Large sign-up bonus
The IHG rewards card comes with a better-than-average sign-up bonus. You get 70,000 points after you spend $2,000 in two months, and an additional 5,000 points after you add an authorized user. This can translate into up to 15 nights at a PointBreaks hotel, seven nights at a Holiday Inn hotel or one night at the highest-category InterContinental.
Valuable annual bonus
You get one free night every year at any hotel in the IHG portfolio, worth up to 60,000 points. This is arguably the best annual bonus among hotel co-branded credit cards. Many other hotel cards offer annual free night certificates, but these usually come with a high spending requirement, or your stay is limited to a lower category hotel. The IHG Rewards Club Select credit card doesn’t have any strings attached and you can stay for free even at one of the priciest IHG properties in the world.
Reasonable annual fee
The IHG Rewards Club Select credit card’s annual fee is only $49, which is half the cost as some hotel co-branded credit cards. The fee is well worth it, considering the breadth and quality of the hotel portfolio, the value of the rewards and the plethora of hotel perks.
Decent earning scheme
While the earning scheme at IHG properties is average for a hotel credit card, there are other bonus categories that can speed up your earnings. You get five points per dollar at IHG hotels; two points per dollar at restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations; and one point per dollar on everything else.
You also get a 10 percent rebate on IHG Rewards Club point redemptions up to 100,000 points per year.
Fairly flexible rewards redemption
IHG offers pretty flexible terms for redeeming rewards, save for one major caveat: In its terms and conditions, IHG specifically mentions that the inventory of rewards rooms is limited. Many other loyalty programs guarantee rewards availability as long as a standard room is open. That said, a glance at the IHG rewards site shows that rewards rooms are available at many properties on many dates, so this restriction doesn’t seem to drastically affect the ability to book a rewards room.
IHG is very flexible on some of its other terms. It offers an option to pay with points plus cash. That means if you do not have enough rewards points to cover a rewards night, you can cover the remainder of the cost with cash. While other hotel loyalty programs offer this option at participating properties, IHG is one of the few to offer it at any of its properties, depending on availability. Also, IHG allows you to reserve a room with rewards points and to use a free-night certificate when you check in, in case you want to put a hold on a room prior to earning your certificate.
Worldwide hotel network
The IHG hotel portfolio is one of the largest in the world. With 4,900 hotels in more than 100 countries, IHG gives you the option to book a rewards room practically any place you want to travel. There are also a large variety of brands in the IHG portfolio, from budget to luxury. That gives you the option to spread your points over a large number of nights or to spend them all at once for a night at a top-tier hotel.
Automatic elite status
The card automatically grants platinum status to cardholders. Up until recently, platinum was the highest elite status in the program, and the IHG Rewards Club Select credit card was the only hotel co-branded card that gave its members the highest elite status without any stay requirements. Recently, however, IHG introduced an even higher level — spire elite status.
Nonetheless, platinum status still comes with a long list of valuable perks, including a 50 percent bonus on base points for each hotel stay, priority check-in and late checkout, occasional room upgrades (except at InterContinental hotels), and other small perks.
Reasons to sign up for it:
- You’re a frequent customer of IHG properties and want to earn more points.
- You frequently travel and stay in hotels.
- You want a rewards card with a large sign-up bonus.
- You’re looking for a rewards card with a low annual fee.
- You’re looking for a hotel loyalty program with a large variety of properties around the world.
How to use it:
- Don’t forget to spend $2,000 in the first 90 days and add an authorized user to get the full 75,000-point bonus.
- Since the IHG Rewards Club Select credit card doesn’t have a foreign-transaction fee, use it for all IHG bookings anywhere in the world to maximize the earnings.
- Consider applying together with a partner or spouse and turn your annual bonus night into a two-day outing at a high-value IHG hotel.
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