How To Find a 140k (Or Even 150k) Bonus Offer for the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card [2024]

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is a must-have for IHG loyalists and even those who stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts a handful of nights a year. This is due to all of the great benefits packed into the card and how rewarding the card is when used at IHG hotels.

If you’re not sure if the IHG Premier card is a good fit for your travel needs or you’d like to learn strategies for finding the best bonus possible, you’ve come to the right place.

Benefits of the IHG Premier Card

Before discussing your options for finding the best bonus offer possible on the IHG Premier card, let’s break down the top benefits of the card to see if it makes sense for your travel needs.

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

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

Apply Now(at Chase's secure site)

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

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

Welcome Offer

Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

140,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$700

Annual Fee

$99

APR

20.74% - 27.74% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

If you regularly visit IHG hotels throughout the year, then the IHG One 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 Platinum elite status, an annual free night certificate, and travel protections.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Up to 26x points per $1 on IHG stays
• 5x points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants
• 3x points per $1 on all other purchases

Cons

• $99 annual fee
• Does not earn transferable points

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Card Highlights

• Earn 140,000 Bonus Points
• Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG^® hotel stay.
• Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts
• Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier cardmember
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck^® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 ($120 starting 10/1/24) every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
• IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental^®, Crowne Plaza^®, Kimpton^®, EVEN^® Hotels, Indigo^® Hotels & Holiday Inn^®
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 20.74% - 27.74% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Key Benefits

• Free Anniversary Night: Each year, on your account anniversary, you’ll receive a free night certificate that can be used at any IHG hotel that costs up to 40,000 points per night. And now, you can combine additional points with your certificate to “top it off” if you’d like to stay at a more expensive property.
• Fourth Night Free: IHG Premier cardholders get their fourth night free on all award stays.
• IHG Platinum Elite Status: IHG Platinum Elite status includes benefits like complimentary room upgrades, 60% bonus points, and late check-out.
• 20% Discount on Purchased Points: Save 20% when you purchase IHG One Rewards points with your IHG Premier card.
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or Nexus Credit: $120 credit every 4 years as a reimbursement for the application fee, as of October 1, 2024.
• Purchase Protection: Purchases made with the card are covered for up to 120 days against damage or theft, up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance: If your trip is canceled or cut short due to a covered issue (like severe weather or an illness), you’re eligible for up to $5,000 of coverage for prepaid, nonrefundable travel expenses.
• Baggage Delay Insurance: If your checked baggage is delayed more than 6 hours, you’ll receive $100 in reimbursements for essential items per day for up to 3 days.

How To Find the 140,000 (or Even 150,000) Bonus Offer

Part of the game of credit card rewards is to always try to get the best bonus offer possible when applying for a new credit card. With that said, what are the best ways to track down the best offer possible on the IHG Premier card?

Increased Public Welcome Offer – Easiest Way

Occasionally, banks run limited-time increased bonus offers on their credit cards — making it so you don’t have to do much work to track down the best offer.

Here’s the current welcome offer for the IHG Premier card:

• Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

If the current offer is 140,000 or more, look no further. However, the elevated welcome offer is usually only around for a limited time, so if the card isn’t offering an increased public welcome offer, there are still other ways to find an elevated offer.

Hot Tip: Check out our guide on the best ways to redeem IHG One Rewards points for maximum value!

CardMatch

If you’re not already familiar, CardMatch is a free tool that allows users to check for targeted bonus offers from all CreditCard.com partners. What does this mean? Large U.S. credit card issuers, like Chase and American Express, publish these targeted offers to CardMatch who then reveals targeted offers to select users that use the CardMatch tool.

CardMatch doesn’t just offer the opportunity to check for targeted bonus offers — users can also check to see if they’re pre-approved for a card. That said, you should know that being pre-approved for a card does not guarantee you’ll be approved should you choose to submit an application — just that the odds of your approval are increased.

Either way, to check for targeted bonus offers or pre-approvals on CardMatch, you’ll need to provide the following details:

• Full name
• Address
• Last 4 digits of your Social Security number

If you’re concerned about providing these personal details, you might feel better knowing that the entire website is a PCI Level 1 Compliant organization — the same level of security offered by a bank.

All in all, we think it makes a lot of sense to periodically check CardMatch for targeted offers because the service is free, secure, and does not perform a hard pull on your credit report.

Targeted Mailings From Chase

If you haven’t already, you should strongly consider opting into targeted mailings from Chase. Why? Because Chase will occasionally send out increased bonus offers that can be better than publicly available offers — but they’re only able to send them to you if you opt-in first.

To do so, simply go log into your Chase account, click Profile, then Settings. Once you’re on the Settings page you’ll want to click Marketing Preferences, and then click Yes to receive special offers from Chase.

Reasons You May Not Access a Higher Welcome Offer

Chase’s 5/24 Rule

Like most Chase credit cards, the IHG Premier card is subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule. Due to this rule, if you’ve opened more than 5 new credit cards in the last 24 months, you will likely be denied for the IHG Premier card.

You should know that the Chase 5/24 rule predominately applies to new personal credit cards, so most business credit cards, auto loans, or installment loans are not counted toward your 5/24 total.

You’ve Opted Out of Marketing Offers

Put simply, if you don’t opt-in to receiving marketing offers, Chase is prohibited from sending them to you. As we outlined above, opting-in to marketing offers with Chase is incredibly easy to do, so don’t let this be the reason that you don’t get targeted for an increased bonus offer.

Low Credit Score

This should come as no surprise, but if you currently have a low credit score, you are unlikely to be approved for the IHG Premier card.

Instead, you should opt to focus on ways that you can improve your credit score before considering applying for travel rewards credit cards.

Final Thoughts

All things considered, the IHG Premier card is a fantastic hotel rewards card thanks to benefits like an annual free night certificate, fourth night free on award stays, and complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status.

So, if you feel that the card is a great fit for your travel patterns and goals, make sure to exercise all of your options to get the highest bonus offer you possibly can — because more points equals more travel!