Is the IHG hotel credit card worth it?

If you regularly stay at IHG hotels, then having one of their credit cards can be a smart, strategic move. Even better, the personal IHG cards currently have elevated sign-up bonuses, which makes this a particularly good moment to look at them.

There are a few options, but one card clearly stands out for most people:

• IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card ($0 annual fee): Earn up to 120k Bonus Points:

  • Earn 90,000 Bonus Points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening and up to 30,000 more points by earning 3 additional points in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that earn 2x and 3x on up to $10,000 spent

• IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card ($99 annual fee): Earn 175,000 Bonus Points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

• IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card ($99 annual fee): Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

The headline perk of the Premier card is the free anniversary night each year (worth up to 40,000 points). Getting a free night annually from a $99 card is compelling on its own, but the card also includes:

• Get a 4th night free when you redeem points for 3 nights

• Points earning

  • Up to 26x points on IHG stays

  • 5x points on travel, gas, and restaurants

  • 3x points on all other purchases

• Automatic Platinum Elite status, and ability to spend your way to Diamond Elite status

• Up to $50 in United Airlines TravelBank Cash each year

• Fee credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS

• No foreign transaction fees

  
  

Learn more about the IHG Premier card here. See the bottom of this post for a complete list of IHG brands, including InterContinental, Six Senses, Kimpton, and Hotel Indigo.

If after 12 months of having the card you don't wish to keep it, you could choose to downgrade to the $0 annual fee Traveler credit card.

IHG brands include: