Originally Posted by
khabah
Joining/renewing Ambassador to renew Spire/now Diamond has been a well-utilized trick among the traveler community, despite being an unpublished loophole in IHG's loyalty system. I wonder how much longer it'll last now that some of those credit card hawkers and information thieves travel bloggers have written articles about said trick, but I believe it still exists. I plan on doing it come December to keep my status alive through next year since I don't have enough travel booked for the remainder of the year to renew organically.
still seems to work ... renewed AMB two days ago and my Diamond status was immediately extended to Dec 31, 2024.
In addition, the Complimentary weekend (BOGO) night can be a very valuable perk, even though the BOGO rate that you need to book is often a bit more expensive than the regular most flexible rate. The amount of money one can save with the BOGO voucher can easily surpass the (cash-)costs of the AMB membership. But whether AMB is worth it or not depends on your travel pattern; obviously if you do not travel to destinations with IC hotels, there is no point in purchasing AMB.