IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card Review: Easily Worth The $150 Annual Fee

The New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is the $150 annual fee personal card in the Chase and IHG co-branded credit card portfolio. That puts the card between The New IHG One Rewards Credit Card (learn more), which has no annual fee, and The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card (learn more), which has a $350 annual fee.

So this post is my in-depth IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card review, reflecting the recent card changes we saw. What perks does this card offer, do they justify the annual fee, and is this the best option compared to the other products in the portfolio? Long story short, I think the IHG Premier Card is really easy to justify, though I still think many people may prefer the more premium IHG Premier Select Card.

Link: Learn more about The New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

IHG One Rewards Premier Card summary & key details

Before I get into my IHG One Rewards Premier Card review, let me briefly summarize the key details of the card:

• IHG One Rewards Premier Card annual fee: $150
• IHG One Rewards Premier Card welcome offer: Limited time offer of 180K IHG One Rewards bonus points after spending $3,000 within the first three months
• IHG One Rewards Premier Card rewards: 10x points on IHG spending, 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines, rental cars, dining, grocery stores, and gas, and 3x points on all other purchases
• IHG One Rewards Premier Card elite status: IHG One Rewards Gold status just for being a cardmember, IHG One Rewards Platinum status when you spend $15,000 on the card per year, IHG One Rewards Diamond status when you spend $40,000 on the card per year, and 15 elite night credits toward status annually
• IHG One Rewards Premier Card perks & credits: An annual anniversary free night award worth up to 50K IHG points, up to $100 in annual IHG food & beverage rewards, up to $100 in annual airline statement credits, up to $50 in annual United TravelBank Cash, and more
• IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card foreign transaction fees: None

Beyond that, here are what I consider to be some of the major pros and cons of the IHG One Rewards Premier Card:

• IHG One Rewards Premier Card pros include the big welcome bonus, and the fantastic ongoing perks that more than justify the annual fee, from the free night award, to the credits and elite status
• IHG One Premier Card cons include the not very exciting return on spending, compared to the other cards on the market

IHG One Rewards Premier Card bonus, eligibility, & fees

When we apply for credit cards, some of the most important factors are the welcome bonus, the eligibility rules for getting the card, and the annual fee. How does the IHG One Rewards Premier Card do on those fronts? Let’s take a look.

IHG One Premier Rewards Card 180K bonus points offer

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card has a welcome offer of 180,000 IHG One Rewards bonus points after spending $3,000 within the first three months. This is being marketed as a limited time launch offer, and it’s valid for applications through November 18, 2026.

Based on my latest miles & points valuations, IHG One Rewards points are worth 0.5 cents each. That means to me, the welcome bonus is worth $900. This is among the best welcome offers that we’ve seen on this card, though admittedly it doesn’t quite match the best welcome offers out there, though.

IHG One Rewards Premier Card bonus eligibility rules

When you pull up the IHG One Rewards Premier Card application, you’ll see the following terms:

This credit card is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any personal IHG One Rewards Credit Card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any personal IHG One Rewards Credit Card who received a new cardmember bonus for any personal IHG One Rewards Credit Card within the last 24 months.

As you can tell, the IHG One Rewards Premier Card isn’t available to those who currently have any personal IHG credit card, or previous cardmembers of any personal IHG credit card who have received a new cardmember bonus on a card within the past 24 months.

It’s worth emphasizing that eligibility is unrelated to having The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card (learn more).

It’s also worth remembering the Chase 5/24 rule, whereby you sometimes won’t be approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months (certain business cards are excluded). However, that no longer seems to be consistently enforced.

Fortunately nowadays Chase uses a pop-up feature during the application process, which should let you know if you’re not eligible for the bonus on a card (this appears after submitting your application), before there’s a hard pull on your credit.

Lastly, it’s worth keeping in mind that Chase will often let you product change from one card to another, assuming you’ve had a card for at least 12 months. So this would be an opportunity to upgrade or downgrade personal cards within the IHG portfolio, if you decide a different card is a better fit for you.

IHG One Rewards Premier Card $150 annual fee & $0 authorized user fee

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card has a $150 annual fee for the primary cardmember, and you can add authorized users to the card at no extra cost. This puts the card’s annual fee above the typical $100 fee we see for some mid-range cards, but well below the $300+ fees that we see on many other cards nowadays.

IHG One Rewards Premier Card points earning

When it comes to actually spending on the IHG One Rewards Premier Card, what is the rewards structure like? The card has several bonus categories that can boost your rewards, but still, don’t get too excited.

IHG One Rewards Premier Card 10x points on IHG spending

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card earns 10x IHG points per dollar spent at IHG hotels. Personally, I value that at a 5% return on that spending, which is good, but not amazing, as there are some other cards offering a better return on hotel spending.

You’ll see the card markets itself as offering up to 24x IHG points per dollar spent at IHG hotels, but there’s nuance to that. That includes the 10x IHG points you usually earn per dollar spent at most brands, plus the 40% bonus (an extra 4x points) you get on account of having IHG One Rewards Gold status, a card perk.

But for the purposes of credit card spending, you’re only earning an incremental 10x points.

IHG One Rewards Premier Card 5x points in select categories

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card has five categories in which it earns 5x points per dollar spent. Specifically, you can earn 5x IHG points per dollar spent on dining, grocery stores, gas stations, flights booked directly with airlines, and rental cars. This is valid globally, and there are no caps on the rewards you can earn in these categories.

Those are some very well rounded bonus categories, but the catch is that based on my valuation of IHG points, that’s only like a 2.5% return on spending, which isn’t terribly lucrative for bonused spending.

IHG One Rewards Premier Card 3x points on everyday spending

For any categories in which it doesn’t offer bonus points, the IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers 3x IHG points per dollar spent in non-bonused categories. Based on my valuation of points, that’s like a 1.5% return on everyday spending, which I wouldn’t consider to be very competitive nowadays. However, there are some extra incentives to spend that could make it more worthwhile.

IHG One Rewards 15K bonus points for spending $15K

Beyond the standard rewards structure, the IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers 15,000 IHG bonus points if you spend at least $15,000 on the card per calendar year. That definitely helps a little bit with the rewards structure.

Put another way, the card ordinarily offers a minimum of 3x points per dollar spent, so if you were to spend exactly $15,000, that would boost your return to a minimum of 4x points per dollar spent. Still, it’s not all that much to get excited about.

IHG One Rewards Premier Card no foreign transaction fees

It’s worth emphasizing that the IHG One Rewards Premier Card has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s not a bad card to use abroad. Then again, that’s nothing remarkable, because for a card with an annual fee like this, you’d certainly expect there to be no foreign transaction fees.

IHG One Rewards Premier Card benefits, credits, & elite status

The area where the IHG One Rewards Premier Card really shines is when it comes to the perks, and this is the main reason you should consider applying for the card. From the annual free night award, to the elite status, and more, there’s a lot of upside to having this card. If you stay at IHG properties with any frequency, you should come out way ahead.

Anniversary free night award worth 50K points

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers an anniversary free night award that’s worth up to 50,000 IHG One Rewards points. The free night award is issued shortly after the account anniversary each year, and is then valid for 12 months.

One thing I appreciate about IHG free night awards is that you can top them off with as many points as you’d like. So if a hotel costs 55,000 points, you can book it using the free night award plus a supplement of 5,000 points. If a hotel costs 100,000 points, you can book it using the free night award plus a supplement of 50,000 points.

It should be easy to get full value from this every year, and as I see it, this alone more than justifies the annual fee on the card.

Up to $100 in IHG food & beverage rewards annually

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers up to $100 in food & beverage rewards at IHG properties annually. The way this works is that you get a $25 food & beverage reward voucher deposited in your account each quarter, and each is valid for that quarter.

Each must be redeemed against eligible food and beverages charged to the room during a single stay. Eligible charges generally include, food, beverages (including alcoholic beverages), and gratuities. This must be used in conjunction with a stay by the primary cardmember, so they can’t be used without a stay.

Up to $100 in annual airline statement credits

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers a $100 statement credit each calendar year when you spend at least $250 on flights purchased directly with an airline. Note that this perk is presently valid through December 31, 2027, meaning you can only take advantage of this in 2026 and 2027, though of course it’s possible this also gets extended into the future.

Getting $100 off a $250+ flight is a great deal. Even if you don’t have a specific flight, you can always book a ticket that’s flexible, and then most airlines will let you take a credit that can be used for some amount of time. So I’d consider this to be worth close to face value.

Up to $50 in annual United TravelBank Cash

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers up to $50 in United TravelBank Cash per year:

• Each calendar year you’ll 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, which is awesome.

IHG One Rewards Gold status for being a cardmember

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers IHG One Rewards Gold elite status for as long as you’re a cardmember. IHG Gold status ordinarily requires 20 elite nights in a year, and offers perks like a 40% points bonus. That status is better than nothing, but don’t expect much in the way of on-property recognition for being a Gold.

IHG One Rewards Platinum status with $15K spending

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers IHG One Rewards Platinum elite status when you spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year. IHG Platinum status ordinarily requires 40 elite nights in a year, and offers perks like a 60% points bonus, complimentary room upgrades, late check-out subject to availability, a welcome amenity, and more.

It’s not the most useful elite tier in the world, but it’s definitely better than IHG Silver or Gold!

IHG One Rewards Diamond status with $40K spending

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers IHG One Rewards Diamond elite status when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year. This is IHG’s top tier elite status, and it ordinarily requires 70 elite nights in a year.

It offers incremental perks like complimentary breakfast and better room upgrades. One thing worth emphasizing is that many of the perks of IHG elite status are associated with the Milestone Rewards program, which you qualify for based on how many elite nights you earn. That’s where the next benefit comes into play.

15 elite night credits annually for being a cardmember

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card also offers 15 elite night credits toward status annually. You might wonder what the point of this is, given that you already get IHG Gold status, which requires more than 15 nights. Well, the idea is that this gets you closer to Milestone Rewards perks, which you earn for every 10 elite nights you rack up in a calendar year, from 20 nights to 100 nights.

Potential Milestone Rewards perks include bonus points, food & beverage rewards, confirmed suite upgrades, club lounge access, and more.

Two elite night credits for every $5K in spending

Beyond the 15 elite nights that the IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers annually for being a cardmember, you can also earn two elite nights for every $5,000 spent on the card. This can help you qualify for higher Milestone Rewards thresholds.

However, that’s a lot of money to spend for Milestone Perks that aren’t actually that valuable. If you happen to earn them, great, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to spend just to earn those extra elite nights. I suppose it could make sense as part of a larger strategy, if you’re trying to earn Diamond status, and unlock some other spend-based perks a well.

Fourth night free on award redemptions

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers a fourth night free on award redemptions, with no spending requirement. You can use this perk an unlimited number of times on eligible reservations. This is essentially a way to save 25% on points redemptions, assuming you stay in increments of four nights, so it definitely helps with stretching IHG points.

Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit once every four years. Just charge the membership fee of up to $120 to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed. It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card.

Save 30% on IHG One Rewards points purchases

Just for having the IHG One Rewards Premier Card, you can save 30% on the cost of buying IHG points. Often there’s strategic value to buying points, so on the surface, that might sound compelling. The catch is that this discount only applies when you’re buying IHG points at the normal cost.

IHG One Rewards ordinarily sells points for one cent each before any bonus. However, the program frequently offers a 100% bonus on buying points, which brings the cost down to 0.5 cents each. So getting a 50% discount is much better than getting a 30% discount, which would get you a cost of 0.7 cents per point.

Secondary rental car coverage

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers auto rental collision damage waiver coverage. Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card.

Coverage is provided for theft and collision damage for most cars in the United States and abroad. Do note that domestically the coverage is secondary to your personal insurance, though.

Protection with trip delays, lost luggage, and more

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers a variety of other protection when traveling. Among these features is:

• Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance — be reimbursed up to $5,000 per trip when your trip is canceled or cut short due to sickness, severe weather, etc.
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement — be reimbursed up to $3,000 per passenger if you or your immediate family member check or carry on luggage that is damaged or lost by an airline
• Baggage Delay Insurance — be reimbursed up to $100 per day for three days for essential purchases when your bag is delayed by over six hours

Make sure you check your cardmember agreement for all of the details, since there are terms & conditions.

DoorDash & Instacart perks

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card offers some perks with both DoorDash and Instacart, which are pretty standard benefits for Chase cards. Specifically:

• Complimentary DoorDash DashPass (up to $120 value) — get one year complimentary DashPass by DoorDash, providing unlimited deliveries with $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders (activation is required by December 31, 2027); after that, you are automatically enrolled in DashPass at the current monthly rate
• DoorDash non-restaurant promo (up to $120 value) — get up to $10 off monthly on groceries, everyday essentials, and more, on DoorDash through December 31, 2027, as long as you remain enrolled in your Chase DashPass membership
• Up to $120 in Instacart credits — receive a $10 Instacart credit monthly, up to $120 total each calendar year, for purchases made directly through Instacart with your card, and the benefit is valid through December 31, 2027
• Complimentary Instacart+ membership for three months — get an Instacart+ membership for three months, including unlimited deliveries with $0 delivery fees on eligible orders; after that, you’re automatically enrolled in Instacart+ at 25% off the annual rate, and the benefit is valid through December 31, 2027

Is the IHG One Rewards Premier Card worth the $150 annual fee?

As I see it, the IHG One Rewards Premier Card is a great value, regardless of how loyal you are to IHG, and regardless of how much you plan on spending on the card.

The card’s $150 annual fee is easy to justify based on the perks that it offers. The card offers an anniversary free night certificate, a fourth night free on award redemptions, IHG One Rewards Platinum status, up to $100 in annual food & beverage rewards, up to $100 in airline statement credits, up to $50 in annual United TravelBank Cash, a Global Entry fee credit, and more.

Everyone in my family has an IHG credit card, if for no other reason than that we consistently redeem the free night certificates at hotels that would cost $250+ when paying cash (and potentially even more with the ability to top off with points).

Even if you’re not an IHG loyalist, the group has thousands of hotels around the world, so you’ll likely find yourself in a situation where an IHG property is convenient. If you’re trying to decide between cards, let’s just compare the IHG Premier Card to the rest of the portfolio.

IHG One Rewards Premier Card vs. IHG One Rewards Card comparison

The IHG One Rewards Premier Card has a $150 annual fee, is the more premium version of the IHG One Rewards Card, and I’d argue that there’s a strong case to be made for picking up that card over the no annual fee card. Just to highlight some of the card’s advantages:

• The IHG Premier Card has a much more lucrative welcome bonus, so there’s a huge incentive to applying for the card
• The IHG Premier Card offers an anniversary free night award valid at a property costing up to 50,000 points; that alone justifies the annual fee, in my opinion
• The IHG Premier Card offers a fourth night free on award redemptions, without a spending requirement
• The IHG Premier Card offers a $100 statement credit when you spend $250+ on a flight booked directly with an airline; this is an annual calendar year benefit through December 31, 2027
• The IHG Premier Card offers up to $100 in annual food & beverage rewards at IHG properties, in the form of a $25 quarterly credit that can be redeemed during hotel stays
• The IHG Premier Card offers up to $50 in United TravelBank Cash annually, in the form of a semi-annual $25 credit
• The IHG Premier Card offers IHG One Rewards Gold status just for having the card, and IHG One Rewards Platinum status for spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year

Those are just some of the perks, but the point is that I think a vast majority of people will come out ahead with this card.

IHG One Rewards Card vs. IHG One Rewards Premier Select Card

The IHG One Rewards Premier Select Card has a $350 annual fee, and is the newly introduced IHG credit card. This is the most premium card in the portfolio. I realize if you’re looking at a no annual fee card, you’re probably not very interested in upgrading to a card with a $350 annual fee. However, the card does have very strong perks, so let me just make the case:

• The IHG Premier Select Card has the biggest welcome bonus of all, and that really helps with justifying the first year’s annual fee
• The IHG Premier Select Card offers an anniversary free night award valid at a property costing up to 60,000 points
• The IHG Premier Select Card offers a fourth night free on award redemptions, without a spending requirement
• The IHG Premier Select Card offers a $200 statement credit when you spend $250+ on a flight booked directly with an airline; this is an annual calendar year benefit through December 31, 2027
• The IHG Premier Card offers up to $300 in annual food & beverage rewards at IHG properties, in the form of a $75 quarterly credit that can be redeemed during hotel stays
• The IHG Premier Card offers up to $50 in United TravelBank Cash annually, in the form of a semi-annual $25 credit
• The IHG Premier Card offers IHG One Rewards Platinum status just for having the card, and IHG One Rewards Diamond status for spending $25,000 on the card in a calendar year

Seriously, the math here is too easy. I mean, with your card’s first annual fee, you can potentially earn two $200 statement credits before your second annual fee is due, and that’s more than the annual fee. Keep in mind you can always downgrade the card in the future, if you’ve had it for at least a year, and it’s not working for you.

IHG Premier Card personal vs. business version

In addition to two personal cards, Chase and IHG also have the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (review). How do the two cards compare? Well, the benefits are largely very similar:

• Both cards offer an anniversary free night certificate, IHG Platinum status, a fourth night free on award redemptions, up to $50 in United® TravelBank Cash each year, etc.
• The major differences are that the business card has a few more bonus categories, and offers an additional free night award if you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year

Both of these cards are excellent, and personally, I think it’s worth picking both up, so that you can earn two free night awards per year without having to spend anything.

What other no annual fee card are worth considering?

If you’re committed to getting a no annual fee card, what other cards should you consider? As I see it, the following are cards that have strong perks, no annual fee, and they’re more broadly useful:

• The Citi Double Cash® Card (learn more) offers a minimum of 1x points when you make a purchase and 1x points when you pay for that purchase; the catch is that the card has foreign transaction fees, and efficient points transfers require having another card
• The Chase Freedom Unlimited® (learn more) offers 3x points on dining and drugstores and a minimum of 1.5x points on everyday spending; the catch is that the card has foreign transaction fees, and efficient points transfers require having another card
• The Capital One Venture One Rewards Credit Card (learn more) offers a flat 1.25x miles on all spending; the card has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s a widely useful card
• The Bilt Blue Card (learn more) offers a minimum of 1x points; the good news is that the card doesn’t have foreign transaction fees, and points can directly be converted into partner airline miles and hotel points

Bottom line

The $150 annual fee IHG One Rewards Premier Card is a compelling option, whether you’re an IHG loyalist, or someone who just stays at an IHG property every so often. The card has a big welcome bonus, but also offers ongoing perks that should easily cover the annual fee.

This free night certificate is the single biggest benefit of the card, and consistently offers outsized value. That’s especially true with the ability to top off the certificate with points, to redeem at a more expensive property.

On top of that, the card offers elite status, and quite a few credits that can also easily offset the annual fee. I think it’s really easy to come out ahead with this card, so I guess it just comes down to how many cards someone is willing and able to pick up.

If you want to learn more about the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, follow this link.