Originally Posted by
pretzlaff
I, too, just 're-enlisted' yesterday. I mostly do it to retain Spire. Maybe 1 out of 5 stays Spire actually gets me something like lounge access at an Asian Crowne Plaza or an 'upgrade' to a 'suite' at a HIX.
The 40k points option was much more than prior years, so I passed on that. The $50 more for the $200 option actually seemed like it would result in a pretty good chunk of extra points: 1) the immediate 15K (that were immediately put in my account, 2) the 10% rebate on points stays which should be 20K for me this year, and 3) the extra 50% points on base paid stays which should be another 20K for me this year. All that should be 3 nights in cheap IHG hotels while road-tripping thru the central USA.
In the 4 or 5 years that I have gotten the 'free night' certificate, I have never used it. I infrequently stay at IC's and by the time you pay the rack rate for the first night, there are usually better options at Hilton's with Diamond lounge access.
If there are any further price increases, I will probably pass.
Agree with everything above. My expiration is actually end of April but I went ahead and renewed tonight. Not sure what the $150 renewal option good only until Jan 31 means, possible rate increase? Went for the $200 renewal like others. I only renewed Ambassador for the Spire extension--app now shows 12/31/2020. I've received really nice room upgrades at Kimpton (I think) due to Spire. Also like the extra points earning on stays, as well as the 10% rebate on award stays (in addition to credit card 10% rebate). Strictly a leisure traveler so earning points is a slow process.
Spent many an hour trying to figure out where to use the BOGO weekend cert without spending too much to gain a "free" night. How much sense does it make to pay +$80 over a AAA rate at Venetian to save $200 on my "free" night. Crazy to fly somewhere just to use it. IC's within driving distance are uninspiring and usually at escalated prices. I prefer Kimptons anyway. Wish I was as disciplined as you, pretzlaff, to just toss it in the trash.