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Chase and IHG just made one of the biggest updates we’ve seen to the IHG One Rewards credit card lineup in years.
The refreshed portfolio now includes a brand-new premium IHG card, two updated personal cards, and a refreshed business card. Across the lineup, cardholders will find new statement credits, higher Free Night Award redemption caps, elite-night-credit benefits, updated earning categories, and limited-time welcome offers.
But as you might have suspected, these changes also come with higher annual fees on several cards — and a few notable downgrades for existing cardholders.
Here’s a closer look at the new IHG card lineup, what’s changing on each card, and our take on whether these updates are good news for IHG loyalists.
Launching the IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card
The brand-new IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card is designed for the most loyal IHG travelers. It comes with a $350 annual fee, but a ton of benefits that make it worthwhile.
Here are the credits and vouchers you can receive as a cardholder:
- Up to $300 in annual Food & Beverage
Rewards - A $200 annual airline statement credit when you spend $250+ directly with the airline through December 31, 2027.
- Up to a $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit every four years.
- One year of complimentary DoorDash DashPass when you activate by December 31, 2027. Also enjoy up to $10 off monthly on groceries, everyday essentials, and more through December 31, 2027, as long as you remain enrolled in your Chase DashPass membership.
- Up to $50 United TravelBank Cash (split into a $25 deposit for January 1 to June 30 and another $25 deposit for July 1 to December 31) after you register your IHG One Rewards Premier Select Card with your MileagePlus account.
- Up to $120 in annual Instacart credits (up to $10 each month) through December 31, 2027, and a three-month Instacart+ membership when you activate by December 31, 2027.
In addition, you can enjoy a variety of IHG benefits:
- Anniversary Free Night with a redemption cap up to 60,000 points.
- Automatic IHG Platinum Elite status.
- 20 Elite Night Credits each calendar year, which qualify for Milestone Rewards. You can unlock your first Milestone Reward through this benefit, which can include your choice of 5,000 bonus points, two Food & Beverage Rewards, or one Confirmable Suite Upgrade.
- 4th Reward Night Free benefit when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG hotel stay.
- Save 30% on IHG One Rewards points purchases.
Earning elite status credits and bonus points through spending
Chase and IHG are heavily incentivizing cardholders to use this card for their everyday spending. You can earn a variety of additional benefits through spending:
- Earn two additional Elite Night Credits for every $5,000 spent.
- Earn five bonus Elite Night Credits after you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.
- Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.
- Earn Diamond Elite status after you spend $25,000 in a calendar year.
- Earn an additional Free Night Award with a redemption cap of 60,000 points when you spend $40,000 in a calendar year.
You'll earn up to 28X total points on stays at IHG properties (12X points with your card, 10X points as an IHG One Rewards member, and 6X points with Platinum elite status). You'll also earn 6X points on dining and all other travel, including rideshare, and 3X points on all other purchases.
200k-point launch sign-up bonus
To celebrate the launch, new IHG One Rewards Premier Select Card cardholders can earn 200,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This offer is valid through November 18, 2026.
AwardWallet users typically redeem IHG One Rewards points for 0.69¢ apiece, making this offer worth roughly $1,380.
Refreshed IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is the only card in the lineup that didn't get a name change. However, most of its benefits and annual fee are being refreshed. It now comes with a $150 annual fee (up from $99).
Here are the new benefits cardholders can enjoy:
- Up to $100 in annual Food & Beverage Rewards to redeem at IHG properties (split into $25 quarterly vouchers).
- A $100 annual airline statement credit when you spend $250 directly with an airline through December 31, 2027.
- 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
Some of the updated benefits are upgrades, while others are downgrades:
- Anniversary Free Night with a redemption cap of 50,000 points (up from 40,000 points).
- Automatic IHG One Rewards Gold Elite status (down from automatic IHG Platinum Elite status).
- Up to 24X total points on stays at IHG properties (down from up to 26X due to the elite status downgrade).
- 5X points on flights booked directly and car rental agencies, on dining, gas stations, and grocery stores (changed from 5X points on general travel, dining, and gas stations).
- Save 30% when you purchase points (up from 20%).
The following benefits are unchanged:
- Up to $50 United TravelBank Cash.
- 3X points on all other purchases.
- 4th Reward Night Free benefit when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG hotel stay.
- Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit every four years.
- Complimentary DashPass membership and $10 monthly non-restaurant DoorDash credit when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- Complimentary 3-month Instacart+ membership and $10 monthly Instacart credit through December 31, 2027.
Earning elite status and bonus points through spending
Unlock more benefits through spending:
- Earn two additional Elite Night Credits for every $5,000 spent.
- Earn 15,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases each calendar year (changed from a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points when you spend $20,000 each calendar year).
- Earn five bonus Elite Night Credits when you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.
- Earn Platinum Elite status after you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.
- Earn Diamond Elite status after you spend $40,000 in a calendar year.
Through November 18, 2026, new IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card holders can earn 180,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. According to recent user redemptions, this is worth around $1,240.
Refreshed IHG One Rewards Credit Card
The new IHG One Rewards Credit Card (formerly the IHG One Rewards Traveler Card) is a no-annual-fee option for infrequent IHG guests. The only truly new benefit is five Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
However, a variety of perks were updated:
- Earn 3X points on dining, gas stations, and grocery stores (updated from 3X on dining, utilities, select streaming services, and at gas stations).
- Starting in 2027, unlock the 4th Reward Night Free benefit after spending $5,000 on purchases with the card (downgraded from including this as a perk for all cardholders).
- Earn 10,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases each calendar year (updated from earning 10,000 after spending $10,000 each calendar year).
- Earn IHG Gold status when you spend $15,000 (down from $20,000).
- Save 30% on IHG points purchases (up from 20%).
Here's what's staying the same:
- Earn 17X total points on stays at IHG properties and 2X points on all other purchases.
- Automatic IHG Silver Elite status.
- Complimentary DashPass membership and $10 monthly non-restaurant DoorDash credit when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- Complimentary 3-month Instacart+ membership and $10 monthly Instacart credit through December 31, 2027.
New IHG One Rewards Card members can earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening through November 18, 2026. This offer is worth roughly $860.
Refreshed IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
Last, but certainly not least, is the refreshed IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card. It comes with a $200 annual fee (up from $99) and offers a variety of new and enhanced benefits.
The new benefits largely mimic the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and include:
- Up to $100 in annual Food & Beverage Rewards to redeem at IHG properties (split into $25 quarterly vouchers).
- A $100 annual airline statement credit when you spend at least $250 directly with an airline through December 31, 2027.
- Up to $100 annual Expensify statement credit.
- 15 Elite Night Credits (ENC) each calendar year.
Here are the updated benefits:
- Anniversary Free Night with a redemption cap up to 50,000 points (up from 40,000 points).
- Earn 5X points on flights booked directly and car rental agencies, and on dining, gas stations, and select advertising (changed from 5X points on travel, dining, select business purchases, and at gas stations).
- Save 30% when you purchase points (up from 20%).
And here's what's staying the same:
- Up to 26X total points on stays at IHG properties and 3X points on all other purchases.
- Automatic Platinum Elite status.
- 4th Reward Night Free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG hotel stay.
- Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS statement credit.
- Complimentary DashPass membership and $10 monthly non-restaurant DoorDash credit when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- Complimentary 3-month Instacart+ membership and $10 monthly Instacart credit through December 31, 2027.
Earning elite status and bonus points through spending
Like the other cards, you can unlock more benefits through your spending:
- Earn two additional Elite Night Credits for every $5,000 spent.
- Earn 25,000 bonus points after you spend $25,000 on purchases each calendar year (changed from a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points when you spend $20,000 each calendar year).
- Earn five bonus Elite Night Credits when you spend $25,000 in a calendar year.
- Earn Diamond Elite status after you spend $50,000 in a calendar year.
- Earn an additional Free Night Award with a redemption cap of 50,000 points when you spend $60,000 in a calendar year.
New IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card members can earn 190,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening through November 18, 2026. This offer is worth around $1,310.
What To Make of the Refreshed IHG Card Portfolio
Overall, these changes are interesting. I generally love having a premium card option to take advantage of, but I am disappointed that the new IHG One Rewards Premier Select Card comes with Platinum Elite status, which you could previously get with the IHG One Rewards Premier Card — and a $99 annual fee. I would've loved to see Diamond Elite status as a built-in benefit. However, it's great that you can get to your first Milestone Reward simply by being a cardholder.
The food and beverage vouchers on several cards are only beneficial if you frequently stay at IHG properties. Since they are split into quarterly vouchers, you'll need to stay at an IHG property regularly to maximize them. Plus, you'll still need to spend out of pocket to earn your airline statement credit.
I love that the annual free night awards now have higher redemption caps. That's a meaningful change that makes card benefits much easier to use. The earning potential changes are mixed. Changing the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card bonus categories from “general travel” to “flights booked directly and car rental agencies” means you likely won't earn bonus points on tours and excursions or vacation rental purchases, which is disappointing. Similarly, IHG One Rewards Credit Card now won't earn bonus points on streaming or utilities.
Current IHG cardholders should receive a message from Chase sometime in October with details about these new and enhanced benefits and the effective date for each update. The new annual fees will take effect on your next account anniversary in 2027.
Bottom Line
This refreshed IHG credit card lineup is a lot to take in. Overall, I'm impressed. The most premium card in the lineup charges a $350 annual fee, far less than Marriott's or Hilton's premium cards. It offers meaningful benefits that can make a lot of sense for frequent IHG guests.
However, I'm not a fan of issuers removing benefits from existing cards to make room for a more premium option. IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card cardholders are used to a $99 annual fee and automatic Platinum Elite status. Now, you'll pay $150 a year and receive automatic Gold status. Even with other new benefits, that's a frustrating change.
Will you consider applying for a new IHG card? Let us know in the comments!
