If you hold an IHG co-branded credit card or have been eyeing one, brace for a shake-up. IHG One Rewards and Chase have reworked their entire card lineup, and the changes are a genuine mixed bag: annual fees jump on two cards, several perks get better, and one much-loved benefit quietly disappears.
The mid-range IHG One Rewards Premier Card now costs $150 a year, up from $99. In exchange, cardholders get up to $100 in annual food and beverage credits at IHG hotels (paid as $25 quarterly, each usable within a single stay), an airline credit that effectively returns $200 on a $250 direct flight booking through the end of 2027, and an anniversary free night now valid up to 50,000 points instead of 40,000 — with top-offs still allowed. The United TravelBank cash and fourth-night-free award perks carry over. The catch: automatic Platinum status is gone. You now get Gold as standard, with Platinum only after $15,000 of annual spending, though existing members keep Platinum through the end of 2027.
The IHG One Rewards Business Card takes an even bigger fee leap, from $99 to $200. It mirrors the Premier's new credits — the dining money, the airline statement credit, the 50,000-point free night — and adds a $100 Expensify credit, a second free night if you spend $60,000 a year, automatic Platinum status, and Diamond at $50,000. New welcome offers are running at 190,000 points after $5,000 spent in three months, versus 180,000 points after $3,000 on the Premier.
The no-fee IHG One Rewards Card keeps its $0 price but loses its standout perk: fourth night free on award bookings now requires $5,000 of annual spending, rather than coming automatically. The source's verdict is blunt — without that, the card has little reason to exist. It still offers a solid 125,000-point welcome bonus after $2,000 spent, though.
So who wins? If you stay at IHG properties a few times a year and will actually use the dining and airline credits, the higher-fee cards can more than pay for themselves — the raised free-night cap is a sensible nod to points inflation, and the source singles out the separate new Premier Select Card as potentially the best pick of the whole lineup. If you were holding the no-fee card purely for the fourth-night-free trick, or the Premier for effortless Platinum status, the maths just got worse. Existing cardholders are being notified in October 2026, with new fees applying from 2027 at each account's normal renewal date.
The broader pattern is familiar: premium-isation of hotel cards, where fees rise and value is still there — but only for people willing to track quarterly credits and spending thresholds. For frequent IHG guests that effort can pay off handsomely. For everyone else, it may be time to compare cards before the next renewal. Details reported by One Mile at a Time.
