UPDATE: IHG Rewards Club Gold & Platinum Status Match 2014 (Now Discontinued)

IHG Rewards Club has been one of the few programs that has been offering straight status matched for their Gold and Platinum levels without any stay requirements (read more here).

Now, however, IHG Rewards Club has, at least temporarily, discontinued offering status matches altogether.

Here’s copy of IHG Rewards Club response that I received today from a LoyaltyLobby reader:

Thank you for contacting IHG Rewards Club regarding your account. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you with your concerns.

We regret to inform you that we have discontinued our Elite Status Match offer as we are currently reviewing and enhancing this program to better serve our valued members. In the meantime, you may take advantage of our IHG Fast Track to Elite Status program, you may learn more about this by visiting http://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/global/enjoy-rewards/fast-track.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you and being of further assistance.

Conclusion

Appears that IHG Rewards Club has “enhanced” the status match program. Let’s hope that it returns in some form soon.

There are still several ways of getting elite status with IHG without setting your foot at any of their hotels. You can buy Ambassador membership that comes with the Gold status and then purchase Royal Ambassador status that further elevates your status to Platinum. You can also purchase bonus points packages to go with your stays to earn you Platinum status in just two/three stays.