I'm a bit concerned: the credit card billing went through, but the email I got from IHG was -- empty. And I still have the option to "Renew now" in my account.
Did anyone experience this?
Yes, that's typical. Once they manually process the renewal (give it 1-3 business days) you'll get another e-mail confirming the renewal, and you'll also see a line appear appear in your account activity.