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IHG dropped some big news today – a major IHG Rewards brand overhaul will be unveiled throughout 2022 and the first shoe just dropped. I got a chance to speak with some IHG execs and they assured that this isn’t just a renaming of the tiers and changing bonus points, but that larger program revisions were in store and were very excited about program enhancements that improve the program and make it more competitive. Here’s what we know so far…
New status tiers go into effect March 2022
Here’s a look at the new tier levels – the program has shifted from 4 to 5 tiers. There is a focus on the mid-tier, with Gold begin hit at 20 nights. To put this in perspective, Marriott Gold is 25 nights, Hilton Gold is usually 40 ( this year 28 nights – potentially better compared with IHG Platinum ), and Hyatt Explorist is 30 nights. Time will tell as to how the new IHG Gold will compare to these other mid-tiers, but its clear IHG is making a play this market.
- Existing Club
- Stays the Same
- Existing Gold to be renamed Silver
- 10 nights
- Bonus points go from 10% to 20%
- New Gold ——–>
- 20 nights
- 40k Points qualification
- 40% bonus points
- Existing Platinum
- 40 nights stay same
- but point qualification goes from 40k to 60k
- point bonus will upped to 60%
- Existing Spire renamed Diamond
- 75 nights drop to 70 nights
- Points move from 75k to 120k
- 100% bonus stays in tact
Looking at the existing program benefits compared to the new tier structure
The new tier structure will go into effect sometime in March, but we haven’t heard what benefits will change.
What I’d love to see IHG implement
Currently, there is a lot of improvement that IHG can make. There is an incredibly inconsistent application of award recognition and benefits across brands. I’ve traveled as both Platinum and Spire and there is little to no incentive to have anything other than IHG Platinum status which can be attained via the IHG Rewards Premier credit card. Obviously that needs to change.
While I love Intercontinental Ambassador…I think a parallel program creates more confusion than anything else – if this new program streamlined benefits across brands, all under one umbrella, it would serve the custom better in the long term. Selfishly, I hope Ambassador stays since I milk that bad boy for all its worth.
Here is a list of what I’d love to see happen – some are quite obvious like suites, lounge access, breakfast, etc. Others are benefits that are provided by other brands that if implemented within IHG could really do a lot to steal customers away from Marriott and Hilton.
- Food and Beverage Benefit
- Competitors give a breakfast benefit to upper tiers – Personally I don’t think it needs to be specifically breakfast, but a F/B benefit would be a big improvement for Platinum and Diamond. At the very least Diamond needs it to be competitive with top tier offerings of Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt
- Guaranteed Club Lounge Access
- Perhaps this is given to Platinum, but at the very least Diamonds need across the board club access including Intercontinental hotels.
- Suite Upgrades
- Hyatt offers Confirmed Suite Upgrades at the time of booking to their Globalists – IHG would differentiate itself from Marriott and Hilton if they gave this to Diamonds at time of booking
- At the very least, it’d be nice to see them compete with Marriott and notify suite upgrades within a window of check-in
- 4th night free for Platinum and Diamonds
- This is a perk of the IHG Rewards Premier. If I can pay an annual fee to get a 4th night free, why not rewards everyone who has spent time and money earning the status the hard way?
- Free night for organic Platinums, up to 40k
- If I can get a free night every year with the IHG Rewards Premier, people staying 40 nights should get a similar benefit.
- Free night at any property in the IHG umbrella upon reaching Diamond
- Perhaps there would be exceptions, like properties that don’t accept points or haven’t been folded in yet, but reward top tier status with a free night anywhere in the world. If this was teamed up with a 4th night free, pool pooling, and unlimited point purchases.
- Guaranteed late check out for elites
- Gold/Platinum let’s say 1 or 2pm
- Diamond – 4pm
- Point upgrades to club level/suites
- This is something that Hyatt provides that I think could add a lot of value for that mid-tier traveler that may want an enhanced experience that their elite status doesn’t provide in the way of club level access or suite upgrades
- Book with cash and at the time of booking guarantee these upgrades
- No point purchase limit
- Currently, IHG limits the amount of points you can purchase at 150k per annum
- eliminate the cap for elite members, or stagger it allowing higher caps for higher status
- Currently, IHG limits the amount of points you can purchase at 150k per annum
- Point Pooling for elites
- Allow point pooling between accounts
- Currently IHG charges $5 per 1000 points to pool – comparatively, Hilton allows pooling up to 2 million points per year.
- Allow point pooling between accounts
- Incentivize Credit Card spend
- Make credit card purchases count towards elite status point qualification
- Select connecting room at time of booking
- This is a feature that Hilton rolled out and its really nice for groups and families
- Waived or reduced pet fees for elites
- One of the big draws for Kimpton hotels is no pet fees. We have a dog, and if there was some consideration for reduced pet fees as you climb the elite status ladder, it’d go a long way with guests
- Waived Resort fees for Diamonds
- Hyatt offers this to Globalists and if IHG implemented this…it would separate them from Hilton and Marriott
- Give Ambassador to Diamonds
- assuming Ambassador stays in some iteration, provide the status to those hitting 70 nights.
- Maybe this could be something given to 80 nights, etc
- Elite night pooling
- Ok…this is a long shot, but Covid has changed a lot of the way we travel. If you’re in a two person household where travel is a part of the job, but has been greatly reduced, the ability to pool elite nights in a household to push one person over the threshold could be an innovative way to lure two travelers to the brand.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.