IHG® One Rewards Select Credit Card: Discontinued but replaced with better options

If you stay in a hotel at least a couple of nights a year and tend to stay within the Marriott portfolio each time, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card is probably a smarter addition to your wallet than any IHG One Rewards card. The rewards rate for stays within the Marriott portfolio of properties is generous and you’ll earn a free night each year of card ownership, similar to the annual card membership anniversary free night you would get with the IHG One Rewards Select (with a 40,000 point redemption cap).

While both cards also recommend having an excellent credit score (740 to 850 on the FICO scale), the two diverge in affordability. Both cards charge annual fees, but the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus card charges $95 to hold the card compared to the $49 charge you pay to hold the IHG One Rewards Select. Also, the IHG card waived this annual fee for the first year, making it a more appealing choice for frugal travelers. The new IHG card at the entry-level tier does not require any annual fee.

Ultimately, choosing between these two cards would come down to which hotel property portfolio you stay the most at. If you stay with IHG, continue to hold your IHG One Rewards Select card if you have one, or apply for one of the new IHG cards. You may even do a product change. However, consider Marriott cards or general travel rewards cards if you want to venture into other hotel chains.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card should be on your radar if you prefer World of Hyatt hotels. While the IHG One Rewards have a points valuation of 0.7 cents, the World of Hyatt point valuation is around 2.3 cents according to Bankrate’s calculations. This difference alone makes World of Hyatt card a more appealing option because the base rewards program and the welcome offer are much more valuable.

One key difference between the IHG One Rewards Select and the World of Hyatt card is the barrier of entry for approval. The World of Hyatt card recommends a good to excellent credit score (670 to 850 on the FICO scale) compared to the excellent score (740 to 850 on the FICO scale) the IHG One Rewards Select required. This slightly lower score requirement makes the World of Hyatt card a bit more accessible, at the cost of a higher annual fee.

The World of Hyatt card has a lot to offer to Hyatt hotel travelers. However, the IHG One Rewards Select was a more affordable alternative and provided the most value if you spent the most time at IHG properties. 

The Sapphire Preferred Card will pair well with the IHG card because you’ll earn valuable credit card rewards in the categories that your IHG card doesn’t cover. What’s more, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are far more valuable than IHG One Rewards. Additionally, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG One Rewards to consolidate your points and redeem for IHG stays.

If you don’t want to pay multiple annual fees but still want to earn rewards for your travel and everyday purchases, the Discover it Miles will be a great pair with the IHG One Rewards Select Credit Card. You’ll earn a flat rate of 1.5X miles on all purchases, including flights, transit, restaurants, rental cars and all of the other expenses associated with travel.

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2022 was $72,967 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500. 

Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

• Groceries: $5,700
• Dining out: $3,600
• Entertainment: $2,400
• Gas: $3,100
• Apparel and services: $1,900

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 22 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

No. You must log onto the IHG One Rewards program site and enroll to access membership and full benefits. There is no cost to enroll in the program.

Chase issued the IHG One Rewards Select card. However, this card is no longer available to new consumers.

It depends on your membership tier level. According to the IHG One Rewards program terms and conditions, level membership points will expire after 12 months of inactivity on your account. Elite level membership points do not expire as long as a cardholder maintains Elite level membership.