Chase IHG Premier Business Credit Card: 140,000-Point Welcome Bonus

The current welcome bonus is 140,000 IHG points! This card is also worth keeping long term because the annual free night certificate can easily offset the annual fee. If you have the old $49 annual fee IHG card, this card pairs well with it: together you can get the fourth night free plus a 10% points rebate on award stays.

• IHG Business 140,000 application link

However, this card appears to have added a new application restriction: if you have had this card before, you may not be able to receive the bonus again.

The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you have ever had this card. We may also consider factors pertinent to your business in determining your bonus eligibility.

This is a very strong offer, and we have also added it to our welcome bonus rankings.

• Best US Small Business Credit Cards

Chase IHG Premier Business Credit Card Review

"Note" If this is your first business credit card application, please first read "Business Credit Card Basics" carefully.

Benefits

• 1 free night certificate every year, making it worth keeping long term: Each year, this card gives you one free night at eligible IHG properties, valid only for hotels costing 40,000 points or less (list of excluded IHG hotels). There are some restrictions, but it is still fairly easy to get more value than the annual fee, since 40,000-point hotels often cost $150+. You can now also top off with points to book higher-priced hotels, which adds a lot of flexibility.
• $50 UA TravelBank credit each year: $25 from Jan-Jun and $25 from Jul-Dec. The credit expires 6 months after it is issued.
• High-spend bonus: Spend $20,000 in a calendar year and earn an extra 10,000 points plus $100 cash back
• Fourth night free on award stays: After you have this card, when you redeem IHG points for a stay of four consecutive nights, every fourth night is free. In other words, four nights cost only 75% of the usual points.
• 20% discount on buying points: When buying IHG points on the IHG website, you get a 20% discount. This 20% discount cannot be stacked with IHG's regular points sales, which are often as high as 80%. Also, buying points indirectly through Cash + Points bookings can keep your cost around 0.6c per point. So this 20% off is basically meaningless. Summary of points sales
• IHG Platinum status: Enjoy bonus points on stays, room upgrades, and other IHG elite benefits. You can also get extra savings on gas through Fuel Rewards. Spend $40,000 to earn Diamond status.
• High-spend bonus: Spend 20,000 and earn an extra 10,000 points
• $100 application fee credit for Global Entry/TSA Pre

Drawbacks

• IHG points are worth only about 0.6c each, so this is not a good everyday spending card unless you are spending at IHG hotels.

Introduction to IHG Points

• Point value: The average value is about 0.6 c/p, so 100 IHG = $0.6 (Points Value and Analysis). In other words, a hotel night worth $60 would generally require about 10k IHG points.
• How to redeem: You can search and book directly on the IHG.com website. Hotels are divided into 11 award tiers, with redemption rates ranging from 10k to 70k points. Cash + Points redemptions are also available. If you have the IHG Premier credit card, when redeeming points for three consecutive nights, you can get the fourth night free. That means four nights cost only 75% of the points normally required.
• IHG Points Break: Points Break is a member promotion unique to IHG. Each quarter, around 100 hotels are selected from IHG’s 5000 properties worldwide and offered at redemption rates of 5000, 10000, or 15000 points per night. Based on the common valuation of IHG points at 0.6 cents per point, that means you can redeem a free night at these hotels for the equivalent of just $30/$60/$90. Sometimes this is far below the normal cash rate, so popular properties are often snapped up as soon as bookings open. See also: Introduction and Analysis of IHG Points Break
• Point expiration: If there is no activity in your IHG account for 12 months, your points will expire. If you hold a co-branded credit card or have IHG Gold status or higher, your points will not expire.
• My take: If you want to get strong value from IHG points, they are often best used for hotels near major attractions or during special high-demand periods, such as New Year’s Eve in Times Square, New York. IHG’s strength is its broad footprint and large number of properties across the U.S., so it is usually easy to put your points to use. Points Break awards can be as low as 5k points per night, which can be an excellent deal if you can take advantage of them.
• Related credit cards: Chase IHG Premier , Chase IHG Rewards Club (older version)
• Detailed analysis: Introduction to IHG Points and Elite Status

My Take

This card is basically similar to the personal IHG Premier card, except that it is a business credit card. It adds bonus categories for advertising and office supplies, but unfortunately only at 5x, which is roughly equivalent to 3% back. That still falls short of the Chase Ink family earning 5x UR. Still, the annual Free Night plus the $50 airline credit can cover the annual fee if you use them, making this card effectively free to keep. Also, having multiple Free Night certificates to use together can be very practical for actual travel.

Application

• If this is your first business credit card application, please first read "Business Credit Card Basics" carefully.
• The minimum approved credit line for this card is $2,000.
• Since this is a co-branded credit card with IHG, if you already have an IHG membership number, you can enter it during the application process (if not, one will be assigned automatically).
• Holding an older IHG credit card does not affect your eligibility to apply for this card or earn its welcome bonus.

Chase Credit Card Application Guide

• Chase application status check link (login required). Or call: 888-338-2586
• The 5/24 rule: if you have opened more than 5 new cards in the past 2 years (including cards from other banks), you will not be approved for a new Chase card
• You can be approved for at most two Chase credit cards within every 30 days
• If you have received the welcome bonus on this card within the past 24 months (48 months for the Sapphire family), your application will be automatically denied
• You can call the reconsideration line (800-453-9719) to expedite card approval or request a review of a denied application.
• Having a Chase Checking account can help with getting approved for a credit card
• More on applying for Chase credit cards

Application Link