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This card is no longer available.

The IHG Rewards Club Premium credit card (the paid card with £99 annual fee) was withdrawn from new applicants in April 2020. The free IHG Rewards Club Credit Card was subsequently taken off the market in December 2021.

Both remaining cards were fully closed on 28 June 2023, when the partnership between Creation Financial Services and IHG officially ended. Existing cardholders were migrated to a generic Creation credit card with no rewards benefits.

No replacement IHG credit card has been launched in the UK since.

About the card

The IHG Rewards Club Premium Credit Card was a hotel rewards credit card issued by Creation Financial Services, earning IHG Rewards Club points on everyday spending. It carried an annual fee of £99.

How points were earned

The card earned 2 IHG Rewards Club points per £1 on general UK spending, 4 points per £1 at IHG properties, and 4 points per £1 on overseas spending, though the 2.99% foreign transaction fee on non-sterling purchases largely offset the bonus earn rate abroad, making it less suited to use as a travel card.

Assuming a value of approximately 0.5p per IHG point, this translated to an estimated rewards rate of around 1% on general spending and 2% on IHG hotel stays.

Welcome bonus and annual benefits

New cardholders could earn 20,000 IHG Rewards Club points (worth approximately £100 in hotel redemptions) by spending £200 in the first three months. The card also came with automatic Platinum Elite status in IHG Rewards Club.

Cardholders who spent at least £10,000 in a card year earned an Anniversary Night voucher, redeemable for a free standard room at any IHG property. Unlike some hotel card free night vouchers which were restricted to lower hotel tiers, the IHG voucher could be used across all IHG brands, including InterContinental properties.

Points redemption

IHG Rewards Club points could be redeemed for hotel nights, flights (via airline transfer partners at a rate of 10,000 IHG points to 2,000 air miles), car hire and retail vouchers. Hotel redemptions generally offered better value than flight transfers, at an estimated 0.4–0.6p per point versus around 0.2p per point for airline miles.

At the time of its closure, the IHG portfolio covered 12 brands including InterContinental, Kimpton, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and hotel Indigo, across more than 5,000 properties worldwide.

Current hotel-linked credit cards in the UK

The IHG card's closure in 2023 left a significant gap in the UK hotel credit card market. As of July 2026, the options are limited:

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

The only dedicated hotel loyalty credit card currently available to new UK applicants. It earns 2 Marriott Bonvoy points per £1 on general spending and 6 points per £1 at Marriott Bonvoy properties. The card carries an annual fee of £95 and comes with 15 Elite Night Credits on application and each January, making Silver Elite status immediate and Gold Elite achievable with relatively few additional hotel nights. Marriott Bonvoy covers around 9,000 properties across 37 brands including Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, W, The Luxury Collection and St Regis.

Representative example: Based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200 at a purchase rate of 29.1% p.a. (variable) and an annual fee of £95, the representative APR is 52.5% variable.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

Not a dedicated hotel card, but earns points transferable to IHG One Rewards and Wyndham Rewards among other programmes. Requires an HSBC Premier current account with a minimum individual income of £100,000 or equivalent savings with HSBC.

Representative example: Based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200 at a purchase rate of 29.9% p.a. (variable) and an annual fee of £290, the representative APR is 100.2% variable.

There is currently no UK credit card that earns IHG One Rewards points directly. UK-based IHG loyalists can still earn IHG points through hotel stays, partner spending and periodic transfer promotions, but no co-branded card option exists in the market.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. ClearScore is a credit broker, not a lender.