How to get IHG One Rewards status

IHG One Rewards now has free paths into every tier, from Silver up through Diamond, though they cluster on a small handful of Chase cards. The IHG One Rewards Traveler card gets you Silver Elite automatically, just for holding it. That same card also gets you Gold Elite, but only with $20,000 or more in purchases in a calendar year — that spend carries Gold through December 31 of the following year, unlike Silver's no-strings automatic status.

Platinum Elite has by far the widest field of routes. The Chase Sapphire Reserve confers it just by linking your Chase account to your IHG account — no stays or spend required — and that perk runs through December 31, 2027. The IHG One Rewards Premier card skips the linking step and grants Platinum automatically for as long as you keep the card open, which makes it the more durable of the two since there's no end date to track; the IHG One Rewards Premier Business card works the same way. The legacy IHG Rewards Club Select card still confers Platinum for existing holders, though Chase stopped issuing it to new applicants back in 2018. The Amex Centurion (US) card grants Platinum complimentary upon enrollment, but it's invite-only. United's Club Card and Club Business Card both confer it too, after you register with United and wait about four weeks. And the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business and J.P. Morgan Reserve confer Platinum the same way the personal Sapphire Reserve does — by linking accounts, through December 31, 2027 — though the J.P. Morgan card is limited to Private Bank clients.

Diamond Elite is the one tier that takes real spending rather than just holding a card. The IHG One Rewards Premier and Premier Business cards each get you there at $40,000 in purchases in a calendar year, valid through December 31 of the following year. The Chase Sapphire Reserve added its own Diamond path in a 2025 refresh, requiring $75,000 in annual spend on the same terms, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business needs $120,000.