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finder.com’s rating: 4.5 / 5
★★★★★
120,000
Points as welcome offer
Up to 17x
Points
$0
Annual fee
16.74% to 23.74%
Purchase APR (variable)
Annual fee | $0 |
---|---|
Welcome offer | Earn 120,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening |
Rewards | Earn up to 17 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on purchases on monthly bills, gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases. |
Purchase APR | 16.74% to 23.74% variable |
Balance transfer APR | 16.74% to 23.74% variable |
Minimum Credit Score | 670 |
Issuer | Mastercard |
Review by
Kevin Joey Chen is a credit cards, banking and investments writer whose work and analysis have appeared on CNN, U.S. News & World Report, Business.com, Lifehacker and CreditCards.com. He's passionate about helping you get your finances in order by expertly navigating cutting-edge financial tools — including credit cards, apps and budgeting software.
The IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card comes with a total of 17 points per dollar you spend on purchases at IHG locations. With a value of 0.5 cents per point, this comes out at 8.5% back in value, which is massive for a no-annual-fee card.
What’s more, you get to earn a generous signup bonus worth up to $600 in redemption value. There’s no other no-annual-fee hotel card that can match both the rewards rate and the signup bonus of this card. On top of that, you get a fourth night free when you redeem your points for four or more hotel stays.
On the downside, you don’t get an elite status right away as a cardmember. you have to spend $10,000 in one year to earn Gold status. Other no-annual-fee hotel cards come with Silver status.
Considering you don’t pay an annual fee for the card and you get generous rewards, this is an excellent card to consider. But if you want to get even more value on your IHG stays, consider the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card. For $99 a year, you’ll find lots of bang for your buck, including automatic Platinum Elite status, a free night after every card anniversary and even higher rewards rate on IHG spending.
Consider applying for this card with a good to excellent credit score of 670 and higher.
You’ll earn this rewards rate when you spend at these properties:
Some consumers mention Chase’s 5/24 rule, which means the provider automatically denies your application if you’ve opened five cards within the last 24 months. Customers commonly say you’re better off filling one of those five slots with the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card instead.
Other consumers warn that IHG’s PointBreaks program — through which you can book nights for as little as 5,000 points each — often include a disappointing array of properties.
JPMorgan Chase Credit Card is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), but it has an C+ rating from the agency. According to the BBB, this rating indicates that Chase offers customer support to its customers.
The bank’s customer rating averages at 1.6 out of 5 stars. Some customers cite unexpected account closures, unfulfilled signup bonuses and unhelpful customer support.
The IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card offers attractive rewards on IHG spending. However, it’s stingy on status bumps, and you’ll find better rewards elsewhere in non-IHG categories. Its sibling card, the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card, is a much better choice. However, if you get the IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card, you can always upgrade to its sibling card by calling the number on the back of your card.
If you’re not sure this card is right for you, consider other hotel credit cards.
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Our team evaluates credit cards to determine their value against similar cards on the market.
We rank card types — travel, cash back, business — on a set of factors that are most relevant to that type of card. We create these rankings to help you narrow down a credit card that best suits your spending and budget.