Originally Posted by
bob12403
If you decide to go down the IHG route and want to maximize your points, look into the Chase IHG credit card. The fee is only $49, which is more than offset by the free night you get every year. Many other benefits including 5X your spend when you use the card at an IHG hotel. You also get instant Platinum status, which earns you a 50% on the base points from every stay, and a 10% rebate of your points when booking a free night.
As the OP is based in Germany, I very much doubt he could get US credit card. We have to remember that we are "blessed" here in the US with all the credit cards offers and points.