Is The IHG Premier Business Credit Card Worth It? Reasons To Apply…

Link: Apply for the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

Chase and IHG have a co-brand credit card portfolio, comprised of three cards. This includes the $99 annual fee IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, which is the only business card in the collection.

While I’ve written a detailed review of the card, in this post I want to share some reasons you should consider applying, assuming you’re not yet a cardmember. In no particular order…

Limited time welcome bonus of 200K points

For applications through April 30, 2025, the IHG Premier Business Card is offering a two-part welcome bonus that can earn you up to 200,000 IHG One Rewards points. It’s structured as follows:

• Earn 140,000 points after spending $4,000 within the first three months
• Earn an additional 60,000 points after spending a total of $9,000 within the first six months

I value IHG One Rewards points at 0.5 cents each, so to me, the bonus is worth $1,000. As a point of comparison, previously the card’s bonus offered up to 140,000 points.

When it comes to card eligibility, you can pick up this card, including earning the bonus, even if you have the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (review).

Annual free night, worth up to 40K points

Arguably the single biggest ongoing perk of the IHG Premier Business Card is that it offers an anniversary free night award. This certificate can be redeemed at an IHG property retailing for up to 40,000 points per night, which covers a vast majority of IHG properties around the world.

You can also use points to top off a free night certificate, in order to redeem at a more expensive property. For example, you could book a hotel costing 60,000 points per night by redeeming the free night certificate plus 20,000 IHG points. I’ve consistently gotten outsized value with this free night award.

Fourth night free on award redemptions

The other best perk of the IHG Premier Business Card is that it offers a fourth night free on award redemptions. If you stay for four consecutive nights on an award redemption, then you only have to redeem points for the first three nights.

This is an awesome perk, since it can be used an unlimited number of times (you can even use it to book multiple rooms at the same hotel, and you can even use it at Six Senses properties). If you usually redeem points for stays in increments of four nights, this is like getting 25% off all your redemptions.

IHG One Rewards Platinum status

Just for having the IHG Premier Business Card, you get IHG One Rewards Platinum status, which is valid for as long as you have the card. IHG Platinum status includes the following perks:

• Room upgrades, subject to availability (including potentially to suites)
• A 60% bonus on base points
• Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability
• A welcome amenity
• Access to award night sales throughout the year
• The ability to earn Milestone Rewards, which could get you club lounge access, confirmed suite upgrades, and more

$50 in United TravelBank Cash each year

The IHG Premier Business Card offers up to $50 in United TravelBank Cash each calendar year:

• Each calendar year you receive one $25 United TravelBank Cash deposit around January 1, and another around July 1
• Deposits made between January 1 and June 30 expire on July 15, and deposits made between July 1 and December 31 expire on January 15
• You must complete one-time registration to receive this benefit

If you fly United with any frequency, then this is like $50 worth of travel on United per year.

Up to 10x points and threshold rewards bonuses

The IHG Premier Business Card actually has a pretty compelling rewards structure. The card offers the following, all with no foreign transaction fees:

• 10x points on IHG spending
• 5x points on travel and hotels
• 5x points on gas stations
• 5x points on dining
• 5x points on social media and search engine advertising, and office supply stores
• 3x points on all other purchases

That’s not bad, but also not industry leading. What potentially tips the scale with making spending on the card lucrative is the additional threshold bonuses:

• If you spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year, you’ll receive a $100 statement credit plus 10,000 bonus points
• If you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year, you can earn IHG Diamond status, which offers lots of valuable perks, like complimentary breakfast, room upgrades (including suites), 100% bonus points, access to the Milestone Rewards program, and much more
• If you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year, you can earn a second anniversary free night award

For an IHG loyalist, an argument could certainly be made for spending money on the card.

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit

For some, this will be valuable, and for others, it won’t offer much value. The IHG Premier Business Card offers a statement credit when you use your card for a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS enrollment fee, up to once every four years. This is a nice perk that could easily get you more value than the annual fee.

Is the IHG Premier Business Card worth it?

I’m impressed by the IHG Premier Business Card, and it’s a card that I have on my radar for my next credit card application cycle. This card is mighty similar to the IHG Premier Card, which is awesome, since you can have both cards.

On the most basic level, if you already have the personal version of the card, then it’s worth picking up the business version of the card so you can receive an extra annual free night certificate. Most cardholders surely find the card to be worth holding onto for that reason alone. These offer lots of flexibility, especially since you can top them off with points, to redeem at a more expensive property.

Admittedly if you have both the personal and business version of the card then there’s quite a bit of overlap, as both cards offer IHG Platinum status, a fourth night free on award redemptions, and more.

Meanwhile if you don’t have either card, then I think the value proposition of either product speaks for itself. There aren’t many cards with such reasonable annual fees that offer so much value.

Bottom line

The IHG Premier Business Card is offering an excellent bonus of up to 200,000 IHG points upon completing minimum spending. The product is very similar to the personal version of the card, the IHG Premier Card, and I’d consider that to be a good thing.

I think the card is worth holding onto for the anniversary free night award alone, and everything else is just the icing on the cake. Given the bonus categories and spending threshold bonuses, I could also potentially see it being worthwhile to spend money on this card, assuming you value IHG Diamond status.

What do you make of the IHG Premier Business Card?