This hotel credit card gives its cardholders a free night's stay every year - which is worth way more than the card's annual fee
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- If you have the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card, you can earn a free night certificate each year on your cardholder anniversary.
- The certificate is good for any Category 1-7 hotel within IHG's portfolio. While this excludes a few top properties, there is still a massive range of great options, from basic to luxury.
- Plus, the card has raised its sign-up bonus, so you can free nights even sooner. You'll earn 80,000 points when you spend $2,000 in the first three months, and 40,000 more points when you spend a total of $5,000 in the first six months. That's a total of 120,000 points.
- Take a look at a few of the best hotels you can stay at using the free night certificate.
Last year, hotel mega-chain IHG - the brand encompassing Holiday Inn, the InterContinental, Kimpton, Hotel Indigo, and others - revamped its credit card offerings, eliminating its old card and introducing two new products instead.
The first, the IHG Rewards Traveler, is a more "basic" card. It earns IHG rewards points on all purchases, and includes a few perks, like a free fourth night on stays booked with points, and Gold elite status if you spend $10,000 on the card in a calendar year. It's useful, but relatively low-frills - exactly what you'd expect for a card with a $29 annual fee.
The better option is the IHG Rewards Premier credit card. While it has a higher $89 annual fee, it offers much more value than that.
Before even looking at the value of card's long-term benefits, there's the sign-up bonus to consider. You can earn up to 120,000 points when you open the card, broken into two stages.
First, you'll earn 80,000 points if you spend $2,000 in the first three months. Then, you'll earn the remaining 40,000 points when you spend an additional $3,000 within the first six months for a total of $5,000.
Then, there's the big long-term benefit. The card offers an annual anniversary free night certificate that can be used at any category 1-7 hotel (hotels that cost 40,000 points per night or less).
While that category restriction means that some of IHG's most premium locations are excluded, the certificate is still valid at a ton of locations all around the world - I had no trouble finding properties in major cities like New York and Chicago during peak travel season, all charging well upward of $200, which accept the free night certificate.
In effect, the value of the free night certificate can be way more than the card's $89 annual fee - that ultimately makes it a great way to save a ton on a hotel stay.
Take a look below at some of the best places you can stay using the free night certificate. And, if you save the points from your sign-up bonus until you have the free night certificate, you'll be able to stay for at least a total of three nights.