8 Reasons To Get The IHG Premier Credit Card

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It is worth getting for the very good welcome bonus, and it is worth keeping for the long-term perks. The reason to pick up the card now is because of the changes coming to the card later in March 2022, which we learned about in late January. There are eight reasons to apply for this card. In no particular order.

125K IHG points + free night welcome bonus

A free night award is included with the welcome bonus on the IHG Premier Card. The card has a reasonable spending requirement that most people should be able to achieve, and this is an excellent bonus.

To me, the 125,000 points are worth $625. The free night award is valid at a property up to 40,000 points, so add on another $200 in value for a total of $825. The certificates on this card will get more valuable as of late March 2022.

Apply before the March 2022 card changes

The changes to the IHG Premier Card are positive.

• The card’s annual fee will be increasing by $10, from $89 to $99
• You’ll start to be able to redeem points to top off a free night certificate; these are capped at 40,000 points, but this means you could book a 50,000 point hotel for a free night certificate plus 10,000 points
• The card will start to offer $50 in United TravelBank Cash each calendar year, after registering your IHG Rewards Premier Card with your United MileagePlus account
• The value proposition of spending on the card will improve, and you’ll be able to spend your way to IHG Rewards’ new top-tier Diamond status

We don't know what the card's bonus will look like when the changes are introduced, but what I do know is that.

• The card’s current bonus is excellent
• The annual fee will be increasing, so you can lock in the lower annual fee the first year by applying now
• The sooner you get the card, the sooner you’ll earn your first anniversary free night certificate, which will be more useful than in the past

Anniversary free night certificate

The anniversary free night certificate is arguably the single best benefit of the IHG Premier Card, which more than makes up for the ongoing annual fee. This certificate can be used to redeem points at an IHG property for up to 40,000 points per night, which covers a vast majority of IHG properties around the world.

I have gotten a lot of value with this free night certificate. For example, I have stayed at the InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut, InterContinental Johannesburg Airport, and Kimpton EPIC Miami with free night certificates, and in each case, a night would have otherwise cost $250+.

Fourth night free on award redemptions

The fourth night free on award redemptions is one of the best perks of the IHG Premier Card. You only have to redeem points for the first three nights if you stay for four consecutive nights.

You can use it to book multiple rooms at the same hotel, and you can even use it at Six Senses properties. If you redeem points for stays in four nights or more, you will get 25% off all your redemptions. This is a great perk.

IHG Rewards Platinum status

You can get IHG rewards Platinum status if you have the premier card, it's valid for as long as you have the card. The following perks are included in IHG rewards Platinum status.

• Room upgrades, subject to availability
• A 50% bonus on base points
• Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability
• A welcome amenity

Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check credit

For some, it will be valuable, and for others, it won't offer much. You can get a statement credit of up to $100 when you use your card for a Global Entry fee, up to once every four years.

The perk could easily get you more value than the annual fee.

I agree with you that the new card doesn't seem worth it, because I have the old one.

You can stack some of the benefits of the two cards if you get the IHG premier card.

• Both cards offer an anniversary free night certificate, so you could earn two of those each year, and use them for back-to-back nights
• The old card offers a 10% refund on redeemed points (up to 100,000 refunded points per year), while the new card offers a fourth night free on award redemptions, and you could stack those benefits; in other words, if you make a four night stay at a hotel costing 70,000 points per night you’d end up paying 210,000 points, and then would get 21,000 points back, for a total cost of 189,000 points, which is over 30% off

Even if you have the old version of the IHG Card, you are eligible for the bonus on the IHG Premier Card. If you have a no annual fee rewards club traveler credit card, you are eligible for the premier card.

Anecdotally easy approval

Chase is one of the more difficult issuers to get a card from. The Chase approval restrictions on the IHG premier card are the same as those on the other cards.

I got instantly approved for a Chase card the last time I applied, but I don't remember the last time I applied for an IHG card.

I know that Chase has different approval requirements for some co-brand cards, depending on the customer base the card is targeting, and it seems like the IHG Card is among the easiest of the travel rewards cards to get approved for.

If you've struggled to get approved for Chase cards, this could be a good card to consider.

Everyone who is eligible should have a hotel credit card, even if they are not an IHG loyalist. I would get the card for the anniversary free night certificate alone, but there are potentially valuable benefits beyond that, including the fourth night free on award redemptions.

The card has a fantastic welcome bonus of up to 125,000 IHG rewards points and a free night certificate, which is great. The card will be getting better as of late March 2022, so you should pick up the card now. For most travelers, the perks of the hotel credit card should outweigh the annual fee.