Hotel credit cards are popular among travelers. If you are a fan of IHG hotels like Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, etc., then IHG Rewards Credit Card is worth considering. It is a co-branded credit card offered by Chase bank. There are two consumer-oriented kinds and one business card.
IHG stands for InterContinental Hotels Group. It owns wells known hotel brands like Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Holiday Inn Club Vacations. In total, IHG has 18 brands.
IHG Rewards Premier credit card
IHG Rewards Premier credit card has a $99 annual fee. It is the right choice for travelers who like the hotel brand. The 175,000 points signup offer makes it very attractive. It is worth just over $1,000. To get the bonus, you must spend $3,000 within the first three months of account opening.
It gives you automatic Platinum Elite status. Although it sounds cool, the actual value of the status is questionable.
I have first-hand experience, and as a hotel perk, the Platinum status is worth less than a kick in your butt. Most of the Platinum perks are “Subject to availability.” Finding Early Check-In, Late Check-Out, Complimentary Upgrades, and Guaranteed Room Availability is almost impossible.
IHG claims that there are no blackout dates for Reward nights. However, it has many hotels where you cannot use those nights.
IHG Rewards Traveler credit card
IHG Rewards Traveler credit card that has no annual fee. It gives you 120,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 within the first three months. The points are worth just above $800.
How you count the points’ value can change depending on how you use them. The average value of one point is less than 1 cent.
IHG Hotels
The IHG portfolio has more than 18 brands and almost 6,000 hotels. Hotels with IHG labels can range from old, dirty, moldy, and filthy motels to luxury resorts. What you may find even more surprising is that the same Holiday Inn Express can vary from a clean and pleasant one to a hotel with bed bugs.
Bottom line
The credit card has little value for an everyday traveler. Most people can stay at IHG hotels a couple of times a year. Sticking to the network makes no sense primarily because even in the same brand quality of hotels can vary dramatically, and is no guarantee of quality.