Why it's best to get (and maintain) the IHG Rewards Premier card

There are many travel rewards cards vying in your consideration, however one in every of my favourite playing cards is the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card.

The IHG Rewards Premier card affords a compelling sign-up bonus to draw new cardholders. The cardboard can also be choice to maintain long-term resulting from its many perks that may simply offset its modest $99 annual payment. This is why I really like the IHG Rewards Premier card and plan to maintain it in my pockets for the foreseeable future.

Signal-up bonus

The IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card is at present providing its best-ever sign-up bonus of 175,000 bonus factors after spending $3,000 within the first three months of account opening. Primarily based on TPG's valuations, 175,000 IHG factors are value about $875.

IHG One Rewards makes use of dynamic award pricing, so the variety of award nights you may get from 175,000 factors will rely totally on when and the place you need to redeem your factors.

Be aware that the IHG Rewards Premier card and its sign-up bonus aren't obtainable if you're a:

• Present cardmember of any private IHG Rewards Credit score Card.
• Earlier cardmember of any private IHG Rewards Credit score Card, and also you acquired a brand new cardmember bonus for a private IHG Rewards Credit score Card inside the final 24 months.

Chase's 5/24 rule can also stop you from being permitted for a brand new Chase card. Try our put up on calculating your 5/24 standing for extra info.

Associated: Is the IHG Rewards Premier card worth the annual fee?

Anniversary night time

Even should you do not spend many nights in lodges or favor a distinct lodge loyalty program, the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card can nonetheless be value its $99 annual payment annually. In spite of everything, most cardholders can get greater than $99 of worth annually from one profit: the anniversary night you obtain after every account anniversary.

You need to use the anniversary night time for an evening with a redemption charge of 40,000 factors or much less. However you can too add-on points from your IHG Rewards account to redeem for an evening costing greater than 40,000 factors. You have to redeem your night time and full your keep inside 12 months of the free night time's challenge date.

I've gotten good worth from my anniversary nights over time. For instance, I am scripting this story throughout a keep on the Kimpton De Witt in Amsterdam that I booked utilizing a number of anniversary free nights. The award charge on my nights was 40,000 factors, whereas the paid charge would have been about $281 per night time. Even ignoring the paid charge, I used to be blissful to commerce a number of anniversary nights to remain at this Kimpton close to Amsterdam Centraal.

However you can too get sufficient worth out of your anniversary night time to justify the cardboard's annual payment nearer to residence. Though discovering nights costing lower than $99 in lots of U.S. cities is turning into much less widespread, you may nonetheless typically discover IHG award nights for 40,000 factors or much less.

There are lots of other ways to make use of the anniversary night time. However so long as you are getting greater than $99 of worth out of your anniversary night time annually, conserving the IHG Rewards Premier card long-term doubtless is sensible — particularly when you think about the cardboard's different helpful perks.

Associated: The 19 best IHG hotels in the world

Fourth-night reward perk

My favourite perk of the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card is the "redeem three nights, get fourth reward night time free" profit. In brief, this perk helps you to pay zero factors for each fourth night time whenever you redeem IHG points for a keep of 4 nights or longer.

Let's take a look at an instance. For this keep on the InterContinental Phuket Resort in Thailand, I may pay a mean of 27,250 factors per night time (as an alternative of 37,750 factors per night time) because of the fourth-night reward perk.

This perk additionally works for longer stays. For instance, here is an eight-night keep the place two nights would value zero factors after the fourth-night reward perk. (Be aware that the primary and fourth strains within the screenshot under pool two nights collectively as they're all priced at 11,000 factors every.)

You need to use this profit a limiteless variety of instances and for longer stays. For instance, you may obtain the fourth, eighth and twelfth nights free on a 12-night keep. And it'll all the time be these nights which might be free, no matter whether or not these nights are the most cost effective or costliest of the entire keep.

For instance, on a four-night keep the place the nights are priced at 10,000 for every of the primary three nights and 12,000 on the fourth night time, that fourth night time might be free despite the fact that it is priced the best.

Most vacationers will solely use this perk just a few instances a 12 months, however I've benefited from over 35 fourth-night rewards up to now six years. When you continuously redeem IHG points for stays of 4 nights or longer, this card profit will doubtless prevent a big quantity of factors.

Associated: What is IHG One Rewards elite status worth?

Different helpful advantages

The IHG Rewards Premier card consists of a number of different helpful perks. For instance, the cardboard earns 10 factors per greenback spent at IHG lodges and resorts, a return of 5% primarily based on TPG's valuations. The IHG Rewards Premier card additionally earns 5 factors per greenback spent on purchases at gas stations, on different journey and at restaurants and three factors per greenback spent on all different purchases.

Plus, the IHG Rewards Premier card affords the next advantages:

• Automated IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status for so long as you retain your IHG Rewards Premier card.
• Earn IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite standing via the tip of the next calendar 12 months throughout any calendar 12 months you make purchases totaling $40,000 or extra along with your IHG Rewards Premier card.
• Save 20% on factors purchases whenever you pay along with your IHG Rewards Premier card. You'll be able to't mix this low cost with some other factors buy affords, although. So, you may sometimes do higher ready for an IHG buy points promotion as an alternative of saving 20% via this perk.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Get a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus credit score of as much as $100 each 4 years as reimbursement for an software payment charged to your card.
• Earn a $100 assertion credit score and 10,000 bonus factors any calendar 12 months you spend at the very least $20,000 in purchases.
• Get a $25 United TravelBank cash deposit in your United MileagePlus account twice a 12 months (on or round Jan. 1 and July 1) when you full a one-time registration for this perk.

Platinum Elite standing will get you some helpful perks whenever you keep at IHG lodges, together with extra bonus factors on paid stays and complimentary upgrades (topic to availability and on the lodge's discretion).

Associated: The best hotel credit cards with annual fees under $100

Backside line

The IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card is at present providing its best-ever sign-up bonus of 175,000 bonus factors after spending $3,000 within the first three months of account opening. Primarily based on TPG's valuations, these bonus factors are value $875.

And after getting the IHG Rewards Premier card, two card advantages — the anniversary night certificate and the fourth-night-reward perk — ought to present considerably extra worth than the $99 annual payment annually. As such, I imagine the IHG Rewards Premier card is a helpful card to get after which maintain 12 months after 12 months.

Try our full IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card review for extra particulars.

---

Official software hyperlink: IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card