Chase and IHG have a co-brand card portfolio, which includes four credit cards:
- The New IHG One Rewards Credit Card (review), which is the no annual fee personal card
- The New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (review), which is the $150 annual fee personal card
- The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card, which is the $350 annual fee personal card
- The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card (review), which is the $200 annual fee business card
The IHG Premier Card and IHG Business Card offer some fantastic perks that should more than justify the annual fee for frequent travelers, even if you’re not an IHG loyalist. However, there are some conditions associated with these perks, so in this post, I want to dig a bit deeper into how they work.
Link: Learn more about the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
IHG Premier Card perks & benefits
Let me start by covering the welcome offers on these two cards:
- The IHG Premier Card has a limited-time launch offer where you can earn 180,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card has a limited-time launch offer where you can earn 190,000 Bonus Points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
It’s not just the bonuses that should make you interested in these cards, though. Both the IHG Premier Card and IHG Business Card offer some unique perks, including:
- A free night certificate on your account anniversary every year, valid at any property that retails for up to 50,000 IHG points per night; you’re even able to top off your certificate with points to book a more expensive property (in other words, a property costing 60,000 points could be booked using a free night certificate plus 10,000 points) Through 12/13/2026 the free night award associated with the IHG Premier card covers up to 40,000 points, in 2027 it’ll cover up to 50,000 without any need for a top-off
- A fourth night free on award bookings; when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night stay, you only have to redeem points for the cost of the first three nights
- Up to $100 per year in IHG Food & Beverage Rewards, issued as a $25 voucher each quarter
- At least 30% off when you purchase IHG One Rewards points
- IHG One Rewards Platinum status on the IHG Business Card, and Gold status on the IHG Premier Card
- A Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or NEXUS statement credit every four years
Those are some awesome perks, and I’ve received a lot of questions about how certain benefits on the cards work. In this post, I’d like to take a closer look at some of the details of these benefits.
How does the fourth night free benefit work?
One of the best perks of the IHG Premier Card and IHG Business Card is that they offer a fourth night free on award redemptions. There has been some confusion regarding how this benefit works, and specifically at what point the cost of the fourth night is reimbursed.
With this benefit, the fourth night’s cost is deducted when you make your award booking. Once you have the card and go to IHG’s website to make an award booking for four nights, you should automatically see the price adjusted. When you first see the award cost you’ll see a price with a line through it, which is the original price, and then underneath that is the discounted price factoring in the fourth night free.
To give an example, the Kimpton Fitzroy London Park Lane may cost an average of around 52,000 points per night (IHG has dynamic award pricing, so the rate can vary each night). Yet with a fourth night free the price is lowered to 38,750 points, with the total cost being 155,000 points.
This is great, since it means you only need enough points for the cost of three nights to make the booking. If this isn’t displaying correctly for you, it’s probably because you haven’t had the card for long enough. It can take a few days for this benefit to kick in.
You can use this benefit an unlimited number of times, and can even use it for back-to-back stays (in other words, you can book eight consecutive nights at one hotel and get two nights free), or for multiple rooms at a hotel over the same nights. It’s also valid at Six Senses properties, which are being integrated into the IHG One Rewards program.
You do need to stay four consecutive nights at one hotel while redeeming points to use this, meaning you can’t stay two nights at one hotel and two nights at another hotel, and then get one of those nights free.
Furthermore, all four nights need to be booked as a single points reservation. This means you couldn’t book one night with a free night certificate and then three nights with points, and get that third night of the points reservation free.
Can you earn multiple anniversary free night certificates?
Yep, you absolutely can earn multiple free night certificates each year. For example, both the IHG Premier Card and IHG Business Card offer free night certificates on the account anniversary every year. It’s possible to have both of these cards, in which case you could even use them for back-to-back stays.
Can the IHG 20% points discount be stacked with a sale?
The IHG Premier Card and IHG Business Card offer a discount of at least 30% when you purchase points. Unfortunately, this isn’t valid when IHG is offering a discount on purchased points, which is when I would generally consider buying points.
There’s no reason to buy IHG points for 30% off when IHG otherwise sometimes offers 75-100% bonuses on purchased points. When the discount is available, you’ll see that it’s automatically applied at the time you purchase points. This is a benefit that’s almost never worth it, in my opinion.
How does the TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit work?
The IHG Premier Card and IHG Business Card offer a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit once every four years. You can choose any one (in general, Global Entry or NEXUS are your best bet, since both come with TSA PreCheck).
Note that all that matters is that the fee is charged to your card, so if you already have a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership, you can use this for a friend or family member.
When does IHG Platinum status post to your account?
Just for having the IHG Business Card, you get IHG One Rewards Platinum status for as long as you’re a cardmember. This will post to your account automatically, and that’s determined based on having the correct IHG One Rewards number linked to your account. The IHG Premier Card offers IHG One Rewards Gold status, and you can earn Platinum status after spending $15,000 on the card.
While the terms state that the status will post within six to eight weeks, in practice, it usually posts much faster than that.
How do the Food & Beverage Rewards work?
Both the IHG Premier Card and IHG Business Card offer up to $100 per year in IHG Food & Beverage Rewards:
- You receive a $25 voucher each calendar quarter, and it expires at the end of that quarter
- It can be used toward food and beverage charged to your room at participating IHG hotels, with the room booked in the primary cardmember’s name
- Each voucher can be used once; any unused balance is forfeited
Bottom line
The IHG Premier Card and IHG Business Card are all-around worthwhile cards. Between the elite status, fourth night free on awards, an annual free night, and up to $100 in Food & Beverage Rewards, I’d say these cards are well worth getting if you’re eligible, even if you’re not otherwise an IHG loyalist.
What has your experience been with the perks on the IHG Premier Card?
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