The new IHG Premier card does indeed have a restriction on the free night.


The old card is grandfathered in, but for a limited time only. If you have the old card, and your anniversary date is before May 1st, 2019, then you will get one last unrestricted free night from the old card.

Any free nights from the new card are restricted to 40k point values or less.


Here are some options:

If your anniversary date on the old card will come before May 1, 2019:

Keep the old card active, and get the free night which will be the last unrestricted one you will receive.


If your anniversary date on your old card just passed after May 1:

If you just had your anniversary, and it won't happen again until after May 1, 2019, then I would look and see what additional value that card holds for you. It's what, a $49 annual fee? You still get a free night and the other things with it, just that free night will be limited to a 40k/night redemption.



What I would do is keep the old card, AND get the new one. There is nothing preventing you from doing so, and many people have done this already. I would use the old card once every 3 months and put a tank of gas or something on it. Then I would put any IHG charges on the new one for the 10x points per $1 spent at IHG properties (which also includes incidentals, dining on property, spa stuff, etc.)

What you end up doing by having both cards is getting 2 nights free, plus the other benefits from each card. At the very least is getting a 1-night stay for the $49 annual fee. Plus you'll get the free night from the new one, so that's 2 free nights. They won't be at an IC, but if you're going to Europe for example, that's 2 free nights at the Holiday Inn Notre Dame in Paris.