The big news in travel is that Southwest Airlines has basically given up their unique “We are different!” corporate identity and become just another commodity airline that tries to look as cheap as possible upfront (only $200!) while adding multiple fees on the backend for all the things that used to be included (want to sit next to each other? checked bags? decent legroom? ok sure it’s really $500). As educated consumers, our job is to understand the changes to their value proposition and adjust accordingly. Here’s a list of the new Southwest realities:

• Basic Economy has arrived to Southwest. The cheapest fare tier is now called “Basic”, not “Wanna Get Away”. You can no longer make free changes; you only get a non-transferrable credit that expires after only 6 months. Earns only 2X points, down from 6X points (elite status-holders get a little more). They are stripping everything possible because Southwest believes that people just pick the lowest fare regardless of features when listed on a comparison site like Google Flights or Expedia.
• No more free bags. Starting 5/29, on most fares you’ll no longer get two free bags included and they’ll start charging you like everyone else. Business Select fares and A-List Preferred elites will get 2 free checked bags. A-List elites and co-branded credit cardholders will get 1 free checked bag.
• No more open seating. Must pay for seat choice. Southwest is moving to assigned seats as well, which means Basic fares will have to pay up to pick their seats or be stuck in the worst middle seats or in the back.
• No more reasonable legroom for everyone. Southwest used to be known for decent seat width and legroom in all its seats. Southwest is now adding “premium” extra-legroom seats if you pay extra $$$. This usually means the rest of Economy loses a few inches in return (right now it looks like seat pitch will go down to 31″ from 32″, similar to Basic Economy for other major airlines).
• Changes to Rapid Rewards points redemptions. When redeeming Rapid Rewards points for flights, it will not longer be directly linked to the current cash fare. Basically, they want to be able to charge whatever amount they want, and limit the number of award tickets available on certain flights.

I wouldn’t actually read this Southwest press release because it has so much PR-spin that it is quite trifficult to understand what they are actually doing, but this attached graphic is useful:

It’s almost funny because you can still look up their old talking points and interviews on why open seating is better, why keeping free checked bags is better, why the fact that Southwest treats everyone well is important, but now it’s just the exact opposite. Your unique brand was around for 50 years, but now you’ve traded it all for a temporary bump in share price.

Well, Southwest, if you want us to just judge you on price, that’s fine with me. Selling a commodity product is usually a tough business, though. Prediction: The next step is to be merged away with another major airline soon.

In the meantime, I’m not sure if this makes their co-branded credit card more desirable or not. The card has basically added a free checked bag benefit that can be valuable, and some of them offer seating choice perks, but if you were a loyal Southwest flier, these new changes may cause you to not fly them as much anymore and now try out other airlines.

Updated with limited-time offers. The Wyndham Rewards Earner credit cards currently all have increased bonuses of up to 90,000 points. While these are not the highest amounts offered ever, they are above the normal bonuses. This hotel-chain co-branded card earns rewards that redeemable towards the Wyndham chain of hotels and Vacasa-managed vacation home rentals.

Wyndham Rewards Earner Card highlights:

• 60,000 bonus points after $2,000 in purchases in the first 90 days.
• 5X points per $1 spent on Hotels by Wyndham and qualifying gas purchases.
• 2X points per $1 spent on dining and grocery store purchases (excluding Target® and Walmart®).
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases (excluding Wyndham Timeshare resort down payments).
• Automatic upgrade to Wyndham Rewards Gold status.
• 10% fewer Wyndham Rewards points required for go free® awards.
• 7,500 bonus points each anniversary year if you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases.
• No annual fee.

Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card highlights:

• 90,000 bonus points after $2,000 in purchases in the first 90 days.
• 6X points per $1 spent on Hotels by Wyndham and gas purchasess.
• 4X points per $1 spent on dining and grocery store purchases (excluding Target and Walmart).
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases (excluding Wyndham Timeshare resort down payments).
• Automatic upgrade to Wyndham Rewards Platinum status.
• 10% fewer Wyndham Rewards points required for go free® awards.
• 7,500 bonus points each anniversary year after annual fee renewal.
• $75 annual fee.

Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card highlights:

• 75,000 bonus points total. 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days. Also, earn 25,000 bonus points after spending $12,000 on purchases within the first 365 days.
• 8X points per $1 spent on Hotels by Wyndham and gas purchasess.
• 5X points per $1 spent on eligible marketing, advertising, and utilities purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases (excluding Wyndham Timeshare resort down payments).
• Automatic upgrade to Wyndham Rewards Diamond status.
• 10% fewer Wyndham Rewards points required for go free® awards.
• 15,000 bonus points each anniversary year after annual fee renewal.
• $95 annual fee.

Wyndham hotels have a relatively simple system that charges 7,500, 15,000, or 30,000 points for a “Go Free” award hotel night with no blackout dates (as long as a standard room is available for cash, you can book it with points). You can also redeem toward a discounted “Go Fast” cash and points rate. Resort fees may apply and cannot be paid with points. Note that when you have one of these credit cards, you get a 10% discount, so for example the 15,000 points tier would be actually be reduced down to 13,500 points.

You can also use the points for Vacasa vacation home rentals (like Airbnb or VRBO). Starting 3/26/24, it will cost 15,000 points *per bedroom* per night if the cash cost (including all taxes and fees!) is up to $250 *per bedroom* per night, or 30,000 points per bedroom per night if the cash cost is up to $500 per bedroom per night. More details at here and here.

That means your family likes to stay at Airbnbs, then 90,000 points can get you 3 nights at a 1-bedroom Vacasa-managed property that would otherwise cost up to $500 per night when including all taxes and fees, or at a 2-bedroom Vacasa property that would otherwise cost up to $250 *per bedroom* per night when including all taxes and fees. You can browse Vacasa properties here and book by calling 800-441-1034.

Wyndham points expiration – Important!

• Wyndham Rewards points will expire if you have no activity on your account for a period of 18 months.
• In addition, all Wyndham Rewards points expire 4 years after being earned — regardless of account activity.

From the official Terms & Conditions:

Except as may otherwise be required under applicable law, Wyndham Rewards points expire four (4) years after the checkout date of the stay for which the applicable points are posted to the Member’s account (the “Four Year Rule”), unless the points are forfeited or cancelled earlier due to membership inactivity (as more particularly described below), or otherwise in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. All accrued points in a Member’s Wyndham Rewards account may be cancelled or forfeited if the Member has no Account Activity (as defined below) for a period of approximately, but never less than, eighteen (18) consecutive months. For purposes of these Terms and Conditions, “Account Activity” means any (i) point earning, (ii) stay posted to a Member’s Wyndham Rewards account, regardless of whether or not such stay earns Wyndham Rewards points, and (iii) redemption or transfer activity involving a change in the Member’s Wyndham Rewards point balance, in each case, conducted in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.

For example, earning points via this credit card will only reset the 18-month inactivity clock. Look for the exact date in your online account page.

Wyndham Rewards includes over 9,000 hotels worldwide – from Days Inn motels to Wyndham Grand hotels. You can use this link to filter locations easily by country, state, and/or point level. Participating hotel chains include:

• AmericInn by Wyndham®
• Dolce Hotels and Resorts® by Wyndham
• Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham®
• Howard Johnson by Wyndham®
• La Quinta by Wyndham®
• Ramada by Wyndham®
• Days Inn by Wyndham®
• Super 8 by Wyndham®
• Travelodge by Wyndham®
• Wingate by Wyndham®
• Wyndham Grand®
• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®
• Wyndham Garden®

Depending on the hotel, you might get over 1 cent per point value (i.e. $300 cash hotel night for 30,000 points), but you might also get closer to 0.5 cent per point value (i.e. a $75 hotel night might require 15,000 points).

Bottom line. The Wyndham Rewards Earner credit cards earns rewards that can get you free nights at Wyndham hotels and Vacasa vacation home rentals. However, know that you must redeem the points within 4 years at the longest, even with regular account activity. This is somewhat of a niche card, but if you’ve got all the popular ones, there is still good potential value here if you put in some legwork.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers and Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

The Virgin Red Rewards credit card is the co-branded card for Virgin Red, the loyalty program for Virgin Atlantic flights, Virgin Hotels and Virgin Voyages. In addition, Virgin points can be used for other things like Delta Airlines flights, Legoland tickers, all the way down to a bag of AMC movie popcorn. Right now, there is a limited-time offer, so let’s take a closer look.

• 60,000 Virgin Points when you open an account between 2/18/25-3/31/25 and spend $3,000 in the first 90 days.
• 3X Virgin Points per $1 spent on Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Hotels and Virgin Voyages.
• 2X Virgin Points per $1 spent at grocery stores, on dining out, select streaming services and EV charging.
• 1 Virgin Point per $1 spent on everything else.
• Spend $15,000 in a year to choose one Personal Perk, or $30,000 to?choose two. Options include Flying Club reward voucher for a companion seat or cabin upgrade (Virgin Atlantic), a free night stay or priority upgrade (Virgin Hotel), or a $150/$300 Bar Tab credit or Blue Extras perk package (Virgin Voyages).
• Book two nights at a Virgin Hotel, get your third night free with this card.
• Add an authorized user and earn 2,500 Virgin Points. Maximum of 10,000 Virgin Points.
• Earn Tier Points with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Earn 25 Tier Points for $2,500 of qualifying spend, up to 50 Tier Points a month.
• Anniversary bonus: 5,000 Virgin Points every year you renew.
• $99 annual fee.

This card is currently a Mastercard issued by Synchrony Bank. While Synchrony is not my favorite issuer, that can actually be a good thing once if you’ve already gotten many of the other popular rewards cards and they start to turn you away…

What can you redeem Virgin Points for? First, a quick reminder that there are both Virgin Red points and Virgin Flying Club points. Although they are separate programs, you can link your accounts together and use your points across both programs.

You can redeem Virgin points for free flights on Virgin Atlantic Airlines, including Economy, Premium Economy, and Upper (First) Class. There is no fixed award chart, but you can use this Reward Seat Checker tool to see what is available. Here are the best case scenarios for a Saver reward, which are very limited. You’ll also have to watch out for carrier-imposed surcharges, which are not included.

The US partner airlines include Delta Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. There are also a variety of international partner airlines including both SkyTeam (Air France/KLM) and non-SkyTeam (like ANA), which I won’t go into detail here.

For Hawaiian Airlines, here are the roundtrip costs, excluding taxes, fees and carrier-imposed surcharges.

For Delta Airlines, here are the one-way costs for domestic flights within the US, excluding taxes, fees and carrier-imposed surcharges. The cost is based on distance, so it can be a relatively better deal for shorter Delta flights within the US.

Lots of incoming transfer partners. Even if you rarely/never fly Virgin, a positive feature is that there are many ways to get Virgin points if you need some extra to meet a redemption. These are all the programs that transfer into Virgin Red points at a 1:1 ratio:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Bilt Rewards
• Capital One Miles
• Citi ThankYou Rewards
• Wells Fargo

You can also transfer from Marriott Bonvoy at a different 3:1 ratio (plus possible 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points transferred).

Like most co-branded credit cards, the value depends a lot on how often you already use Virgin products. As someone who has never used any Virgin product, my plan for this card would be instead to use the bonus points within the first year on economy Delta flights for my entire family. I’d transfer enough points over from another program to top off the account and use them all at once. I’ll have to see if Delta flies to where we want to go and calculate the cost based on distance.

Bottom line. The Virgin Red Rewards credit card is the co-branded card for Virgin Atlantic flights, Virgin Hotels and Virgin Voyages. Right now, there is a limited-time offer of 60,000 bonus Virgin points, which are can be redeemed towards airfare on Virgin Atlantic or Delta Airlines, along with some other partner airlines.

I do believe it is reasonably easy to get $600+ of flight value out of 60,000 Virgin points, so I will be adding this card to my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The information for the Virgin Red Rewards credit card has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Update March 2025. Southwest has made some big changes to how they run, and it’s not entire clear how it will affect their credit cards. The “Wanna Get Away” fare is going away later this year, to be replaced by “Basic”. I will try to update things as well as I can.

For now, Southwest still offers their unique Companion Pass, which lets you fly with a companion for free when you book both paid AND award flights on Southwest. Once you qualify by earning 135,000 points in a calendar year, you earn the Companion Pass for both the rest of the year in which you earn it AND all of the next year (ex. rest of 2025 + all of 2026). Importantly, all points earned from credit cards count toward the requirement, and each card also offers a 10,000 point boost toward the Companion Pass requirement.

New limited-time offer: Right now if you apply by 3/31/25, you have an opportunity to earn a “Promo” Companion Pass much more easily with a reasonable spending hurdle. See details below. This promotional Companion Pass doesn’t last through the end of 2026, but it does last until 2/28/26.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

• Limited-time offer: Earn a Companion Pass(R) good through 2/28/26 plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Receive 3,000 anniversary points each year.
• 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year.
• 2X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
• 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
• 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
• 25% back on inflight purchases
• All points earned count towards Companion Pass(R).
• $69 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

• Limited-time offer: Earn a Companion Pass(R) good through 2/28/26 plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Receive 7,500 anniversary points and a $75 Southwest® travel credit each year.
• 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year.
• 3X points on Southwest purchases.
• 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
• 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
• 25% back on inflight purchases
• 1,500 TQPs toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent in purchases annually (no limit on TQP earned).
• 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
• $149 annual fee.

The following are business credit cards:

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

• 80,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• 9,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• NEW: 4X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
• 3X points on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners.
• NEW: 2X points on rideshare.
• 2X points on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
• Inflight WiFi Credits (up to 365 x $8 credits per year).
• Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit. Receive a statement credit of up to $120 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS.
• $199 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

• 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 3X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
• 2X points and Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners.
• 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
• $99 annual fee.

Value of Rapid Rewards points. Redeeming Southwest points for flights varies in a narrow range, but a very reasonable approximation from my experience is 1.3 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to $650+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for every 50,000 points or $1,300+ in Wanna Get Away airfare from 100,000 points (you are still liable for taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way). This valuation may change when they switch to “Basic”.

Now, if you manage to qualify for the the Companion Pass on every trip that you book with those points, that doubles the potential value of each award redemption. In other words, 125,000 Rapid Rewards, would usually get you $1,850 in Wanna Get Away airfare, but with the Companion Pass you’d get an extra companion ticket for every flight booked.

There may be other options like gift cards, but the redemption value is less than half the value you could get from redeeming for flights.

Southwest points expiration policy, per Southwest.com:

Do the points I earn expire?

No, your Rapid Rewards points do not expire. However, if you choose to close your account, the points in your account will be terminated.

Card restrictions. All of these Southwest credit cards are subject to “5/24” restrictions, which means that your application will be automatically denied if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months (check your credit reports). Our household strategy is to have one person only apply for Chase 5/24 cards, and the other person applies for everything else. There is also this language on the consumer card:

This product is available to you if you do not have a current Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card and have not received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Business Card and Employee Credit Card products.

Basically, you can get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest consumer card once every 24 months. You can also get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest business card once every 24 months.

Stack your Companion Pass with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest points on a 1:1 basis. If you book an award flight with those Southwest points while you have the Companion Pass, you can double the value of your Ultimate Rewards points as well.

Bottom line. Southwest credit cards offer new cardholders the opportunity to earn hundreds of dollars worth of Wanna Get Away airfare, but if you time things right and maybe combine the welcome offers from a personal and business card, you can also grab the Southwest Companion pass, which provides a free companion ticket on every flight bought with cash OR points booked both during the rest of the year in which you earned it, AND the full next calendar year.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers and the Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Cards has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The Aven Credit Card is a new-ish credit card with 2% cash back that uses your home equity (HELOC) to get lower interest rates. Right now they have a new Costco offer, but you have to read the fine print. The offer includes a free 1-Year Executive Membership, which is issued as a one-time $135 credit on your Aven card within the first statement cycle. It’s not clear if you have to actually charge the membership to your card, as they are not closely affiliated with Costco.

However, they also advertise “4% cash back at Costco”, but that’s really just their standard 2% cash back plus Costco’s annual 2% membership reward certificate for Executive Members. They don’t actually pay 4% cash back on Costco purchases. That really reduces the potential draw of this card, as all we have left is the $135 one-time credit. I might have forgiven them if they actually covered my Costco membership every single year. Not worth a hard credit check.

Here’s their language on how the credit card works:

Aven combines the convenience of a credit card with the savings of a home equity line of credit (HELOC). It works like any other credit card where you can make everyday purchases and earn unlimited 2% cash back.1

You can either get a fixed Cash Out (ex. $10,000 cash transferred into your bank account) and get a fixed monthly payment for 5 or 10 years (2.5% transfer fee), or you can just use it like a credit card and build up a balance. In that case, the monthly payments are calculated as 1% of the principal balance, plus monthly interest, plus any fees.

No annual, sign-up, or pre-payment fees. There is a 2.5% fee on Cash Outs and Balance Transfers and a $29 late fee if you don’t make the minimum payment.

The United Business Card offers unique perks for regular United customers including free checked bags and expanded award seat availability for redeeming miles. Here are the highlights:

• 125,000 bonus United miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.*
  Plus, earn 5,000 bonus miles after you add an employee card to your account in the first 3 months your account is open.*
• 5,000-mile “better together” bonus each anniversary when you have both the United^SM Business Card and personal Chase United credit card.
• Free first checked bag for both you and one traveling companion on the same reservation (a savings of up to $160 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket. Terms Apply.
• Two United Club^SM one-time passes per year, and priority boarding privileges.
• $125 United travel credit after making 5 United® flight purchases of $100 or more each calendar year with your United? Business Card
• 2X miles per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including train tickets, taxi cabs, mass transit, tolls and ride share services.
• 2X miles on dining, gas stations and office supply stores.
• 2X miles on United purchases and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Your miles don’t expire as long as your credit card account is open, with no limit to the number of miles you can earn.
• Employee cards at no additional cost.
• $150 Annual Fee.

This card is considered a “new” card, differ from the old Business Explorer card:

This product is available to you if you do not have this Card and have not received a new Cardmember bonus for this Card in the past 24 months.

In addition, you can get this card and bonus if you had the consumer version of the United Explorer in the past 24 months (or have one now).

Many people aren’t aware of the fact that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. The business type is called a sole proprietorship, and these days many people are full-time or part-time consultants, freelancers, eBay/Amazon/Etsy sellers, Uber/Lyft drivers, or other one-person business owners. This is the simplest business entity, but it is fully legit and recognized by the IRS. On a business credit card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

Note that Chase has an unofficial rule that they will most likely deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This rule applies on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers.

The good news is that small business cards from Chase hardly ever show up on personal credit reports, so getting this card in itself won’t affect your future 5/24 eligibility. This it makes a “free” application if you are already eligible.

This card is very focused on rewarding you for being a United customer. Before you board, you might use one of your free United Club lounge passes. You have the first checked bag for free on United flights, both for your and a companion traveling on the same reservation. The fee is now $40 per person, each way, so that this how they get the value of $160 each roundtrip. You also get Priority Boarding, which helps you find space for your carry-on.

Expanded award availability. This card also makes it easier for you to redeem those miles on Saver level tickets with no blackout dates for MileagePlus members booking award flights on United. Expanded and exclusive award seat availability on selected flights are another perk of this card.

Another unique feature of this card is that it offers primary coverage on the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. On many other cards, this coverage is offered as secondary coverage, meaning it only kicks in after your personal auto insurance has been exhausted.

Bottom line. The United Business Card offers valuable perks for folks that fly United even just once or twice a year. The card provides lounge passes, a free checked bag, priority boarding, and inflight discounts. There are bonus categories to earn more miles, and special expanded award seat inventory for credit card holders to make it easier to actually redeem those miles for flights.

Also see: Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

The information for the United Business Card has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The IHG One Rewards Traveler Card is the IHG hotel card that includes special IHG perks but with no annual fee. Here are the highlights:

• 80,000 Bonus IHG Points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
• Earn up to 17 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on purchases on monthly bills, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Fourth Reward Night Free when you redeem points for any 4+ night stay. That means if you use points to pay for 3 nights in a row, the 4th night is free.
• IHG Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental(R), Crowne Plaza(R), Kimpton(R), EVEN(R) Hotels, Indigo(R) Hotels & Holiday Inn(R).
• No annual fee.

Note the following:

This product is available to you if you do not have a current IHG One Rewards Credit Card and have not received a new
Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Business Card Credit Card products.

What can you get with IHG points? The best redemption value for IHG points is for free hotel nights. The other options offer significantly less value. While the points don’t translate directly to a dollar value, I would use a conservative estimate of 0.50 cents of value per point, which would make 100,000 IHG points worth an estimated $500 value. Not bad for a no annual fee card. You can perform the calculations for hotels that fit your needs. I tried a bunch of other various combinations and got between 0.5 cents and 0.8 cents per point equivalent value.

IHG stands for Intercontinental Hotel Group which has over 5,000 hotels including the following brands:

• Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts
• Crowne Plaza
• Kimpton
• Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express
• Staybridge Suites
• Candlewood Suites
• Hotel Indigo
• EVEN Hotels

IHG points expire after 24 months of inactivity, which is relatively long so with occasional activity you can easily save up these free nights for later. Chase Ultimate Rewards points also convert to IHG points.

The 4th Reward night free perk can be very valuable and nice to see on a card with no annual fee. You get the fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG hotel stay (only pay for 3 nights with points).

Total of 17x points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG. Here’s how this breaks down: Earn 5X points per $1 spent as an IHG® Rewards Club Traveler credit cardmember + 10X points per $1 spent from IHG® for being an IHG® Rewards Club Member, 5X points with this card, plus 2X points from IHG® with Silver Elite Status (a benefit of this card) for a total of 17X points total at any of their 5,400+ IHG® hotels & resorts.

Given my 0.5 cent per IHG point valuation, I would book my IHG nights on this card, but not my everyday purchases on an ongoing basis. I would just put a little spending on there to keep my IHG points from expiring.

• 3 IHG points per $1 spent at gas stations, dining, utilities, internet, cable, and phone services
  and select streaming services.
• 2 IHG point per $1 spent on all other card purchases

Upgrade to Premier? Downgrade to Traveler? If you can reliably use a anniversary night certificate (40,000 point value) and get $99 value out of it, you should consider going with the IHG Rewards Premier credit card mentioned on the same application page. The Premier card also adds some other small perks like Platinum Elite status and a TSA Precheck fee credit.

If you already have the Premier card and don’t want to pay for those added perks, you may consider asking if you can downgrade to this Traveler now without any annual fee.

Bottom line. The IHG One Rewards Traveler Card now comes with no annual fee and a sign-up bonus. As with most of these co-branded cards, the best value is obtained if you can redeem for IHG hotel nights.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The information for the IHG One Rewards Traveler Card has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.