A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a horror story about IHG Rewards deactivating an account with 627,919 points due to an Ambassador status dispute.
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You can access IHG’s page for Ambassador-program here.
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Here’s the email from the reader:
I paid for IHG Ambassador status in November 2019, I was unable to use my ambassador status throughout 2020 due to the pandemic as UK hotels have been shut and UK Law has prohibited non-essenetial travel outside the UK.
I have asked IHG for support with extending my ambassador status after lots of back and forth they gave me 6 months extension.
The UK is still under lockdown, and all UK hotels are still shut and will not be reopened until at least June.
I raised a dispute as IHG would not refund me with my credit company under UK laws where a service is paid for but not given, I asked for a 75% refund as this seems reasonable given the lack of availability of the ambassador programme.
I have received the response below from IHG and just spoken to them and essentially they have closed my account and will not reopen it until such time as I cancel my dispute. They are effectively holding me to ransom.
I am a spire ambassador member and have been a member since 2003 and have nearly 700,000 points.
Not sure what to do next, any advice or help would be amazing.
Here’s the email that the reader received from IHG:
How are you? My name is Abby from IHG Hotels and Resorts and I will be delighted to assist you.
I have received your inquiry from Merchant Payment System regarding US$200 Renewal transaction fee on your credit card last 30 November 2020. As a standard procedure, I’ve temporarily deactivated your IHG Rewards Club account.
According to your credit card company, your reason for the dispute is that you are requesting for a 75% partial refund for the Ambassador Services that was not received.
I have checked your account, and it was documented that this has been extended until 01 July 2021.
I hope I was able to clear this matter with you, Mr. REMOVED. Kindly contact your issuing bank for the approval of payment.
Thank you for being one of our valued members and I appreciate you enrolling in Intercontinental Ambassador Program.
If you have any other questions, let me know and I will be more than glad to help.
We were in touch with the IHG spokesperson and received the following statement:
We are constantly reviewing the market situation and have already made a number of adjustments to our programs, both extending Elite status through Jan 22, rolling over all qualifying nights from 2020 into 2021 which count towards 2021 status, and both the Ambassador membership period and BOGO (weekend certificates) have been extended by six months. We will continue to monitor the situation further and make adjustments as necessary.
Here are IHG’s policies in regards to Ambassador-extensions:
IHG Rewards Club Elite & Ambassador Status Extensions Due To Coronavirus
IHG, in February 2020, first extended the Ambassador-status for members in Greater China.
IHG Rewards Club Ambassador Membership & Free Night Extensions
IHG then in April processed the extension for members worldwide.
InterContinental Ambassador Additional Extension May 28, 2020
IHG gave an additional three months extension in June.
My Ambassador weekend night-certificates:
I have one certificate that expired (the original one), and the replacement one will turn to dust at the end of March.
Conclusion
The reader has a tricky situation. He has not received what he has paid for and the Ambassador-program, which at least was previously run from the UK (should understand the reader’s situation).
IHG Hotels essentially is holding a reader’s account with 627,919 points hostage over $150.
The reader has two or three options:
1. Suck it up and cancel the dispute with his bank and reactivate the IHG Rewards account.
2. Open a case with Money Claim Online for the worth of 627,919 points that I would value at half of a US cent each (price that IHG sells them during the frequent 100% bonus promotions) that is £2,254.
3. Do nothing – and lose the points.
I would probably choose option 1, use the points, and then reconsider whether to continue patronizing IHG affiliated hotels or not.
Not sure why IHG has not extended the Ambassador-tier for the full 12 months, if not longer, for members outside of Greater China and some other parts of Asia?
![Airfare of the Day [Business Class] SWISS London to Hong Kong from £1,360](https://cdn5.loyaltylobby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/xcity-g0cd29ff20_1280-hong-kong-120x86.jpg.pagespeed.ic.Dl1ujXuAbk.jpg)
Although i dislike IHG treatment and i find freezing his account a bit harsh but this guest seems to ask for too much,i will try to see what ambassador team are up to first since the situation change every month,i will try to settle it down with IHG but never through a credit card dispute,we are all paying for stuff with no benefit right now .
IHG is in the right here. I hate saying this but the reader did have the chance to use the program throughout a good part of the period. The UK was operating normally through to March I travelled there then and the country did not fully lock down or restrict travel for the rest of 2020. IHG have extended the expiry to compensate and it simply is an abuse of process to look for redress by disputing the charge. The reader has a choice and that is leave the program loose the points and take the refund or just accept the situation. It is disingenuous to say there was no opportunity as there was.
I used to be a corporate traveler from 1999-2000. I accrued 200K points and their supposed “LIFETIME platinum status” with “NEVER EXPIRE points”. They got rid of them all in 2014 as they changed the terms of their program. I had to fight with IHG for about a year before they restored my points.
John, nice analysis and presentation. I think the complainer is chasing the wrong value. I wish my problems were only US$200. We have far worse problems in the world today (any one who reads your blog would have a pretty good knowledge, if not understanding!); the big guys screw the little guys!
I wonder why the reader let his account grow to that many points? Of course, points are not worth so much these days.
In any event, thanks for sharing this.
I think points have increased in value these days with dynamic pricing and covid situation,IC which used to be priced 70.000 points are at 55.000 nowadays .
Option 4:
Cancel the chargeback to IHG, get the account reactivated and then hold the credit card issuer liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
Seems like a petty and frivolous claim. You could travel in and out of the UK for the majority of last year, so the suggestion to the contrary is a big lie.
It was not recommended though nor encouraged (in Scotland at least) – I don’t know anyone at my work that has been abroad since March last year.
Rewards programs are run under the sole discretion of the issuing company. They have as much value as the issuer determines. Your rights are very limited. Most courts and tax authorities have viewed points as worthless
Appreciate the perk but points hoarded can easily be lost at the whim of the issuer
The dispute is for the charge made November 2020, not November 2019. why did the reader not cancel ambassador before the renewal date? IHG is right here, the reader had 8 months to decide (March to November 2020) to cancel it or to renew it.
I think if you have a credit card on file, they auto charge for Ambassador.
Doesn’t matter, he/she should have contacted ihg before November to cancel upcoming ambassador renewal.
This is same as fighting a credit card annual fee after it posted to the account. Your membership renews automatically unless you cancel it before the renewal.
I’ve just seen the follow-up article, it looks like it was Nov 19, IHG got it wrong in their reply 😉
Poster could just have stayed at a hotel in the UK, and still can. You don’t get unlimited free ambassador status forever just because you refuse to burn points unless they’re in hotels overseas. IHG is in the right on this one
At present you can only stay at a hotel if you’re a key worker or have a clear business-related reason for doing so.
I think the poster jumped the gun with the chargeback.
I had a friend in a very similar position with ambassador and they could not provide any further extensions to his account as the membership had already lapsed.
I suggested he ask ambassador for goodwill 40 000 points so he can renew again on the spot. Within 2 minutes this was agreed to and the representative was happy a solution was found.
Failing that if the customer already has so many points in their account I’d be cancelling the chargeback, using 40k for the renewal and then enjoying my remaining points..
Agree, chargeback was a bad call. Points for free renewal a much better plan.
The overall consensus here is that the dude who made this chargeback is an Idiot. Got what we deserved
Keeping so many points in his account and expecting
Ihg is infamously nasty about freezing members’ accounts with no reasons! Simply a hopeless programme!
The claim is completely baseless. IHG could extend the status as a goodwill gesture, but certainly don’t have to. Too many people got used to claiming a chargeback just because they don’t like the official, perfectly legal, policy. This is IHG’s way of taking money back. Perfectly ok.
There were no actual restrictions on leaving the UK for most of 2020. Only an advice to not do it.
Yep, and lots of us followed that advice for good public health reasons!
Unfortunately I think legally IHG is correct here.
I love the cut-and-paste opening of the letter saying “I am going to assist you”. Then “I’ve suspended your account”.
Legally if you could have stayed anywhere in the world at an IC after your automatic renewal date, and regardless of finding yourself in the UK lockdown, IHG can say they delivered.
What they should have done was offer a cancellation and refund of your Ambassador membership for the renewal. But legally they are not obliged to do so.
I am more concerned about the apparent racial discrimination made by IHG in that they only gave Chinese people, or people who are overwhelmingly likelyp to be of Chinese race, a free 12-month extension. I think this is illegal racial discrimination by IHG.
I suggest you follow John’s advice, make nice to reopen the account, then transfer or burn the points.
Should IHG get any nastier, then a correct valuation for your accrued points would be at the cost IHG sells them at when full price), no bonuses etc. Regardless of what small print on IHG says they’re worth and even if IHG claims they have no value. This value based on IHG full price for selling points would be accepted at MCOL.
The problem is MCOL claim is hard to see succeeding, as IHG has not breached contract and the contract has not been frustrated as there were days and places the benefit was available to you to use.
So make nice, book as many hotels ahead as possible while points rates are low, try and cost IHG as much as possible on these stays, transfer points out if you can accept the ratio so as to cost IHG cash, and make sure to keep reporting on every website you know, that IHG is playing hardball with longstanding good members and racially discriminating against non-Chinese people?
IHG may very well have the legal right not to extend his/her membership. Then they may have the legal right to freeze her/his account. But this is not really an issue of legal right. It’s a matter of customer service mindset and business judgment.
As the past CMO of a major international hotel company, I am acutely aware of the complexity and nuance of many customer service issues.
But this does not seem like one of those complex cases.
It appears that this person has been a very loyal IHG customer. It also appears that they did not consume Ambassador benefits during the period in question. If both of these are the case, why in the world would you quibble with a good customer who is making a reasonable request simply for the extension of benefits will help to keep the customer coming back.
The COVID crisis has, sadly, gone on for over a year. Yes maybe some hotels were open in the UK during the period in question. And yes maybe the customer could have gone to hotels out of the UK. But travel during this period has been massively disrupted, and in many cases is simply ill advised or unsafe for many.
Why wouldn’t IHG simply communicate an appreciation for the customer’s loyalty, acknowledge the difficulty of this period for so many, state that IHG is looking forward to welcoming him/her back when the time is right for the guest, extend the benefit, And perhaps put a few points in their account as good will and apology.
That would cost basically nothing, and create most likely a happy and loyal customer.
Well said!!