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IHG
- 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
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.
Click here to learn more about the IHG Rewards Premier card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.
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