How to Earn 75,000 Points for Hotel Stays Totally FREE With IHG Credit Cards

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is one of my favorite hotel chains, as they own both EVEN Hotels and Hotel Indigo, two of my favorite brands. (Check out my rave review of EVEN Hotels Time Square South.) There are two IHG credit cards that you can hold to help you earn FREE stays at your favorite IHG hotel chains.

The IHG Rewards Club Traveler card is a FREE WAY to earn IHG Rewards points that you can use to book FREE hotel stays. The card now has an increased offer of 75,000 points (previously 60,000 points) after a $2,000 minimum spend in 3 months with NO ANNUAL FEE. That can get you between one to three hotel nights free, depending on the level of IHG hotel you choose.

The OTHER IHG card, IHG Rewards Club Premier, is currently offering a much larger bonus of 125,000 points after a $3,000 minimum spend in 3 months. The bonus is often as low as 80,000 points!

The IHG Rewards Club Premier card comes with a low $89 annual fee and offers HEFTY benefits to offset that fee.

 

To review or apply for any of the cards in this post, please use the links within this post or the TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS links in the main menu above (shown in the image below). This allows us to earn a commission—at no cost to you—to support our free content. Thanks so much for taking that step!

 

IHG Credit Cards Breakdown

Here’s a complete look at each of the IHG credit cards to help you decide which is the right one for you.

IHG Rewards Club Premier Card

 

Bonus: 125,000 IHG^® Rewards Club bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first three months

Bonus End Date: Unknown

Annual Fee: $89

• 25X points on IHG purchases
• 2X points on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants
• 1X points on purchases everywhere else
• Account anniversary free night
• Fourth reward night free on point redemptions of four or more nights
• Automatic Platinum Elite IHG^® Rewards Club member status
• Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check credit up to $100 every four years
• No foreign transaction fees
• 20% discount on points purchases

 

IHG® Rewards Club Traveler Card

 

Bonus: 75,000 IHG^® Rewards Club bonus points after spending $2,000 in the first three months

Annual Fee: NONE

End Date: Unknown

Benefits:

• 15X points per $1 spent at IHG hotels
  • 10X points for being an IHG Rewards Club member +
  • 5X points for holding this card
• 2X points per $1 spent on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants
• 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Earn Gold Elite IHG^® Rewards Club Member Status with $10,000 spend in a calendar year
• Fourth reward night free on point redemptions of four or more nights
• 20% discount on points purchases
• No foreign transaction fees

 

Remember, that Chase will not approve you for any cards if you’ve opened FIVE cards of ANY type within the last 24 months.

If earning the Southwest Companion Pass (which lets one person fly free with you for up to two years) is a goal, I recommend securing any Southwest cards you want first, along with Chase Sapphire Preferred (read my review) before choosing a hotel credit card.

Here is my recommended travel credit card plan of which cards to get in what order.

 

IHG Hotel Brands

Here is a complete list of IHG hotel brands that you can book using your IHG Rewards points.

• Regent Hotels and Resorts 
• InterContinental Hotels and Resorts 
• Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants 
• HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts 
• Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts 
• voco
• Hotel Indigo 
• EVEN Hotels 
• avid hotels 
• Holiday Inn 
• Holiday Inn Express 
• Holiday Inn Resort 
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations
• Staybridge Suites 
• Candlewood Suites 

 

Why I Like IHG Rewards

I really like the IHG Rewards program, as it has some unique FREE benefits for all members like earning DOUBLE points on gas expenditures when you hold one of these cards and earning up to 500 points when you order food from GrubHub through the IHG site.

Hotel room nights range from about 20,000 points per night at smaller hotels to 70,000 points per night at properties like the InterContinental or Kimpton.

So 125,000 points could get you between one to six room nights + you get your fourth night free when you hold either credit card, extending your points even further!

Thanks again for using the links in this post for any card reviews or applications!