Hyatt and IHG Cards: Basic Cards with an Annual Free Night

Chase offers several co-branded hotel credit cards that easily pay for themselves as their annual fee is less than $100 and they include the benefit of a free night each year upon renewal. Several weeks ago, a post on the Marriott Bonvoy family of credit cards discussed the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, a $95 annual fee card which includes one free night after each annual renewal. Today’s post discusses Hyatt and IHG co-branded cards, two of which include a free room upon each annual renewal. The cards are:

• Chase IHG Traveler MasterCard
• Chase IHG Premier MasterCard
• Chase World of Hyatt Visa

IHG Traveler

This card has no annual fee, and the current welcome bonus is 100,000 IHG points after spending $2,000 within three months. These points tend to be worth about one-half of a cent, so the welcome bonus is worth around $500.

This card will generate 17 IHG points per dollar spent at IHG hotels and resorts. The 17X breaks down as follows – 5X for using the card, 10X for membership in the IHG loyalty program, and 2X for Silver Elite status which comes with the card. The spending bonus structure for other categories is as follows:

• 3X IHG points for monthly bills including utilities, internet, cable, telephone, and streaming
• 3X points for gas and dining
• 2X points for other purchases

An interesting feature of this card is that you can redeem three nights to get a fourth night free in a consecutive four-night stay.

This no fee card also offers a few modest benefits.

• 20% discount on IHG point purchases
• Purchase protection on items within 120 days of purchase
• 10,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 in one calendar year
• Gold Elite status for spending $20,000 in one calendar year

IHG Premier

The annual fee for this card is $99. The current welcome offer is 165,000 points for spending $3,000 within three months so the bonus is worth around $800-850.

The spending bonus structure allows for the accumulation of points as follows:

• 26X IHG points for stays at IHG hotels and reports (10X for card, 10X for being an IHG One Rewards member, and 6X for Platinum Elite status which is included with the card)
• 5X points for travel and gas
• 5X points for dining
• 3X points for other purchases

This card also offers a fourth night free when redeeming points for three nights (the four nights must be consecutive).
 
Upon each renewal, cardholders are awarded one free night. These award nights are capped at 40,000 points (about a $200 value) but you can add points already in your account for rooms costing more points.

Other benefits of the IHG Premier include:

• A statement credit for up to $100 for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years
• 20% off IHG point purchases
• $100 + 10,000 points for spending at least $20,000 in a calendar year
• $50 in United TravelBank Cash each year
• IHG Diamond status for spending at least $40,000 in one calendar year
• Purchase protection and trip cancellation/interruption insurance

World of Hyatt Visa

There is only one personal Hyatt card and it has an annual fee of $95. The base sign-up bonus is 30,000 Hyatt points for spending $3000 within the first three months. I consider these points to be worth about two cents each, so the base bonus could be worth about $600.

It is possible to earn more welcome bonus points beyond these initial 30,000 points. The offer is that the cardholder will receive two Hyatt points for purchases that normally generate one point for the first six months with a cap of 30,000 additional welcome bonus points. I was unable to discern if receiving the full potential bonus (60,000 points) requires spending $15,000 beyond the $3000 needed for the first 30,000 points (a total of $18,000) or if the first $3,000 counts toward the $15,000 needed for the full bonus.
 

Spending bonuses for this card are as follows:

• 9X Hyatt points for Hyatt stays booked directly with Hyatt
• 2X points for restaurants
• 2X points for airline purchases
• 2X points for some local transit and commuting
• 2X points for fitness clubs
• 1X for other purchases

Cardholders are awarded one free night upon renewal each year and this free night can be used for properties in Hyatt categories 1-4 (up to 15,000 points). Cardholders can also earn an additional free night by spending at least $15,000 in a calendar year.

Other benefits include a range of insurance coverages geared to travelers:

• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Purchase protection for damage or theft within 120 days of purchase
• Baggage delay insurance
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Auto rental collision damage waiver

My Conclusions

The basic IHG Traveler card offers some value for a no fee card. The 100,000-point welcome bonus currently being offered might net several nights at one of the less expensive properties in the IHG portfolio (Ex: a Holiday Inn Express) or a couple of nights at a mid-level property in some markets.

The spending bonuses are not very exciting. While the card offers 3X points for a range of categories, each point is only worth about one-half of a cent so this amounts to a return of 1.5% on spending outside of spending on IHG properties. It is more efficient to direct your credit card spending toward flexible points that are not limited to IHG. Also, given the low per point value of IHG points, it is never a good idea to transfer Chase’s flexible points to IHG unless you need a small number of points (say 1,000-2,000 points) to top off your IHG account for a free room.
 
For someone who already has IHG points, or who wants to use the welcome bonus for less expensive IHG properties, the “fourth night free” feature can add value for the cardholder.
 
This card could be good for someone who needs accommodation every so often but wants to avoid annual fees. It also might be useful for someone who accumulates IHG points here and there and wants to supplement their account to get some free rooms faster.

The IHG Premier card, at $99, can deliver some significant value. The welcome bonus alone is worth at least $800, and the free annual room easily covers the annual fee. In fact, Ms. Optimizer and I routinely use the free night awards to get rooms that would otherwise cost around $250. Also, we have had a good track record with getting upgrades at IHG properties due to the Platinum Elite status that comes as a benefit of the card.

The spending bonus structure of this card is more attractive than the one offered for the no fee IHG Traveler card. The 26X bonus for spending at IHG properties is akin to a 13% return on IHG spending meaning that, if using this card, every eighth night at IHG properties could be free. The spending bonuses for travel, gas, and dining (5X) are not exceptional but are better than those offered for the IHG Traveler.

The IHG Premier will always pay for itself as long as you use the annual free night award. With the 26X bonus for IHG purchases, it is an easy choice when staying in those properties. However, it is probably not a good choice for everyday spending. And, even though IHG is a transfer partner for Chase Ultimate Rewards points, it is rarely a good idea to transfer those flexible points to IHG since the transfer ratio is 1:1 and you are turning points worth perhaps two cents each into points worth a fraction of that. This would be like exchanging dollars for pesos one-for-one.
 
The World of Hyatt card has a respectable base welcome bonus that is worth about $600, and its welcome offer creates an opportunity to earn a higher sign-up bonus. This is less straightforward than past Hyatt card offers but, given the value of Hyatt points (two cents per), this is a reasonable deal for someone who expects to be making purchases in categories that typically do not have spending bonuses (auto, medical, etc.).

Because the points can be worth about two cents each, the spending bonus structure  is attractive if you are interested in staying at Hyatt properties.

• The 9X point bonus for Hyatt stays returns about 18% per dollar spent meaning that every sixth Hyatt stay could be free.
• The 2X bonus for restaurants and airline purchases return 4% per dollar spent.
• The 2X bonus for fitness clubs is not offered by many cards so this is a unique opportunity to net a 4% return for this expenditure.
• The 1X bonus for other purchases matches the 2% that is common for cashback cards.

World of Hyatt is also a transfer partner with Chase and, as the points are worth about two cents each, there is good value in transferring Chase points to the Hyatt program. In fact, the principal use of the flexible Chase points for our household is to turn them into Hyatt points.

The annual free night award easily covers the card’s annual fee even if you stay in some of the least expensive properties. However, in recent years, I have been able to get rooms costing about $300-350 per night with this benefit so I automatically renew this card every year.

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These IHG and Hyatt cards offered by Chase might or might not fit into a productive travel rewards plan for you. The IHG and Hyatt chains serve different types of travelers because each chain has very different footprints within the United States and globally. But if staying at these chains’ hotels and properties is a potential part of your travel mix, one of the cards discussed in this post might be appropriate. When we design a custom Travel Rewards Optimizer plan for you, we take your travel goals, travel habits, spending patterns, and preferences into account. We want to ensure that the cards we recommend for you can quickly generate free travel and provide relevant benefits while keeping your annual card fees under control.

If you have not already, please check out the previous Travel Rewards Optimizer posts on other hotel credit card families.

  We are ready to help you turn your routine credit card spending into the travel of your dreams.