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IHG One Rewards Premier Business Card: Elite Status and Baller Welcome Bonus

Last updated on September 20, 2023
Edited byRyan Lane
✅Fact checked and reviewed

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Our Take

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

The bottom line:

Earn a free night award each year, plus bonus points and an additional night if you hit certain spending markers.

IHG® One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

Annual fee
$99
Regular APR
21.49%-28.49% Variable APR
Intro APR
N/A
Apply now

on Chase's website

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • High rewards rate
  • Automatic elite status
  • Anniversary perks
  • No foreign transaction fee

Cons

  • Has annual fee
  • Rewards have limited flexibility

Full Review

The
IHG® One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
is a top-notch for companies and entrepreneurs who frequent any of the and more than 6,000 properties that make up the IHG portfolio.
This card delivers one of the best welcome offers of any hotel business card:
Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
And you get a free night (worth 40,000 points) each year on your card anniversary.
Those perks alone make a compelling case for having this card in your wallet, but automatic Platinum Elite status and the card’s generous rewards — anywhere from 3 to 10 points per dollar — seal the deal for IHG loyalists.
The case is not as strong for hotel hoppers. Since you’ll earn the most and get the best redemption value at IHG properties, which include Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Kimpton and Intercontinental, you’ll want to consider other options if those aren’t your locations of choice.

IHG® One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
: The basics

Card type: .
Annual fee: $
99
.
Recommended credit score: FICO score of 690 or higher.
Sign-up bonus:
Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Rewards:
  • 10X points on purchases made at hotels participating in IHG Rewards.
  • 5X points on travel; at restaurants, gas stations and office supply stores; and on social media and search engine advertising.
  • 3X points on all other purchases.
APR:
21.49%-28.49% Variable APR
.
Foreign transaction fee: None.
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.
  • $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points when you spend at least $20,000 in a calendar year.
  • Statement credit of up to $100 every four years toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fee.
  • Redeem three rewards nights, get the fourth night free.
  • Automatic IHG® Rewards Platinum Elite status.
IHG points at 0.7 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 0.7 cent or more in value from your IHG points.

Why you might want the
IHG® One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

Generous rewards, flexible redemption options
Branded business cards can often be a closed loop: You can only earn and redeem rewards through that brand. The
IHG® One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
stands out, then, for its flexibility.
Sure, you get the best bang for your buck with IHG, earning up to 26 total points per dollar spent at IHG properties: 10 points via your card, 10 points as an IHG rewards member and 6 points with IHG Platinum Elite status. But you also get 5 points per dollar on travel and at restaurants, gas stations and office supply stores, and 3 points per dollar on all other purchases.
When it’s time to cash in your points, you can redeem them for free nights at more than 6,000 IHG properties. This is usually the best value, especially on longer stays: You get your fourth night free when you redeem three nights. You can also transfer your points to more than 40 partner airlines — and opt to earn miles with those airlines when you use your IHG business card. IHG One Rewards points can also be redeemed for gift cards and other items, but you get a lot less for your points when you go this route.
Free nights and spending bonuses
The IHG business card’s annual free night has a redemption value of 40,000 points, or $280 by , which easily offsets the $99 annual fee. And you can earn an additional free night each year if you spend at least $60,000 on your IHG card. You’ll also earn 10,000 points and a $100 statement credit when you spend at least $20,000 in a calendar year.
Those spending bonuses can really pay off for businesses that put a lot on their card. Maxing out the free nights and spending bonus alone would be worth $730 by our calculation, and that doesn’t factor in the points you’ll earn on your purchases.
Automatic elite status
IHG® One Rewards Premier 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.
Spend $40,000 or more in a calendar year and you’ll get bumped up to Diamond Elite Status (the top rung for IHG members) until December 31 of the following year.

Why you might want a different card

You’re not an IHG loyalist
The main reason to pass on the IHG business card? You don’t book the bulk of your stays at IHG properties. As with other hotel cards, the
IHG® One Rewards Premier 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 , like the . You’ll still get a big welcome bonus:
Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
And NerdWallet values Chase Rewards points at 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed for travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards® (compared to 0.7 cent each for IHG points).
You don’t want to pay an annual fee
At $
99
, the annual fee for the
IHG® One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
is lower than other hotel business cards. But it’s still an annual fee, and that alone is a deal breaker for some businesses, especially if you won’t spend enough to earn the welcome bonus.
If that’s the case, consider a like the or the . Both have $0 annual fees and deliver solid perks, like a welcome bonus and an intro APR period.
Just remember: The IHG business card’s free anniversary night alone is worth more than the annual fee.

Should you get the
IHG® One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
?

The IHG One Rewards Premier business card is a slam dunk if you frequent IHG properties, like Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Kimpton and Intercontinental. You get a big welcome bonus, huge rewards on IHG stays and a free night every year. If you’re only a casual IHG customer, you’ll get more value from a general travel card.

Apply now

on Chase's website

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