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IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card Review – Is It Worth It? [2022]

Name: IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card Review – Is It Worth It? [2022]
Item: IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card Review
Rating: 4.5
Author: Jarrod West

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"Earn tons of points when staying at an IHG hotel."

The perfect card for IHG fans, offering a free night every year, automatic Platinum Elite status, and your fourth night free on award stays.

Jarrod West

- UPDATED: September 21, 2022 |

If you regularly visit IHG hotels throughout the year, then the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card is probably a perfect card to have in your wallet.

The IHG Premier card offers a great bundle of perks and benefits, including automatic elite status, an annual free night certificate, and travel protections.

Pros

Up to 26x points per $1 on IHG stays
5x points per $1 on travel, gas stations, and dining
3x points per $1 on all other purchases
Complimentary Platinum Elite status, and the ability to spend your way to Diamond Elite status
Free anniversary night certificate
Fourth-night free on award stays
20% off when buying IHG Rewards points
Up to $50 in United Airlines TravelBank Cash each year
Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS fee credit
Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
Purchase protection
No foreign transaction fees
Earn a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points after spending $20,000 on the card in a calendar year

Cons

$99 annual fee
Does not earn transferable points

IHG Premier Card — Snapshot

Welcome Bonus & Info (Partner Content)
- Earn 140,000 Bonus Points + 1 Free Night after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Enjoy a Reward Night after each account anniversary year at eligible IHG hotels worldwide. Plus, enjoy a reward night when you redeem points for any stay of 3 or more nights
- Earn up to 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier card member
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck^® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
- IHG Rewards bonus points are redeemable at hotels such as InterContinental^®, Crowne Plaza^®, Kimpton^®, EVEN^® Hotels, Indigo^® Hotels & Holiday Inn^®
Card Categories:
- Credit Card Reviews
- Hotel Credit Cards
Customer Service Number
877-424-2449
Login Link
https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/content/us/en/home
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Great Card If

You enjoy staying in IHG-branded hotels
You want IHG Platinum Elite status
You know you’ll get more value out of the card than what you’ll pay for the annual fee

Don't Get If

You’re not a fan of IHG hotels, or don’t travel much
You want a card with no annual fee
You want a card that earns transferable travel points

IHG Premier Card — Fees

Foreign Transaction Fees
$0
Interest Rates
- 18.24% - 25.24% Variable
Late fees
- Up to $40
- Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%
Balance Transfers
- 18.24% - 25.24% Variable
- Fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Cash Advance APR
- 27.24% Variable
- Fee: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.

IHG Premier Card - Is It Worth It?

InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort couple at pool — The IHG Premier card is best suited for those who enjoy visiting IHG hotels. InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort. Image Credit: IHG

If IHG is your hotel chain of choice, and you stay at one of its hotels at least a few times a year, then the IHG Premier card would likely be very worth it for you.

With the IHG Premier card, you won’t just earn more points on all of your IHG stays, you’ll also receive automatic IHG Platinum elite status. This status offers 50% more points, extended checkout and priority check-in, complimentary room upgrades, and a welcome amenity.

While the IHG Premier card charges an annual fee, you can easily offset that thanks to the free night certificate you’ll receive each year. Plus, the card gives you added value on award stays by giving you your fourth night free when you use points for a 4-night stay or longer.

IHG Premier Card Top Benefits

Anniversary Free Night Certificate

The free night certificate, given to cardholders each year on their account anniversary, can easily offset the cost of the $99 annual fee on its own. You can redeem the certificate for a free night at any IHG hotel that costs up to 40,000 points per night.

IHG Rewards no longer publishes an award chart, but rest assured that a 40,000 points hotel in the portfolio can easily cost between $200 to $300 a night depending on the location and season.

Hot Tip: IHG now allows IHG Premier cardholders to add points on top of their free night certificate to book more expensive hotels. For instance, if you want to book a night at a property that costs 60,000 points per night, you could apply your free night certificate, plus 20,000 points, to do just that!

Platinum Elite Status

IHG Rewards Platinum Elite status, earned after 40 qualifying nights or 60,000 qualifying points, comes complimentary to cardholders of the IHG Premier card.

Your new Platinum Elite status comes with the following perks:

60% bonus points earned on IHG stays
Priority check-in and extended checkout
Complimentary room upgrades
Welcome amenity

The 60% bonus jumps your points earned from 10x points per $1 to 16 points per $1 on your IHG stays. Don’t forget, when you use your IHG Premier card to pay for your stay, you’ll earn another 10x points per $1 for a total of 26 IHG Rewards points per $1 on stays. This represents a return of 13% on your IHG stays based on our points and miles valuations.

As if that’s not enough, you’ll also receive complimentary room upgrades, a welcome amenity during check-in, and extended checkout times. So if you stay at IHG hotels with any sort of regularity, you should be able to get plenty of value out of your IHG Platinum Elite status.

Further, those who are big spenders will have the ability to spend their way to top-tier Diamond Elite status by spending $40,000 on the card in a calendar year.

Fourth Night Free on Award Stays

Once you’ve racked up a large balance of IHG Rewards points, your IHG Premier card will help you stretch those points even further by giving you your fourth night free on all award stays. Keep in mind that this benefit only applies to award stays and not paid stays.

Best Ways To Earn and Redeem Your IHG Rewards Points

The best way to rack up IHG Rewards points is by staying at IHG hotels and paying with your IHG Premier card. Six Senses Koh Yao Noi Hotel. Image Credit: IHG

If you want to earn lots of IHG Rewards points, you have far more options than simply using the IHG Premier card for your purchases. Read through our dedicated guide to the best ways to earn lots of IHG Rewards points for all of your options.

When you’re ready to redeem your points, you might find yourself a bit overwhelmed with all of the options. While you could just redeem your points at any hotel that seems convenient, you should read our guide to the best ways to redeem your IHG Rewards points if you want to get the maximum value out of your points.

Alternative Cards to the IHG Premier Card

The World of Hyatt Credit Card

If you’re not a fan of the IHG Rewards program or are more agnostic when it comes to hotel loyalty programs, then you should consider the World of Hyatt card.

Many people love the World of Hyatt program due to its great elite benefits and reasonable redemptions. Similar to the IHG Premier card, the World of Hyatt card offers a free night each year, great earnings on Hyatt stays, and automatic elite status.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

If you prefer the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, then you should consider the Marriott Boundless card.

The Marriott Boundless card offers automatic Silver Elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy program, an annual free night certificate, and 15 Elite Night credits each year to help you reach higher levels of elite status.

Featured Image Credit: Chase

Frequently asked questions

What is the annual fee on the IHG Premier card?

The annual fee is $99.

Is the IHG Premier card worth it?

If you visit IHG hotels at least a few times a year and would get value out of IHG elite status and the annual free night certificate, then yes, the IHG Premier card would likely be worth it for you.

Do IHG Rewards points expire?

Your IHG Rewards points will expire after 12 months of no account activity. To keep them alive, you just need a qualifying activity such as earning or redeeming points.

Is the IHG Premier card metal?

No, the card is plastic, not metal.

Is the IHG Premier card subject to the Chase 5/24 rule?

Yes, the card is subject to the Chase 5/24 rule. So if you’ve opened up 5 or more new credit card accounts within the last 24 months, it is very unlikely that you’ll be approved for the card.

Does the IHG Premier card charge foreign transaction fees?

The card is a $0 foreign transaction fee card. So the card can be used anywhere in the world that accepts Mastercard with no additional fee.

About Jarrod West

Jarrod has been writing about the ins and outs of credit cards and loyalty programs, along with airlines and hotels, for over 6 years. He is regularly called upon to share his expertise on the latest news within the space, and has been featured in publications such as Matador Network, The New York Times, RetailMeNot, and Yahoo! Finance. Jarrod has over 20 credit cards in his wallet and has tested out dozens more in order to vet the very best card options for readers. As he is constantly sampling new cards, Jarrod also earns (and redeems) over 1 million points and miles each year. This allows him to book luxury travel experiences the world over, and save tens of thousands of dollars in the process.

Jonathan January 19, 2021
The IHG Premier card was metal, but much like other things that IHG devalues, the new ones are plastic.
Stan April 26, 2022
Forgive me if I missed this in the review, but no one is talking about the slow, yet steady, degradation of the perks for this card.
The card has always given Platinum Elite status, however, Platinum used to be the top tier. Soon after I got this card, IHG introduced Spire Elite. Understandably so, as anyone with the card would have top-tier status.
Now we have Diamond replacing Spire but the tier requirements have drastically increased. Spire required 75k points or 75 nights (pre-covid days, 55k & 55 night during) Now Diamond requires 120k points or 70 nights.
This Premier card has always counted points toward earning the tiers. However, now they do not. This was a major reason I have the card and paid the fee for years. Let’s not forget the fee increased from $89 to $99 annually. I just came back from a vacation. Over 40,000 points were earned on this card and not a single one counted toward my qualifying points. With the increase from 75k to 120k points needed to stay Diamond, it will be extremely difficult to reach it now.
Chase and IHG blame each other and neither can explain the reason this changed. However they spin it, it was never stated anywhere in the hype or the fine print I was sent. I basically wasted a month of card use. They have lost a customer over this.
TL:DR
Points earned on this card are no longer elite qualifying points and will not count toward status.
- Katie Seemann April 26, 2022
  Hi Stan,
  I feel your pain about the credit card points not counting toward elite status. I have been back and forth with IHG about this the last few days. I have 26k in points from a stay that are not counting toward status. The one thing I will suggest is contacting IHG to see if you can get them to make an exception. The dates that the new credit card fine print kicked in isn’t totally clear so you could possibly get them to make an exception since the rollout of that policy has been less than perfect. Let us know how it turns out.

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