Chase and IHG Hotels & Resorts bumped the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card to a $150 annual fee for applications on or after October 1, 2026, and existing cardholders will see the higher charge on their first renewal in 2027—a $51 jump that Chase is pairing with new statement credits instead of the old $100 calendar-year spend rebate.
What changed on the Premier card
NerdWallet reported that the Premier tier had carried a $99 fee for years. Chase’s October refresh also adds a $100 IHG food-and-beverage credit and a $100 airline statement credit, while removing the prior calendar-year spend statement credit plus bonus points. Credit Upside’s change log, which tracks issuer disclosures, lists the same fee move and credit swap with an effective date of October 1.
New applicants still receive an elevated welcome offer—Credit Upside logged the Premier bonus at 180,000 points after meeting spend requirements, up from 140,000—so the bank is trading headline bonuses for higher recurring revenue on the fee line.
Business card moves in tandem
The IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card annual fee rose from $99 to $200 on the same date, according to issuer data compiled by Credit Upside. That product picked up parallel $100 food-and-beverage, airline, and Expensify credits while dropping its annual spend statement credit. Business owners who relied on the old spend rebate need to map charges to the new credit buckets or the fee hike will feel like pure cost.
Earning rules tighten in 2027
Both Premier and Business cards will narrow 5x travel earning starting in 2027: only flights booked directly with airlines and car rentals keep the top tier, while other travel drops to 3x. Office supply purchases on the business card fall from 5x to 3x at the same time. Grocery stores become a 5x category on Premier for existing members from 2027, a partial offset for households that spend heavily at supermarkets but rarely book IHG stays.
How to run the math before renewal
Tyler Brooks’ rule of thumb on this desk: add up the anniversary free night value, the new credits you will actually use, and the points you earn on your real spend pattern—not the marketing multiplier chart. If you stay at IHG properties fewer than three nights a year and never touch on-property dining, the $150 fee is hard to justify even with the airline credit.
Cardholders whose renewal hits before Chase posts the new credits should screenshot current benefit terms. Issuers can grandfather some perks, but Credit Upside shows the spend-based rebate already removed from public benefit lists for October applicants.
Portfolio context
Chase also introduced a $350 IHG One Rewards Premier Select card in the same refresh, creating a three-tier IHG lineup. That move mirrors broader industry fee inflation: American Airlines and Citi announced $150 fees on co-branded cards this week, and premium travel cards from Chase and American Express have already crossed the $700 mark.
None of that makes the Premier increase automatic for your wallet. If the fee lands on your January statement, decide before December whether downgrade paths to the no-fee IHG One Rewards Credit Card or a general-purpose 2% cash-back product better match your hotel nights.
What to watch
Chase has not published separate notice requirements beyond updated terms online. Watch your renewal email for the exact fee line item, and set a reminder to activate any credits that require enrollment once they go live in 2027.