Our Verdict
For small business owners who can regularly stay at IHG Properties, the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is useful to have. The card offers generous earnings for stays within the brand—which includes the Intercontinental, Kimpton and Holiday Inn hotels—and comes with valuable perks that can far outweigh the $99 annual fee.
Pros
- Get a free anniversary night certificate
- Redeem 3 nights, get the 4th night free
- Includes Platinum Elite status
Cons
- IHG Rewards are worth less than a penny a point on most redemptions
- The $50 United Travel Bank credit can be complicated to maximize
Highlights
- Limited Time offer! Earn up to 175,000 Bonus Points. Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, earn 35,000 Bonus Points after spending a total of $7,000 in the first 6 months from account opening.
- Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay.
- Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels and Resorts
- Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, select advertising, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier Business cardmember
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
- IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at hotels such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®
- Member FDIC
Introduction
The IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is suited for small business owners who frequently stay at hotels within the IHG family of properties. IHG has a large global footprint and includes many brands you’re likely to recognize, including Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Kimpton.
Cardholders get Platinum Elite status in the IHG One Rewards program, which instantly boosts your points-earning ability, among other benefits. With this card you can earn up to 26 total points per dollar at IHG® Hotels and Resorts, 5 points per dollar on travel, dining, select business, and at gas stations and 3 points per dollar on all other purchases.
In addition to increased earnings, the card offers a few other perks. The most notable is a card member anniversary free night certificate, which can be used for one night at a property charging up to 40,000 points per night, or combined with points to redeem at a higher value property. Card ownership also grants you the ability to get a fourth consecutive night free when you book three nights using points. Finally, cardmembers will receive $25 in United TravelBank credits semi-annually after enrollment.
Compare IHG Business Card With Other Cards
Quick Facts
- Anniversary free night, redeemable at properties up to 40,000 points per night
- Earn 10,000 bonus points, plus a $100 statement credit after spending $20,000 within a calendar year
- Additional free night after spending $60,000
- Get a fourth consecutive night free when you redeem points for three consecutive nights at the same property
- No foreign transaction fees
IHG Premier Business Card Rewards
The IHG Business Card earns points in the IHG One Rewards program. IHG One Rewards points can be used for stays at properties across the IHG portfolio of hotel brands.
Earning Rewards
The card earns up to 26 total points per dollar at IHG® Hotels and Resorts, 5 points per dollar on travel, dining, select business, and at gas stations and 3 points per dollar on all other purchases.
The IHG Business Card also offers a welcome bonus: 140,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, plus 35,000 bonus points after spending a total of $7,000 in the first 6 months from account opening.
Redeeming Rewards
To redeem your IHG points for an award stay, simply search for hotel awards on the IHG website and select “Points” from the “Display Price in” dropdown menu.
IHG also offers a cash and points option to people who either don’t have or don’t want to use the number of points required for a standard award stay.
IHG prices its awards dynamically, meaning that the number of points you will pay roughly correlates to the cash price of the hotel. The value you get for your points is typically around 0.7 cents per point, but you can find outliers giving a penny per point or more in value from time to time.
In addition to using points for hotel nights, IHG rewards can be used for shopping online, gift cards or digital rewards, but these reward redemption options will not offer as much value as rewards redeemed for stays at IHG properties. Points can also be transferred to IHG’s partner airlines but at an abysmal rate of 10,000 points to 2,000 airline miles.
Finally, points can be transferred to another member at a cost of $5 per 1,000 points. Considering IHG points often go on sale for the same amount, this is a poor use of points.
Rewards Potential
Every small business is different, and how valuable the IHG Business Card is for your small business will depend heavily on how much you spend on stays at hotels within the IHG family of brands.
For the purposes of calculating how much you could earn, we will assume your small business has $50,000 of expenses annually that can be charged to credit cards, including $5,000 on hotel stays at IHG branded properties, $5,000 on dining and $2,000 on office supplies, advertising and other expenses in bonus categories.
On your stays at IHG properties, your business would earn 26 points per dollar, for a total of 130,000 points. Your $7,000 of combined purchases in the card’s 5 points per dollar categories would earn 35,000 points. Finally, the $38,000 remainder of your spending would earn 3 points per dollar, netting you 114,000 points.
Annually, given the spending patterns above, you could earn 279,000 IHG points.
Finally, remember that the card offers a welcome bonus making your first year of holding the IHG Business Card even more valuable: 140,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, plus 35,000 bonus points after spending a total of $7,000 in the first 6 months from account opening
Other IHG Premier Business Card Benefits
- Free anniversary night: Receive a certificate every year on your cardmember anniversary, valued at up to 40,000 points.
- Complimentary Platinum status: Get IHG Platinum status as a benefit of holding the card.
- $50 United Travel Bank credit: Register your card in your United account and receive a $25 United Travel Bank credit in January and July.
Fine Print
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 21.49% - 28.49% Variable
- Purchase intro APR: N/A
- Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
Fees
- Annual fee: $99
- Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
- Foreign purchase transaction fee: $0
How the IHG Premier Business Card Stacks Up
IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card vs. Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
If you are a business traveler with a need for hotel stays in a wide range of areas, Marriott hotels and the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (Terms apply. See rates & fees) should be on your short list. The hotel chain has a vast footprint compared to IHG and also has an elite loyalty program that awards members benefits and extra earnings based on number of nights stayed in a year.
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card earns 6 points per dollar on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program, 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping and 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
Per point, you are likely to get slightly more value out of Marriott Bonvoy points over IHG points, but the higher earning rate on the IHG Business card may edge out the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card slightly for small business owners looking for the most value from their hotel spending. Ultimately, the best choice for you will depend on a combination of spending patterns and hotel preferences.
There’s an annual fee of $125 for the Marriott card.
IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card vs. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
If you are looking for a card that earns points on hotel stays, but either don’t want to be tied to IHG brands or simply want more flexible reward redemption options, consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card earns 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. In addition, the card offers a number of benefits that might appeal to a business traveler like trip cancellation and interruption insurance, cellphone protection, primary auto rental collision damage coverage for business car rentals, purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
Points earned with the Ink Business Preferred card can be either redeemed for cash at 1 cent each, redeemed for travel or transferred to a variety of airline and hotel partners, including IHG One Rewards. If you value the flexibility of cash back or the opportunity to turn your points into aspirational travel, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card might be a better fit than the IHG Business Card.
The annual fee is $95.
IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card vs. Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card
The Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card earns 3% cash back in the category of choice, 2% cash back on dining purchases and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. Earn 3% and 2% cash back on the first $50,000 in combined choice category/dining purchases each calendar year and 1% thereafter. The 3% categories are:
- Gas stations and EV charging stations (default)
- Office supply stores
- Travel
- TV/telecom and wireless
- Computer services
- Business consulting services
The card gets even better if your small business holds funds in a checking account at Bank of America or has investments with Merrill Edge. Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program boosts credit card rewards for small business clients holding a certain amount of assets with the bank. At the highest tier, your card’s rewards could be multiplied by 1.75, turning this into a 5.25% cash-back credit card for your 3% category.
And, unlike the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, the Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card has an annual fee of $0.
Related: Best Business Credit Cards of 2024
Is the IHG Premier Business Card for You?
If you are a small business owner who stays frequently at IHG properties, it can make sense to get the IHG Business Card. The value you get from the annual 40,000 night certificate can justify the annual fee—and the rewards for stays are competitive with other hotel loyalty credit cards. But if you stay only infrequently at IHG properties or want more choices for reward redemptions, you might want to consider a flexible points-earning card.
Methodology
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
- Included 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 Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card please visit this page.
