Chase’s IHG One Rewards Premier credit card now carries a $150 annual fee for new applicants, up from $99, and existing cardholders will pay the higher fee when the card renews in 2027. Frequent Miler, which tracks card changes, lists the Premier welcome offer of 180,000 points after $3,000 in purchases in the first three months as expiring November 18, 2026. The $51 increase, about 52 percent, arrives with a longer list of credits and a bigger anniversary free night, so the question for cardholders is whether those additions earn their keep at the new price.
For anyone already holding the card, the month the account renews decides the bill. Stephen Pepper of Frequent Miler reports that the fee for existing cardholders does not rise until the card’s renewal in 2027, and that cards renewing between October 1 and December 31, 2026 keep the lower fee for now. A cardholder with a March anniversary therefore pays $150 in March 2027, while one whose anniversary falls next month pays $99 once more and meets the new fee a year later.
The IHG welcome offers on the Premier, Business and no-fee cards close November 18, and the 2027 renewal dates are the next fee dates after that.
Get the next update the morning it lands →
Who pays $150 now and who waits for renewal
New applicants meet the higher price at sign-up. Chase’s card page lists the $150 annual fee along with the 180,000-point bonus and 10,000 more points for adding an authorized user in the first three months. Pepper’s rundown of the refreshed IHG cards puts the change plainly: “The annual fee has increased from $99 to $150.” New cardholders also start with Gold elite status, where earlier versions of the card started at Platinum, while existing cardholders keep Platinum through the end of 2027.
Existing cardholders get a gentler schedule with one catch. Pepper writes that cards renewing from October 1 through December 31, 2026 keep the $99 fee, but the Premier and Business cards then carry a free night certificate worth up to 40,000 points instead of 50,000. Bonus categories being trimmed or removed stay at their higher earning rates through December 31, 2026, and the new annual elite night credits start January 1, 2027. The 2027 renewal is where the fee, the certificate and the status rules all arrive together.
What the Premier card adds for the higher fee
Chase’s page credits the card with an anniversary free night worth up to 50,000 points each year, which Frequent Miler says is up from 40,000, with the option to add points for pricier hotels. It also lists up to $100 a year in IHG food and beverage credits, paid at $25 per quarter, and a $100 statement credit on airline purchases of $250 or more that Frequent Miler says runs through December 31, 2027. Purchases of IHG points get a 30 percent discount, up from 20 percent, though only during full-price sales.
The credits only offset the $51 increase for cardholders who spend in the right places. The $25 quarterly credit applies only to IHG food and beverage purchases, and the airline credit requires $250 or more of flights bought directly from the airline. Chase’s page also says the 5X earning rate on other travel applies only through December 31, 2026, so one earning perk shrinks as the fee grows.
The November 18 offers on IHG’s other cards
Miles to Memories, a card-and-travel blog, reports that Chase and IHG are running higher limited-time welcome bonuses on the whole lineup through November 18, 2026. The Business card, renamed IHG One Rewards Business, offers 190,000 points after $5,000 in the first three months, and Frequent Miler says its fee more than doubles from $99 to $200 and drops an up-to-$50 United TravelBank Cash benefit. The no-fee card offers 125,000 points after $2,000, and its fourth-night-free benefit requires $5,000 of spending in a calendar year starting January 1, 2027.
Chase’s page carries an eligibility rule that applies to every personal IHG card: it is unavailable to anyone who holds a personal IHG One Rewards card or received a new-cardmember bonus on one in the past 24 months. Anyone in that group cannot take the Premier bonus, however long the November 18 window stays open. Chase’s page prints no end date for the Premier bonus and says offers can change over time, so November 18 rests on the card sites that track IHG’s lineup, not on a date Chase prints.
Matching the renewal month to the new fee
The renewal month is the one detail that settles which fee applies. A card that renews in November 2026 pays $99 and receives the smaller 40,000-point certificate, while a card that renews in January 2027 pays $150 and receives the 50,000-point certificate. Cardholders deciding whether to keep the card compare that gap, $51 a year, against the certificate they actually redeem.
The free night is the largest line in that comparison. Redeemed at a hotel that costs 50,000 points or less, it covers a full night; redeemed at a pricier property, the certificate can be topped up with points. The $100 food credit and $100 airline credit add up to $200 of statement value, and each one lapses if the spending does not happen. A cardholder who stays at IHG hotels once a year, and eats there, sits on one side of the comparison; one who never visits sits on the other.
Dates beyond November 18 shape the card’s value as well. The 5X rate on other travel ends December 31, 2026, the annual elite night credits begin January 1, 2027, and existing cardholders keep Platinum status through the end of 2027. Pepper’s rundown also lists the spending ladder that comes with the card: 2 elite night credits per $5,000, with Platinum status at $15,000 and Diamond at $40,000.
More Financial Reading
- 24 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 17 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 17 Ways Retirees Are Tapping a Record $14.9 Trillion in Home Equity
This article was prepared with AI assistance from cited public sources and reviewed before publication.
