Chase and IHG have added a new premium option to their co-branded card lineup: the IHG One Rewards Premier Select World Elite Mastercard, which carries a $350 annual fee and a welcome offer of 200,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first three months. Applications for that bonus are open through November 18, 2026, and eligibility is independent of any other IHG card you may hold — so even existing personal or business IHG cardholders can qualify.
The perks are built around stacking credits. Cardholders get up to $300 a year in food and beverage rewards at IHG properties, delivered as a $75 quarterly credit that must be used within a single stay each quarter. There's also a $200 annual airline statement credit (currently running through December 31, 2027) — book a flight directly with an airline for at least $250 and $200 comes off your statement. On top of that, you can collect up to $50 in United TravelBank cash, split into two $25 semi-annual deposits.
The hotel-side benefits are similarly generous. Each cardmember year brings a free night award valid at properties costing up to 60,000 points, with the option to top off the certificate with points for pricier hotels. You get automatic IHG Platinum status, Diamond status if you spend $25,000 in a calendar year, 20 elite night credits annually (plus two more per $5,000 spent), and a fourth night free on consecutive four-night award redemptions. Earning rates run 12x points at IHG, 6x on dining and other travel including rideshare, and 3x on everything else.
The math is easy to sketch. The $200 airline credit functions close to cash, and the free night certificate is realistically worth $250-300 on its own — together those two alone outweigh the annual fee. Add the dining credits and status benefits, and the card pays for itself quickly if you stay at IHG properties even a handful of times a year. The first year is especially attractive: the large welcome bonus plus the chance to use the airline credit twice before the second annual fee hits.
Worth noting is where this card sits in the market. The $300-400 fee range is becoming a popular middle ground between the ~$100 cards and the $600-plus ultra-premium tier, with recent similar launches from other airline and hotel programs. There's also a context of trade-offs: as the broader IHG card portfolio gets refreshed, some status perks on other IHG cards are being trimmed, which makes this new card's elite status upside more meaningful for frequent guests.
For travellers who regularly book Holiday Inn, InterContinental, Kimpton or other IHG brands and can get approved for Chase cards, this is one of the more straightforward value plays in the hotel card space right now. If your stays are rare, the credits will likely go to waste — the card only works if you'd actually use the dining and hotel benefits. But for loyal IHG guests, the fee is easily covered several times over.
