A New Benefit for Intercontinental Ambassadors

Last year, I wrote about my apprehension about paying for Intercontinental Ambassador status.

Eventually, I decided to use points for the status and my experiences using it have been overall positive. I used them at the Intercontinental Miami Doral and Buenos Aries Intercontinental. In both stays, we were upgraded to rooms on the club level, which impressed my mom.

Yesterday, I received an email notifying me that come July, Ambassadors will earn 10 points per $1 spent at Intercontinental hotels worldwide.

Later this year, I have to decided if I want to pay to renew my status. This new benefit will definitely play into my decision.

After last year devaluation slaughter, any change for the positive by a company needs to be cheered.


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5 Things To Know About IHG

Personal Finance Digest wrote a post about Three Things To Know About IHG. The post was very informative, but he missed some very important parts about IHG.

    1.  IHG Credit Card Gets You Platinum Status 

         Yes, there is a secret 80,000 point card offer. However, one of the secondary benefits of
         the card is Platinum Status.

          Platinum Status is the top status of the IHG chain. It doesn't get you great benefits, but its
          better than nothing:

    2.  Intercontinental Hotels Have Their Own Status

            While Platinum status is the top status for most of the IHG hotels, Intercontinental
            hotels have their own status: Ambassador Status. Unlike Platinum Status earned
            from getting the credit card, Ambassador status must be purchased.

            In November, I wrote about how I was wavering on purchasing Ambassador
            Status. In the end, I decided to shell out the 32,000 points for it. With only two
            stays under my belt, I so far think it was a great decision to buy Ambassador status.

           The benefits of Ambassador status are numerous:

         
          Also, it gives you Platinum Status with IHG. A Win, Win, Win!


      3. Ambassador Status Could Be Bought for 23,800 Points

           Wait, didn't I say that I purchased Ambassador Status for 32,000 points? Yes, but my net
           cost of getting Ambassador status came out to only 23,800 and the same could happen
           for you.

           First, if you have the IHG credit card, you get a 10% rebate on all point redemption
           including buying Ambassador Status. 32,000 x 10% = 3,200 points.

       
           Next, one of the benefits of getting Ambassador Status is a 5,000 points certificate.

         
           Ambassador Status for 23,800 points:

                   32,000 - 3,200 (10% Credit Card Rebate) -5,000 (Points Certificate) = 23,800 points


       4. IHG Members Get Free Internet

           Starting this year, any member of the IHG's membership program will be given free
           internet, during any stay.

          Unlike other hotels, there is no minimum membership level to get the free internet.
          Any member of the program, even basic members, can get free internet access.

       5.  A Worldly Hotel Chain

           IHG hotels has 4,400 hotels in 100 countries. That's a little over 50% of UN
           member counties.

•     Hilton has only 540 hotels in 78 countries
•     Hyatt has 548 hotels in 48 countries
•     Marriott has 3,800 hotels in 72 countries
•     Choice Hotels has 6,300 hotels in 30 countries

           The IHG brand is a true world wide brand. If you are traveling to a country,
           you have a 50/50 chance that an IHG hotel will be there. 

           

There it is 5 Things To Know About IHG. 

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Check Your IHG Balances

(Major HT to Frugal Travel Lawyer)

Yesterday, Frugal Travel Lawyer reminded me of a very valuable benefit of the IHG Visa. The IHG/Priority Club Visa offers a variety of benefits:

The most unique benefit of this Priority Club Card is the "10% Rebate on IHG Rewards Club Point Redemptions." Yes, I know the AAdvtange Citi Visa offers the same benefit. Use 30,000 points for one night at an Intercontinental and get 3,000 back after your stay. The 100,000 points maximum rebate is very generous.

Frugal Travel Lawyer's post was her story about not getting the rebate. After using points for an October stay, she still has not received the rebate. I forgot about this benefit. Forgot about it completely. On my trip to Buenos Aires, I used 90,000 Priority Club points for 3 nights at the Intercontinental. With the rebate, I should have receive 9,000 points back.

After reading her article, I went to my IHG account to see if I received the rebate. To my surprise, the 9,000 points were in my account.

Looking further down, I saw another rebate:

My initial reaction was confusion. Why was I getting 3,200 points back? After a few minutes, I remembered that I spent 32,000 points for my Ambassador Status. Was this a mistake?

The answer is no. According to a IHG customer service representative, the rebate is for any points redemption including ambassador status.

The moral of this post:

 "if you have the IHG Visa and have used IHG points, in 2013, make sure the rebate has hit your account."
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I Pulled The Trigger

Last month, I asked the question, "should I pay for ambassador status?" Overall, the response that I received was a resounding yes!

For the next six weeks, I sat on making the decision. I wasn't positive that I wanted to pull the trigger. Paying 32,000 points or $200 is a lot for status that I might use infrequently.

Last weekend, I pulled the trigger and spent 32,000 points on the Ambassador status. My decision to use points rather than cash was easy decision. Due to the IHG's The Big Win Promotion, I have a good stash of points.

Four days after I applied, I received this email:

My status with IHG already reflects the ambassador status:

My first stay at an Intercontinental Hotel is next week. I am excited to see what the status gets me . . .
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Update: Should I Pay for Ambassador Status?

Earlier this week, I wrote a post asking for people's opinion on paying for Intercontinental Ambassador Status.

I never though I would ever get the responses I did. One of my goals of this blog is to ask questions of those who are smarter than me. For that reason, I am going share some of the responses I got.  Much thanks to @InterConHotels for retweeting my question. 

Here is a direct link to the article that Head for Points talked about. Head for Points is a great UK based blog that is a must read even if you live in the US. 

@Svenluckermans left the following detailed comment on the blog post:

I would like to thank everyone who gave me there insight: 

@thepointsguy, @Svenluckermans, @loyaltylobby, @patmikel, @josephamay, @hulagrll210

Conclusion:

After reviewing all the comments, Ambassador Status makes sense if you are going to have at least 3 paid stays at Intercontinental Hotels. Upgrades have been report on award stays, but they aren't guaranteed. The BOGO weekend cert can make up for the $200 enrollment fee, but some say the cost of the first night might be more than paying for 2 nights.

What am I thinking about paying for Ambassador Status?

I am leaning towards yes. I know that I have at least 2 paid stays at Intercontinental Hotels in the next year; however, $200 is alot of money. If I do apply for Ambassador Status, I think I might use points, as I just earn quite a few from a recent stay. 

Are you thinking of getting Ambassador Status? If so, points or cash?

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Should I Pay For Ambassador Status?

In the next 6 months, I have a few paid stays at Intercontinental hotels. As some of you might know and others probably don't, Holiday Inn and Intercontinental Hotels are owned by the same hotel chain: IHG or Intercontinental Hotel Group.

IHG has two loyalty programs: IHG Reward Club and Intercontinental Ambassador. The reward club covers the lower level hotels.

I currently have Platinum Status due to having the Priority Club Visa. Platinum status gets me a variety of benefits:

The Ambassador Program is devoted specifically to Intercontinental Hotels.

Unlike the IHG Reward Club, you can't really earn status in the Ambassador Program. Instead, you need to pay a $200 membership fee or 32,000 points or be invited to join the program.

The benefits of being an Ambassador are:

I come back to the main question of the post: do I pay to join the ranks of Ambassador?

Follow-up question: pay cash or use points?

My searches online have come up with mixed results. Some people wholly endorse paying for Ambassador status stating great upgrades. Others state that the status is absolutely useless.

Have you had success with Intercontinental Ambassador Status? Is it worth the money?


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