Chase raised the annual fee on the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card to $150 from $99 on October 1, 2026, the same day it began taking applications for a new $350-a-year Premier Select card aimed at travelers who live inside IHG’s loyalty program.
The refresh is not a quiet repricing. Chase renamed and repriced the business card to $200 from $99, trimmed automatic Platinum Elite status on the Premier down to Gold Elite, and layered in quarterly food-and-beverage vouchers plus a $100 airline statement credit when you spend at least $250 on flights booked directly with carriers. Existing cardholders were notified in October about which perks flip on immediately and which fees wait until their first renewal in 2027.
What changes on your statement
If you applied for the Premier on or after October 1, Chase charges the $150 fee on the first statement. If you already carry the card, your current renewal date still governs: the bank’s materials say the higher fee hits at renewals starting in 2027, not retroactively on October statements. The no-annual-fee IHG One Rewards card keeps its $0 price tag, but Chase will require $5,000 in purchases in a calendar year before the fourth-night-free benefit works starting in 2027.
The new Premier Select sits above Premier with a $350 fee, automatic Platinum Elite status, a higher earn rate on IHG stays, and a larger bundle of anniversary-night and upgrade-style perks Chase markets as more than $1,000 in first-year value for heavy IHG guests. Launch bonuses run through November 18 for new accounts across the portfolio.
How to read the trade
For occasional IHG guests, the Premier’s fee jump is the line item to model. A free night certificate now covers stays up to 50,000 points per night, up from 40,000, and you still receive 15 elite night credits each January. Those offsets matter only if you would have paid cash for a night you actually use. The downgraded automatic status—from Platinum to Gold—can change lounge access and upgrade priority more than the extra $51 in annual fee suggests on paper.
Business travelers who relied on the old United TravelBank credit will see that perk removed in favor of the airline statement credit and Expensify-related rebate on the business product. If your company books through a portal rather than airline-direct spend, the new credits may never trigger.
Actions before your renewal window
Pull your last 12 months of IHG stays and compare the fee you pay today with the credits you realistically earn. If the Premier Select’s Platinum status and richer earn rates match your travel pattern, waiting until renewal to downgrade or product-change may leave money on the table; if you stay twice a year at Holiday Inns, the no-fee card plus disciplined point transfers may beat a $150 or $350 line item.
Chase posts full benefit guides in the cardmember portal; screenshot your current elite tier and anniversary-night balance before October product changes populate in the app, so you have a record if customer service disputes which rules apply mid-stay.
Earning rates and partner math
The Premier Select advertises up to 28 points per dollar on IHG stays when promotional stacks apply, with 6 points per dollar on dining and broader travel and 3 points elsewhere. Premier and business cards follow slightly lower ladders documented in Chase’s benefit PDF. Points still transfer within the IHG program toward free nights, but dynamic pricing means the 50,000-point cap on anniversary certificates may not cover peak conference weekends in major cities.
World and World Elite Mastercard perks bundled with each tier add purchase protections and limited lounge offers that vary by card metal. Read the fine print on quarterly food vouchers: they often post as statement credits only after in-hotel spend, not at airport grab-and-go counters that license the IHG name.