IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card Review: Should You Get It?
IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card Review: Should You Get It?
The IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card offers top-of-the-line perks for loyal IHG travelers.
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Quick facts
- Credit needed: 660 - 850
- Sign-up bonus: Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Earning rate: Earn up to 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel. Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, marketing, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Annual fee: $99
- Foreign transaction fee: $0
- Annual bonus: $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points after you spend $20,000 on purchases and make one additional purchase each calendar year
- Other benefits: Anniversary free night, automatic Platinum Elite status, up to $50 United® Airlines TravelBank Cash each year
Pros
Cons
Is the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card worth it?
First Year Savings
$864 ?The IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card can definitely be worth it for small business owners who regularly stay with IHG. While the card comes with a $99 annual fee, we estimate that the average cardholder will get around $864 in value from the card in its first year, just from its sign-up bonus and points earned on purchases.
The card offers a host of other valuable benefits, both for business owners and frequent travelers. This includes free employee cards; a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit; an Anniversary Free Night; automatic Platinum Elite status and more. If you're not sold on this card, however, there are a number of other great small business credit cards that might suit you better.
Who is the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card best for?
The IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is best for small business owners who regularly stay at IHG properties. Even if you don't spend much on the card, its automatic benefits are worth card ownership for frequent business travelers.
Sign-up bonus
The IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card comes with a lucrative sign-up bonus that should be attainable for most small business owners:
Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Unfortunately, as with most hotel rewards programs, IHG rewards points don't come at a very high value. We value IHG points at about $0.005 per point (1,000 points are worth $5). However, the true value of your IHG points will vary based on how you redeem them, and can be valuable when used strategically.
What's it worth? Around $700 in hotel stays
Who's eligible to earn this bonus? Consumers with an open account in good standing are eligible to earn this bonus. Note that Chase may close or suspend your account for any reason, including account inactivity.
Earning rate
The IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card offers a lucrative earning rate:
Earn up to 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel. Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, marketing, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
If maximized properly, this earning rate can be beneficial for cardholders looking to rack up serious amounts of points. You'll earn high amounts of points across a variety of useful day-to-day spending categories, as well as an elevated rate on all other purchases. However, because IHG points are only valued at about $0.005 per point, you can get a better return with other cards that offer more value per point.
Average rewards earned per $1 spent
We estimate an earning rate for the average consumer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor data and multiply that by the value of each card’s points or miles.
Redeeming rewards
When you redeem reward nights for a consecutive four night stay, you’ll get the fourth night free. This can save you big bucks on an extended IHG hotel stay and can be especially useful for frequent business travelers. This benefit can be used an unlimited number of times annually.
While you have several options when it comes to redeeming your IHG rewards, hotel stays will likely be your best choice. IHG doesn't use a rewards chart to determine the points required for stays at its properties, so different hotels will cost different amounts of points depending on when you book. Typically, IHG hotels range between 15,000 and 75,000 points per night.
Luckily, IHG's booking platform is fairly straightforward and easy to use, so you'll be able to quickly and simply research the best deals in your desired location.
Automatic Platinum Elite status
The complimentary Platinum Elite status that comes with the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is one of its top benefits. Platinum status gives you perks like:
- Bonus earnings on top of base points
- A welcome amenity at check-in
- Reward Night discounts
- Elite Rollover Nights
- Complimentary upgrades
Plus, this card offers you the ability to earn Diamond Elite status when you spend $40,000 or more on your card each year.
Even if you don't use this as your primary credit card, owning it simply for the benefits that come with Platinum Elite status can be worth it for frequent IHG travelers.
Anniversary free night
Another top perk of the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is that each year after your account anniversary, you'll get a complimentary anniversary night. The value of this benefit can be extremely high depending on when and where you choose to redeem it.
You can also earn an additional free Reward Night after you spend $60,000 on purchases and make one additional purchase each calendar year, as an added incentive of spending on your card.
Other benefits
The IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card offers some excellent travel and purchase protections:
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance — Offers $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip reimbursement
- Travel and emergency assistance services — Call your benefit administrator for emergency assistance while traveling. You’ll be responsible for charges incurred.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver — Primary auto rental coverage when you decline insurance offered by the rental company, pay for the entire rental with your card and are traveling for business.
- Purchase protection — Covers new purchases against theft or damage for up to 120 days, at up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
- Extended warranty protection — Extends the original U.S. manufacturer's warranty by one year on eligible warranties of three years or less.
- Fraud protection — Monitors card activity to prevent fraud.
If you're only a few points short of making your desired reward booking, you can save at least 20% on purchasing points when you use your card. This can be a convenient way to help you reach your travel goals.
The IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, which is essential for any travel credit card. Credit cards that don’t offer this benefit typically charge a 3% fee every time you use your card while traveling abroad, which can quickly add up.
Earn a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points after you spend $20,000 on purchases and make one additional purchase each calendar year.
A nice perk of the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is that cardholders will get up to $100 in statement credits towards a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fee every four years when charged to your card. These programs are a must for frequent travelers, as they can save you time, stress and energy at the airport.
A top business perk of the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is that it offers free employee cards which can also earn points for your company.
When you register your IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card with your MileagePlus account, you can earn up to $50 United Airlines TravelBank Cash. This is a nice benefit for frequent United fliers.
Drawbacks
- $99 annual fee — The most obvious drawback of the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is that it charges a $99 annual fee. However, it's important to point out that the perks and benefits of this card can be used to offset the fee many times over. But if you'd still rather not pay any annual fee at all, there are plenty of other no annual fee travel credit cards you may prefer instead.
- Hotel points aren't as valuable as other travel rewards points — We value IHG rewards points at $0.005 per point. This is relatively low when compared to rewards programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards® which can offer as much as $0.02 per point.
Alternatives to the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
The IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card can be a lucrative choice for frequent IHG travelers — but for consumers who aren't as brand loyal or want to consider other business credit card options, here's a list of some top alternatives.
IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express
Verdict: A stellar, but expensive, business card with top luxury rewards
The Platinum Card® from American Express comes with an enormous $695 annual fee, but includes all the benefits you'd expect for such an expensive card. If you're a small business owner who can afford it, you'll want to take advantage of the numerous travel credits, access to the Global Lounge Collection, complimentary Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy elite status (enrollment required) and much more. Plus, you'll earn valuable Membership Rewards points that can offer added flexibility to your redemptions and can help you maximize your points value.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here
IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Verdict: A general travel credit card with flexible and valuable rewards
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the most popular travel credit cards on the market, and for good reason. With a comparable annual fee to the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a general travel rewards card that doesn't lock you into constantly staying with a single brand. Its sign-up bonus alone can offer massive returns that more than cover its annual fee: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card vs. Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Verdict: A great choice for a non-co-branded business rewards credit card
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is another top business credit card from Chase that offers valuable business and travel perks. However, it's not co-branded, and therefore offers cardholders more flexibility when it comes to using their rewards. The card also comes with one of the most valuable welcome offers around — Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, it charges only a $95 annual fee.
Should you get the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card?
If you're a small business owner who regularly stays at IHG properties, you could certainly benefit from getting the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card. The perks and benefits that come with this card are top-notch, and the heightened incentives for high spenders help to sweeten the deal. However, if you're not committed to IHG, or the card's $99 annual fee is a deterrent for you, you might consider another business credit card instead.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here
The information related to American Express® Business Gold Card, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card has been independently collected by ValuePenguin and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.
These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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How We Calculate Rewards: ValuePenguin calculates the value of rewards by estimating the dollar value of any points, miles or bonuses earned using the card less any associated annual fees. These estimates here are ValuePenguin's alone, not those of the card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer.
Example of how we calculate the rewards rates: When redeemed for travel through Ultimate Rewards, Chase Sapphire Preferred points are worth $0.0125 each. The card awards 2 points on travel and dining and 1 point on everything else. Therefore, we say the card has a 2.5% rewards rate on dining and travel (2 x $0.0125) and a 1.25% rewards rate on everything else (1 x $0.0125).