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Did you know you can open one hotel credit card that will earn you more than enough points for a four-night Paris stay? The welcome bonus/cardholder benefits for this card are currently better than ever!
IHG is a lesser known hotel brand that you might recognize from their budget-friendly Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express brands, or their international brand Intercontinental. Did you know they also own Atwell Suites, Avid hotels, Candlewood Suites, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, EVEN Hotels, Staybridge Suites, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Hotel Indigo, HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts and more?
Our Story With IHG
When you’re considering a co-branded hotel card, think through what will work best for you! My husband books an IHG for work regularly, so it made sense for us to open the Chase IHG card. We also have Marriott cards, because we find those are the best Disney hotels. Lots of people prefer Hyatt, some Hilton, and so on. Choose the one that fits your lifestyle best!
Also, consider where you are in your 5/24: Chase bank limits you to opening five cards with ANY bank in a 24 month period, at which point they will stop issuing you cards! Make sure you’re opening a card that fits your overall strategy, not just your immediate needs.
One last note: IHG is a transfer partner from Chase Ultimate Rewards, if you ever need to top off your points for an IHG stay. Check for transfer partners before you open a new card!
Open an IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card and earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Enjoy a Reward Night after each account anniversary year at eligible IHG hotels worldwide (plus, enjoy a reward night when you redeem points for any stay of 3 or more nights: book three nights get the fourth night free). Use a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card. You’ll have Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier card member. Cardholders earn up to 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel! Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants! Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases!
If you’d rather not pay an annual fee, consider opening the IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card and earning 120,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Earn up to 17 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel, 3 points per $1 spent on purchases on monthly bills, gas stations, and restaurants, and 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
We opened two IHG Premier cards last year to earn points for a London Marathon/Disneyland Paris trip; we used 116,000 IHG points to book four nights at a four-star trip advisor property in Paris before we head to Disneyland Paris. We chose this particular IHG for two reasons, which I’ll get into next (search other Paris IHG properties here):
1. Near Gare de Lyon Train Station
We’ll be arriving on the late evening Eurostar from London, and the hotel is close to the Gare de Lyon Train Station. Using the train station metro stop, we can get to the Louvre in ten minutes, or a stroll along the nearby Seine will have us at the Notre Dame in 30 minutes.
2. Short Train Ride From Disneyland Paris
This Holiday Inn is on the eastern edge of the city of lights–and so is Disneyland Paris! Boarding a train at the Gare de Lyon Train Station will have us at Disneyland Paris in 35 minutes!
Check out these other ways to use earned IHG points for Disney trips:
TAKEAWAYS
If you’re looking for a hotel brand offering competitive welcome bonuses and cardholder benefits, look no further. IHG might be the right brand/card for you!
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