Chase IHG Business Credit Card: 200,000-Point Welcome Bonus and Various Credits; $200 Annual Fee

This card has undergone a fairly major revamp. The annual free night certificate now has a higher redemption value, the welcome bonus has increased to 190,000 + 10,000 for adding an authorized user, and new airline and IHG dining credits have been added. However, the annual fee has also increased to $200. If you can make use of the new credits, this card can still be worth keeping long term: the annual free night certificate alone can directly offset the annual fee.

• IHG Business 200,000 welcome bonus

Here is a summary of the changes:

• Anniversary free night certificate: 40,000 → 50,000. IHG Points Top-up is still allowed.
• You will also receive 15 Elite Night Credits each year, plus 2 additional Elite Night Credits for every $5,000 in purchases.
• Up to $100 in IHG Food & Beverage Rewards each year, $25 per quarter;
• $100 airline credit: spend at least $250 directly with airlines each year. This benefit currently runs through the end of 2027;
• Up to $100 in Expensify credits each year. (expensify.com)
• IHG: 10X; dining, gas, and Social Media / Search Engine Advertising: 5X; through the end of 2026, Travel and Office Supply will also remain 5X;
• Starting in 2027, the 5X Travel category will be narrowed to airfare purchased directly from airlines and car rental companies. Other Travel and Office Supply purchases will return to 3X; all other purchases: 3X.
• Spending bonuses: spend $25,000: 20,000 Points + 5 additional Elite Night Credits; starting in 2027, spend $50,000: Diamond Elite; spend $60,000: an additional 50,000 Free Night.
• Personally, I think this change is acceptable if you can make use of the airline credit. In effect, you are still paying a net $100 annual fee for a 50,000-point certificate, which should have no problem offsetting the annual fee.

This is an excellent bonus, and we have also added it to our credit card welcome bonus rankings:

• Best U.S. Small Business Credit Cards

Chase IHG Premier Business Credit Card Overview

“Note”: If this is your first time applying for a business credit card, please carefully read our “Business Credit Card Guide” first.

Benefits

• 1 free night certificate each year, worth keeping long term: This card gives you one night each year at eligible IHG hotels, limited to hotels costing 40,000 points or less (list of IHG hotels where the certificate cannot be used). Although there are some restrictions, it is still fairly easy to redeem for more than the annual fee in value, as 40,000-point hotels often cost $150+. You can also now top up with points to redeem for higher-tier hotels, which adds quite a bit of flexibility.
• $50 UA Travel Bank credit each year: $25 from January to June, and $25 from July to December. The credits expire after 6 months.
• High-spending bonus: Spend $20,000 each year to earn an additional 10,000 points and $100 cash back.
• Fourth night free on points redemptions: After you have this credit card, you can get the fourth night free when redeeming IHG points for four consecutive nights. In other words, you only need 75% of the points for a four-night stay.
• 20% discount when buying points: When buying IHG points on the IHG website, you can receive a 20% discount. This 20% discount cannot be stacked with IHG points purchase promotions, which are often as high as 80%. In addition, buying points through Cash + Points bookings can also keep the cost around 0.6 cents per point. So this 20% off benefit is essentially meaningless. Points purchase promotion roundup
• Complimentary IHG Platinum status: Enjoy IHG hotel benefits such as bonus points on stays and room upgrades. You can also get an additional Fuel Rewards discount on gas. Spend $40,000 to receive Diamond status.
• High-spending bonus: Spend 20,000 to receive an additional 10,000 points.
• Global Entry/TSA Pre application fee credit of $100

Drawbacks

• IHG points are worth only about 0.6 cents each, so this card is not suitable as an everyday spending card, unless you are staying at IHG hotels.

Introduction to IHG Points

• Point value: The average value is 0.5 c/p, so 100 IHG = $0.5 (Points Value and Analysis). In other words, a hotel night worth $50 would generally require about 10k IHG points.
• How to redeem: You can search and book directly on IHG.com. 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.
• 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.
• 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 version of the IHG Premier, except that it is a business credit card. For bonus categories, it adds advertising and office supply purchases, but unfortunately only at 5X, equivalent to about 3% cash back. Compared with the Chase Ink lineup’s 5X UR earning, it still falls somewhat short. However, it comes with an annual Free Night and a $50 airline credit each year. If you can use them, they cover the annual fee, making the card effectively free to keep. Also, combining Free Nights from multiple cards can work well for real-world travel needs.

Application

• If this is your first time applying for a business credit card, please carefully read our “Business Credit Card Guide” first.
• The minimum approved credit limit for this card is $2,000.
• Since this is a co-branded credit card with IHG Hotels, if you already have an IHG membership number, you can enter it when applying. If you do not have one, one will be assigned automatically.
• If you hold the old version of the IHG credit card, it will not affect your ability to apply for this card or receive the welcome bonus.

• 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 any 30-day period
• 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 credit card approval or request another review of a denied application.
• Having a Chase Checking account can help with getting approved for a credit card
• More information on applying for Chase credit cards

Application Link