Sign-Up Bonus, Add a User, and Points
Sign up for the IHG Select card and get sign up bonus points after spending the required amount in the allotted time (see above card summary table for details).
Stay at IHG hotels and earn 5 points for every $1 you spend. Plus, earn 2 points per every $1 you spend at grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants.
All other purchases get you 1 point per $1 spent. The card will cost you $49 per year, but this fee is waived for the first year.
Bottom Line: The IHG Select card earns 5x points at IHG hotels, 2x points at grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants, and 1x points everywhere else!
IHG Select Card Benefits: Points Rebates and Elite Status
There is no shortage of benefits with the IHG Select card.
First, you automatically start out with Platinum Elite status, and you keep this status for as long as you remain a cardmember.
Platinum Elite members receive a 50% bonus on all qualifying stays, complimentary room upgrades, and more.
Move up to the next tier (Spire Elite) to get a 100% bonus on stays. You’ll need 75 nights or 75,000 points during the calendar year to qualify.
Plus, as a card member, you get a 10% rebate on point redemptions. When considering this, your annual earnings rates are effectively increased by 10%.
For instance: spend 20,000 points on a room, get 2,000 back. Spend 30,000 points, get 3,000 back…all the way up to a maximum of 100,000 points back each year.
And that’s not all: you’ll pay no annual fee for your first year as a cardmember. After that, the fee is only $49/year.
Bottom Line: Platinum Elite status, redemption rebates, and no annual fee the first year are all part of the package for getting the IHG Select card!
IHG Rewards Club Membership: Earning Loyalty Points
If you enroll in the IHG Rewards Club during a stay at any IHG hotel worldwide, you earn 1,000 points for that stay.
In the future, you earn 5 or 10 base points per $1 depending on the property. See the following table for a list of properties and their point rate.
Hotel | Base Points per $1 |
Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts | 10 |
Hotel Indigo | 10 |
Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts | 10 |
Holiday Inn Express | 10 |
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts | 10 |
Staybridge Suites | 5 |
Candlewood Suites | 5 |
You also earn 2,000, 1,300, or 600 points per qualifying stay at ANA partner hotels.
Free Night Stay Every Year, With 1 Caveat
You get a free night every year just for signing up for the card, and it includes luxury hotels anywhere in the world.
That’s right: each year, you will receive a Chase Anniversary Free Night certificate, valid at any IHG property worldwide pending availability. This benefit alone is worth the annual fee of $49 that you’ll incur after the first year.
Redeeming the certificate is easy. Just follow the link to ihg.com printed on the front. Note that your first free night is not earned until after the first full year, unfortunately.
Bottom Line: The IHG Select card offers a free night every year on your anniversary, but you won’t get your first free certificate until your first full year is complete.