can be difficult to get a good value out of an annual free night certificate, but it can be done with dynamic award pricing.

United TravelBank credits

Every year on or around 1 January and 1 July, a $25 TravelBank credit is given to cardholders who have linked their United MileagePlus number to their Ihg premier card.

If you book at least one United Airlines revenue flight every six months, you will be given a $50 rebate on those flights every year, which will reduce the annual fee for the premier card to just $48.

If, like me, you aren't a big United Airlines flyer, you won't be able to use this benefit to discount the yearly fee.

Final thoughts

The main reasons why I think this card can be a good addition to an IHG fan's wallet is because of the points I made above.

I don't think anyone should spend $20,000 on this card just to earn the $100 credit and 10,000 bonus points that are on offer, otherwise there are a lot of other credit cards that will offer you that amount of money.

I suggest that anyone who pays to stay at IHG properties for a long period of time should use the I hg rewards premier card, it should be paid for itself year after year.

Bottom Line

If you stay at IHG properties frequently, you would be well advised to have a co- branded credit card in your wallet, with a great welcome offer, and a host of excellent benefits, to make your stay better and cheaper, the I hg rewards premier credit card.

There is a link to more information on the IHG rewards premier credit card.