Originally Posted by
Land-of-Miles
The 1st Jan is meaningless since AMB years are dispersed across all months and consequently so are RA renewals. It would be very unfair to make a change like this just before someone's year ended when they were too late to do anything about it.
The published details on Royal Ambassador status states
Originally Posted by Member Terms and Conditions
Royal Ambassador status is granted to Ambassador members by invitation and at IHG® Rewards Club sole discretion
If IHG changes what it chooses to use to determine when to offer it, there is no change to the terms.