Tim reported being targeted to receive 5,000 IHG One Rewards points for upgrading his IHG card to the IHG Rewards Premier card. I did not receive this offer on my old (no-longer-available) $49 IHG Rewards Club card (though I wouldn’t have upgraded mine without a better offer).
The Deal
- Some IHG Rewards credit card holders are being targeted with an offer to earn 5,000 bonus points when upgrading to the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card
- Direct link to this deal (remember that this is targeted)
Key Terms
- Your Anniversary Free Night will now be available for redemption on the anniversary of your account upgrade date each year (in other words, your anniversary date will change to the upgrade date)
Quick Thoughts
The IHG Rewards Premier card is certainly a good card to have for IHG fans as it comes with an annual free night certificate that can be used on a night costing up to 40K points — but you can also top off that certificate with more points to stay at a more expensive property. You also get the 4th night free on award stays along with other benefits. See key card details here:
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
$99 Annual Fee Earning rate: 10X IHG ✦ 5X travel, dining, and gas stations ✦ 3X on all other purchases Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: 10K bonus points + $100 statement credit after you spend $20K in a calendar year + make one additional purchase ✦ Diamond status after $40K in purchases + one additional purchase in a calendar year Noteworthy perks: Anniversary free night e-certificate good at IHG properties up to 40K points per night ✦ Ability to add an unlimited number of points to a free night certificate to book a higher-level hotel ✦ Fourth night free on award stays ✦ 20% discount on points purchases ✦ Platinum elite status ✦ Up to $50 in United TravelBank cash per year (must register your card with your United account) |
As noted above, the upgrade offer is targeted. I did not receive an offer to upgrade my old IHG Rewards credit card after entering my card info. That was OK with me as I’d have a hard time parting with the old $49 card for just 5K points (which I could otherwise buy for $25 when points are on sale). The downside of my old card is that my 40K free night certificate can not be topped off with additional points. Still, I managed to use my old un-top-offable free night certificate last night for a room that would have otherwise cost about $300. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t argue with someone who decides that the Premier makes more sense for them — I could imagine plenty of scenarios where the upgrade could make sense.
Overall, this isn’t an amazing offer, but if you really want the newer IHG Premier card with the $99 annual fee and you wouldn’t qualify for a new cardmember bonus anyway, this beats upgrading without an offer.
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5000 points don’t even cover the increase in annual fee for one year. No thanks.
I’d rather keep my 10% rebate than have flexibility on the FNC. I just used my FNC for a ~$400 night anyway.
You’ll only be able to pry my $49 annual fee (no longer available) Select Card from my cold dead hands…
Since you can keep the old card and its 10% rebate on point redemptions and be eligible for the full signup bonus on a new application for the Premier card, I wouldn’t advise accepting any upgrade offer even if you’re way over 5/24. Just wait it out.
You can’t apply for Premier anymore if you have Select. (But you could apply for the Business)
Ah, but you could for a while and that is why I, for one, will never upgrade that sweet $49 card until they break in and steal the thing.
I have both, probably ineligible.