Chase and Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) just rolled out bigger welcome offer bonuses on both of their personal IHG Rewards Cards, doling out up to 140,000 bonus points and a $100 statement credit for purchases made at IHG Hotels & Resorts.
These limited-time offers are set to last until Sept. 27. If one of these cards has been on your radar, now is a great time to pick one up!
With these new offers, you can earn 140,000 points and a $100 statement credit for purchases made at IHG Hotels & Resorts after spending $3,000 in the first three months of card opening on the *ihg premier*. You can also earn 80,000 points and a $50 statement credit for purchases made at IHG Hotels & Resorts after spending $2,000 in the first three months on the *ihg traveler*.
Since this is a two-part welcome offer, it's important to note that the statement credit portion of these offers allows travelers up to 12 months to make an IHG purchase and have the $50 to $100 applied to their account. In order to earn the bonus points, the minimum spending requirements on both cards need to be met in the first three months.
Either of these cards would be good to have for even occasional travelers, as there are tons of IHG properties throughout the world. Putting these big welcome bonuses to good use shouldn't be any trouble at all. With valuable perks like IHG Platinum Elite status, an annual free night award (up to 40,000 points), up to $50 a year in United TravelBank credit, and a fourth night free benefit on award stays, there's a lot to like about these cards.
Read on for everything you need to know about Chase's IHG credit cards and these new welcome bonus offers.
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Full Benefits of the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card
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- Earn 5x points per dollar spent on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants
- Earn 3x points per dollar spent on all other purchases
- Free night award certificate starting in your second year of card membership
- Link your United MileagePlus account and get up to $50 of United TravelBank cash each calendar year.
- Receive 10,000 IHG bonus points and a $100 statement credit after spending $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year
- Automatic IHG Platinum Elite status
- IHG Diamond Elite status after spending $40,000 and making one additional purchase each calendar year
- Up to a $100 Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Fourth Night is Free with booking with points
- Cell Phone Protection Coverage
- $99 Annual Fee
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Full Benefits on the IHG Rewards Traveler Credit Card
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- Earn 3x points per dollar spent on utilities, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming services purchases
- 3x points per dollar spent at gas stations & restaurants
- 2x points per dollar spent on all other purchases
- Automatic IHG Silver Elite status
- Receive 10,000 IHG bonus points after spending $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year
- Fourth Night is Free with booking with points
- Cell Phone Protection Coverage
- No Annual Fee
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Who Are These Offers Good For?
The *ihg premier* offers a solid list of benefits for a card with an annual fee under $100. With hotel rates rising, the free night certificate alone (starting in your second full year with the card) could easily make this card a keeper for many travelers. That benefit, coupled with the IHG Platinum Elite status and semi-annual United TravelBank Credit, should make the IHG Premier card the easy choice for most despite the annual fee.
Still, with the *ihg traveler* you're getting a no-annual fee hotel card that will help you stretch your points further by offering a fourth night free benefit on award stays. This benefit alone can make the card worth having for the long run.
They're both compelling cards for any traveler with an eye toward IHG properties and an especially great fit for families who take a yearly roadtrip – or even those looking for a beachside vacation. Because of IHG's vast footprint, you shouldn't have any issue using these points up no matter where your travels take you.
And while 140,000 points sounds like a really big number, just keep in mind: Points and miles are not created equally. These points are only good for hotel stays at IHG properties, which means they aren't worth nearly as much as transferrable points like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Venture Miles, or American Express Membership Rewards
That said, IHG points are far from worthless. Given the reasonable rates you can often find to book free night stays, this 165,000-point bonus is a stellar offer.
Looking at a random two-night stay for the Hotel Indigo in downtown Minneapolis, the total cost with taxes and fees would be just over $355 per night.
Read our review of the Hotel Indigo in downtown Minneapolis for an idea of how you can put this big welcome offer to use!
But you could book that exact same two-night stay for just 45,000 IHG points per night.
Consider this: After spending the $3,000 required to earn the bonus on the IHG Premier Card, you'd have at least 149,000 IHG points. With IHG's fourth-night-free benefit factored in, that's enough points to cover four nights at this property that would otherwise cost you over $1,400.
That's just one example of how to use your points – and you could easily get more (or less) value out of them by cherry picking where you stay. But at the end of the day, there is definitely value to be had within the IHG program and these new bonuses specifically.
Read more: What are points and miles worth?
Our Analysis
We've said it before and we'll say it again: There's value to be had with the IHG program and these are great offers on both the card_name and the no-annual-fee card_name.
Both of these cards were revamped last year and perhaps the best new benefit is how the anniversary free night certificate you'll receive in your second year with the Premier card works.
For years, IHG Anniversary Free Night certificates had been capped for properties costing 40,000 points. You get one of these certificates each year you renew your card, starting in year two.
Now, IHG Rewards Premier cardholders are able to add an unlimited amount of IHG Rewards points to redeem those certificates at hotels above the 40,000-point redemption limit. That means you could book a 50,000-point-per-night award stay using a certificate and kicking in another 10,000 points. Or put in another 30,000 points to book a 70,000-point award stay.
It was a very positive change that makes IHG free night certificates much more flexible and valuable. Add in the annual $50 United TravelBank cash you'll get each year, and we think the Premier card is a no-brainer as that can easily wipe out half of your annual fee.
It’s important to note that Chase’s 5/24 rule does apply to these cards. If you have opened more than five credit cards from any bank (not just Chase) in the last 24 months, you will not be eligible for card approval.
Read More: Master Guide to Credit Card Applications: All the Rules You Need to Know, Bank by Bank
Bottom Line
Chase and IHG have big welcome bonus offers on both the card_name and the no-annual-fee card_name.
These are some of the best offers we've ever seen on these cards, making now an excellent time to pick one of them up. Just be sure to apply before these limited-time offers go away on Sept. 27!