Chase Sends Out IHG Premier Upgrade Offer
My wife received an upgrade offer for the IHG Premier card today and let me tell you…it was underwhelming. They want her to give up her uncapped anniversary night, lower annual fee, and 10% back on rewards stays for chicken feed.
Offer Details
If she upgrades now she can get…
- 5,000 Bonus Points
- Worth a whopping $30
- Must upgrade by 6/30/18
- Must go to Chase.com/chasegreatrewards/ihg21 (which just errors out for me)
For that privileged the annual fee will go up $40 (goes to $89 from $49). Yup spending $40 to get $30 sounds like an awesome deal!! Where is that sarcasm font again? I would imagine she would lose her last uncapped anniversary night as well.
It is still unclear what the old IHG cards will be getting as their anniversary night, will it match the $89 version or will it be a lessor version? At $49 an anniversary night up to 40,000 points per night is still a really good deal. At $89 it is a pretty good deal.
Who Does Upgrading Make Sense For
For a majority of people this upgrade does not make sense but for road warriors who have a lot of IHG paid stays the new card is the better option. The Premier card earns 10 points per dollar on cash stays which is double the current rate. That is also a better return than the Chase Sapphire Reserve would give you.
If you have a lot of 4 night award stays the 4th night free perk may work out better for you versus the 10% back on all award stays for the current card.
But for the majority of people standing pat is the right stay.
Conclusion
This is really a non starter for me. I was expecting something similar to what people saw for the new Marriott card, up to 50,000 points. Maybe some of the more loyal IHG people out there got better offers?
Let me know if you got anything different in the comments section.
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IF YOU UPGRADE DO YOU KEEP THE SAME ACCOUNT NUMBER ?
HOW MUCH TIME IS LEFT TO UPGRADE AND HOW QUICK DO I GET MY NEW CARD
PAUL
You should get the same number. The time frame for upgrade should be in your offer. You would be able to use your old card until the new comes but they usually show up within a week.
Received mailers for both my wife and I cards, 5,000 points. Whatever.
It seems like that is the only offer going out – sad. I may wait to the last uncapped night is used and then take them up on the offer…get the points and then close the card. If there is still an offer down the line.
[…] Hat tip to Miles to Memories […]
You go from “Platinum” to “PLATINUM”.
Can’t argue with that. Sign me up.
Haha I did notice that as well
5000 points give me a break.
[…] Hat tip to Miles to Memories […]
People, why not just get a second IHG card instead of upgrading. 80k vs 5k points !!!
Also authorized user spending gives 5k on new card so its 85 vs 5k.New sign up bonus aside, dummy booking offer $50 statement credit as well,its well offset the af comparing upgrading vs apply to keep both card to have 2 anniversary night. 49+30 for 1 card vs 49+89-50 to have both.its not like marriott card situation where you cant apply new one while you hold the old one anyway, at least for now.
Have there been any DP suggesting Chase is giving the bonus on this card if you hold the old version? I haven’t seen any as of yet.
Not exactly a DP, but I wrote to Chase the other day to ask specifically if current cardholders would be eligible for the bonus on the new card. Chase responded:
Hello Eileen Kerrigan,
I am happy to assist you with your inquiry regarding the
enrollment bonus on the new IHG® Rewards Club Credit Card.
Let me share that offers keep changing, and your account
will receive the bonus offer that is available at the time
of application. Thank you for your interest in Chase! You
can check out the most current offers, compare cards, view
terms, and apply online at creditcards.chase.com.
Eileen, you’re eligible for the bonus as long as:
– You haven’t received a new cardmember bonus on this
account in the past 24 months.
– Your account is open and not in default when we post the
bonus.
**************
Since they specified “on THIS account” (i.e., the new card account), it seems pretty clear that folks who have the old card can also earn the bonus on the new card. My husband and I both applied this morning, and both got the “30 days, will let you know by mail, blah, blah, blah” message :-/ I’ll call tomorrow and see what’s up … fingers crossed they both get approved!
Excellent – thanks for letting us know. I am sure they will close that door sooner rather than later a la Southwest and Sapphire. Good luck!
I have both cards old/new and got the bonus (given I got the new card when it came out but that should make no difference)
If you are outside the 24 months from getting the $49 one that is an option. But Chase has been shutting people down for new applications so upgrade would be the safer play if it was a respectable offer at least.