Chase is doubling the annual fee on the legacy IHG One Rewards Select card from $49 to $99. The increase hits at each cardholder’s renewal starting in 2027. In exchange, the anniversary free night certificate rises from a 40,000-point cap to a 50,000-point cap.
The short version
- The legacy IHG One Rewards Select annual fee goes from $49 to $99, a 102% increase.
- The new fee applies at renewal in 2027, not on your next statement.
- The anniversary free night certificate cap rises from 40,000 to 50,000 points, a gain of 10,000.
- IHG points have sold for roughly 0.5 cents each in Chase and IHG sales, which puts a 50,000-point night near $250 of value against a $99 fee.
- The card is closed to new applicants, so this only affects people who already hold it.
Which IHG card is this, exactly?
The legacy IHG One Rewards Select card is the old $49 Chase product, closed to new applications years ago. It is not the IHG One Rewards Premier Select card Chase launched this month at $350. The names now sit one word apart. If you pay $49 a year for a 40,000-point free night, you hold the legacy Select.
Chase confirmed the change to Thrifty Traveler, saying the fee rises “at renewal, starting in 2027.” Doctor of Credit broke the story from cardholder screenshots, and Frequent Miler matched the detail on the certificate cap.
Does the bigger free night cover the bigger fee?
The legacy IHG One Rewards Select free night certificate currently books any IHG property pricing at 40,000 points or less per night. From 2027 that ceiling becomes 50,000 points. IHG One Rewards prices reward nights dynamically and says they start “at just 10,000 points,” which means a 50,000-point night is a genuinely nice hotel in a real city rather than an airport property.
Run the arithmetic on value instead of on the fee. IHG has sold points directly for about half a cent each in its strongest sales, which we covered against the Chase transfer bonus route. At that rate, 50,000 points is $250 of hotel. A $99 fee that returns a $250 certificate still clears, and the certificate is the only benefit you need to use for the card to pay for itself.
The ratio got worse. A $200 certificate for $49 was better than four times your money. A $250 certificate for $99 is about two and a half times. Both work. Only one was a bargain.
How does the legacy card compare to the current IHG lineup?
The legacy IHG One Rewards Select keeps automatic Platinum Elite status and the 10% points rebate on redemptions, and Chase has not announced changes to either. The active IHG One Rewards Premier card goes the other way in 2027: its fee rises to $150 and its automatic status drops from Platinum Elite to Gold Elite, per AwardWallet’s breakdown of the refreshed lineup. Chase’s own card hub already lists the Premier at $150 and the Business card at $200.
| Card | Annual fee from 2027 | Free night cap | Automatic status |
|---|---|---|---|
| IHG One Rewards Select (legacy, closed) | $99 | 50,000 points | Platinum Elite |
| IHG One Rewards Premier | $150 | 50,000 points | Gold Elite |
| IHG One Rewards Business | $200 | 50,000 points | Platinum Elite |
| IHG One Rewards Premier Select | $350 | 60,000 points | Platinum Elite |
Read that table again. A card nobody is allowed to apply for is about to be the cheapest route to IHG Platinum Elite with a 50,000-point free night attached.
Should you keep paying?
Keep it if you stay at an IHG hotel once a year. One certificate booked at a property pricing above 20,000 points beats the $99, and Platinum Elite adds room upgrades and late checkout when the hotel has space.
Cancel it if your certificates have been expiring unused. A free night you never book is a $99 donation, and two years of that is a flight. Chase gives you a window after the fee posts to call and ask for a refund if you close the card, which is the cleaner exit than letting it ride another year.
One open question stays open. Chase has confirmed the fee and the certificate cap, and has said nothing about whether Platinum Elite status and the 10% rebate survive the refresh. One Mile at a Time raised the same point about the wider lineup. Watch your account for the formal change-in-terms notice before you decide anything irreversible.
What this means for you
Nothing changes on your next statement. Check your card anniversary date, note when in 2027 it falls, and look at whether you booked a free night this year. If you did, the bigger certificate is a small upgrade for real money. If you did not, treat the fee notice as the prompt to close or downgrade. For where this card sits against everything else, our best travel credit cards guide has the hotel picks, and our writeup of the new $350 Premier Select covers the card Chase would rather you hold.
FAQ
When does the legacy IHG One Rewards Select annual fee go to $99?
Chase applies the legacy IHG One Rewards Select fee increase to $99 at each cardholder’s renewal starting in 2027. No single switchover date has been published, so your anniversary month decides when you see it.
Can I still apply for the legacy IHG Select card?
No. Chase closed the legacy IHG One Rewards Select card to new applications years ago. Chase’s current lineup is the IHG One Rewards card at $0, the Premier at $150, the Business at $200 and the Premier Select at $350.
What is the IHG free night certificate worth?
From 2027 the legacy IHG One Rewards Select certificate books any property pricing at 50,000 points or less per night, up from 40,000. At the roughly half a cent per point IHG charges in its best direct sales, that is about $250.
Does the legacy IHG Select card still give Platinum Elite status?
Automatic Platinum Elite status comes with the legacy IHG One Rewards Select card today, and Chase has announced no change to it. Treat it as unconfirmed for 2027 until the change-in-terms notice arrives.
Should I downgrade to the no-fee IHG card instead?
The no-fee IHG One Rewards card carries no annual fee and grants Silver Elite, and it comes with no anniversary free night. Downgrading saves $99 and costs you the certificate, so the swap only makes sense if you were not booking the free night.
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