The launch of the IHG rewards business card is scheduled to take place today. We haven't seen a live link yet, but we're told that the IHG Traveler card will have a welcome bonus of 120K points after $2K in qualified purchases in the first 3 months. When the offers are available, we will post an update.
The changes to the credit card lineup are exciting.
The ability to top up free night certificates with points to book more expensive properties is one of the best developments that could interest people who stay at IHG properties.
The changes will take effect on March 24, 2022. This is a look at everything that is new or changing.
There is an earning structure for the IHG Premier credit card.
The card is a good option when paying for IHG, but nothing else. The bonused spend categories will get more interesting on March 24.
They are increasing the 2x categories to earn 5x and adding travel as an eligible category. They are removing grocery stores from earning 5x which is a shame because at 5x that might make sense for some people, especially considering some of the other spending bonuses on offer.
It's a huge improvement from 1x to earning 3x everywhere else. I wouldn't want to put regular spend on my I hg premier card, but it makes sense for people who would do that.
Each year on your card anniversary, you will receive a free night certificate. Those certificates can be used at properties that cost up to 40,000 points per night.
From March 24 you will be able to top up I hg premier certificates with points to book a property costing more than 40,000 points. That is a fantastic development which is similar to Marriott's upcoming change, but it is even better than Marriott's setup.
Marriott will only allow you to top up with up to 15,000 points. You can redeem 35,000 point certificates at Marriott properties for up to 50,000 points, but only if you co-pay with the required number of additional points.
The $50 in United TravelBank cash will be given each year to the Ihg premier cardholders. I'm not sure if linking your card will add $50 to your TravelBank or if you'll need to purchase $50 of TravelBank Cash for which you'll receive a $50 statement credit.
The card comes with a free night certificate and the annual fee is only $89, so it's a great additional benefit.
The United Club Infinite card comes with a $75 statement credit for stays at IHG properties. The United Club Infinite annual fee is $525 instead of $89, which is interesting since it is a benefit for United on an IHG card. I am curious if this partnership will be further developed given Marriott's existing relationship with United or if these card-related benefits are coming about more on Chase's initiative.
The new benefits make it possible to put more money on your card.
The terms of this benefit are a bit strange.
Cardmembers will now earn both 10,000 bonus points and a $100 statement credit after spending $20,000 on purchases and making one additional purchase each calendar year, starting in 2022.
I'm not sure why you would need to make another purchase if you already have $20,000 on the card.
When you spend $20,000 and get a $100 statement credit, you will earn a 0.5% cashback and an effective 0.5x IHG rewards bonus points per dollar.
Platinum status is automatically given to the IHG premier card. After spending $40,000 in a calendar year along with one additional purchase, you'll be able to earn Diamond Elite status if these changes come into play on March 24.
The value of this benefit remains to be seen as Diamond status is a new tier in the IHG rewards program and they have not yet released details of what benefits you can expect to receive at that level. The ability to spend your way to this status makes me hopeful that it will have some benefits.
Every 4th night free on award stays can provide some excellent savings based on the way that it is calculated. The benefit will remain on the card.
It shouldn't be a surprise that the annual fee on the premier credit card will be increasing.
It is not bad news. The change won't take effect until 2023. The fee will only be increasing by $10, from 89 to 99. Even if you only valued the $50 of United TravelBank Cash at 20%, that benefit pays for the increase and so I will have no problem renewing the card for myself and my wife.
The IHG rewards club traveler card will have improvements to its spending categories. Here is what they are currently.
The spending categories will be changed from March 24 to March 24.
It's good to see an improvement in the card's earning structure, but it's not enough to make it worth spending money on.
If you spend $10,000 on the Traveler card, you'll get the Gold status in the IHG rewards program.
The card will have automatic Silver status on March 24. Silver status benefits haven't been announced yet. If there is no point activity on your account, holding Silver status will mean your points won't expire.
The spending requirement on the IHG Traveler card will be doubled from $10,000 to $20,000 with an additional purchase required after hitting that $20k spend.
It remains to be seen if the increased spend requirement is justified. The new Gold status looks like it will be different from the existing Gold status, so perhaps there will be something about the new version of the status that will warrant spending that much. You can get automatic Platinum status with the IHG premier card, so it's doubtful.
When they spend $10,000, they will get 10,000 bonus points. Spending on the card is still not a great option.
The IHG Traveler card offers every 4th night free on award stays which can provide some excellent savings based on the way that it is calculated. The benefit will remain on the card.
Chase is also issuing a brand new IHG premier business card in addition to the changes on the personal IHG cards.
The earning and benefits structure of the business card will be the same as that of the personal card.
The business card will offer 5x on social media and search engine advertising spend as well as at office supply stores, but the bonused spend categories are similar to the personal premier card.
The bonused spend categories could make the high spend bonuses more attractive for some people. If you earn 100 and 10,000 bonus points after spending $20,000, it's a good idea to spend your way to Diamond Elite status.
If you spend an additional $20,000 to get a second free night certificate, you might be able to earn Diamond status if you spend $40,000 on the card. If you stay at a property that costs 40,000 points or more, you will be earning an additional 2x points per dollar on the additional $20,000 spend. The final $20,000 of spend would make this an effective 7x card in many categories, and it's certainly not going to be for everyone, but for people who can generate high spend and enjoy staying at IHG properties it could make sense.
It has been many years since IHG had a business credit card. After March 24, 2022, businesses that have continued renewing their cards will be charged a yearly fee, as they will be converted to the new I hg premier business card.
Many readers still have the old IHG Select credit card which has a free anniversary certificate and 10% points bonus on award stays.
This card won't be seeing any changes on March 24, nor will it be forced to change to the IHG Traveler or IHG Premier card at this point in time. The free night certificate from this card won't be able to be topped up for more expensive award nights.
There are some positive changes to the IHG credit card lineup. If the soon-to-be updated IHG rewards program ends up being as good as I hope, having a whole host of new benefits and bonused spend categories along with a new business card opens up some interesting possibilities.
The program changes are due to come into effect in March of 2022, but no official date has been given. I believe that the other IHG rewards changes will take effect on the same day as the credit card changes, although that is still to be confirmed.
The annual fee on the IHG Premier card is more than made up for by the $50 in United TravelBank cash that you will get each year. The ability to top up free night certificates with points is an even better enhancement.
I have long said that IHG rewards can be a great program if you redeem for award nights, but not for loyalty. They will be a great program on both fronts.
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