Chase IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card Review 2024

The IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card from Chase is a decent co-branded hotel credit card option for travelers wanting to earn IHG One Rewards. It provides up to 17 points per dollar spent at IHG Hotels & Resorts, 3 points on qualifying monthly bills, gas stations, select streaming services and restaurants and 2 points on all other purchases. The points earned can be redeemed for special experiences such as sporting events and concert tickets, flights with partner airlines and free hotel stays.

New cardholders can earn a solid welcome bonus: 80,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. The card offers perks such as the opportunity to earn IHG Gold Elite status after $20,000 spent in a calendar year, but it’s not worth spending on the card just for status as IHG Gold doesn’t confer much in the way of benefits.

The most compelling perk of the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card is the ability to get your fourth night free on award stays. That’s a significant upgrade from Hilton and Marriott, which both offer the fifth night free on award bookings. It’s easier to picture a long weekend where a four-night stay is feasible but a five-night stay is not.

There’s no annual fee to worry about, and travelers can use their card abroad without paying foreign transaction fees.

For travelers seeking an IHG card with more robust benefits, an alternative is worth consideration. As the bigger sibling of the no annual fee IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card, the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is equipped with perks such as a higher welcome bonus offer, a free night each year and automatic Platinum Elite status in exchange for a $99 annual fee.

• Welcome bonus: 80,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
• No annual fee
• Earn up to 17 points per dollar spent at IHG Hotels & Resorts, 3 points on qualifying monthly bills, gas stations, select streaming services and restaurants and 2 points on all other purchases
• No foreign transaction fees
• Fourth reward night free
• Earn IHG Gold Elite status after spending $20,000 on the card each year

Earning Rewards

Cardholders can earn IHG One Rewards on all purchases with the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card. You’ll earn up to 17 points per dollar spent at IHG Hotels & Resorts, 3 points on qualifying monthly bills, gas stations, select streaming services and restaurants and 2 points on all other purchases.

The IHG One Rewards Traveler card has a poor rate of earnings on non-bonus category purchases and a lackluster rate of return even on bonus spending outside of IHG hotels, considering the relatively low value of IHG One points.

Upon approval, you can earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.

Normally, IHG requires members to stay 20 nights per year or earn 40,000 Elite qualifying points per year to earn Gold Elite status. You can bypass the stay requirement for Gold Elite status by spending $20,000 on purchases within a calendar year. Gold Elite status includes tangible benefits for IHG guests including late checkout and 40% more points than non-elite members.

Redeeming Rewards

IHG One Rewards can be redeemed in numerous ways, but by far the most popular and valuable is to use them for hotel stays. Cardholders can redeem points for any stay of three or more nights and get the fourth night free. For example, an IHG property requiring 20,000 points per night will only require 60,000 points (instead of 80,000) for a four-night stay. This perk helps increase the value of your IHG points if you spend at least four consecutive nights at an IHG property.

Another useful, albeit less valuable way to redeem IHG points, is to mix points and cash on an award stay. In essence, IHG sells you the points you’re missing to complete an award booking at the price displayed and then deducts the total amount from your account.

For instance, a one-night stay at an IHG hotel might cost 50,000 points a night. But if you want to pay with points and cash, IHG offers a number of points and cash combinations that essentially result in buying the extra points you need for anywhere from 0.6 cents to 0.7 cents each. This is a useful way to redeem for an award night when you’re a bit short on points.

IHG points typically expire after 12 months of inactivity. However, points do not expire if you hold IHG elite status. Because the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card automatically gives you Silver Elite status, your IHG points will not expire as long as you keep the card.

Rewards Potential

To determine the rewards potential of the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card, we look at the bonus categories and calculate what an example household might spend in those areas. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies in order to determine both annual expenses and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage-earning households brings in $116,000 annually and has $36,177 in annual spending that can reasonably be charged to credit cards.

Chase IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card Rewards Potential
Category	Earning Rate	Estimated Annual Spend	Estimated Annual Earnings
Hotel stays	17X	$2,015	34,255
Streaming services, cellphone, internet	3X	$3,267	9,801
Gas and dining	3X	$6,335	19,005
All other purchases	2X	$24,560	49,120
			Total: 112,181 One Rewards points

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The IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card offers a handful of important benefits you should know about:

• 20% discount on IHG One Rewards points purchases: A handy perk when needing to top off an account for an award redemption.
• Purchase protection: Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: Reimbursement of up to $5,000 per person and $10,000 per trip for your prepaid, nonrefundable travel expenses when your trip is canceled.
• Baggage delay insurance: Will reimburse you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over six hours by passenger carriers up to $100 a day for three days.
• Lost luggage reimbursement: Covers lost or damaged luggage for your or an immediate family member up to $3,000 per passenger.
• No foreign transaction fees: This saves cardholders up to 3% on every purchase they make outside of the U.S.

Interest Rates

• APR: 21.49% - 28.49% Variable

Fees

• Annual fee: $0
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: $0
• Balance transfer fees: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

The IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card works as a decent entry-level hotel card if you stay at IHG hotels from time to time and want to avoid paying an annual fee. Consumers who are loyal to other hotel brands may want to consider hotel credit cards offered by numerous brands such as Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott.

IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card vs. IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

If you frequently stay at IHG hotels and are looking for an IHG One Rewards-earning credit card with rich rewards including a free anniversary night and a generous welcome bonus offer and don’t mind paying a $99 annual fee, then you should consider the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. You’ll earn up to 26 points per dollar spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts, 5 points on travel, gas stations, and restaurants and 3 points on all other purchases.

The IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card is best for those with no alliance to a particular hotel chain that don’t want to pay an annual fee for a hotel credit card.

IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card vs. Hilton Honors American Express Card

Both Hilton and IHG have a similar global footprint and Hilton points can be used to book hotel stays at more than 7,000 hotels worldwide. If you prefer Hilton, then the no annual fee Hilton Honors American Express Card (Terms apply, see rates & fees) is a solid entry-level option for travelers looking for more Hilton perks.

The card’s bonus categories are similar to the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card with extra points for purchases at U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations and the added bonus category of U.S. supermarkets. The card features automatic Hilton Honors™ Silver status with no spend threshold to meet.

Hilton Honors American Express cardholders can upgrade to Hilton Honors™ Gold status when spending $20,000 or more in a calendar year. Hilton Gold status is more valuable than IHG Gold Elite status as it earns an 80% points bonus on stays, as well as complimentary breakfast at select hotels and room upgrades when available.

IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card vs. Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

If you want travel rewards with more flexibility than hotel stays with one chain, consider the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees). The card earns 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 1.25 miles per dollar on every other purchase.  Rewards can be redeemed for eligible travel purchases you’ve made with your card.

Like the card the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card, it has no annual fee, no foreign transaction fee and is a solid contender because of the versatility of Capital One Rewards—and the ease of not having to track bonus categories.

The IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card is worth considering if you stay at Holiday Inn, InterContinental, Kimpton or one of the many brands owned by IHG from time to time and don’t want to pay an annual fee. With a generous welcome bonus and no annual fee, this card may be right for you if you want to earn IHG One Rewards points and stay at IHG properties while traveling.

For a superior IHG credit card product with elevated benefits such as a free anniversary award night and $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, you may want to consider the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. It does charge a $99 annual fee, but the larger welcome bonus offer and perks can help offset that cost.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual points or miles
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.

Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards

To view rates and fees for Hilton Honors American Express Card please visit this page.