IHG Rewards Club is changing the benefits of its InterContinental Ambassador and Royal Ambassador programs come 2019.
Some of the changes were leaked last week (read more here and here) and then yesterday (read more here) IHG sent out an email to Ambassador members. I now have got hold of a memo that hotels have received confirming what is coming on our way soon.
You can access IHG’s page for Ambassador program changes here.
READ MORE: IHG Rewards Club Rate & Bonus Points And Miles Promotions
Here’s the document:
InterContinental Royal Ambassador members will lose double occupancy for the price of a single. This mainly applies for stays in Japan. Royal Ambassadors won’t get the free pay TV movie anymore and all Ambassador members will lose the local gift.
Royal Ambassador members are eligible for guaranteed check in from 10AM instead of 8AM.
Royal Ambassador minibar benefit going forward will be $50 per night and max $200 per stay instead of complimentary beverages refreshed daily.
Ambassador members are getting $20 (could be less in other currencies) F&B credit per stay that can be used for minibar as well.
Here where it gets confusing. The website that IHG was referring to yesterday indicated that the Ambassador member complimentary breakfast would be only applicable for hotels in Greater China. Here there is no note about that indicating that it would be valid worldwide.
Royal Ambassador members are eligible for two breakfasts if hotel doesn’t have a club lounge.
Those nasty resort or urban destination fees are waived for Royal Ambassador members.
Benefit guarantees are exactly as leaked before. The late check out and room upgrade failure compensations are inadequate. Should have been at minimum 100,000 points to make any dent to the hotel. I do, however, like the $100 per night F&B credit in a case that hotel doesn’t have a Club lounge or offer Club experience for Royal Ambassador members.
Conclusion
I have requested clarification about the Ambassador breakfast benefit from IHG due to the discrepancy between the web page and material delivered to hotels.
The minibar benefit change to Royal Ambassadors is a significant downgrade. There is no way around it. From a daily refresh to $50 daily credit max $200 per stay penalizes those that have longer stays and members who are “thirsty”.
The guaranteed benefits are no longer really guaranteed when hotel can just give you 10,000 points and be done with the late check out and room/suite upgrade. The number of points given for these incidents should have been much higher to really penalize hotels.
I do like the Royal Ambassador member F&B credit and breakfast at hotels that don’t have a club lounge or don’t provide club experience. InterContinental Amstel comes to mind.
The double occupancy for a price of a single may have an effect for those that stay in Japan that often have different prices depending on how many people stay. I cannot remember when was the last time I watched a pay TV movie. There are often gifts at InterContinental hotels but I leave them behind 99% of the time.
I wonder if this “enhancement” will be followed by an increase in the Ambassador fee…
The inconsistency regarding the free breakfast to be applicable to China only is not trivial. For Ambassadors most of the other benefits seem “To be removed”. There is another inconsistency: in the document: the “up to $20 F&B credit” seems to be for Ambassadors only, not for Royal Ambassadors. Any update on when these changes will be effective (other than “early 2019”)?
Because RA get 50 USD.
All the Ambassador benefits should be applicable for Royal Ambassador as well. I would assume that this is in lieu on the drink vouchers that you often get.
I sent an email to IHG spokesperson regarding the breakfast situation this morning and asked them to clarify it website versus this document.
That’s not how I read this document, especially because the “benefit” of one (!) bottle of water is listed once for Ambassadors and once for Royal Ambassadors. But then again, this document doesn’t seem to be structured very well anyway…
Hi John, I am rather more concerned about the entire IHG Rewards program. I am afraid it will be even more devaluated. Basically they are selling their Platinum status for $200 or $150 upon Amb renewal.
They were already selling Platinum for less than that in the USA with the co-branded credit card and its annual fee. This actually seems somewhat fairer to those who cannot get a USA-based credit card.
Which means more Plats across the world
Of course this comes right after I’ve reached platinum the hard way by stays bonus point packages… Could have just saved money on the points packages and bought ambassador instead. Oh well…
“InterContinental Royal Ambassador members will lose double occupancy for the price of a single.”
This is seriously bad.
This is probably the “greater China” set of benefits as already leaked in FT and thus why no reference to ‘greater china only’ just like in FT.
No doubt there is a separate RoW doc that doesn’t include foc breakfast reerences,
usd50 in lieu of upgrade on a multinight stay is nonsence, especially when Amb/RA pays far more than entry level to book say club-room to get upgraded to a suite , maybe already paying > usd50/night extra for booked room over the room 1cat below for Amb and 2cats below if RA
The Greater China reference was on the IHG’s own web page.
it was pretty clear in my PA document
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/16625b6254c9f222e1e44378277391d42af3c6ef29ddea84620038753b1f09be.jpg
I have 1,633 IHG RA teddy bear welcome “gifts” in a storage bin waiting for their beanie baby moment.
This is not a good set of changes 🙁
It seems like IHG is moving in the opposite direction to some other hotel chains in relation to benefits for “real loyal” customers! The biggest bummer is that most hotels will definitely opt for the 10,000 points rather than giving a room upgrade or late check out! Single / Double occupancy rates in Japan is another major concern! Almost all of these changes benefit the hotels rather than the customer. For people like me who spend 100+ nights per year on the road, it’s time to carefully evaluate other options such as Marriott, Hilton etc…
As a non-royal ambassador, I do quite like the changes, and bought some real value to the programme. Instead of sending me some useless gifts every stay, I now get breakfast, well, for one person, at least, and minibar credit. Plus I do not have to force myself to find a ihg hotel to stay just for the sake of keeping a platinum status. IMO, spire status is not that useful either.
The 400ml mineral water is a joke. Most hotels have bottled water and label them “Mineral Water” anyway, so they will give you as much water as you like.
Well, I made this decision. I will purchase Ambassador when I have the need. Currently my spouse and I both Ambassador. They overlap by only 5 months. We have stays planned to 12/19. I receive Platinum from the Chase IHG card. I will use that to my advantage and then make every decision on where I need to stay, not by “buying” a fake, over-hyped status.
John,
So if a hotel doesn’t have a club lounge, what is considered a “Club Experience”. When would I be due the $100 compensation? For example I just checked into the IC NYC Times Square and they don’t have a club lounge. What do they need to provide to be compliant with the “Club Experience”.
Thanks for the info.