Over the years, I’ve developed a love/hate relationship with hotel credit cards. I love signing up for them to earn a big signup bonus and enjoy booking free hotel stays with the points I earn. However, I never seem to want to keep these cards for the long run.

In the past few years alone, I’ve had the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card, the Ritz Carlton Credit Card, and both the personal and business version of the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. The only hotel loyalty brands I have never dealt with are Wyndham Rewards and Club Carlson.

But there’s one hotel credit card I have kept for several years and basically plan to keep forever. This card is the IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card. I can’t think of any reason to get rid of it.

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Why I Love the IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card

There are several reasons I love this card and plan to keep it forever, but one of the main reasons is the fact we actually stay at IHG properties quite frequently. Not only do we stay at Holiday Inn Express properties when we travel by car, but we go to the Holiday Inn Resort in Jamaica for spring break every year. Here are some of the reasons keeping this card for the long haul is so advantageous:

You get automatic Platinum status.

While there’s no real benefit to having Platinum status with IHG Rewards when you stay at Holiday Inn Express properties, some resorts do offer special privileges for having this status. The Holiday Inn Resort in Jamaica offers a separate VIP check-in area, for example. Not only that, but our Platinum status has earned us a room upgrade for the last three years in a row.

You get a free night every year.

I love the fact this card offers a free night every year on your cardmember anniversary. We’ve used our free nights at the InterContinental in San Juan, Puerto Rico as well as the Holiday Inn in Jamaica several times. The fact that you can use it any IHG property worldwide is a huge benefit.

The annual fee is only $49.

The annual fee on this card is only $49, which makes it an outlier among comparable hotel credit cards. While I don’t like paying annual fees, paying $49 is worth it considering you get a free night at any IHG property every year.

IHG Rewards is a Chase transfer partner.

As a Chase enthusiast, it’s really convenient for me to focus on hotel brands that let you transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards. I love having the ability to transfer points from Chase in 1,000 point increments. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, it makes sense to pick up the IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card for premium travel redemptions and utmost flexibility.

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a hotel credit card you’ll want to keep for the long haul, you should definitely consider this card. Not only does it grant you automatic Platinum status, but you get a big signup bonus and a free night every year on your cardmember anniversary.

Do you have the IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card? Why or why not?

Holly Johnson Holly Johnson is a financial expert and award-winning writer whose obsession with frugality, budgeting, and travel plays a central role in her work. In addition to serving as Contributing Editor for The Simple Dollar, Holly writes for inspiring...
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Delta® Reserve for Business

• Annual Fee: $450 fee
• Foreign Fees: No
• Card Type: Travel

Apply Now Add to Favorites

FTG Review	Reward Breakdown	Points Breakdown
Earn 40,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs after you spend $3,000 in purchases with your new Card in the first 3 months.† Earn 15,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 15,000 bonus miles after you reach $30,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in the calendar year. Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases. Settle into your seat sooner with Priority Boarding and enjoy 20% savings on eligible in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit. Pay no foreign transaction fees when you spend overseas.‡ Complimentary Delta Sky Club® Access.‡ Terms and limitations apply See Rates & Fees Breakdown Earn (pt.) Spend 3 months 0 $3,000 Per dollar on eligible purchases with Delta Purchases 2.00 $1 All Purchases 1.00 $1 Apply Now
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