IHG One Rewards Business Card: Status Isn’t the Only Thing That’s Elite
IHG loyalists easily get their money’s worth with this card’s free night, big welcome offer and automatic status.
The bottom line:
A co-branded hotel business card is most valuable if you like that hotel’s properties. And if you like IHG’s, you’ll love this card. Yes, it packs a hefty annual fee. But the card’s benefits offer multiple ways to offset that cost. (The free night alone may even do the job.)
Credit card details
Annual fee
$200
Regular APR
19.24%-27.74% Variable APR
Intro APR
N/A
Rewards rate
3x-26x
Earn up to 26X total points on stays at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Earn 5X points per $1 spent on flights booked directly, car rental agencies, select advertising, at gas stations and restaurants. Earn 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Points
Foreign transaction fee
$0
Intro offer
190,000
Earn 190,000 Bonus Points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Points
Pros & Cons
Pros
High rewards rate
Automatic elite status
New cardholder bonus offer
Free night reward on cardholder anniversary
Statement credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS
Cons
Has annual fee
Rewards have limited flexibility
Low point redemption value
More details from Chase
- Limited Time Launch Offer! Earn 190,000 Bonus Points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn up to 26X total points on stays at IHG Hotels and Resorts.
- Earn 5X points on flights booked directly, car rental agencies, select advertising, at gas stations and restaurants. Earn 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Get an Anniversary Free Night each year. Plus, redeem 3 nights, get 4th night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG hotel stay.
- NEW! Enjoy up to $100 in Food & Beverage Rewards annually at IHG Hotels & Resorts.
- NEW! A $100 Airline Statement Credit each year when you spend at least $250 on flights purchased directly with the airline.
- This card offers over $750 in value your first year!
- Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Business cardmember. Plus, enjoy 15 Elite Night Credits annually (new!).
- IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Kimpton®, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza®, EVEN® Hotels, & Holiday Inn®
- Member FDIC
Compare to other cards
5.0
NerdWallet rating
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
at Chase
5.0
NerdWallet rating
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
Annual fee
$200
Annual fee
$125
Annual fee
$350
Regular APR
19.24%-27.74% Variable APR
Regular APR
19.74%-28.74% Variable APR
Regular APR
19.24%-27.74% Variable APR
Intro APR
N/A
Intro APR
N/A
Intro APR
Need more options? Check our picks for best business credit cards of 2026
Want a hotel business credit card, but don’t have pre-existing brand loyalty? Consider the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. It comes with a great welcome offer, free night each year and automatic Gold Elite status (terms apply). Its annual fee of $125 (see
The IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card is a personal credit card. There are drawbacks to using one of those for your business (more on that below). Still, sole proprietors considering the IHG business card and its $200 annual fee should take a look. Yes, the personal card’s fee is bigger. But the benefits are better.
Full review
Chase overhauled the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card in October 2026. The litany of updates included removing “Premier” from the card’s name. Don’t let that fool you: This is still a premier option. Unfortunately, it also now has the price tag to prove it.
Let’s start with the good. Like any hotel business card, IHG’s is best if you frequent its 21 brands and more than 7,000 properties. The card already had IHG-specific perks like automatic Platinum Elite status. And the refresh layered in new ones, including:
- A free night every card anniversary worth up to 50,000 points (versus up to 40,000 before).
- A head start toward Diamond Elite status with 15 free elite night credits each calendar year.
- Two additional elite night credits for every $5,000 of eligible spending.
- An annual credit of up to $100 for IHG food and beverage (up to $25/quarter).
Other additions lean more universal. But they’re of the coupon book style that high-fee business travel credit cards increasingly favor. For instance, you can now get up to $100 a year in statement credits for Expensify purchases. That’s nice — if you use Expensify. It’s worthless if you don’t.
A better addition is a new annual airline credit of up to $100, although it has downsides too. You have to spend at least $250 on flights booked directly with an airline to get it. That likely won’t be hard to do given the cost of airfare. More pressing is this credit ends Dec. 31, 2027.
The worse news? Bigger benefits invariably mean bigger fees. That’s no exception here. Chase roughly doubled this card’s annual fee, from $99 to $200. It’s now the most expensive hotel business credit card we track. (Edging the issuer’s own World of Hyatt Business Credit Card by a single dollar.)
Ultimately, the math still works for IHG loyalists. The free night alone could offset the higher cost. And if it doesn't, hitting the card’s welcome offer will. At NerdWallet's valuation of 0.6 cent/point, that bonus is currently worth $1,140.
Of course, you'll only reap that value at IHG properties, like Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Kimpton and Intercontinental. If those aren’t your brands of choice, nothing is enticing enough here to fork over the fee for this card. Consider other business credit cards instead.
Card details: IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card
💳 Card type: Hotel and small business.
🎉 Rewards:
- 10X points on purchases made at hotels participating in IHG Rewards.
- 5X points on flights booked directly, car rental agencies, select advertising, and at gas stations and restaurants through Dec. 31, 2026. (Thereafter, only flights booked directly and purchases with car rental agencies earn 5X.)
- 3X points on all other purchases.
💰 Sign-up bonus: Earn 190,000 Bonus Points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
💲Annual fee: $200.
💷 Foreign transaction fee: None.
📈 APR: 19.24%-27.74% Variable APR.
📍Minimum credit limit: Not disclosed.
🎆 Other benefits:
- Free night award each year on your account anniversary. Additional free night if you spend more than $60,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
- 15 elite night credits each calendar year.
- Two additional elite night credits for every $5,000 of eligible spending.
- Earn 20,000 bonus points (and five elite night credits) after you spend $25,000 on purchases each calendar year.
- Redeem three rewards nights, get the fourth night free.
- Automatic IHG® Rewards Platinum Elite status.
- Up to $100 annual credit (up to $25/quarter) for IHG food and beverage.
- Statement credit of up to $120 every four years toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fee.
- Statement credit of up to $100 a year for Expensify purchases.
- Complimentary DashPass ($120 Value) through Dec. 31, 2027.
NerdWallet values IHG points at 0.6 cent each. This is a baseline value, drawn from real-world data, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 0.6 cent or more in value from your IHG points.
💬 From our Nerds: Should you say TTYL to IHG?
I've seen issuers relaunch many business cards. They're almost always good deals for new applicants. Big initial welcome offers make the math easy.
The number crunching is trickier if you already have the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card. Is it worth paying double (plus $2) for? To answer that, I'd ask another question: Where do you stay with IHG?
The company publishes average nightly rates for its properties. The cheapest (avid hotels) was $106.91 in 2025. That used to wipe out the card's annual fee. No more. In fact, the only one that still does is InterContinental ($236.06) .
IHG Hotels & Resorts. Annual Report and Form 20-F 2025.
Of course, hotel pricing is dynamic. You may pay more or less than the average. The only way to know for sure is to look at your statements. If your free night fell below $200, you'll want to check that other credits or points will help you clear that bar.
Make sure you know your renewal date too. That's when the new fee will kick in. You might need to call Chase to ask.
— Ryan Lane, assigning editor covering small business
Where the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card shines
Free nights at IHG properties
Free nights aren’t always a given with hotel business cards. The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card doesn’t include one, for instance, despite charging a $195 annual fee (terms apply; see
That’s not an issue with the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card.
It includes a free night each card anniversary. That has a redemption value of up to 50,000 points, or $300 by NerdWallet’s calculation. Maximize it, and that free night offsets the $200 annual fee by itself. (Although you have a much slimmer margin to do so now than prior to the October 2026 relaunch.)
But the free stays don’t stop there. You can earn an additional one each year if you spend at least $60,000 on your IHG business card. IHG also tacks on a fourth night free when you redeem points for a three-night stay.
Automatic elite status
IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card holders automatically get IHG® Rewards Platinum Elite status and all the perks that come with it, including:
- A 60% bonus on the baseline IHG rewards earned through eligible stays (not earned on the credit card).
- Early check-in and complimentary room upgrades (when available).
- Promotional discounts on rewards nights.
- All the benefits of lower statuses, including member rates, free internet and priority check-in.
The gulf between that tier and the top rung (Diamond Elite) is 30 qualifying nights per calendar year. The October 2026 card refresh now gets you halfway there by including 15 elite night credits.
You can get the rest of the way by making $25,000 in purchases. You'll get two additional credits for every $5,000 you spend. So, spending $25,000 gets you 10 credits, and Chase throws in an extra five once you cross that threshold. (Plus, 20,000 bonus points to boot.)
That will up your status for only the rest of that year. Chase sweetens this deal starting Jan. 1, 2027, though it requires spending more. After that point, hitting at least $50,000 in a calendar year will bump you up to Diamond Elite status for the rest of that year and the following one.
Generous rewards
With the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card, you can earn up to 26X total points per dollar spent at IHG properties:
- 10X points via your card.
- 10X points as an IHG rewards member.
- 6X points with IHG Platinum Elite status.
For comparison, reward rates top out at 30X on The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card for eligible Hilton purchases (terms apply). But NerdWallet's travel team values those points at 0.4 cent apiece, making the bigger multiplier actually less valuable.
You also get 5X points per dollar on flights booked directly, car rental agencies, select advertising, and at gas stations and restaurants, and 3X points per dollar on all other purchases. Some of those reward rates change as of Jan. 1, 2027, though.
At that point, only flights booked directly and purchases at car rental agencies will be worth 5X. That dampens the idea of putting those other previously qualifying purchases on this card. At NerdWallet’s value of 0.6 cent/point, 3X is akin to 1.8% cash back. That’s a below average rewards rate overall. It’s especially so for purchases like advertising and gas.
That value may be worth it if you cash in points for free nights at IHG’s 7,000-plus properties. You can also transfer your IHG One Rewards points to nearly 40 partner airlines, though my colleagues on NerdWallet’s travel team say that’s not as good a deal. Similarly, you can redeem IHG One Rewards points for gift cards and other items. But you’ll get even less bang for your buck.
Reasons to consider a different card
You’re not an IHG loyalist
Forgive me for stating the obvious, but the main reason to pass on the IHG business card is if you don’t book the bulk of your stays at IHG properties. As with other hotel cards, the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card delivers the best value when you use it to book stays at hotels in the IHG family.
If your business travel takes you to a variety of hotel brands, consider a more general-purpose business travel card. Our editorial team likes the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. Its annual fee ($95) is close to what IHG’s was prior to its refresh. And you’ll still get a big welcome bonus: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Not put off by a bigger annual fee? Consider the Capital One Venture X Business as well. Its annual fee is $395, which is actually now mid-tier in the travel category. Plus, it includes a $300 annual credit to help offset that cost. You’ll also earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels you book through Capital One travel.
You’re a huge IHG loyalist
IHG has a single business credit card. There’s more variety on the personal side, with three cards to choose from. The most interesting to me is the newly introduced IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card.
Chase added that card as part of the October 2026 lineup overhaul. It sports the brand’s highest annual fee ($350), but the rewards back it up. If your goal is to squeeze every bit of value from your spending, it’s worth a look.
Here are some spots where its features surpass the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card:
IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card | IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|
Welcome offer | Earn 200,000 Bonus Points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | Earn 190,000 Bonus Points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. |
Points at IHG properties | 28X per $1 | 26X per $1 |
Other point values | 6X on travel and at restaurants. 3X all other purchases. | 5X points per dollar on flights booked directly, car rental agencies, select advertising, and at gas stations and restaurants through Dec. 31, 2026. 3X all other purchases. |
Free anniversary night | Yes, worth up to 60,000 points. | Yes, worth up to 50,000 points. |
Additional annual free night | Yes, after spending $40,000. | Yes, after spending $50,000. |
IHG food and beverage credit | Up to $300 per year (up to $75/quarter). | Up to $100 per year (up to $25/quarter). |
Airline credit | Up to $200 after making a flight purchase of more than $250 directly. | Up to $100 after making a flight purchase of more than $250 directly. |
Path to milestone rewards | Receive 20 elite night credits each calendar year, plus 2 additional credits for every $5,000 you spend with the card. | Receive 15 elite night credits each calendar year, plus 2 additional credits for every $5,000 you spend with the card. |
Additional elite night credits | Five after spending $15,000 on purchases each calendar year. | Five after spending $25,000 on purchases each calendar year. |
There’s no rule against using a personal credit card for business spending. That said, there are best practices.
First, it’s important to keep personal and business spending separate. Having dedicated cards for each makes that easier. Use a single card for both, and you could run into headaches at tax time figuring out what you can and can’t deduct as a business expense. This rule is even more crucial for LLCs. Commingling finances can put your limited liability protection at risk.
Sole proprietors could consider using the IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card just for business spending. This won’t work if you have employees who’ll need their own cards. You’ll also potentially hurt your personal credit if you carry big balances or use up much of your credit line to support company expenses.
Chase has two other personal IHG cards. The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is similar to the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card, though its annual fee is a bit less at $150. The IHG One Rewards Credit Card has no annual fee. It might make sense if you don’t stay at IHG properties for business often enough to justify an annual fee. The same caveats as above apply, though.
How we evaluated the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card
NerdWallet's business credit card experts compared the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card to other hotel business cards, evaluating how the card's rewards, perks, fees and features stack up to its peers. We also surveyed Chase, the card's issuer, gathering information about employee cards, spending controls, credit limits and how often cardholders are considered for a credit limit increase. This data, alongside feedback from business owners — solicited directly and gathered via online forums like Reddit — helped inform our review of the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card.