Originally Posted by
beachmouse
From some chatter over in the IHG area, it seems like the criteria for Royal Ambassador (the only non-hackable IHG status, and the only part of the program geared toward status benefits rather than basic award nights) is 10K in spend at IC properties and somewhere around 60 paid nights. If you can work with the somewhat limited IC footprint, and hey, if you're talking higher end Hyatts, you're probably okay with limited footprints, it's a program a lot of people seem happy with.
The down side is that for the rest of the program, the alleged enhanced benefits for Spire/RA that have been coming Real Soon Now since 2015 still haven't arrived despite some apparent pilot programs at the Crown Plaza and Holiday Inn level last year.
Well, RA is a different animal altogether. I was just saying that even with the regular Ambassador, I've had good luck getting breakfast for free, even though it's not a published benefit.
Originally Posted by
Kacee
Mere Golds get free breakfast at most Marriotts and Hiltons. This is why Explorist is such a complete fail.
Yeah, top tier is out of reach, middle tier is pointless. I am looking for a way to stay, but can't justify it.