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$0 Intro for the First Year, then $49
17.99% - 24.99% Variable
The card allows you to earn points in lots of common categories, while also giving you at least 1 free night per year and Platinum Elite status!
(at Chase's secure site)
Whether you travel for business or pleasure, there’s nothing like a comfortable room waiting for you at the end of the day.
With over 4,900 hotels in nearly 100 countries, IHG hotels has the rooms you want when you need them.
Plus, if you like earning points for access to a variety of great benefits, you’ll want to check out the Chase IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card.
Sign up for the IHG Select card and get sign up bonus points after spending the required amount in the allotted time (see above card summary table for details).
Stay at IHG hotels and earn 5 points for every $1 you spend. Plus, earn 2 points per every $1 you spend at grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants.
All other purchases get you 1 point per $1 spent. The card will cost you $49 per year, but this fee is waived for the first year.
Bottom Line: The IHG Select card earns 5x points at IHG hotels, 2x points at grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants, and 1x points everywhere else!
There is no shortage of benefits with the IHG Select card.
First, you automatically start out with Platinum Elite status, and you keep this status for as long as you remain a cardmember.
Platinum Elite members receive a 50% bonus on all qualifying stays, complimentary room upgrades, and more.
Move up to the next tier (Spire Elite) to get a 100% bonus on stays. You’ll need 75 nights or 75,000 points during the calendar year to qualify.
Plus, as a card member, you get a 10% rebate on point redemptions. When considering this, your annual earnings rates are effectively increased by 10%.
For instance: spend 20,000 points on a room, get 2,000 back. Spend 30,000 points, get 3,000 back…all the way up to a maximum of 100,000 points back each year.
And that’s not all: you’ll pay no annual fee for your first year as a cardmember. After that, the fee is only $49/year.
Bottom Line: Platinum Elite status, redemption rebates, and no annual fee the first year are all part of the package for getting the IHG Select card!
If you enroll in the IHG Rewards Club during a stay at any IHG hotel worldwide, you earn 1,000 points for that stay.
In the future, you earn 5 or 10 base points per $1 depending on the property. See the following table for a list of properties and their point rate.
| Hotel | Base Points per $1 |
| Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts | 10 |
| Hotel Indigo | 10 |
| Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts | 10 |
| Holiday Inn Express | 10 |
| InterContinental Hotels & Resorts | 10 |
| Staybridge Suites | 5 |
| Candlewood Suites | 5 |
You also earn 2,000, 1,300, or 600 points per qualifying stay at ANA partner hotels.
You get a free night every year just for signing up for the card, and it includes luxury hotels anywhere in the world.
That’s right: each year, you will receive a Chase Anniversary Free Night certificate, valid at any IHG property worldwide pending availability. This benefit alone is worth the annual fee of $49 that you’ll incur after the first year.
Redeeming the certificate is easy. Just follow the link to ihg.com printed on the front. Note that your first free night is not earned until after the first full year, unfortunately.
Bottom Line: The IHG Select card offers a free night every year on your anniversary, but you won’t get your first free certificate until your first full year is complete.
There are many ways to redeem points with the IHG Select card. The trick is to get the best rewards for the fewest points.
If you don’t have enough points for your desired reward, you have 2 options:
The following table shows the cost per point when you buy points this way:
| Existing Points | Points Purchased | Points Price | Price/Point |
| 45,000 | 5,000 | 40 | .008 |
| 40,000 | 10,000 | 70 | .007 |
*One-Night Stay: 50,000 Points
Whenever possible, we try to examine the transfer of points to airline travel partners, as they tend to be the most valuable.
You can redeem increments of 10,000 points for miles with one of the IHG partner airlines. While there are no blackout dates, the redemption value is about 30% less than that of hotel stays. You can redeem points for airline miles but cannot convert miles back to points, as with most hotel loyalty programs. Also note this will prevent you from taking advantage of the 10% IHG Rebate.
Find the full list of Redeem for Miles-IHG Rewards Club Partner Airlines here. Note that some rewards can take 4-6 weeks to go through.
IHG allows you to redeem points for various gift cards such as Lands’ End, Gap, Bath & Body Works and much more. Be careful, because the value can be up to 30% less than that of hotel stays!
For example, a $200 Best Buy gift card requires 77,000 points, while a $50 Walmart gift card requires 20,000 points. Your point value will only be $0.0025-$0.0026 redeeming this way, and we want to aim for $0.01 at the bare minimum.
Click here for a complete list of gift cards.
You can also redeem points for Catalog Awards (jewelry, electronics and more), Digital Awards (eBooks, games, software, and more), purchase points as a gift, and transfer your points to another member’s account.
Finally, if you’re feeling generous, you can donate points to the IHG Shelter in a Storm disaster relief program, which is a great way to help a good cause while getting rid of extra points.
There are plenty of different ways to utilize your IHG Select card in order to earn points and get closer to your next free night.
Here are some tips to get you started earning more IHG points:
Tip #1: Earn your sign up bonus by spending the required amount in the allotted time as detailed in the card summary table.
Tip #2: Always pay for stays at any of the 4,900 IHG hotels with your card to earn 5 points for every $1 you spend. Plus, as a Platinum Elite member, you get a 50% bonus on IHG stays.
Tip #3: Work to accrue 75 nights or 75,000 points to reach Spire Elite status, and get a 100% bonus on IHG stays.
Tip #4: Make all of your regular purchases with the card to earn 2 points for every $1 you spend at supermarkets, gas stations, and restaurants, and 1 point per $1 for everything else.
Tip #5: If you can’t fly United, fly one of the Star Alliance members so you can earn United Elite Qualifying and Award Miles.
Tip #6: Keep an eye out for IHG Rewards Club promotions throughout the year. You can use these deals to earn bonus points for stays as well as bonus points on top of your normal earnings rates!
IHG has many travel partners worldwide, including the following companies, all of which help you earn points.
IHG Global Brands: Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Resort, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, InterContinental, KIMPTON*. EVEN, and HUALUXE
*KIMPTON is not yet a member of IHG Rewards Club
IHG Rewards Club Partners: IHG Rewards Club Cruises, Ground Link, Hertz, Uber
The biggest complaint people have about the IHG Select card is that it’s difficult to earn points. While it’s true that you earn 5x the points for IHG hotel stays, it’s not as easy to earn valuable points for other purchases.
For instance, members earn 2x the points for every $1 spent at grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants.
In comparison, the Hilton Honors™ Card from American Express awards 5x points at U.S. supermarkets, gas stations, and restaurants.
While the IHG 2x earning rate compares in number to say the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the points are much less valuable. Therefore, to get the same rewards you need many more points.
As an example, you can transfer each point earned on a Chase Sapphire Preferred card to a travel partner at a 1:1 rate. That means 2 points is 2 miles. For IHG, you can only transfer to travel partners at a 5:1 ratio or less in equivalent value.
That means you’d need to earn 10 points per $1 to earn an equivalent amount for travel partners. When considering your points earned directly through IHG, this may be worth it.
In general, using points for IHG stays is much more valuable than transferring to travel partners.
Bottom Line: You may find more value with other hotel or travel rewards cards, as some find it tough to earn a lot of points with the IHG Select card.
The information regarding the IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Card, click here.
Founder and CEO of Upgraded Points, Alex is a leader in the industry and has earned and redeemed millions of points and miles. He frequently discusses the award travel industry with CNBC, Fox Business, The New York Times, and more.
Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.
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