[ANALYSIS] Capital One Priority Club World MasterCard
First of all, I’m not sure why Capital One left “Priority Club” on the credit card when they changed their name to IHG Rewards since July 2013. As you may have read, IHG Rewards is one of my favourite hotel chains, mostly because their points never expire. Furthermore, the chain offers a great variety of hotels to choose from: InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hualuxe Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Even Hotels, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Resort, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. Essentially ranging from 3-5 star hotels.
To help you earn points faster, Capital One offers the Priority Club World MasterCard and the highlights of the credit card are as follows:
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- $120 annual fee
- Earn 60,000 sign up bonus points after your first purchase
- Earn 5,000 bonus points for every $10,000 you spend (no limit on how many times you can earn the bonus 5,000)
- Earn 5 points for every $1 spent at any hotel within the IHG family of hotels
- Earn 2 points for every $1 on all other purchases
- Receive Platinum Elite status with IHG Rewards guaranteed for the life of the credit card account
I remember when this credit card had a 60,000 sign up bonus. I didn’t get a chance to capitalize on that and now I have regretted ever since. I hope that the promotion eventually comes back. Otherwise, 30,000 points definitely covers the $120 annual fee. There are so many different double dipping ways to redeem your points to maximize the value. The 5,000 points for every $10,000 you spend is a great bonus, though it used to be 10,000. I was quite sad to see that devaluation, I really hope there’s not more to come. Keep in mind that the no annual fee version of this credit card offers that same promotion, but you only get the bonus once a year. So I will take this opportunity to present the Capital One Priority Club Platinum MasterCard of this credit card as well:
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- No annual fee
- Earn 15,000 bonus points after your first purchase
- Earn 5,000 annual bonus points when you spend over $10,000 (only once per year)
- Earn 2 points for every $1 spent at any hotel within the IHG family of hotels
- Earn 1 point for every $1 on all other purchases
- Receive Gold Elite status on with IHG Rewards for your first year
Therefore, aside from the higher earning ratios (earning points per dollar), the only real advantage of paying the additional $120 is for the Platinum status. If you are able to earn Platinum status on your own, then you’re only paying for the higher earning ratios. IHG Rewards has actually made it more difficult for people to reach Platinum status starting in 2014, so this perk could make sense. Then you won’t have to constantly calculate how many more stays you need to make to renew your status. If you are a fan of IHG rewards, then at the minimum I would suggest that you have the Platinum version. The World version might only make sense if you are a big spender and want more extensive travel insurance.