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20 cards ranked

Best credit card to use at IHG.

HotelsTravel

IHG Hotels & Resorts spans about 6,000 properties across 19 brands, anchored by Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express on the mass-market end and InterContinental, Regent, and Six Senses on the luxury end. The Chase IHG One Rewards Premier card is one of the highest-leverage hotel co-brands available — its annual free-night certificate (good at any property up to 40,000 points) often pays back the annual fee on a single use, and the fourth-night-free benefit on award stays effectively cuts redemption costs by 25%. Direct bookings at ihg.com or in-app earn points and elite-night credits; OTA stays generally earn nothing. Points value lands around 0.5 cents but redemptions can exceed that on aspirational properties.

  1. #1
    Chase
    Co-branded IHG card
    Up to 26x total points at IHG hotels
    5.0%10x points
  2. #2
    Chase
    Co-branded IHG card
    Up to 26x total points at IHG hotels
    5.0%10x points
  3. #3
    Chase
    4x points on hotels
    Hotels booked directly
    5.0%4x points
  4. #4
    Chase
    4x points on hotels
    Hotels booked directly
    5.0%4x points
  5. #5
    FNBO
    5x points on travel
    Airlines, hotels, car rental, cruise lines, travel agencies, transit, taxis, tolls, and timeshares by merchant category code
    5.0%5x points
  6. #6
    Wells Fargo
    5x points on hotels
    5.0%5x points
  7. #7
    Navy Federal
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  8. #8
    PenFed Credit Union
    4x points on travel
    4x with PenFed Honors Advantage (military or Access America checking); 3x otherwise
    4.0%4x points
  9. #9
    U.S. Bank
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  10. #10
    Barclays
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  11. #11
    Barclays
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  12. #12
    Chase
    3x points on travel (up to $150,000/year, then 1%)
    Travel, shipping, internet/cable/phone, advertising on search engines and social media (combined $150,000/yr cap)
    3.8%3x points
  13. #13
    American Express
    3x points on hotels
    Direct hotel purchases
    3.6%3x points
  14. #14
    American Express
    3x points on hotels
    Purchases made directly with hotels
    3.6%3x points
  15. #15
    Comenity Capital Bank
    3% on travel
    Includes AAA purchases
    3%
  16. #16
    Chase
    3x points on travel
    Travel other than Air Canada direct purchases, which earn 3x under the airlines category
    3.0%3x points
  17. #17
    Citi
    3x points on hotels
    On hotels booked directly
    3.0%3x points
  18. #18
    Citi
    3% on travel
    Includes Costco Travel
    3%
  19. #19
    Citi
    3% on travel
    Includes Costco Travel
    3%
  20. #20
    Navy Federal
    3x points on travel
    Includes airlines, hotels, car rentals, ride-sharing, parking, tolls, museums, amusement parks, and golf courses
    3.0%3x points

Last updated September 14, 2026