Chase has spent the first half of 2026 running the most aggressive welcome-bonus cycle the IHG One Rewards card lineup has ever seen. In January, all three cards jumped at once. By the end of April, two of those three offers were gone, replaced or expired. As of May 2026, the picture was mixed: the personal Premier card sat at an all-time high of 185,000 points, the no-fee Traveler card was at its own historical peak of 125,000 points, and the Premier Business had fallen back to a baseline 140,000-point offer after a brief run at 200,000. On October 1, 2026, Chase and IHG updated the cards and launched new offers.
Here is what changed, what is live now, and what it tells you about Chase's posture on hotel-card market share.
What Happened in January
Chase raised the welcome bonus on all three IHG One Rewards cards in late January 2026, first reported by NerdWallet and confirmed in Chase's public application pages. The Premier moved from 140,000 to 175,000 points after $5,000 in three months. The Traveler moved from 75,000 to a two-tier offer worth up to 120,000 points. The Premier Business stayed at 140,000 points after $4,000 in three months. The simultaneous bump across the lineup, on cards that historically refresh on different schedules, was the news. Chase rarely moves all three at once.
What Replaced Those Offers
The January 175,000-point Premier offer ran for roughly three months. It was replaced in April with a higher, restructured 185,000-point welcome bonus: 150,000 points after $3,000 in three months, plus another 35,000 points after a total of $6,000 in six months. At the time, that was the highest bonus the personal Premier card had ever carried, according to Upgraded Points' offer-history tracking.
The Traveler card's bonus also moved up. The new structure was 90,000 points after $2,000 in three months, then an additional 35,000 points after $4,000 in six months, for a total of 125,000 points. The Points Guy noted this was the largest bonus the Traveler had carried since launch, though the spending threshold was higher than past offers.
The Premier Business followed a different path. Chase ran a limited-time 200,000-point offer on the business card from late March through 9 a.m. ET on April 30, 2026, an all-time high reported by Doctor of Credit, View from the Wing, and Frequent Miler. That offer expired on schedule. As of May 2026, the public Premier Business bonus was 140,000 points after $4,000 in three months, the card's standard offer.
Why This Matters
Three patterns are worth flagging. First, Chase is treating IHG as a competitive lane against the Hilton-Amex and Marriott-Amex/Chase lineups, where premium hotel-card welcome bonuses now routinely clear 100,000 points. The Premier's two-tier structure, with most of the bonus paying out at the three-month mark and a smaller second tranche at six months, mirrors what Amex has done on Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.
Second, the business card's 200,000-point offer is the kind of bonus that does not return on a predictable cadence. The card's prior high was 175,000 points. As of May 2026, a 200,000-point reissue looked more likely in the Q4 2026 or Q1 2027 window than in the following few months.
Third, for readers who missed the January 175,000-point Premier offer, the April 185,000-point structure was a better deal in absolute terms, with a lower upfront spending requirement to trigger the first tier. The trade-off was the back-half spend: you needed to put $6,000 on the card over six months to qualify for the full bonus, versus $5,000 in three months under the prior offer.
What to Do Now
If you stay at IHG properties two or more times a year and you are under Chase's 5/24 cap, the IHG One Rewards Premier is the personal card to look at. Through November 18, 2026, new cardmembers can earn 180,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. For new applicants, the card carries a $150 annual fee and includes automatic Gold Elite status, an Anniversary Free Night with a 50,000-point redemption cap, and the fourth-night-free benefit on award stays.
The no-annual-fee IHG One Rewards Credit Card, formerly the Traveler, is the right call for occasional IHG guests. Through November 18, 2026, new cardmembers can earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. Chase's page says that starting in 2027, its fourth-night-free benefit requires $5,000 in purchases in a calendar year.
For business owners who already hold the personal Premier, the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card, formerly the Premier Business, is a reasonable add. For new applicants, it carries a $200 annual fee, and through November 18, 2026, new cardmembers can earn 190,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. The card does not count toward 5/24.
Eligibility on the personal cards follows Chase's standard 24-month rule: you cannot have received a new-cardmember bonus on any personal IHG card in the prior 24 months. The business card has separate eligibility.
Updated October 2, 2026: Chase and IHG updated the IHG cards on October 1, 2026, and the advice section now gives the new launch offers and the terms for new applicants. The Premier's annual fee is $150 (was $99), it comes with automatic Gold Elite status (was Platinum) and its Anniversary Free Night cap is 50,000 points (was 40,000). The Traveler is now the IHG One Rewards Credit Card, and the Premier Business is now the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card. Chase and IHG say: "Existing IHG One Rewards Credit Cardmembers will be notified in October with details about the new and enhanced benefits available to them and the effective date for each update. Annual Fees will be adjusted in 2027."
