Chase IHG Premier - My UNBIASED Review After 1 Year

[@denakelley4363]

I just got this card. I hope it turns out to be a keeper. I have a soft spot for IHG because I got stranded in Minneapolis St Paul Airport on a trip and chose to stay at the InterContinental that is attached to the airport. Staying at a hotel is very stressful to me because I have significant food allergies and generally I stay at a place with a kitchen. But the staff at the hotel restaurant were so professional and took great care of me, preparing an off-menu meal that was safe for me to eat and the manager even came out to discuss my allergies before they prepared the meal. After receiving such great treatment, it's hard not to love them. And they do have properties that have kitchens that I can plan for.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

That's awesome about your experience with InterContinental! I'm glad they took care of you. I think this card is a keeper for a lot of people and hopefully for you too!

[@johnmckinstry6057]

I agree, Jacob, the IHG Premier is one of the best hotel cards for under $100 per year. I have had the personal IHG Premier for almost 2 years and I plan to keep it for years to come. Last year, I used my free night certificate on a suite at a Holiday Inn Express in Blacksburg, VA. Eventually, I would like to use my free night certificate on a more upscale property like a Hotel Indigo or a Kimpton hotel. However, most of the time, I am happy with staying at the inexpensive Holiday Inn Express properties. I have stayed in several Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express properties as well as one Staybridge Suites property and I have always had good experiences.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

That’s cool to hear your experience! Nothing wrong with the Holiday Inn Express hotels. I like them too because I know it’ll be a perfectly fine stay and it won’t cost a ton of points

[@knowledgeapplied]

😢 One fact I found out too late - and is a MAJOR negative drawback about the company - is that some properties absolutely refuse to accept points (see for yourself in the app), leaving you stranded high and dry to pay cash or credit, only. It just doesn't make any sense to keep on accumulating points, when *you can't use the points at all properties across the board.* 😢 I was really psyched about this card, too, until I found this out.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

I have noticed there are higher end properties that typically show that they are only taking paid bookings for the date ranges I searched. In my experience, pretty much everywhere I've wanted to go for lower end stays have all been problem-free. But it definitely sounds annoying for the situation you described

[@tomatochemist]

I only ran into one place in Portugal that didn’t accept any rewards points, and I got some great deals like 26k per night for a $400/night hotel in Lisbon. :)

[@basaindon]

It is a really good card and a great program. I just booked a 4 night stay at a Kimpton that yields approx. 1.5 cpp. That being said, it is an anomaly of the inflated price of the 4th night free. But that's the beauty of the program: there are ways to maximize value if you mix points and cash stays. They are also liberal with the modest upgrades with status. It is a really good program if you also pay cash for some properties. If you don't like paying cash some, the IHG Premier does not have as much value. Hilton and Hyatt are better for the "free every stay" crowd.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

1.5 CPP is huge! It definitely seems like IHG is a program that can be used for many stays every year and for those cash stays if it's a better deal. I'm excited about the chance for upgrades in the future.

[@De_Guatemala]

Your video inspired me to book my IHG annual free night at the Crowne Plaza Anchorage for this summer. $302 cash cost. I have the business card.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

That's awesome! Yeah, book it now and you can always change your mind and move it to a different hotel later. Anchorage seems like a really cool place to visit!

[@dariusjamal]

Good review 👍 I need to try out IHG. I've been leaning more towards Marriott & Hyatt.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

Thanks! Hyatt is amazing and I haven't found great deals with Marriott, but I've heard it can be good for higher end properties. In my experience, IHG is different than Marriott and Hilton because it's a lot easier to find good value for your points no matter your travel preferences

[@dariusjamal]

@JacobsPointsAndProfit yea, Hyatt can really offer some outsized value, but with the lower amt of properties I tend to find myself at Marriott more often. Not surprised, deal-wise it's not like Hyatt at all, haha. The higher end can offer better opportunities. Going to keep IHG on my radar though.

[@rmknicks]

I'll be staying at the Hotel Indigo in Brussels for six nights starting tomorrow. I used my FNC for one night and points for the rest so I snagged an additional free night. This is a total keeper card. I also transferred CC points for the biz class flights. A weeklong vacay for about $170 in taxes and fees.Great video!

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

That sounds like an amazing trip! Brussels was pretty fun when I stayed there. Don't forget to eat lots of waffles, chocolate! Fries were apparently invented in Belgium and it's traditional to eat them with mayo and and andalouse sauce

[@meej6452]

I would like a video about how the website works and how much points you actually get using this card.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

That’s a good idea! I’ll write that down for a future video idea

[@jayr5536]

I have the IHG Premier and love it. Should I get the IHG Traveler for the welcome offer?

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

You can't hold two IHG personal cards at the same time, so you would be ineligible for the welcome offer on the Traveler card. However, you can hold 1 IHG personal card and 1 IHG business card, so you could apply for the IHG Business Premier if you want it

[@jayr5536]

I didn't know that. Thanks for the information and advice!!!

[@Cody.Little]

Great to hear your positive experience with IHG and the card! I plan on having both versions as well for 2 free nights, the card is definitely one of the best hotel keeper cards

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

IHG is a solid program! I'm thinking of having my wife apply for both cards so we can have 4 free nights every year haha

[@PingPingTravel]

It is probably my favorite hotel card also. I do like the welcome drink and the welcome snack provided, which I never had at any other hotel chain (marriott/hyatt/hilton) plus the points earned are more valuable than Hilton's.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

I really like that my points seem to go much farther than Hilton points. It would be interesting if IHG ever comes out with a high annual fee card

[@BobI-jb4rk]

I am going to be checking out IHG for the first time this summer. I booked a Holiday Inn Express outside of two national parks🥾 that I'm going to be visiting this summer.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

Nice! I'm looking forward to hearing how your IHG experience goes. Sounds like some fun plans!

[@jeremycain2491]

Nice video and review. Thanks!

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

I'm glad my video was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@vickiarnold7300]

Great job on KZbin ♥️

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

Thank you so much!

[@OfficialChadsMoneyMinutes]

Thanks for the review......my chase status says....."uh not for you!" but if I ever calm down I may have to pick this card up!

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

Haha yeah sadly Chase 5/24 would get you here. Maybe the rules wouldn't apply to you for the business version because of the elevated offer right now

[@StephGarcia-x1k]

Very informative! I have the IHG Traveler (no AF) for more than 2 years now. How do I get the IHG Premier? Cancel my existing card first?

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

Yes you would need to cancel the IHG Traveler card to receive an approval and a welcome bonus on the card. However, if you don't care about the welcome bonus, you could call Chase and product change to the IHG Premier card

[@SledgeIncTeam]

Very slept on card. I have the Business version myself

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

The Business version is a great one. Now I want my wife to get both the personal and business cards

[@Xavier_ID.]

Seems like a great keeper card just to use the FNC. Added to the list 😂 👍🏼👍🏼

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

It's a great one to have in your card collection even if you only use it for IHG stays and nothing else

[@johnwick860]

for IHG, you can book with as low as 11,000 pts... for Marriott... the average I see in my area are in the 100,000 pts oe above... even the 50k FNC won't work 😂

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

Usually when I'm searching all of the hotel brands for my next destination the cheapest Marriott is around double the points of the cheapest IHG. I just booked a Holiday Inn Express in Malaysia for 6,500 points per night (after 4th night free) and there's no way Marriott could match or beat that price

[@chadpennycuff]

OK - you've added this to my list whenever I finally get out of 5/24 jail.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

It's really hard to lose value with the IHG Premier card. Seems like easy money to me as long as you usually stay in hotels every year

[@mrsmakeuplover]

Where do you search for hotel availability in points? Any hotel available in Hawaii with points? Thanks!

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

On the IHG website or app you’ll type in Hawaii as the destination and then you’ll have to switch the search from money to points or reward nights. You’re able to search for any dates you want and you’ll be able to see which hotels are available

[@madonnaghobrial7046]

Is there a cap on how many points can be added to the free night rewards?

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

When it comes to these 40k free nights you can add an unlimited number of points. I went through a booking for a hotel worth 185k points and it allowed me to use the free night + 145k points. I didn’t make the booking but it would have let me do that

[@TheAndyzilla]

Ive been debating whether to get this card or not since im an IHG employee, but i cant redeem discounted room rates with the reward points. But overall seems like a good option for those wanting to travel with the program

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

It's a great card for IHG travelers! So employees can use points, but because it's not discounted like the cash rate, it probably wouldn't be worth it?

[@TheAndyzilla]

@@JacobsPointsAndProfit yea cash rooms with employee rate can be like 99$/night on a intercontinental or kimpton. But with points is regular rate, only good use i can think is pay rooms as that cash value and then use those points for a future redemption but not quite sure if its worth

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

@@TheAndyzilla That's amazing to get those kind of rates! It probably wouldn't be worth it to use points in most cases, but maybe if for some reason you can't get the employee rate, it could be nice to use points. Not sure if that would ever be a realistic situation, but that's just a thought

[@nanderpena]

definitely the second best credit card after Hyatt.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

I love it and it's arguably better than the Hyatt credit card even though the Hyatt program is the best

[@WhenPushComeToShove]

Are cards like the Chase IHG and Chase World of Hyatt earning you Chase points that can be transferred or hotel specific points that can’t be used in the Chase portal?

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

The hotel cards are earning hotel specific points so they can’t be used in the Chase portal or transferred to other hotels or airlines. The hotels points are less value than Chase points, but that’s ok because you can usually earn the hotel points much easier and faster the Chase points

[@ElJefe360]

Great job 🙌🏻😎

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

Thank you!

[@jamesyu613]

I like my IHG card, I think it's a keeper card and that tree spooked me lol.

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

There's no good reason to cancel unless one day you want the bonus again. That tree came out of nowhere and tried to attack me haha

[@jamesyu613]

@@JacobsPointsAndProfit I agree and I would be I would jump from the tree

[@kura_bot]

9:11 aw hell nah, that plant is haunted

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

lol why did it have to fall over like that

[@HumeNicole]

4900 Flatley Creek

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

?

[@CallMeLani]

You're selling me on it, Jacob lol

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

Haha I'm just stating the facts. Not supposed to be a sales pitch even though it's my favorite hotel card lol

[@mustang9549]

Why make a video on your number #2 pick and not have a video on your number #1 pick?

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

I want to make more Hyatt videos especially if I get their credit cards. IHG is my 2nd favorite hotel redemption option behind Hyatt, but IHG credit cards are #1 over the Hyatt cards in my opinion.

[@mustang9549]

@@JacobsPointsAndProfit gotcha! I’m comparing the two and I’m not really seeing how people are putting the IHG so much lower. It’s sign on bonus is better and has much better ways to earn points. I’m getting both but I’m going to apply for the IHG to get a really high spending limit then pc my chase slate into the Hyatt and request a line increase if I can do that.

[@DoraSpring-m9o]

Clark Matthew Thomas Betty Brown Angela

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

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