IHG started last week a new campaign to get members to sign up and renew their InterContinental Ambassador membership that we covered at the time (read more here).
Several readers commented that there were no mentions of this offer on IHG’s website (there never are), but we noted that the offer was clearly spelled out on the Ambassador program T&Cs. IHG has now started to send out emails about this offer (open for everyone) to select members.
You can access IHG’s page for the Ambassador program here.
READ MORE: IHG One Rewards Rate & Bonus Points Offers
The Sign-Up Offer:
You can purchase the Ambassador membership for $200 or use 40,000 IHG One Rewards points. You will get 20,000 bonus points for consuming two nights at InterContinental, Kimpton, or Regent hotels. These two nights must be paid. Award nights or Cash + Points nights are not qualifying under this offer.
You can use the Ambassador free weekend night certificate, and both nights qualify for this offer.
Renewal Offer:
There is a slight difference between the renewal offer versus the sign-up one. It seems that those that renew for cash (you can usually do within 2 months of expiry) earn 15,000 bonus points immediately and another 20,000 when consuming two nights like on the sign-up offer.
The 15,000 bonus extra is NOT available for those that sign up OR renew using points.
Email From IHG:
InterContinental Ambassador Benefits:
- Guaranteed 4 PM check out at InterContinental Hotels
- Guaranteed one category upgrade at InterContinental Hotels
- Free Weekend Night Voucher (second night free when paid first at best flexible)
- IHG One Rewards Platinum status
- $20 F&B credit per stay (amount varies by market)
Ambassador Members are eligible for a one-time 6-month extension:
You can check and even book the free weekend night rate before purchasing the Ambassador membership:
Previous Ambassador Enrollment & Renewal Offers:
Conclusion
It is bizarre that IHG doesn’t have a landing page for this offer on its website beyond mentioning it on the Ambassador program T&Cs.
There is one “silent” benefit of the Ambassador program. It also extends your IHG One Rewards top-tier membership (now Diamond – previously Spire Elite) by an additional year, and readers have also reported this happening under this offer. Remember that this is NOT a published benefit by IHG and can be withdrawn at any time.
Whether it makes sense for you to sign up or renew depends on your IHG stays. Ambassador benefits mainly apply for stays at InterContinental brand.
Terms of the offer from email:
To participate in the “Join Ambassador, stay two nights, earn 20k bonus points” offer (the “Offer”), an individual must first enrol in the InterContinental® Ambassador programme during the period of 2 September 2022 through 31 December 2022 and then complete two qualifying nights at participating InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, or Regent® Hotels & Resorts by 31 January 2023 to be awarded 20,000 IHG One Rewards bonus points. This offer is not applicable for Royal Ambassador members and is not valid for InterContinental ® Ambassador membership enrolments or renewals obtained on a complimentary basis or using the IHG Employee discount.
To qualify for the 20,000 bonus points, each of the two nights must be part of one or more Qualifying Stays. A Qualifying Stay is defined as a minimum 1-night stay booked under a Qualifying Rate, with total spend exceeding $30 USD (or local equivalent) per night. Only one room per member per Qualifying Stay will be eligible. If more than one member checks into the same room, only one member is eligible to claim the night for purposes of the Offer. No retroactive credit will be awarded for stays prior to this Offer or prior to enrolment into the InterContinental® Ambassador programme. The “Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night” rate is a Qualifying Rate, and the complimentary night may be counted towards the two nights needed to qualify for the additional 20,000 bonus points.
This Offer can only be redeemed once when first joining the Ambassador programme and a maximum of 20,000 IHG One Rewards points can be achieved for enrolments based on the payment of USD200 or redeeming 40,000 points. Please allow up to six (6) weeks for bonus points to be posted to the recipient’s IHG One Rewards account.
The Offer is subject to the standard IHG One Rewards Membership Terms and Conditions and earning structure, which can be obtained here. The bonus points awarded through this Offer are not Elite status qualifying. IHG may withdraw points from a member’s account if they were deposited into the member’s account in error and may revoke all points in a member’s account if the Member abuses the IHG One Rewards Program, including but not limited to abuse of the point redemption process. IHG also expressly reserves the right to remove a member’s points, downgrade their status, or cancel their account if fraudulent use of the Offer is detected, and any fraudulent activity relating to a member’s account, this Offer, or restricted rate offerings is subject to the IHG One Rewards Membership Terms and Conditions, including any of the identified actions that may be taken in response to such activity. To the extent permitted by applicable law, IHG reserves the right of final interpretation of this Offer, as well as the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Offer at any time. This exclusive Offer is valid and applies to the original recipient only. Members must make any promotional inquiries no later than 60 days from the end of the Offer period. For this Offer, the Offer period ends 31 January 2023.
Participating Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants and Regent® Hotels & Resorts will accept redemption of the InterContinental® Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night through 31 December 2022, excluding Regent Hotels & Resorts in Greater China. The Complimentary Weekend Night is valid on the second night of a paid stay on the “Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night Rate” and is subject to the standard rules and restrictions in the InterContinental ® Ambassador Full Terms and Conditions, as outlined here. Such rules and restrictions include but are not necessarily limited to the following: Rooms at the “Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night” rate are subject to limited availability; advance reservations are required; the complimentary weekend nights may only be redeemed via the member’s IHG One Rewards account; identification and member number must be presented upon check-in; the member must have an un-redeemed and valid Complimentary Weekend Night available within their IHG One Rewards account; valid for room and tax only; weekend is defined to include Friday, Saturday and Sunday, except in the Middle East where properties may define the weekend as Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at participating Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and Regent Hotels & Resorts where the Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night is defined as Any Day; and when joining the Ambassador programme in hotel, the weekend night cannot be redeemed for the current stay. All InterContinental Ambassador programme benefits are subject to the InterContinental® Ambassador Full Terms & Conditions, which can be found here.
