10 points per dollar at eligible IHG hotels worldwide; 5X points per dollar on any other hotel purchases.
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
The IHG Premier Credit Card can justify its place in any traveler’s wallet. After earning the excellent sign-up bonus, cardholders continue to be rewarded with IHG Platinum Elite status, an annual free night award, a reward night free on a reward stay of four or more consecutive nights, $50 per year in United TravelBank Cash, and a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/NEXUS application fee credit.
Those perks easily justify the $99 annual fee, even if you use a more rewarding card for everyday spending.
Cardholders earn bonus points in a variety of categories, including 10X IHG points on eligible purchases at IHG hotel brands and 5X points on travel, at gas stations, and on dining. All other purchases earn 3X points.
MilesTalk values IHG Rewards points at 0.4 cents each. That means IHG Premier Card cardholders can expect an approximate return of around 4% on spending at IHG Hotels and 1.2% on other purchases.
For those unfamiliar with IHG Rewards, the IHG Rewards program includes hotel brands like InterContinental Hotels, Six Senses, Kimpton, and Hotel Indigo on the luxury end and Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, and Staybridge Suites for more practical stays.
Thanks to the Platinum Elite status that comes as a benefit on the IHG Premier Card, cardholders will earn 60% bonus points on stays, get complimentary room upgrades, and receive welcome bonus points when staying at participating IHG hotels.
For travelers that generally stay at least four nights, the IHG Premier Card’s fourth-night free benefit can save you a bunch of points. All you need to do is book at least four consecutive nights at an IHG hotel using your IHG Rewards points. And IHG will automatically discount one night to zero points — giving you a free reward night.
You’ll get this perk whether you’re staying at a practical Holiday Inn or staying at ultra-luxurious InterContinental Hotels.
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
If you are a small business owner, I strongly recommend that you carry all three Chase Ink credit cards: the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (this card!), the Chase Ink Business Preferred®, and the Chase Ink Business Cash®.
They all work together as what we refer to as a Chase business credit card “Trifecta.” The Chase Ink Preferred® allows you to transfer points to Chase’s Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners like United, Hyatt, and British Airways.
But then it makes sense to also get the Ink Business Cash credit card and Chase Ink Business Unlimited credit card to maximize your total earnings on bonus categories – since all points can be combined to your Ink Preferred.
Here, with the Chase Ink Business Unlimited credit card, it is your “default” card for your business spend. What I mean by that is that if the purchase you are making isn’t in a bonus category on your other cards, you would put the charge on the Ink Unlimited for 1.5X Ultimate Rewards points. This way you are never, ever getting less than 1.5% back on your business purchases.
There is no limit to how many Ultimate Rewards points you can earn on the Chase Ink Business Unlimited credit card, all at the 1.5X multiplier.
However, it is very important to know is that although this card states that you are earning cash back, that is only if you don’t also have a Chase Ink Preferred®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Sapphire Reserve® Card.
Yes, you are earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Ink Business Unlimited credit card.
But without one of the above credit cards, your only redemption option is to cash out your points for 1 cent per point, meaning that, on its own, it’s a cash back card and the points have an actual cash value of 1 cent each.
Assuming you do have an Ink Preferred®, Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Sapphire Reserve® Card in your wallet, however, you’ll be able to move your points from your Ink Business Unlimited card to any of those other 3 cards, where you will be able to transfer to airline and hotel partner programs like United and Hyatt – or redeem for travel via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal where your points are worth either 1.25 or 1.5 cents each, depending on which card you have.
The Ink Preferred and Sapphire Preferred offer 1.25 cents a point while the Sapphire Reserve (with its $550 annual fee) gives you 1.5 cents per point when booking travel in the Ultimate Rewards portal.
The bottom line is that the Chase Ink Unlimited is simply a staple in the Chase Ink family of business credit cards. It backs up the Preferred and Cash with that 1.5% “floor” on rewards – and all with no annual fee.
When using our bonus spend calculator on this card, you’ll notice we ask you if you also have a Chase Ink Preferred®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Sapphire Reserve® Card. That’s because, if you do, we’ll increase the value of rewards on this card from 1 cent to 1.75 cents accordingly accounting for the ability to utilize Chase’s point transfer partners.
Please note: you must be under 5/24 (more on the Chase 5/24 rule) to apply for this card and you cannot apply for more than one Chase Business card in any 30 day period. You can apply for a maximum of two Chase cards within 30 days, with only, at most, 1 of them being a Chase Ink business card (or any Chase business card).
This card is also mentioned in the article Business Credit Cards That Don’t Report to Personal Credit Bureaus.