I’m not sure whether buying Ambassador makes sense anymore for those who have Diamond and Lounge Pass.

With Ambassador, Diamond and Lounge Pass, I now have better experiences at ICs than I did during my decade as RA (which ended a decade or so ago). So I’m a huge fan of the new IHG program. But what I don’t know, how much does Ambassador add to the mix? 90% of my stays are on points, so the one category Amb upgrade is not guaranteed, but as Diamond I usually end up with upgrades of far more than one category. Guaranteed 4pm checkout can be worth a lot in some situations. The $20 F&B credit is barely worth mentioning, and TBH more of an annoyance when the hotel tells you that you get €15 or JPY2000, significantly less than $20. Weekend cert can be meh or save a good chunk, depending on how one uses it.

Personally, I already have 40 IC nights / 8 stays booked for the first 6 months of my next Ambassador year, so I’ll likely end up buying Amb again, regardless of whether it’s $200 or $225. The guaranteed 4pm checkout alone is likely worth the price, and over the year I’ll recoup my investment in F&B vouchers, and again in weekend cert savings. So hard to argue that a frequent IC guest doesn’t get $500 value out of it. But what I’d really like to know, does anyone have hard evidence what Ambassador adds over and above Diamond and Lounge Pass in terms of upgrades and treatment on-property?