Raffles

Section 3 – Royal Ambassador status

The criteria for achieving RA status is not published, although PC says that it is for ‘the top 1% of Ambassadors’. However, it is believed to be 50-60 nights in the past 12 months across the whole PC system (all brands) plus at least 3 stays at DIFFERENT InterContinental hotels.

If you meet these requirements and are already an Ambassador, you have nothing to lose from emailing the Ambassador service desk and asking them to review your account. If you do not have 50-60 nights and are not already an Ambassador, don’t waste your time. Some FT’ers have been told in the past that they will not be considered until they have been an Ambassador for one year, but other FTers have had no problems - if you get this response, contact them again and try a different agent. The number of points you have earned is totally irrelevant in assessing your application – it is 100% based on paid nights.

The benefits of RA status, above the Ambassador benefits, are a two-level upgrade (and often a suite upgrade), a guaranteed 8am check-in, a free mini-bar, free health club access (although most IC clubs are free anyway) and 1,000 additional bonus points per stay. As a reminder, these benefits are ONLY valid at InterContinental-branded hotels. The 'two-level upgrade' is not published policy, but is generally how most hotels interpret the rules - you could do better and it is not impossible, although rare, to do worse.

RA’s are also given PC Platinum status if they do not already have it – see Post 1 for the benefits of this. You will also receive a referral certificate allowing you to gift RA membership to a friend or colleague.


Common questions about Royal Ambassador status:

Are there restrictions on the free mini-bar?

Yes, sometimes. Some hotels do not allow you to take out snacks for free (check at check-in). Some hotels (IC Stockholm) claim that they cannot give free alcohol due to local law. Some hotels remove high value items from the mini-bar before an RA checks in, and some hotels do not refill an RA's mini-bar every day (in both cases, you are within your rights to ring the front desk and ask for it to be properly filled). Theoretically, free drinks are for 'in-room consumption only' so the hotel could charge if you emptied the contents into your suitcase on the way out - although I can't think of a case where this has happened. The IC Amstel in Amsterdam is generally regarded as having the best mini-bar of any IC! To avoid confusion, ALWAYS ask at check-in about the free mini-bar policy at that hotel, even if you are a regular guest.

Do RA (and Amb) benefits apply on reward stays?

Officially no. However, check out FT reports. Most hotels do give RA and Ambassador benefits even on reward stays.

How long does RA status last?

RA lasts for the remainder of your current Ambassador status. This means that you are likely to get less than 12 months benefit, although if you are only a couple of months from your Ambassador expiry date you will probably receive 13-14 months of RA instead of 1-2.

As you approach expiry, PC will review your account and notify you if you are going to retain RA or not, again based on whether you are averaging the 50-60 nights.

What happens if I lose RA status?

You drop down to Ambassador, and receive a free year of Ambassador, saving the usual $100 renewal fee. You will then drop down to Gold if you do not pay your Ambassador fee the following year.

You will also retain your PC Platinum status for the remainder of the calendar year following your demotion. So … in January 2010 you may be a ‘Platinum Royal Ambassador’. If you lose RA status in March 2010, you will drop to ‘Platinum Ambassador’ until December 2010. From Jan-March 2011 you will be ‘Gold Ambassador’ (assuming you don’t earn 60,000 points to retain Plat) and from March 2011 onwards (assuming you don’t pay $100 to retain Ambassador) you will be a simple ‘Gold’ member until December 2011. If you don’t retain Gold you then drop to ‘Club’ member.

Tell me about Royal Ambassador referral certificates

When you become a Royal Ambassador (and each year you are renewed) you will receive a voucher which you can give to a friend to give them automatic RA status. This is free, although they will have to pay $150 to join Ambassador if they are not already a member. Status will last to the end of their Ambassador year, so up to 12 months although it can be less. If a referred member does not stay enough nights to retain RA, they will drop down to Ambassador. Referred RA’s do NOT receive a referral certificate anymore (they did historically) although some occasionally slip through the net.

Referral certificates are often available on ebay (for $500+, often as much as £500+) or via FT’s Coupon Connection. However, now that benefits are restricted to 12 months maximum, it is debatable whether the certificates are worth the money unless you have a lot of IC stays planned. (Historically you could buy a certificate and resell the one you received in return, thus effectively paying nothing for RA membership, but this is no longer possible as referred members do not receive a certificate.)

If you receive a referral and you are not already an Ambassador, it makes sense to join Ambassador first and then, a week or so later, post in your RA referral form. This ensures that you receive two ‘welcome’ boxes (one for Amb, one for RA) and thus receive 2 x 5,000 point vouchers and 2 x free weekend night vouchers. Sometimes IC will remove the second 5,000 point and BOGO vouchers from the RA box if you do this, but it is not common.

There is no box on the RA referral form for existing Ambassadors to write their membership data. You should cross through the credit card lines and write somewhere on the form ‘Already Ambassador – PC number is 12345678’.

RA referrals certificates are valid for six months from the date of issue. You will receive your RA kit within 3-4 weeks of submitting your form to the US, although your status will change online within a few days. Certificates must be posted to the US – faxes, PDF’s etc are not acceptable.

How do I know what benefits RA’s get at particular hotels?

Look at the ‘RA experience’ sticky in this forum, where there are over 1,000 experiences posted.

Do RA’s get Club access?

Not as a rule. If you are upgraded to a suite then you may get access if all suites automatically get club access. Check FT RA trip reports to see what happens in practice.

Do RA’s get free breakfast?

No, unless you get Club access (see above)

Do I need to rebook my existing bookings after I become Royal Ambassador?

You may want cancel existing flexible bookings you have already made, including redemption bookings (check availability is still there first!), and rebook to ensure your new status rather than your old status is attached to your booking. For any other advanced bookings, including those on non-cancellable cash or points bookings, you should consider e-mailing the hotel and informing them of your new status. Your email should include your booking confirmation numbers and dates of your stay. This will help ensure (although nothing is certain) that your upgrade is allocated before you arrive.

Can I be comped to RA from Hilton Plat / SPG Plat etc?

No. It has never been done to our knowledge. Don’t waste the pixels.