Chase Is Offering 5 IHG Free Nights. The 185,000-Point Offer Is Usually Better.

Chase Is Offering 5 IHG Free Nights. The 185,000-Point Offer Is Usually Better.

Chase is running a welcome offer on the IHG One Rewards Premier card that pays five free night certificates after $4,000 of spend in three months. Each certificate covers a room priced up to 40,000 points a night. The same card also has a flat offer worth 185,000 points for less spend, and for most people that flat offer is the better deal.

The free night version makes sense in one narrow case. Doctor of Credit surfaced a variation on September 13, 2026 that adds 10,000 points for adding an authorized user.

The short version

• 5 free nights, each capped at 40,000 points, after $4,000 of spend in 3 months.

• The competing flat offer pays 185,000 points: 150,000 after $3,000, then 35,000 more at $6,000.

• Certificates expire 12 months after they are issued.

• The last version of this offer was capped at 60,000 points a night, not 40,000.

• Annual fee is $99 and is not waived the first year.

What is the offer, exactly?

The Chase IHG One Rewards Premier card is offering five free night certificates after $4,000 in purchases in the first three months. Each certificate books one night at any IHG property priced at or below 40,000 points. Doctor of Credit noted a slightly better variation on September 13, 2026 that adds 10,000 points for adding an authorized user.

Sounds enormous. Five nights is five nights. The cap is where it gets complicated.

Why does the 185,000-point offer usually win?

The flat welcome offer on the IHG One Rewards Premier card pays 150,000 points after $3,000 of spend in three months, plus another 35,000 points at $6,000 in six months, for 185,000 total. Points are flexible. They book a 12,000-point night in Krakow or top off toward a 90,000-point night in Rome, and they do not expire in 12 months. Certificates do neither.

The flat offer is the one "pretty much everybody will prefer," according to Doctor of Credit, and Frequent Miler reached the same conclusion. When two of the most conservative voices in this hobby agree the 5-night offer is weaker, take the hint.

When are five certificates the better choice?

Five free night certificates beat 185,000 IHG points when you already know you will spend five separate nights at properties priced between 25,000 and 40,000 points. At 40,000 points a night, five certificates cover rooms you would otherwise pay 200,000 points for. Do the trip and the certificates win by a wide margin.

The trap is the range. IHG uses dynamic pricing, so a Holiday Inn Express in a quiet market runs 15,000 points a night. Burning a 40,000-point certificate there throws away more than half its value. Historically these certificates also could not be topped off with extra points, so a 70,000-point room stayed out of reach.

Is the $99 annual fee worth keeping?

The IHG One Rewards Premier card charges $99 a year, not waived in year one, and hands back an anniversary free night certificate good for a room up to 40,000 points. IHG points sit around 0.5 to 0.6 cents each across the major valuations, so a fully used 40,000-point certificate returns roughly $200 to $240 against a $99 fee.

The card also carries automatic Platinum status, a fourth reward night free on any award stay of four or more nights, and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit. The fourth-night-free benefit is the quiet one. On a five-night award stay it is a 20% discount that repeats every year you keep the card. Our best travel credit cards guide covers where a hotel card fits next to a transferable-points card.

Who cannot get this?

Chase restricts the IHG One Rewards Premier card to applicants who do not currently hold any IHG personal card and have not taken a new cardmember bonus on an IHG personal card in the past 24 months. The business cards sit outside that rule. Chase's 5/24 rule also applies, so five or more new personal cards across all issuers in the past 24 months means an automatic decline.

What this means for you

Take the 185,000-point offer unless you have a specific five-night itinerary in the 25,000 to 40,000 point band already picked out.

Want the certificates and not in a hurry? Wait. This same offer ran at 60,000 points a night earlier in 2026, and Chase has brought that version back more than once. And if you are 5/24 or over, none of this applies. Clear that first.

FAQ

How long do the IHG free night certificates last?

IHG free night certificates from the Premier card welcome offer expire one year after they are issued. Five certificates and a 12-month window means roughly one hotel night every 10 weeks, which is more travel than most people book.

Can you add points to a free night certificate?

Historically no. IHG has not let cardholders top off welcome-offer certificates with extra points to reach a more expensive room, so a night priced above 40,000 points stays out of reach. Confirm the current terms on the Chase offer page before you plan around it.

What is a 40,000-point IHG night worth?

At the 0.5 to 0.6 cents per point range the major valuations use for IHG One Rewards, 40,000 points is worth roughly $200 to $240. That is the ceiling, and you only reach it at a property priced right at the cap.

Does the IHG Premier card have an annual free night?

Yes. The IHG One Rewards Premier card gives a free night certificate every card anniversary, good for a room priced up to 40,000 points. It is the main reason to keep paying the $99 fee after year one.

Is this offer subject to Chase 5/24?

Yes. The Chase IHG One Rewards Premier card follows the 5/24 rule, so five or more new personal card accounts opened across all issuers in the past 24 months results in a denial.

The bottom line

Five free nights reads better than 185,000 points and delivers less for most people. Certificates expire, cap out and waste value at cheap properties. Points do none of that.

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