I play the credit card game in 2-player mode. I sign up for credit cards, and so does my wife. And of course by “my wife signs up for credit cards” I totally mean that *I* sign up for credit cards in her name, with her consent, and she only gets mad at me when I make her call reconsideration lines and talk to people she doesn’t know about things she doesn’t really care about 😀
A few months ago I got the Chase IHG 80,000 point card as part of a mini-churn. Besides the 80,000 points that you get after meeting the spending requirement, one of the great perks of this card is that every year on your card anniversary (but not the first year), after paying the $49 annual fee, you get a certificate that is good for 1 night at ANY hotel
That includes places like the overwater bungalows at the Intercontinental Bora Bora
Overwater bungalows are cliche I know but the IHG credit card gives you a free night anywhere
Why get 2 cards at the same time?
So after I mentioned that I had gotten the IHG card, someone mentioned that since I play in 2 player mode, it’s a good idea for both of us to get the card at the same time.
The reason is that you get your free night certificate ON (or near) your anniversary. So if our anniversaries are at (or near) the same time, then our certificates will be active for the same time
Terms and Conditions
Flyertalk had a good thread talking about the certificate and the terms and conditions
Please allow 6 to 8 weeks from your account anniversary date each year for the Anniversary Free Night e-certificate to be emailed to you. (“Anniversary” is the date that is twelve months after your enrollment date, and the same date each twelve months thereafter.) Annual fee applies after the first year. For pricing details, please see Pricing & Terms. Chase may close your credit card account or suspend your right to use your credit card account, at any time for any reason, including account inactivity. A valid email address is required in order to receive your Anniversary Free Night e-certificate. The e-certificate will be emailed to the address that is on the Priority Club Member Profile at that time. You must maintain a current, valid email address in your Member Profile and opt in to receive Priority Club e-communications in order to receive the Anniversary Free Night e-certificate. Anniversary Free Night e-certificate is valid at hotels in the Priority Club Rewards Family of Brands and must be redeemed within 12 months from date of issue. Free Night e-certificate reservations may not be made at All Inclusive hotels. Free Night e-certificates are valid for one standard room night rate and applicable taxes only. Rooms are limited, subject to prior sale and availability of allocated resources and may be unavailable during high demand periods. All reservations that will utilize the Anniversary Free Night e-certificate must be booked by calling the Priority Club Service Center at 888-211-9874. You must present the e-certificate at check in either in printed format or on your mobile device. E-Certificates may not be transferred, extended beyond the expiration date, redeemed for cash, or re-credited for points. Individual hotels cancellation policy applies to the use of the e-certificate. Cancellation fees apply if cancellation is made outside of the hotel’s cancellation time period. Anniversary Free Night e-certificate rules and regulations are subject to change. Chase is not responsible for offer fulfillment.
So the certificates are good for 12 months, so even though I signed up in July, and Carolyn signed up in August, we’ll have 11 months of overlap – should be plenty of time to turn our free night into TWO free nights!!
With all of those free nights (not to mention nearly 200,000 points), I decided that I wouldn’t bother with the recent IHG Into the Nights promotion
What about you? What’s your experience been with IHG Free Night certificates?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I was surprised by your comment, “I wouldn’t bother with the recent IHG Into the Nights promotion”. I also have a slew of valuable IHG points and two credit cards, but free points are always welcome. One of my challenges in the Into the Nights promotion was 12,000 points for booking twice thru the app. 12,000 easily won and not to be sneezed at. Free points are always worth signing up for. I would not have done a run for them but the terms of the IHG offers are usually very easy.
Well it all depends on your goals. Personally I have a lot of points – more points than I have realistic real-life time to use them. So in my case it doesn’t make sense to pay much for extra points. If you’ve got stays already for work or other then yes, of course you want to combine promotions to maximize your points.
Just curious if you have 2 IHG credit cards if you can submit the same IHG account number so that your points accrue in the same account? What has your experience been?
I haven’t personally done that but I doubt it would work!
Is it possible to get 2 chase IHG cards in one’s own name and therefore 2 certs?
Nope – I’ve never heard of anyone being able to do that (or else everyone would :-D)
If my wife gets the IHG card, do I simply put my IHG Rewards Club number or does she need to establish her own rewards membership?
1 person, 1 IHG rewards number – she’ll need her own number