Originally Posted by Markie

I would say that as a long time Ambassador, things have changed. In the old days you would see the upgrade added to the booking within a few days of making it. Now, often upgrades simply don't happen and I never see them provided in advance.

Note in new T&C's:
There are a huge long list of exceptions where the upgrade need not be granted - https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental...tes-exclusions

I cannot see the 20,000 points mentioned anywhere.