IHG Rewards Club has two separate guest recognition programs; Ambassador for InterContinental stays and Inner Circle for Kimpton. Ambassador is paid while Kimpton’s is free.
IHG already processed Royal Ambassador and Inner Circle upgrades last week (read more here), and then sent out emails earlier this week to those purged (read more here). Emails have now gone out to those who were renewed or upgraded to Royal Ambassador status.
You can access IHG’s page for Royal Ambassador here.
READ MORE: IHG Rewards Club Rate & Bonus Points And Miles Promotions
Here’s the text on the email:
It is now official that Kimpton Inner Circle-status comes with qualifying or renewing for Royal Ambassador.
Conclusion
Not sure who came up with the text on that email, but surely it is by a person who rarely travels.
Now that Regent and Kimpton spend count towards the Royal Ambassador status, it makes sense to extend Inner Circle for RA’s. Those that qualify for Inner Circle based on their Kimpton stays, however, have received plain InterContinental Ambassador without having to pay.