Originally Posted by
TheWiseOne
Milestones are a good thing and does limit the numbers - just look at the nonsense Hilton are coming out with and how overrun they are in places.
The only thing I see IHG changing is that Lounge Access may have to get pinned to a higher tier 50-70 nights or so or it gets decoupled and pinned to qualifying spend - although their points offers on flex rates muddies this a little. Personally, I do think lounge access at 40 nights is very generous and at some point will need to be looked at in order to preserve the quality of offerings. Lyon and Berlin are two examples of where the lounge passes have caused some issues. Berlin in particular seems to be a place where a lot of locals are now booking for a leisure weekend as the offering is outsized.
Going OT for this thread, but;
I'm still bemused that 40 nights at a cheap HIX has the same earning as 40 nights in the Luxury bracket.
Same applies to Diamond qualification. I'm at 46 nights in 2025 - 30+ in IC's. I've only qualified as Plat on nights - I'm still short by points.
And re "Locals" - noticed in UK cities at weekends that CP hotels with lounges are filled with local staycationers coming in from the suburbs for events or high end restaurants.