Should I renew InterContinental Ambassador?

[Yorkie Aid]

@AndrewT Exactly this. As standard I only carry one Amex and my Chase card as a backup or in the unlikely event I need to access physical cash. Anything else is an unnecessary risk. It’s a bit like people who carry around whole bunches of keys at all times instead of the one or two that they actually need. Such a pita if they’re lost or stolen.

FWIW I have had a photo of my passport accepted as “ID” abroad on numerous occasions – obviously not actually to enter the country, but many museums and tourist sites in South America ask for ID for example.

[BBbetter]

Hi, does anyone know when IHG refreshes the status? Currently diamond but wont be meeting the requirement this year, will it be valid until Jan 2025?

[NorthernLass]

There was an extension until Feb this year (and beyond for many of us!), however it’s been reported various times that status normally expires on 31/12.

I’m still not clear on whether at this point you drop a level or go back to the start!

[BBbetter]

Thanks NorthernLass, hoping there’s some IT delay or something for the first fortnight. If not, I’ll end up with a big breakfast bill.

[NorthernLass]

I’ve been booking via Emyr for next year for the breakfast benefit. Some of his rates are actually lower than the IHG best flexible rate for booking direct!

One weird thing which keeps bugging me. In my IHG account, the banner proclaiming my Diamond status is black. My OH’s is grey/silver. I have no idea if this is going to affect either of our statuses at the end of the year!

[zio]

That is odd. My banner is black and I didn’t know there was an alternative. I wonder if it has anything to do with having had the credit card which is still emblazoned on the banner. Did you have the CC and your OH not?

[strickers]

OH is silver on the banner which equates to Platinum, mine is gold yet I’m Diamond Ambassador. Working out IHG status is easy, it’s the end of the year and I don’t believe there is a soft landing, although if you are showing as credit card holder from having Creation in the past you will maintain Platinum. The only way I’ve found of working out Ambassador expiry is looking at the date on the free night certificate in your account.

[zio]

So basically the banner colour theoretically probably should match your status but in reality might not. Will be interested to see if platinum for having held the CC in the dim distant past is still a thing next year. I won’t be requalifying for diamond, or even platinum, otherwise.

[ClubSmed]

For me, InterContinental Ambassador makes sense.
I fly down to London for 2 nights each month for work, and my office is near Liverpool Street Station.
So it makes sense for me to stay at a Heathrow hotel and commute in on the Elizabeth line when I am there, this saves me ~£100 a night. The commute is longer than it would be if I stayed in central London, but starting at the terminus means that I am guaranteed a seat every time.
Sorry, back to the relevance of this post for this thread…
As the Holiday Inns are a very good price here, and serve free breakfast, I tend to stay here. As my dates are pretty fixed, I pay the advanced no refund rate, so these types of stays to not warrant going through Emyr. The additional points I get from having the Ambassador membership on these trips pays for the next years Ambassador membership.
This means that I get all the trappings of platinum status, a free weekend night stay voucher, and upgrades for leisure travel for effectively free (I stay with IHG less than 30 nights per year so would not achieve Platinum otherwise).

[NorthernLass]

It can still make sense to book via Emyr if the pricing is competitive – you get both sets of benefits then, including breakfast which Ambassador/platinum doesn’t get you. I’ve definitely noticed better upgrades on these stays, whereas on direct Ambassador bookings I’ve noticed especially since the end of the pandemic, they seem to try and give you the absolute minimum of upgrades!

*Not to mention being stingy with towels/coffee/etc!

[ClubSmed]

Both sets of benefits?
Do you mean that I would also get IHG points even when booking through Emyr?
That could be a game changer if so…

[TGLoyalty]

Yup most if not all programmes award points for stays booked via Emyr. IHG/Marriott/Hyatt/Hilton for sure.

[Lyn]

strickers wrote:

OH is silver on the banner which equates to Platinum, mine is gold yet I’m Diamond Ambassador. Working out IHG status is easy, it’s the end of the year and I don’t believe there is a soft landing, although if you are showing as credit card holder from having Creation in the past you will maintain Platinum. The only way I’ve found of working out Ambassador expiry is looking at the date on the free night certificate in your account.

@strickers, there is anoeher way to see the expiry if sing the IHG web-site on a laptop. Clicking “Earnings Summary” at the bottom of the “Current Status” section on the left brings up the expiration dates for both Diamond/Platinum etc. and Ambassador.

[Lyn]

@ClubSmed, yes you would definitely get IHG points on bookings made via Emyr. The only thing is it would have to be the type of hotel where it is worthwhile for Emyr to book on your behalf, and worthwhile for the hotel to offer Emyr extra benefits that he is then able to pass on to you. So Intercontinentals yes but, say, Holiday Inns no. It could be worth dropping him a line to ask.

[ClubSmed]

@Lyn I was more thinking about my leisure stays for involving Emyr (Crowne Plaza, Kimpton, Intercontinental) rather than the work related Holiday Inn. Not sure there is even anything worthy of being called an upgrade in the airport Holiday Inns to be honest.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

Emyr definitely covers IC and Kimpton but I don’t think he covers CPs as part of virtuoso as whilst nice they aren’t in the “luxury” category

[ClubSmed]

Fair enough.
The Crowne Plazas that I have stayed in had lounges (though they were basic) and (junior) suites, so I thought that it may have been classed as such. I have not stayed in that many to be honest.

[Lyn]

@ClubSmed, you should definitely consider Emyr for your IC and Kimpton stays then. And why not ask if any of the CPs are covered? I remember one of Rob’s articles mentioning a different arrangement between Emyr and IHG beyond Virtuoso but I can’t remember what it was called.

Note that Emyr will not be able to make the Ambassador weekend booking using your free night cerificate, so you’ll have to book that yourself as usual. However, he can book additional nights to add on to it, at IHG’s best flexible rate or something similar. The extra benefits he can offer depend on the individual hotel, but at some ICs they will include Club Lounge access as well as an upgrade.

[Lyn]

https://www.headforpoints.com/virtuoso-agent-london/

[phantomchickenz]

IHG’s programme you’re looking for where additional benefits can be gained is ‘Luxury & Lifestyle’. The list of participating ‘Luxury’ properties can be found here:

https://bonvivant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IHG-Luxury-Collection-hotels.jpg

plus all Six Senses.

And ‘Lifestyle’ properties here:

https://bonvivant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IHG-Lifestyle-Collection-hotels-768×579-1.jpg

And yes, you still get points! Full details: https://bonvivant.co.uk/partners/ihg-luxury-and-lifestyle/

[NorthernLass]

Yes – with Emyr you’ll get breakfast, upgrade, often some kind of welcome gift plus usually a $100 F & B credit (though some properties have started cutting this back since Covid). Then on top of that you get IHG status benefits, so you could choose drinks vouchers instead of breakfast if Diamond, and you’ll get the Ambassador $20ish credit on top, if applicable.

The prices can be a bit higher but you need to weigh up that against the benefits. But OH booked a night at the Kimpton Clocktower via Emyr for my birthday and we struggled to spend all the credit what with free drinks and everything else they threw in! (We had the fabulous Sunday roast they do there plus cocktails, they comped dessert because it was my birthday!).

[BBbetter]

Can the credit be used for room service? I might be imagining it, but I recently read somewhere that it has to be spent at restaurants only.

[AnotherUser]

I’ve used it for room service before, but I’d imagine some hotels may have different rules (or just administer it inconsistently depending who is handling it)

[BBbetter]

Time to re-evaluate the renewal offer.

USD 200 price expires on 2nd Oct. Thats £ 150 (thanks Powell for cutting and Bailey for not).
15k points worth £60.
Net cost is £90 – quite good for a weekend night at any IC.

My problem is the next stay is in Jan while my current year ends on 1st Dec. Was hoping to request an extension of the voucher, but this complicates things.
Will the ambassador team entertain a request to extend the voucher expiry after renewal of membership?

[Supergers49]

@BBbetter – Unless you have requested one in the past, you are entitled to an extension of your Ambassador membership. However, when I recently requested mine I was explicitly told my Weekend Voucher would expire on the original expiration/renewal date and it did. Others have had the Weekend Voucher extend with the membership extension but I do not know if those were as recent as my own.

My current expiry is 30-Sep and I am inclined to renew again (using the same maths you have above).