Chase just reworked every IHG hotel credit card, and the IHG credit card changes hit the two cards families actually carry. The IHG Premier card's annual fee is going from $99 to $150. And the no-fee card's best perk, the 4th reward night free, is about to come with strings attached. There's real new value in here too. But it only pays off if it matches how you travel, so let's walk through it.

Here's the short version: if you buy at least one airline ticket a year, the Premier probably still earns its keep. If you mostly use the free card for the occasional points stay, you have a new number to hit. The details are below.

What changed on the IHG Premier card

The Premier is the mid-level card, and it's the one most people mean when they say "the IHG card." Here's what's different:

  • Annual fee: $99 → $150. If you already have the card, you won't pay the new fee until your card anniversary in 2027. New cardholders pay $150 right away.
  • Anniversary free night: worth up to 50,000 points, up from 40,000. And you can add your own points on top to book a pricier hotel.
  • A new $100 airline credit. Spend at least $250 on flights bought directly from an airline in a calendar year, and you get $100 back. This runs through the end of 2027.
  • $100 a year in hotel food and drink credit, paid out as a $25 voucher each quarter for food and drinks at participating IHG hotels.
  • 5X points on groceries, plus flights booked directly, car rentals, dining, and gas. 10X at IHG hotels. 3X on everything else.
  • Automatic status drops a notch. New cardholders get Gold Elite instead of Platinum. Platinum now takes $15,000 of spending in a year.
  • The 4th reward night free stays. Book 4 nights in a row with points at the same hotel, and every 4th night costs nothing.

Is the IHG Premier card still worth $150?

So the fee goes up $51. What do you get for it?

The airline credit is the big one. Most families buy at least one plane ticket a year, and $250 is a single ticket for a lot of trips. Book it on the airline's own website with this card and $100 comes back. That turns a $150 fee into an effective $50. And the anniversary night, a free hotel stay worth up to 50,000 points, comes on top of that. Use it, and the math works.

The food and drink credit is a different story. It comes in $25 pieces, one per quarter, and it's only good at IHG hotels. If you stay at a Holiday Inn or a Crowne Plaza once or twice a year, you'll use one or two of those vouchers. Not four. Count it as a bonus, not as money you're getting back.

And the grocery change is quietly good news. 5X points at the grocery store is the kind of thing that adds up without changing anything you do. That's everyday spending turning into hotel nights.

What changed on the no-fee IHG card

The free card used to be called the IHG Traveler card. Now it's just the IHG One Rewards Credit Card. It's still $0 a year, and it picks up 3X points at grocery stores, plus 5 elite night credits a year toward hotel status.

But here's the catch. Until now, the 4th reward night free came automatically with this card. Starting in 2027, you have to spend $5,000 on the card in a year to unlock it. Hit that, and it's on for that year and the next.

Read that last part again. You don't have to hit $5,000 every single year to keep the perk working. But if the card sits in a drawer, the 4th night free goes away.

And for a family booking a 4-night beach trip on points, that perk can be worth more than everything else on the card combined.

Who comes out ahead, and who doesn't

  • You buy flights directly from airlines every year: the Premier's airline credit covers most of the fee bump. You're probably fine.
  • You stay at IHG hotels a few times a year: the bigger free night and the food vouchers add real value. The new card is better for you than the old one.
  • You book flights through travel sites or other portals: those likely won't count for the airline credit. Book directly with the airline, or that $100 doesn't come back.
  • You keep the free card just for the 4th night: you'll now need $5,000 of spending to keep it. If that's spending you'd do anyway, put it on the card. If not, the perk is gone in 2027.
  • You count on Platinum status: new Premier cardholders won't get it automatically anymore. If you already have the card, Chase is sending notices this month with the dates that apply to you. Check what yours says.

There's also a brand-new top card, the IHG One Rewards Premier Select, at $350 a year. It comes with bigger credits and a free night worth up to 60,000 points. It's built for people who stay at IHG hotels constantly. For most families, the Premier is the one to compare.

What to do now

If you have the Premier, nothing happens to your fee until your 2027 anniversary. So use the time. Next time you buy a plane ticket, buy it straight from the airline on this card and watch for the $100 credit. Use your anniversary night. Then, before the $150 fee posts, ask yourself one question: did I get more than $150 out of this card this year? If yes, keep it. If not, call Chase and ask about your options before you cancel.

If you have the free card, decide now whether $5,000 a year fits on it. Moving your grocery spending over at 3X might get you most of the way there.

And if you're thinking about opening either card, the new welcome offers are big, and they run through November 18.

Hotel cards like these can quietly cover a family vacation's worth of nights, if you know which perks matter. I break that down in plain English over on YouTube at @ChasingSummerPoints, so you can decide which card earns a spot in your wallet without the jargon.