Review: IHG Rewards Credit Card 2017

The IHG Rewards Credit Card probably doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves but that shouldn’t stop you from applying. As you’ll see, it comes with a solid sign-up bonus, a great free night anniversary perk, and a very low annual fee that make this card worth holding onto. Here’s a review of the IHG Rewards Credit Card.

• 60,000 sign-up bonus after only $1,000 in spend (not the highest offer)
• 5,000 bonus points when you add your first authorized user and make your first purchase in the first three months from account opening
• Automatic Platinum Elite status
• $49 annual (that’s waived the first year)
• Free anniversary night that’s good for any IHG property
• 5X per $1 spent at IHG properties
• 2X per $1 spent at gas stations, grocery stores & restaurants
• Automatic 10% point rebate on redemptions
• No foreign transaction fees
• NOT affected by Chase 5/24

Signup bonus

• 60,000 sign-up bonus after only $1,000 in spend

Many value IHG points around .7 cents per point, so the standard sign-up bonus value could be put around $420. However, many applicants have success with getting matched to the higher 80,000 offer (that often requires $2,000 in spend). This is usually done by sending a “secured message” to Chase requesting to be matched to a better offer but there are also other creative ways to find an 80,000 offer. If you earned the higher 80,000 offer that’s easily $560+ worth of IHG travel.

And finally, there have been targeted offers going our for 100,000 points. Many of these offers are broken up so that you have to spend $2,000 for 80,000 points and then another $6,000 for 20,000 additional points. I’m not big on spending $6,000 for 20,000 IHG points, but I’d definitely go for 80,000 points for $2,000 spend.

And don’t forget you can tack on an additional 5,000 IHG points for adding an authorized user.

Platinum Elite status 

Platinum Elite status is the mid-tier status for IHG and will offer you the following benefits:

• Free Internet Access
• Priority Check-In
• 50% Bonus Earnings on Top of Base Points
• Elite Rollover Nights (if you go over the minimum of nights required for Platinum or Spire elite status, those nights can count toward the next year but will expire after that year)
• Complimentary Room Upgrades (not known for giving the best upgrades)
• Platinum Elite and Spire Elite members are guaranteed one guest room for personal use for reservations made at least 72 hours prior to the date of arrival (exceptions apply)

IHG Platinum status might be the easiest mid-tier status to earn and because of that I believe it’s been a little devalued and doesn’t offer a lot. Unlike Hilton or Marriott mid-tier, there’s no breakfast perk or even lounge access. The 50% bonus on base earnings is really nice but there’s not much else.

IHG doesn’t have a great reputation for offering upgrades for Platinum Elites and it usually just means a nicer room. You can tell this by checking out the terms and conditions, which read:

Platinum Elite and Spire Elite members will be offered a complimentary upgrade, as determined by the hotel, which might include rooms on higher floors, corner rooms, newly renovated rooms, or rooms with preferred views. The upgrade will be offered at time of check-in, based on availability, and will only apply to the member’s personal guest room. The hotel is not required to upgrade members to suites or specialty rooms. Upgrade benefits will not apply to rooms booked as a Reward Night reservation.

It’s a bummer that upgrade benefits don’t officially apply to rooms booked as reward nights, but that doesn’t mean they don’t happen. For example, in Japan at the InterContinental Tokyo Bay, I was upgraded to a Deluxe Corner Room from a standard room on an award stay.

What’s nice about the Platinum status is that you can use it to help you make your way to top-tier Diamond status with Hilton Honors. Read about how I did that here.

Annual fee

This card comes with a low annual fee of $49 and it’s usually waived the first year. This is one of the lowest annual fees for any hotel card from a major chain, so that’s a big plus for the card.

Free anniversary night

If there’s only one perk that makes this card worthwhile then this is it.

There’s no restriction for redeeming your free night certificates for certain categories so this is one the most valuable free night certificates available, especially since it only requires a $49 annual fee. All you need to find is standard award availability and you can book a free night.

This presents with you many opportunities to come out way on top. For example you could stay at a hotel like the InterContinental Bora Bora, where rates can approach $1,000 a night!

The free night will be available for redemption on your account renewal anniversary date (after you pay your annual fee) and is valid at any of the hotels in the IHG Rewards Club Family of Brands but must be redeemed (and the stay must be completed) within 12 months from date of issue.

Also, it’s a great card for each partner in a relationship to get their hands on (preferably around the same time), since you can then cash out big time on a two night trip while only paying $98 a year.

Bonus categories 

• 5X per $1 spent at IHG properties
• 2X per $1 spent at gas stations, grocery stores & restaurants

These bonus categories are pretty standard for a hotel card. If I were in need of IHG points, the 2X at gas stations and grocery stores might be tempting but given the value of IHG points, I wouldn’t put my spend on those categories just for the sake of earning IHG points.

These earnings would stack on top of what you would earn from staying at IHG properties. For example, you would earn 10 IHG Rewards Club base points per eligible $1 USD spent at most IHG properties including:

• Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts
• Hotel Indigo
• Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts
• Holiday Inn Express hotels
• InterContinental Hotels & Resorts

So as a Platinum Elite member, if you spent $100 with this card on an eligible IHG property you would earn:

• 1,000 base points
• 500 bonus points via elite status
• 500 bonus points vis credit card spend

And you can’t forget that you’ll get an automatic 10% point rebate on redemptions, so in effect, you’re earning 10% more. So $100 would earn you 2,000 IHG points which factoring in the rebate would come out to 2,200. At .07 cents per point, that’s a 15.4% return which isn’t too bad.

However, if you had used a card like the Sapphire Reserve, you’d net more value using it on IHG hotel stays. For example, the $100 stay would net you 300 Ultimate Rewards. At 2 cents per point, that’s 6%. If you add that to the 1,500 IHG points (base points + elite bonus points) and factor in the rebate to those points (150), that comes out to 11.5%.

So in total, with the Sapphire Reserve, you’d net about a 17% return versus the roughly 15% return with the IHG Rewards Credit Card. Just something to think about.

No foreign transaction fees

Pretty standard for hotel rewards cards to do away with these now.

Not affected by 5/24 

One of the biggest features of the IHG card is that it is NOT affected by Chase 5/24 rule. This makes it a lot easier to seek approval for this credit card and makes it more appealing in my opinion.

Final word 

Overall, the IHG Rewards Credit Card is a solid hotel card. What it lacks in elite status perks offered, it makes up for with a valuable free anniversary night, solid sign-up bonus, and low annual fee. I think this card is a keeper that should earn a permanent place in many wallets.