I received notification yesterday that IHG rewards is ending its relationship with Barclaycard in the UK on 20 April 2017. The £99 fee secures Priority Club Platinum status and has been a useful way to earn Priority Club points. In addition, a free night is earned after a £10,000 spend in year.
The letter advises that on 26 April, current card holders will be issued with a standard Barclaycard Platinum credit card, which earns zero rewards.
Creation is taking over the affiliated card for Priority Club and applications are now open here. The £99 annual fee remains.
The new card matches some of the old benefits:
- 20,000 reasons to smile
You’ll earn 20,000 IHG Rewards Club bonus points when you spend £200 in the first 3 months of opening your account. - New reasons to spend
You’ll earn IHG Rewards Club points every time you spend on the card†, which you can redeem on anything from free hotel stays at IHG properties, to some well-deserved retail therapy.- Earn 4 IHG Rewards Club points for every £1 you spend at any IHG family of hotels
- Earn 4 IHG Rewards Club points for every £1 you spend abroad
- Earn 2 IHG Rewards Club points for every £1 you spend everywhere else
- Platinum Elite Status†
You’ll automatically receive Platinum Elite Status when you open your account*, meaning you can enjoy these benefits when you stay:- 50% extra bonus points on top of your usual points
- Complementary room upgrades (subject to availability)
- Guaranteed room availability
- Extended check out
- Priority check in on guaranteed reservations
- No blackout dates on your Reward Nights
- Dedicated customer service line
The new card (which has been around since August ’16, so the writing was on the wall for the Barclaycard version) has the same benefits, except that you only get the free night voucher at the end of the card year, which could make it awkward for cancelling the card and still getting your voucher without paying the £99 fee twice. With the Barclaycard you got the voucher in the same month that you hit the £10k spend target.
It’s still a good card for ongoing spend but that caveat does reduce it’s usefulness a bit.