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In case you’re unfamiliar with IHG and how its bifurcated program works I’ll do a quick refresher. IHG operates two concurrent programs: IHG Rewards Club and Ambassador. IHG Rewards Select has varying tiers and its IHG Rewards Select points that you redeem or earn whenever you stay at any of IHG’s propertires. IHG’s Ambassador program is geared specifically towards their Intercontinental Brand, and you pay to participate. The program guarantees a certain group of benefits that, in my experience, have significantly outweighed the cost of joining year after year. Those benefits are changing in early 2019.
Here’s what the program currently offers:
- Joining costs either $200 or 40k points
- Guaranteed upgrade upon arrival
- Usually the upgrade shows on the account prior to arrival
- Complimentary Weekend Night
- must be booked via their site
- Enjoy a 4 pm late check out
- Choice of refreshments on arrival, in-room welcome gift, and mineral water.
- Additionally, you will receive one complimentary pay TV film per stay.
Here’s the new stuff
What’s going away:
- Pay per view movie
- Fruit plate only given in Greater China for Platinum and Spire Elites
What’s coming to
- Comped Platinum Status
- $20 bar or restaurant credit per room
- E-Delivered Free Weekend Night
- This is overdue and greatly appreciated.
- Extra benefits in China
- One Breakfast for each night you stay
- 15% discount on bar and restaurant purchases
Overall:
I like the changes personally. I never really ate the fruit plate or used the pay per view movie, but adding in a free breakfast ( odd that it’s only one, but one is more than one ), the $20 credit is nice, and finally the E-cert is being updated.
I’ll continue to renew my Ambassador membership so long as I can continue to extract more value than what I pay. Renewals for me have consistently offered 15k bonus points and 10% off all Intercontinental redemptions. Add in a free weekend night certificate and I’m happy as a clam to pay $200 a year to participate.
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.
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