Overview of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card offers many benefits to IHG frequent travelers. With an annual fee of $99, however, you may not get enough ongoing value from this card if IHG One Rewards isn’t your primary hotel loyalty program. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
*Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card offers many benefits to frequent travelers with IHG. For example, you will receive automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you are a cardholder. The card also offers a unique fourth night free award benefit that allows cardholders to pay zero points every fourth night when they earn points for an award stay of four nights or more.
With solid returns on IHG spending and plenty of rewards, IHG One Rewards loyalists will benefit from this card. Even travelers who only stay with IHG a few times a year can get enough value from the IHG Premier Card.
One benefit alone — a free anniversary night each year, valid for a night worth 40,000 points — could easily provide enough value to justify paying IHG’s Premier annual fee each year. Premier card members can also redeem their award nights with points, which allow you to use the certificate to stay at high-end hotels like Six Sense Laamu in the Maldives.
Note that the recommended credit score for this card is at least 670. Now, let’s take a look at whether the IHG Premier Card is a good choice for you.
IHG One Rewards Premier for the good and the bad
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IHG One Rewards Premier offer is welcome
New IHG One Premier Card holders can earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first three months of account opening.
TPG rates for January 2025 pegged IHG points at 0.5 cents each, making the bonus $700.
Note that you will not be eligible for this card (or its bonus) if you currently have any IHG personal credit card or received a welcome bonus on another IHG personal credit card within the last 24 months.
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However, this rule does not apply to holding the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card or bonuses earned on that card.
Related: Best time to apply for these popular Chase credit cards based on offer history
Premier benefits of IHG One Rewards
The IHG One Premier Card carries an annual fee of $99. However, the actual value of the card depends on whether you will use the benefits often enough to justify that annual fee. Here is a summary of the main card benefits associated with IHG:
Free anniversary night: Cardholders receive an award night certificate valid for a one-night hotel stay at a property worth 40,000 points. This benefit becomes annual, starting from the first year of the account. Although IHG uses variable award rates, finding an attractive redemption option for your certificate is not difficult. For example, I used free gift certificates for anniversary stays at InterContinental Buenos Aires, InterContinental Madrid and Kimpton De Witt.
Note that you can use an unlimited number of points to top up this certificate and use it for higher priced properties. For example, you can book a room worth 55,000 points using a free night and 15,000 points in your IHG One Rewards account.
IHG Platinum Elite complimentary status: IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite members enjoy 60% bonuses on paid stays when booking directly through IHG One Rewards, room upgrades based on availability upon check-in, entertainment area and several other benefits. There’s also a path to Diamond Elite status after spending $40,000 on the card in a calendar year.
Free fourth night prize: If you use points to stay four or more nights, you will pay zero points for every fourth night. If you can get four consecutive award nights at a destination of your choice, this can be a great way to stretch your points further. Of course, the value of this benefit depends on how often you use IHG points for stays of four nights or more.
10,000 bonus points after spending $20,000: You’ll earn 10,000 bonus points and a $100 statement credit after spending $20,000 in a calendar year. Based on TPG estimates for January 2025, these bonus points are worth $50; combined with the statement credit, this bonus can be worth up to $150. However, imagine you’ll actually spend $20,000 on your card during your anniversary year — especially if you can put those purchases on an everyday spending card with a better earning rate.
20% off when you buy IHG points: Save 20% on your IHG points purchases when you pay with your IHG Premier Card. However, this discount does not stack with other discounts when IHG places points on sale. Note that these points are considered non-qualifying and will not count towards higher qualifications, so the value will be small for many cardholders.
Additionally, IHG Premier cardholders enjoy the following benefits when using their cards:
These benefits can be a critical factor when choosing a new credit card. However, as discussed in the next section, you won’t get a higher rate of return on multiple purchases with the IHG Premier Card.
Related: Last-minute strategies for achieving IHG One Rewards elite status
Earn points for Premier IHG One Rewards
Hotel credit cards tend to be weak in terms of earnings, but this card’s earning rate at IHG hotels is very strong.
You’ll earn 10 points for every dollar spent at IHG hotels and resorts. Plus, if you combine the 10 points per dollar spent using your card with the points you’ll earn as an IHG Platinum Elite, you’ll earn 26 points per dollar spent at most IHG properties.
In addition, card members earn 5 points per dollar spent on travel, dining (including eligible pickup and delivery) and gas purchases, and 3 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. This is a decent return for these bonus categories but is easily beaten by many other cards.
Related: 7 ways to earn IHG One Rewards points
Redeem points for IHG One Rewards Premier
IHG One Rewards does not have an award chart. Instead, it uses dynamic reward values. The IHG website says a night starts at 10,000 points, although we’ve seen nights priced as low as 5,000 points.
And although there is no specified quantity, the highest I have seen is 120,000 points per night (except for the Six Senses, which usually cost more).
But, even with IHG’s dynamic pricing, it’s still possible to maximize your IHG One Rewards payout. And, with a little searching, you can redeem IHG One Rewards points for as little as 0.5 cents per point.
You can also combine points and cash with your rewards stays. In some cases, this may provide good value. When you book this way, IHG sells the extra points and debits your account with the full number of points.
It’s also worth mentioning the free fourth night IHG Premier award. TPG credit card planner Emily Thompson uses this opportunity as often as possible to maximize her IHG One Rewards points.
Finally, some travelers believe that IHG’s blackout policy makes it one of the hotel’s weakest nightly award programs. The terms and conditions of the IHG One Rewards program note the following:
There are no blackout dates for Reward Nights, however, room inventory is limited and subject to pre-sale.
Therefore, while there are no blackout dates per session, hotels can limit the number of rooms they make available for award bookings.
One TPG reader recommended IHG One Rewards Premier because they enjoy staying with IHG hotels, getting value on a cobranded card with the program of their choice:
“IHG Premier because I like to type [sic] of the hotels they offer (rooms with kitchens) and I stay in hotels more than I fly.” – Donna P for TPG news poll
Note: Feedback submitted by readers has not been edited, reviewed or approved by the issuers and does not reflect TPG’s views on these cards.
Transfer points to Premier IHG One Rewards
IHG One has about 40 transfer partners, but we don’t recommend using your points this way. Points are transferred at about a 5:1 ratio, which is on the lower side. Also, transfers from IHG are known to take a long time.
You can also transfer your points to other IHG One Rewards members, starting at $5 per 1,000 points. However, this transfer is free for Diamond Rewards Program members with IHG up to 500,000 points per calendar year.
Related: Now you can transfer IHG points to others for free: Here’s how
Which cards compete with IHG One Rewards Premier?
If you are loyal to IHG, a card from another hotel brand may not be worth your consideration. However, another card may better suit your needs.
For more options, check out our full list of the best hotel credit cards.
Related: The best credit card for IHG stays
Is IHG Premier One Rewards worth it?
If you’re an IHG loyalist, you’ll easily find enough benefits from this card to justify the $99 annual fee. The anniversary night alone can pay for the annual fee. However, those who stay only occasionally at IHG properties will likely choose a card with unique benefits.
Bottom line
If you’re an IHG loyal traveler who wants to take full advantage of IHG One Rewards, having the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card makes sense.
After all, the card offers benefits like automatic Platinum Elite status, a free fourth night reward on award stays of four nights or more and a huge bonus multiplier for IHG stays. However, some may find that this does not go with their spending habits.
Apply here: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
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