IHG launches two Revolut debit cards with hotel status and spend Perks

If you’re chasing IHG status, you now have another route to get there, and it starts with the spending you already do every day. IHG One Rewards launched two Visa debit cards with Revolut in June this year, both designed to turn regular card spend into points and status progress.

The Essential card is free and comes with Silver Elite status. The Elite card costs £18 per month and gives you Platinum Elite status. Both cards also award Elite Night Credits, which can help you reach higher status and earn IHG Milestone Rewards.

The free card is the sensible one. The paid card is the interesting one. We’ve looked at the benefits and the costs to see which card deserves your spending.

An Overview of the Free Essential Card

The IHG x Revolut Essential Debit Card has no monthly fee and arrives as a virtual card. A physical plastic version will cost £10 plus delivery.

You’ll receive 10,000 IHG One Rewards points if you apply by 25 August 2026 and spend £1,000 within three months. The standard bonus after the launch period will be 5,000 points.

The card also gives you Silver Elite status for as long as you keep it. Silver comes with a 20% bonus on base points earned during hotel stays. Nobody is scattering rose petals across your room at this level, but free status is still free status. You also receive five Elite Night Credits after meeting the welcome bonus target and another five on each card anniversary. An extra Elite Night Credit is awarded for every £4,000 spent, with no annual cap.

Everyday spending earns 0.5 IHG One Rewards points per £1, while spending at participating IHG hotels earns one point per £1. That earn rate will not tempt many Avios collectors away from a decent rewards credit card, but the launch bonus is something to think about. The annual Elite Night Credits help, too, and the virtual card costs nothing.

Existing Revolut customers with occasional IHG stays should take a look, but let's be honest, opening a new bank account solely for this card is a harder sell.

Quick facts:

An Overview of the Elite Card

The IHG x Revolut Elite Debit Card costs £18 per month, totalling £216 over a year. It’s made of metal and includes Platinum Elite status while the account remains open.

You earn 30,000 IHG One Rewards points if you apply by 25 August 2026 and spend £3,000 within three months. The standard bonus will be 15,000 points after the launch campaign. Platinum Elite gives you a 60% bonus on base points, early check-in when available and a possible room upgrade. You can also choose points, a drink, or a snack as a welcome amenity.

Those IHG member benefits are great, but they’re not the main reason to pay £216 a year. It's the spend rewards that do the heavy lifting. Elite cardholders receive 15 Elite Night Credits after earning the welcome bonus and another 15 each year. Spending also earns one additional Elite Night Credit for every £4,000 spent, with no cap.

General spending earns 1.5 points per £1 in the UK and Europe, rising to three points per £1 outside those regions. You can earn a higher rate with IHG hotel spending, with the strongest return at properties in Canada, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, the UAE and the US.

Quick facts:

More on the Spend Targets

The Elite card starts getting interesting once you look at the annual spend rewards.

Spend £10,000, and you can choose between 5,000 points, two £15 Food & Beverage Rewards or a Confirmable Suite Upgrade. The suite upgrade will be the obvious pick for many people, especially as it can cover a stay of up to five nights.

You get a Flex Night Certificate worth up to 40,000 points if you reach £15,000. You can use it for a reward night within that limit or knock 40,000 points off a pricier stay. That makes it much easier to use at an InterContinental or Kimpton without draining your whole balance. You’ll get another Cardmember Choice Reward at £25,000.

Once you hit £35,000, you receive Diamond Elite status for the rest of that calendar year and all of the next one. The rewards stack, so a £35,000 spender gets everything earned along the way. Choose the suite upgrade at both Cardmember Choice Reward stages, and you could end the year with two upgrades, a 40,000-point certificate and Diamond status.

Diamond brings free breakfast as a welcome amenity, which can save a fair amount on longer stays. You may also have a better chance of a room upgrade, though IHG does not guarantee one.

The £216 annual fee can work for regular IHG guests who will use the breakfast and suite upgrades. Anyone staying at an IHG hotel once every year or two may struggle to get enough value back, however lovely the metal card looks.

Elite Night Credits Add Another Layer

The spend rewards are only half the story. You can earn a separate set of Milestone Rewards with Elite Night Credits.

You’ll have 20 credits in total if you spend £20,000 on the Elite card: 15 from holding the card and another five from spending. That’s enough to unlock your first Milestone Reward before counting a single hotel stay.

The choice is the same as the Cardmember Choice Reward: 5,000 points, two £15 Food & Beverage Rewards or a Confirmable Suite Upgrade. The important point is that this is an extra reward, earned through IHG’s Milestone system rather than the card’s spend targets.

Reach 40 nights, and you can choose two Milestone Rewards. Annual Lounge Membership is likely to be the star pick for anyone who regularly stays at higher-end IHG hotels.

The credits also count as Rollover Nights, so any extras can give you a head start the following year. That may sound like spreadsheet territory, and it is, but seasoned collectors will immediately see the point. A few well-timed card credits can make the next status year much easier for anyone building status in the IHG loyalty programme.

Former Creation Cardholders Get Extra Perks

People who held one of the old Creation-issued IHG credit cards when they closed on 28 June 2023 may receive a better launch package. Eligible Essential applicants receive Gold Elite status instead of Silver, while Eligible Elite applicants receive an extra Cardmember Choice Reward alongside the standard launch bonus.

According to IHG, applications will be checked against its own records, so you don’t need to enter old account details. The eligibility wording appears to favour people who still held a Creation card on the closure date. Anyone who cancelled earlier may miss out.

How to Earn Avios with IHG One Rewards

These cards earn hotel points rather than Avios, but IHG points can be moved into several airline programmes. If you’re wondering how to earn Avios with IHG One Rewards, all you have to do is convert them. The usual conversion rate is 10,000 IHG points to 2,000 Avios. That means the Elite card's 30,000-point welcome bonus would become 6,000 Avios. The same balance could cover a big chunk of a hotel stay and may produce better value there.

The better strategy is often to keep the two balances separate. Use Avios for flights and IHG points for hotels. A trip with both parts covered is usually better value than forcing all rewards into a single currency.

A Note on Converting Hotel Points to Avios

A hotel points to Avios transfer can help when you’re a few thousand Avios short of a booking you’re ready to make. It may also rescue a small IHG balance that would otherwise sit unused. However, large transfers are difficult to defend.

At the standard rate, 40,000 IHG points only convert to 8,000 Avios. That’s a poor trade if the same points could wipe a large sum from a hotel bill. Compare the hotel's cash price with the flight booking value first if you’re considering changing hotel points to Avios. Transfers cannot usually be reversed.

The Best Use of IHG Points

The best use of IHG points is usually a hotel night with a high cash rate and a sensible reward price. Luxury hotels work well, but there’s no rule saying the fanciest property wins. A Holiday Inn Express charging £180 during a concert weekend can beat a glamorous hotel demanding a huge points balance.

The Elite card's 40,000-point certificate is useful because it can be topped up. You’re not trapped below the 40,000-point line when the hotel you want costs a little extra. The best use of IHG points may also involve combining them with Avios rather than converting them. Book the flight with Avios, cover the hotel with IHG points and keep both currencies doing the job they were built for.

Which Card Comes Out Ahead?

The Essential card works best as a free extra for people who already use Revolut. The 10,000-point launch bonus and five annual Elite Night Credits make it worth claiming, even though the day-to-day earning rate is weak.

The Elite card is a different proposition. Someone spending £35,000 in the UK and Europe would earn at least 52,500 points, two Cardmember Choice Rewards, a 40,000-point certificate and Diamond Elite status. Extra Elite Night Credits may also trigger another Milestone Reward. That can beat the £216 annual cost for a regular IHG guest. However, it can also be a poor choice for someone who would get better value by putting the same spend towards a Companion Voucher, an Upgrade Voucher or a larger Avios balance.

The strongest IHG member benefits here belong to people who already stay with the chain and know they will use the upgrades. Casual guests may end up paying for a handsome metal card and a pile of perks they never redeem.

Affiliate Disclaimer

Reward Flight Finder (RFF) may receive a commission if you apply for and are approved for an IHG One Rewards Essential debit card or IHG One Rewards Elite debit card through links on this page. This does not affect the products we feature or how they are presented.

We aim to provide accurate and up-to-date information; however, we do not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of all content. You should always check the official Revolut website for the latest terms, fees and eligibility criteria before applying.

Approval is subject to status, and terms and conditions apply. You should consider whether either card is suitable for your financial circumstances before applying.