Devaluing of the RA Program?
 

In the past in order to get RA status you've had to stay 60 nights at a cost of $150 per night (both generalisations, I know but I made them for ease of discussion) and then you got one RA status (yourself) and one referral.

In other words, it took about $9,000 and 60 callendar days to get two RA members, or roughly $4,500 and a month per RA.

Now, you can buy RA membership (referral certificate) off of eBay and even referred RAs get a referral certificate. So, now you could have one person buy their RA from eBay for $500, refer someone else for free who referrs someone else, etc to the point where you have 10 RAs (for example) who have spent a TOTAL of $500 and never spent a night or a single dollar at an IHG property yet.

Here's my question. How badly does this devalue the RA program and how hard/easy is it likely to be to requalify in the future?

I would like to say that I think recently that IHG have totally devalued the Platinum Status on the PC Side and would be horrified that they would even allow the RA to be de-valued. A if it were so a lot of the earnt RA's would be voting with feet and as they are the genuine 1% who do brand commit its hard to keep them when other loyalty programs are more than ready to accept, status match and offer bonus.

Now, you can buy RA membership (referral certificate) off of eBay and even referred RAs get a referral certificate. - (It is my understanding now that only RAs who qualify the genuine way receive a referrel certificate in the joining pack, I have heard of a few who got them but it seems IHG are becoming better at managing this)

So, now you could have one person buy their RA from eBay for $500, refer someone else for free who referrs someone else, etc to the point where you have 10 RAs (for example) who have spent a TOTAL of $500 and never spent a night or a single dollar at an IHG property yet. - I was under the impression that anyone who wants RA status as to be an ambassador first, so that would have been a $200 or 32,000 points payment to IHG.

I admit if anyone buys ambassador for $200 and RA for $500 a total of $700 they probably fail into one of two catagories

1) A holiday booked up in the near future at a IHG at least a week long as to benefit from the $700 payment (so a one off or maybe twice a year)

or

2) A regular stayer who wants to accelerate to RA to receive the benefits from the membership. If they want the benefits and stay at IHG's frequently then to benefit this way I would have envisaged they will probably hit the target to become a real RA in the future.


I am currently attempting to earn my way to RA.

Platinum Ambassador - 28 Nights so far this year (3 IHG's) and staying away from home 4 nights a week for the remainder of the year. So I envisage another 50-60 nights this year - Therefore 78-88 nights and will be 5 IHG's.
With the promotions and current points balance - forecast 750,000 points to spend next year... (Family holidays :rolleyes:).


Just my thoughts.

From what I've seen and heard here on FT and from others, EVERYONE seems to be getting a referral certificate now, even referred RAs.

Good point regarding the $200 joining fee if you're not already an Ambassador, though. Having said that, you could still become an IHG top tier "frequent user" for a cash payment of $200 to $700 having never spent a night in so much as a HIX. Granted, there is the implication that they're doing it for a reason other than the status of having the card in their wallet (IE the implication of money spent in IHG properties over the period that they're a RA) so it's not quite as simple as a once-off payment but it COULD be....

I suppose my point was more directed at the current trend of giving ALL new RAs a referral certificate. For a referred RA (particularly one who purchased it and wants to resell the referral to recoup their costs) it's a great short term bonus but I can't help thinking that it will devalue the program in the long run. After all, if EVERYONE is an "elite" RA then two things are going to happen 1) Nobody is "elite" if everybody is and 2) Either RA benefits will go down (once again, if everyone is elite, nobody is and the benefits will reflect this) or prices will go up (in order for IHG to recoup the added costs of additional "free" minibars, movies, etc)

I do agree with you, and as I stay 50 nights a year in HI,CP's etc I have noticed this year the death of the Platinum Status with so many being around.

Is this really new? In the old days referred RA's got a certificate and they were always for sale, may it be on eBay or here on coupon connection. And buying status is nothing new either. Hilton Diamond can easily be achieved via credit card spend and you get it more or less for free. For RA you actually need to put real money on the table.

My experience is quite different. I don't know what you expect of a status which can be achieved so easily, but this year I had stays at multiple non-IC hotels, and at every single one of them they recognized my status, upgraded me, and gave me free water or something.

Heck, at Holiday Inn Belgrade, I got upgraded to Executive room, and got free soft drinks and beer in the minibar! That's almost a RA-treatment at an InterContinental! :D Mind you, I've been a regular visitor to HI Belgrade for the past 5 years (all of them as a Plat), and this is the first time this happened.

As a referred RA let me throw in my two cents...

I do see what you are saying. When I applied for Ambassador I was looking at a stay in Monterey and had never stayed at an IC before (much less heard of it) in my life. I was referred as an RA shortly thereafter with 0 stays at an IC, only a few at an HIX here and there.

The change is now that I am an RA I have changed most of my stays over from other brands such as Marriott's to IC's or other IHG brand hotels. I am certainly paying back my "dues" per say with 1-2 nights a week on average at an IC, however you do make a good point. I achieved RA status with only the initial $200 investment for A status without a single dollar spent at an IC.

Does this devalue the program? I'd say it all depends on the dollars now spent at IC's. If the revenue has increased as steadily than the number of RA's out there than they could see an advantage to this which might be why they haven't aggressively stopped it or why they have RA referral certificates going out in referred RA packaged (even if they are just "slipping" through).

I'd say right now I've been an RA for 3-4 months and now have about 50 nights, 25 of which are at IC's, spread across 5 different IC's. If I wasn't an RA would I have as many nights? No way.

I think you do bring up an good concern that should be monitored so people don't abuse the program but I also see IC benefitting as well if people do take full advantage of the value of RA and boost their stays, thus increasing business for IHG in the long run. Again it could work either way... a great way to increase potential profits or as a gamble that was taken that backfired in the end. Thoughts?

Fully agree! In my opinion the typical IC guests are not the ones reading & writing in FT and knowing about buying / getting RA certificates. ICHG will rather have guests who spend some money and give them some benefits ( which do not cost ICHG a fortune) then not having their business.

Agreed. This is NOT new, OP -- it may just be new to you. ;)

Is this true? Referred RAs are getting RA certs again? Thought they stopped that. Is this some sort of slip up?

Yes. And of course everything that gets reported on FT is taken as The Way It Is. :D

Can't say that absolutely 100% are getting them but everyone I know or have spoken to that are referred RAs have gotten a referral cert as well.

I don't know if it's a slip up or new policy but it seems to be pretty consistent now.

TBH may be right this may be an old issue but I've never seen it discussed here before and this is my first year as an RA so it's new to me.

Any referred RA's in the past year NOT get a referral cert?

To be honest, I really don't think the extra RA's really hurt's the program that much. Unless there are increased stays because of it, the overall stay's at IC's really doesn't increase IMO (maybe marginally, but not by a lot).

The bigger issue of devaluing is the reduction in RA benefits from a policy perspective.

I received my kit with no referral last month.

Two referrals in the past two years. Neither kit had a referral cert.