What the hell is their motivation for lowering qualification requirements? This means that everyone with 42+ nights will be grouped in one status unless they spend 18k+ per year. So with my 95+ nights every year I'm gonna be competing for upgrades and late checkouts not only with a myriad of credit card holders but also pretty much everyone who is currently gold (minus few people who finish with exactly 40 or 41 nights).

Fantastic. Great job. I suppose that means moving even more of my business to IHG and perhaps look into earning a mid-tier status elsewhere, or perhaps go for independent hotels more often.