If you hold the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card or the IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card, your annual fee is going up at your next renewal in 2027. The Premier card moves from $99 to $150. The Business card moves from $99 to $200. This isn’t a notice you can ignore until it shows up on a statement: Chase is sending existing cardmembers an email in October 2026 that spells out the exact date the new fee applies to your account, and the date depends entirely on when your card renews.
The exact timeline
Chase is rolling this out by renewal date, not all at once:
- Card renews October 1 to December 31, 2026: You get one more cycle at the old $99 fee. The $150 (or $200 Business) fee hits your following renewal.
- Card renews any time in 2027: You pay the new fee at that renewal. A cardholder whose anniversary is March 2027 pays $150 starting that March.
- Check your own date. Chase’s October notice names your specific renewal date and new fee amount. Don’t estimate from a blog post, including this one, when you have the actual notice in your inbox or mail.
This is part of a broader October 2026 refresh across Chase’s IHG lineup that also introduced a new entry-level card, the IHG One Rewards Premier Select, aimed at new applicants (that’s a separate story with a separate audience; see the link at the end if you’re shopping for a new card rather than deciding what to do with the one you already have).
What you get for the extra $51 (or $101 on Business)
The fee increase isn’t arriving empty-handed. Alongside it, Chase is adding:
- Up to $100/year Food & Beverage credit at IHG hotels
- $100 annual airline statement credit
- 15 Elite Night Credits per year toward IHG elite status tiers
That’s up to $200 in credits against a $51 fee bump on the personal card, which on paper looks like an easy keep. The real question is whether you’ll actually use both credits, not whether they exist.
What stays the same: your elite status
One genuine piece of good news buried in the fine print. The Gold Elite downgrade that’s part of this refresh applies to new applicants to the refreshed lineup, not to you. If you already hold the Premier card, your Platinum Elite status is preserved through December 31, 2027 regardless of the fee change. You don’t lose status just because your fee went up.
The keep-vs-downgrade-vs-cancel math
Run this before your renewal date hits, not after:
| Factor | Keep Premier at $150 | Downgrade to no-fee Traveler card | Cancel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $150 | $0 | $0 |
| Food & Beverage credit | Up to $100/year | None | None |
| Airline statement credit | $100/year | None | None |
| Elite Night Credits | 15/year | None | None |
| Elite status | Platinum Elite through 2027 | Entry-level Silver Elite only | None |
| Best for | Frequent IHG stayers who will use both credits | Occasional IHG guests who want to keep earning without a fee | Readers who rarely stay at IHG properties at all |
If you’ll genuinely use the airport-restaurant or in-hotel dining credit and the airline fee credit, the math works in your favor even before counting the points you’ll earn. $200 in credits against a $150 fee is a $50 net gain, on top of whatever stay credit and points value you get from the card itself.
If you won’t use one or both credits, the math flips fast. A $100 airline statement credit you never redeem isn’t a benefit, it’s a fee you’re paying twice. In that case, downgrading to the no-annual-fee IHG One Rewards Traveler Card keeps you earning IHG points (and entry-level Silver Elite status) without the $150 charge. Chase product changes are typically done as a phone call or through the Chase mobile app, and moving to a no-fee card in the same family does not close your account or affect your credit history the way a cancellation can.
If you rarely stay at IHG hotels at all, cancelling outright (ideally before the new fee posts, not after) is the straightforward move. Call the number on the back of your card and confirm the cancellation date against your renewal date from Chase’s notice.
For the Business card specifically
The Business card’s jump is steeper in dollar terms: $99 to $200, a $101 increase. The Food & Beverage and airline credits structure mirrors the personal card. If your business travel genuinely runs through IHG properties often enough to use both credits plus earn meaningful points, the math can still work. If IHG isn’t where your team actually stays, the same downgrade-or-cancel logic applies, and a no-fee IHG card or a different business travel card entirely may be the better fit once this fee posts.
A business cardholder should weigh one more factor the personal-card math doesn’t carry: how many employees are on the account. A $101 fee increase spread across a team that books IHG properties regularly for client travel is a different calculation than the same increase on a card one person uses a few nights a year. Pull your last twelve months of IHG stays before your renewal date arrives, not after, so the keep-or-downgrade decision is based on what you actually did, not what you assumed you’d do when you first signed up.
Why this is happening now
Chase and IHG have been reworking this entire card family together, not raising one fee in isolation. The same October 2026 update that set this new fee schedule also launched the Premier Select card for new applicants and rebalanced elite-status perks across the lineup. Read as a package, the move is a repositioning: push new applicants toward a card with its own distinct terms, while existing Premier and Business holders get more in credits but pay more to get it. That context doesn’t change your personal math, but it explains why the credits arrived at the same time as the fee instead of on their own.
Bottom line
Check Chase’s October 2026 notice for your specific renewal date and new fee amount before doing anything. If you’ll use the $100 Food & Beverage credit and the $100 airline credit, keeping the card at $150 nets you more than you pay. If you won’t use both, downgrade to the no-fee Traveler card rather than carrying a fee for credits sitting unused, and only cancel outright if you rarely stay at IHG properties in the first place.
FAQ
Q: When exactly does my IHG Premier card’s fee increase to $150?
A: At your next renewal date in 2027, unless your card renews between October 1 and December 31, 2026, in which case you get one more cycle at $99 first. Chase’s October 2026 notice to your account states your exact date.
Q: Will I lose my Platinum Elite status if I keep paying the increased fee?
A: No. Existing Premier cardholders keep Platinum Elite status through December 31, 2027 regardless of the fee change. The downgrade to Gold Elite applies only to new applicants under the refreshed card.
Q: Can I downgrade to a no-fee IHG card instead of paying $150?
A: Yes. The IHG One Rewards Traveler Card carries no annual fee and keeps you earning IHG points, though it comes with entry-level Silver Elite status rather than Premier’s Platinum tier. A product change to a no-fee card in the same issuer family does not require closing your account.
Q: Is the Business card fee increase the same as the personal card?
A: No, it’s steeper: $99 to $200 (a $101 increase) versus the personal card’s $99 to $150 ($51 increase). The new Food & Beverage and airline credit structure is otherwise the same across both cards.
Q: What if I just applied for the new IHG Premier Select card instead?
A: That’s a different card aimed at new applicants with its own offer and terms, not a response to this fee increase on the existing Premier card. See our separate coverage of the Premier Select launch if you’re deciding between a new application and keeping what you already have.