IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

Rewards by category

Our take

The IHG One Rewards Premier is built for people who actually sleep in IHG beds. The card itself earns 10x points on IHG stays, 5x on dining, gas, flights, hotels, and other travel, and 3x everywhere else. If your travel is anchored to one hotel group and your everyday spend leans toward restaurants and the pump, one card covers most of it.

The tradeoff is the currency. We value IHG points at a conservative half a cent, so 5x works out to about 2.5% back and the 3x base rate to about 1.5% — decent, not spectacular. The $99 annual fee earns its keep through the perks: an Anniversary Free Night worth up to 40,000 points and automatic Platinum Elite status, both of which only matter if you keep staying at IHG.

Two quieter benefits reward longer trips: a fourth reward night free on award stays of four or more nights, and a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit of up to $120 every four years. There are no foreign transaction fees, so it travels well. Pair it with a strong flat-rate card for non-bonus spend, and let this one handle hotels and its 5x categories.

The math

Run $400 a month of dining through this card and you're earning about $120 a year at our conservative valuations. Against the $99 annual fee, that top rate needs roughly $1,650 a month of dining spend before it beats a no-fee flat 2% card.

Store bonuses

• IHG Hotels & Resorts10x

Key benefits

• Anniversary Free Night worth up to 40,000 points
• Automatic IHG Platinum Elite status
• Fourth Reward Night free on award stays of 4+ nights
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/NEXUS credit up to $120 every 4 years

Common questions

Does IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card have an annual fee?

Yes — $99 per year.

What does IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card earn on dining?

5x on dining.

What rewards does IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card earn on everything else?

3x on all other purchases, in IHG One Rewards.

Why does the card earn 10x at IHG when Chase advertises up to 26x?

The card itself earns 10x points at IHG Hotels & Resorts. The advertised 26x total layers in up to 10x base IHG One Rewards member earning and up to 6x from Platinum Elite status — points you would collect regardless of which card you pay with. When comparing cards, count only the 10x the card actually adds.

Does the IHG One Rewards Premier charge foreign transaction fees?

No. The card has no foreign transaction fees, it runs on the Mastercard network, and it earns 5x on flights, hotels, and other travel. If you book international IHG stays or spend abroad, you keep the full earning without a surcharge. Make it your default card outside the US for travel purchases.

Related reading

• How we value points and miles (and why our numbers are lower than everyone else's)SwipeCaddy ranks cards by reward rate × a conservative cash value per point: 1¢ for cash back and transferable points (Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt), 1.1–1.3¢ for airline miles, 0.4–1.4¢ for hotel points, and 0.8–0.9¢ for store currencies. Optimistic transfer values are recorded for context but never ranked, because most people never achieve them.