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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
    13%26x points
  2. #2
    Chase
    Co-branded IHG card
    Up to 17x total points at IHG hotels
    8.5%17x points
  3. #3
    Chase
    Co-branded IHG card
    Up to 26x total points at IHG hotels
    13%26x points
  4. #4
    Chase
    4x points on hotels
    Hotels booked directly
    5.0%4x points
  5. #5
    Wells Fargo
    5x points on hotels
    5.0%5x points
  6. #6
    U.S. Bank
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  7. #7
    Barclays
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  8. #8
    Barclays
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  9. #9
    American Express
    3x points on travel
    3.6%3x points
  10. #10
    American Express
    3x points on hotels
    Direct hotel purchases
    3.6%3x points
  11. #11
    Comenity Capital Bank
    3% on travel
    Includes AAA purchases
    3%
  12. #12
    Lead Bank
    3x points on hotels
    Hotels (also earns 3x on private charters and luxury car rentals — luxury rentals are merchant-gated, see Atlas terms)
    3.0%3x points
  13. #13
    Bilt
    2x points on travel
    3.0%2x points
  14. #14
    Bilt
    2x points on travel
    3.0%2x points
  15. #15
    Citi
    3x points on hotels
    On hotels booked directly
    3.0%3x points
  16. #16
    Citi
    3% on travel
    Includes Costco Travel
    3%
  17. #17
    Citi
    3% on travel
    Includes Costco Travel
    3%
  18. #18
    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)
    3.0%3x points
  19. #19
    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
  20. #20
    USAA
    3x points on travel
    3.0%3x points

Last updated May 17, 2026