Originally Posted by
mikew99
Keep in mind that Ambassador membership applies only to InterContinental Hotels, but Platinum Elite status applies throughout the IHG portfolio of hotels. I have gotten an upgrade here and there from my Platinum Elite status, but it is never guaranteed.
The Ambassador upgrade is a minimum one-category upgrade, where categories vary by hotel but are (very) loosely defined by price. There is a thread in this forum where people post which upgrades they've received to help give you an idea of what kind of upgrade to expect.
The Ambassador upgrade is about as guaranteed as you will find. I have been an Ambassador member since 2009, and in that time, I have failed to receive an upgrade only twice. There is specific compensation when an upgrade is not possible, although it is not as good as it used to be.
Interesting. The IC San Diego tells me it's subject to availability at arrival, which doesn't sound very guaranteed. I can only free cancel up to one week before, and I guess before that runs out I'll call the hotel and say is it guaranteed or not, since I have a backup reservation elsewhere. The 10,000 points for a missed upgrade is worth nearly 0 in my experience with the program.