News broke last week that the IHG One Rewards credit card lineup was refreshed and expanded. Some time ago I posted about how I had applied for the now-old version of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, which used to be the most expensive card in the lineup, with a $95 annual fee (the other card had no annual fee).

In this post I want to take another look at the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and go over what’s changed, and I’m also doing a quick analysis of the other two cards in the portfolio, and why I think the IHG One Rewards Premier credit card is the most appealing in the line-up for most people.

Briefly, I find that the value proposition of this credit card has been preserved, and perhaps even increased. If you stay at an IHG property even once or twice a year, this card will certainly provide a full return on the annual fee, if not more. I would certainly recommend this card to anybody who stays at IHG hotels, even if it’s only occasionaly.

What is IHG and Why Should You Care About It?

IHG is short for International Hotel Group, which is the parent company with a vast portfolio of hotel brands at a range of price points. Many of these are well-known brands, including Holiday Inn, the InterContinenal, Regent and Crowne Plaza, though others less so, such as Ruby (one of the latest additions to the portfolio).

You should care about IHG because of the global footprint and range in nightly rates that caters to a variety of different travel styles and budgets, meaning most anybody will find a hotel they’d be willing to stay at, at a price they’d be willing to spend. Therefor, I find IHG to be worth the investment in a credit card where the perks outweigh the annual fee. After all, the idea here is to get perks that complement your travel style without needing to spend more than you’d otherwise do.

Basic Details of the Refreshed IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

With the recent refresh, here’s the most important features and perks of the refreshed IHG One Rewards Premier Card:

• All-time highest welcome bonus: 180.000 points if you spend $3000 in the first 3 months after account opening (ends 11/18/2026).
• $150 annual fee.
• Bonus categories:
  • Up to 24x at IHG properties (10x with the card, plus 10x for being a One Rewards member, plus 4x if you have Gold Elite status)
  • 5x on Dining, Groceries, Gas, Rental Cars and Flights booked directly with airlines.
  • 3x on everything else
• Free Night Certificate at every card anniversary, worth up to 50,000 points, with the possibility to top up with points.
• One Rewards status: automatic Gold Elite status for as long as you have the card, and spend $15,000 to achieve Platinum Elite status, and $40,000 for Diamond Elite status.
• 15 Elite Night Credits at card opening, and then at the start of each calendar year, plus earn 2 elite night credits for every $5000 spent.
• Fourth night free when redeeming points for 3 nights.
• Save 30% on IHG One Rewards points if you pay with this credit card.
• Statement credits:
  • $120 TSA PreCheck/Global Entry/Nexus credit.
  • $120 InstaCart credits provided as $10 monthly credits (through 12/31/2027)
  • $100 food and beverage credits, provided as 4 quarterly $25 credits to be spent at IHG properties.
  • $100 airline credit on any flight purchase of at least $250 when paying with this card (through 12/31/2027).
  • $50 United TravelBank Cash, provided as 2 credits of $25 semi-annually.

Here’s What’s Changed from Before

The IHG One Rewards Premier credit card was recently refreshed and with that quite a bit has changed for those that already had this card before, such as myself. Here’s a quick breakdown of the changes, in order of what I think of as the most to the least important:

• The annual fee has increased from $95 to $150, which of course nobody likes.
• The Free Night Certificate’s cap increased by 10,000 points, to 50,000 points, so that’s a 20% increase in value. IHG One Rewards points are worth about 0.5 ct/pt, so think of it as $250 in value, give or take, up from $200.
• Automatic elite status was downgraded: this used to be Platinum Elite and is now Gold Elite, meaning complimentary upgrades are off the table.
• The $100 property food and beverage credit and $100 airline credit are both new, and should prove easy to redeem, at least partially.
• Free Elite Night Credits every calendar year, with the ability to earn more by spending could nicely help those wanting to get milestone perks or achieve higher status.
• Points Purchase Discount was increased to 30% from 20%.

These Changes Are Good on Balance

Overall, I feel these changes are for the better. The two main downgrades here are the increase in the annual fee to $150, and the downgrade in elite status with card membership (down to Gold Elite). The increase in annual fee is never fun, and the increase is substantial. The elite status downgrade is significant as well: going down from Platinum to Gold you lose access to space-available upgrades, a welcome amenity and space-available early check-in.

Honestly though, I haven’t found the platinum status to really be all that worthwhile. The room upgrades I received have usually been forgettable (room similar price or only marginally better). The welcome amenity usually constitutes 500 points or a snack.

On the flip side, with the higher annual fee and status downgrade we are receiving an extra 10.000 points for the free night certificate (~$50), plus at least $200 in new credits, a total value of $250. I would say that’s actually a better deal than what the card offered before, and personally I’m fine with the Gold Elite downgrade, given how little I got out of the Platinum Elite benefits.

Is the IHG One Rewards Premier Card Worth It?

My goal with any credit card is to make sure I get the full value of the annual fee back with relative ease, and without spending extra. So, does the match check out?

Short answer: absolutely! This is a rare circumstance where a refresh actually caused the card to be more lucrative, at least in my eyes:

• By increasing the cap if the free night certificate at 50.000 points, the cash value increased by $50, to $250 total. IHG’s point valuation is usually around 0.5ct/pt, so it’s fairly easy to put a price on this certificate.
• The $100 on-property dining credit is straightforward, and can easily by maximized if you stay at an IHG property once per quarter. And even if you don’t, simply use it whenever you do and use whatever part of it you can.
• The $100 airline credit is not bad either, and I’d absolutely consider using it.

Just those three features provide a value of up to $450 that should be fairly easy to maximize. I think that’s a great return on a $150 card. And that doesn’t take into account the excellent welcome bonus, the Gold Elite status (even if it’s less good than the Platinum you used to get), and the spending possibilities the card ofers to attain Platinum and Diamond Elite status.

So yes, I’d say this card is absolutely worth it, even if you’re just an IHG ‘ocasionalist’ and stay at an IHG property just once a year to use your free night certificate.

What About the Other Cards in the Family?

There’s two other cards in the IHG One Rewards card lineup, and one of which was launched at the same time as the Premier card was refreshed, and is all-new. Are these cards worth getting over the Premier card? Let’s have a look.

IHG One Rewards Credit Card: the No-Annual-Fee Alternative

The IHG One Rewards Card is IHG’s no annual fee card. It has a nice welcome bonus at 125.000 points when spending $2000 in the first 3 months after account opening. However, it’s very scaled back compared to the Premier card, with automatic Silver Elite status, fourth night free on points redemptions, 5 elite night credits, and 10.000 bonus points after a $15.000 spend.

It’s not a bad card given that it doesn’t have an annual fee, but there’s also nothing particularly exciting about it. Given the credits and perks of the Premier card, I would not suggest to get the IHG One Rewards card.

IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card: the Premium Choice

The IHG One Rewards Premier Select card is IHG’s all new premium credit card, and it comes with a bunch of interesting perks. It has an introductory 200.000 point welcome bonus, when spending $5000 in the first 3 months. With an annual fee of $350, it is substantially more expensive than the Premier card, and that by itself may be a turn-off for some. However, it comes with some perks to back up that price.

Much of the Premier Select credit card’s perks match those of the premier card, except they offer higher redemption values:

• You get automatic Platinum Elite status.
• The free night certificate is with 60.000 points rather than 50.000.
• The on-property food and beverage credit is $300 annually ($75 quarterly) rather than $100.
• The airline credit is $200 annually, rather than $100.
• Get 20 elite night credits rather than 15.

Between the free night certificate, on-property food and beverage credit and the airline credit you can absolutely get your annual fee back. Plus, it comes with Platinum Elite status, and Diamond Elite after $25.000 annual spend. So, you can definitley get full value out of this card.

But here’s the thing: the Premier’s $150 annual fee is earned back by the 50.000 point free night certificate alone, whereas the Premier Select’s $350 annual fee is not earned back by its 60.000 point free night certificate. That means you need to spend extra effort to maximize the credits so you still come out ahead, and not everybody is willing to put in that effort.

As such, despite the fact that the Premier Select can provide a lot of value, I’d suggest to stick with the IHG One Rewards Premier card, at least to start. If you like it and decide you’d like to take it a step up, you can always apply for the IHG One Rewards Premier Select card as a second card. I would leave the IHG One Rewards no-annual-fee as a potential downgrade path if you decide you don’t want either of those cards anymore.

Summary

Chase and IHG have refreshed the IHG One Rewards Premier card with a higher annual fee and an unfortunate status downgrade, but on the flip side the card comes with a few new perks. Those include an increase in the cap of the free night certificate, a new airline credit, an on-property food and beverage credit, and various ways to spend your way to the next elite status. On balance, I think this card has improved its value proposition nicely despite the higher annual fee. Given the large footprint of IHG hotels at all price points, I’d easily recommend this card to anybody who stays at an IHG property at least once a year.