In mid 2018 Chase replaced the old Chase IHG Select card with two new cards: IHG Premier & IHG Traveler. When the Traveler card launched it had a $29 annual fee. I’m not sure when this change occurred, but this card no longer carries an annual fee. The benefits on this card are as follows:
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 5x points per $1 spent on IHG properties
- 2x points per $1 spent on gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants
- 1x points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Gold elite status when you spend $10,000 on your card each calendar year
- Fourth Reward Night Free on any stay of 4 or more nights
- 20% discount when purchasing points
This is useful to know because the select card no longer offers an unrestricted free night, those free night certificates issued after May 1st 2019 can only be redeemed on properties costing less than 40,000 points a night. For some it’s still worth keeping that card, but if you were planning on cancelling then the Traveler card might be an attractive downgrade option now that it carries no annual fee. This card also comes with some Mastercard benefits such as cell phone insurance.
Hat tip to reader Tan
