Dec 10, 2018, 4:07 pm
Last edit by: FlyerTalker688786
Ambassador programme will change on 1st February 2019. This will start with Royal Ambassador's benefits. Then, all other Ambassador will have new benefits from 1st March 2019.
For Royal Ambassadors, the new benefits starts from 1st FEB 2019 will be:
For all other Ambassadors, the new benefit starts on 1st MARCH 2019:
• One complimentary breakfast every night you stay
• 15% discount on restaurants and bars
AMBASSADOR BENEFIT GURANTEE work as bellow:
For Royal Ambassadors, the new benefits starts from 1st FEB 2019 will be:
- EARLY CHECK-IN from 10AM (instead of 8AM)
- ONE COMPLIMENTARY BREAKFAST FOR EVERY NIGHT YOU STAY [
CONFIRMED AS IN GREATER CHINA REGION ONLY,On 1st March, it seems IHG quietly made a U-turn again, now this benefit only APPLIES TO IC HOTELS IN MAINLAND CHINA ONLY, Hong Kong IC hotels are excluded on the last minute U-turn.] - UP TO TWO COMPLIMENTARY FULL BREAKFASTS PER DAY IF THERE IS NO CLUB LOUNGE
- UPTO 50USD/200RMB/400HKD MINIBAR CREDIT PER DAY (200USD/800RMB/1600HKD PER STAY MAX)
- WAIVED DESTINATION/AMENITY FEES
- COMPLIMENTARY WEEKEND NIGHT CERTIFICATE WITH E-DELIVERY
- AMBASSADOR BENEFIT GUARANTEE (See below)
- [Officially Added Benefits] FREE NIGHTS AT AN IHG PROPERTY (capped at 70K points value)
- [Officially Added Benefits] HERTZ GOLD PLUS REWARDS PRESIDENTS' CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP
For all other Ambassadors, the new benefit starts on 1st MARCH 2019:
- GUARANTEED PLATINUM ELITE STATUS IN IHG REWARDS CLUB
- ONE COMPLIMENTARY BREAKFAST FOR EVERY NIGHT YOU STAY <== Only for Greater China Stays !
- COMPLIMENTARY WEEKEND NIGHT CERTIFICATE WITH E-DELIVERY
- WELCOME FRUIT PLATTER (instead of welcome fruits and gifts) <== Only for Greater China Stays !
- AMBASSADOR BENEFIT GUARANTEE
• One complimentary breakfast every night you stay
• 15% discount on restaurants and bars
AMBASSADOR BENEFIT GURANTEE work as bellow:
- Guaranteed Room Upgrade: Member must be given a food and beverage or Spa credit up to USD50, or 10,000 IHG Rewards Club points per stay, applies to InterContinental Ambassador and Royal Ambassador only;
- 16:00 (4p.m.) Late Check-out: Member must be given a food and beverage or Spa credit up to USD50, or 10,000 IHG Rewards Club points per stay, applies to InterContinental Ambassador and Royal Ambassador only;
- New Club InterContinental Lounge Access or alternative Club experience: Member must be given a food and beverage or Spa credit of USD100 per night, not exceeding the Club InterContinental upgrade supplement value, applies to Royal Ambassador only.
Changes to Ambassador from 1st March 2019 (now confirmed)
Feb 9, 2019, 11:56 am
#286
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: IHG Diamond AMB, M&M SEN
Posts: 137
Club part not counting as qualified spend?
Hi all,
Apologies if this was discussed already, I was not able to find an answer.
I am trying to figure out is there a change where the Club part of Club room is excluded from the qualified spend as per the new rules.
I had a stay beginning of February for 2 nights at IC Dusseldorf and have 140EUR listed as Non Revenue (0% VAT). I did not use anything but 7EUR from the minibar which was covered by the new 15EUR credit and the Club lady advised the new rules are already in place.
It is also strange that I have F&B listed without visiting anything but the lounge, however the total match what I booked which is fine for me.
Does somebody know what is the AMB IC Dusseldorf Club rate? If it is 70EUR/night this match my number and looks like the club part is excluded from the qualified spend
Thank you in advance.
Apologies if this was discussed already, I was not able to find an answer.
I am trying to figure out is there a change where the Club part of Club room is excluded from the qualified spend as per the new rules.
I had a stay beginning of February for 2 nights at IC Dusseldorf and have 140EUR listed as Non Revenue (0% VAT). I did not use anything but 7EUR from the minibar which was covered by the new 15EUR credit and the Club lady advised the new rules are already in place.
It is also strange that I have F&B listed without visiting anything but the lounge, however the total match what I booked which is fine for me.
Does somebody know what is the AMB IC Dusseldorf Club rate? If it is 70EUR/night this match my number and looks like the club part is excluded from the qualified spend
Thank you in advance.
Feb 9, 2019, 12:31 pm
#287
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 182
Difference between Best Flexible / Advance Saver Rates Standard Room <-> Club Room is ca. 90 / 70 EUR. Got always all the correct amount of points, when I was Ambassadors and booked club room directly. But only about 5% of the whole spend was club part with 19% VAT. There were problems when I payed club charge upon check in. Take a look at your invoice, if everything is correct, and reach out to service centre if you miss the points.
Feb 9, 2019, 12:50 pm
#288
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: IHG Diamond AMB, M&M SEN
Posts: 137
Difference between Best Flexible / Advance Saver Rates Standard Room <-> Club Room is ca. 90 / 70 EUR. Got always all the correct amount of points, when I was Ambassadors and booked club room directly. But only about 5% of the whole spend was club part with 19% VAT. There were problems when I payed club charge upon check in. Take a look at your invoice, if everything is correct, and reach out to service centre if you miss the points.
Thanks, the 19% VAT total is 59EUR for 2 nights so 29.5EUR/night
I got the points always as well when I booked club room directly in the past (this was club room booking).
The 140EUR is listed as Total Net (0%) and on the next line as Non Revenue.
I will reach out to the service center.
Feb 9, 2019, 4:51 pm
#289
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 5
Hi all,
Apologies if this was discussed already, I was not able to find an answer.
I am trying to figure out is there a change where the Club part of Club room is excluded from the qualified spend as per the new rules.
I had a stay beginning of February for 2 nights at IC Dusseldorf and have 140EUR listed as Non Revenue (0% VAT). I did not use anything but 7EUR from the minibar which was covered by the new 15EUR credit and the Club lady advised the new rules are already in place.
It is also strange that I have F&B listed without visiting anything but the lounge, however the total match what I booked which is fine for me.
Does somebody know what is the AMB IC Dusseldorf Club rate? If it is 70EUR/night this match my number and looks like the club part is excluded from the qualified spend
Thank you in advance.
Apologies if this was discussed already, I was not able to find an answer.
I am trying to figure out is there a change where the Club part of Club room is excluded from the qualified spend as per the new rules.
I had a stay beginning of February for 2 nights at IC Dusseldorf and have 140EUR listed as Non Revenue (0% VAT). I did not use anything but 7EUR from the minibar which was covered by the new 15EUR credit and the Club lady advised the new rules are already in place.
It is also strange that I have F&B listed without visiting anything but the lounge, however the total match what I booked which is fine for me.
Does somebody know what is the AMB IC Dusseldorf Club rate? If it is 70EUR/night this match my number and looks like the club part is excluded from the qualified spend
Thank you in advance.
Didn't get any welcome amenity on check-in either!
Feb 9, 2019, 9:44 pm
#290
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Amsterdam, Asia, UK
Programs: IHG RA (Spire), HH Diamond, MR Platinum, SQ Gold, KLM Gold, BAEC Gold
Posts: 5,072
Hi all,
Apologies if this was discussed already, I was not able to find an answer.
I am trying to figure out is there a change where the Club part of Club room is excluded from the qualified spend as per the new rules.
I had a stay beginning of February for 2 nights at IC Dusseldorf and have 140EUR listed as Non Revenue (0% VAT). I did not use anything but 7EUR from the minibar which was covered by the new 15EUR credit and the Club lady advised the new rules are already in place.
It is also strange that I have F&B listed without visiting anything but the lounge, however the total match what I booked which is fine for me.
Does somebody know what is the AMB IC Dusseldorf Club rate? If it is 70EUR/night this match my number and looks like the club part is excluded from the qualified spend
Thank you in advance.
Apologies if this was discussed already, I was not able to find an answer.
I am trying to figure out is there a change where the Club part of Club room is excluded from the qualified spend as per the new rules.
I had a stay beginning of February for 2 nights at IC Dusseldorf and have 140EUR listed as Non Revenue (0% VAT). I did not use anything but 7EUR from the minibar which was covered by the new 15EUR credit and the Club lady advised the new rules are already in place.
It is also strange that I have F&B listed without visiting anything but the lounge, however the total match what I booked which is fine for me.
Does somebody know what is the AMB IC Dusseldorf Club rate? If it is 70EUR/night this match my number and looks like the club part is excluded from the qualified spend
Thank you in advance.
Unlike paid nights, if upselling on award , since lounge is then added into room rate which is non-qual rate, no points accrue for upsell $$$s. (Same applies to room cat upsell on award stays)
Feb 9, 2019, 10:48 pm
#291
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: IHG Diamond AMB, M&M SEN
Posts: 137
Originally Posted by scubaccr
Lounge Access cost is always part of room cost, whether booked upfront with ones reservation or via upsell at hotel. As long as part of paid-qual-rate night, even if upsell, lounge access cost should earn points.
Unlike paid nights, if upselling on award , since lounge is then added into room rate which is non-qual rate, no points accrue for upsell $$$s. (Same applies to room cat upsell on award stays)
Unlike paid nights, if upselling on award , since lounge is then added into room rate which is non-qual rate, no points accrue for upsell $$$s. (Same applies to room cat upsell on award stays)
Feb 10, 2019, 5:20 am
#292
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: IHG Spire Ambassador, CC Gold, Marriott Gold, HH Gold, DL PM
Posts: 526
My renewal date is in February. Because I have already booked my BOGO for June, I wanted to renew and try to get the physical certificate instead. I just renewed and the $150 renewal fee said “until Jan 31,2019”. I also had the option to renew for $200 with the 10% back - which is the one that I always take. So, I was wondering f the price is changing of Feb 1.
Last edited by KathinJax; Feb 10, 2019 at 6:09 am
Feb 14, 2019, 9:12 am
#293
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
Enjoying my first IC stay in February with the new rules, at a Euro IC. The guest relations manager had no idea about the changes. She said there was no free breakfast. Then I pointed out on the welcome letter where it says free breakfast. She had to keep going back to the office several times to find out what the RA benefits were. But that's ok. They'll learn.
Then I asked about the $50 minibar credit (mentioned in the welcome letter) and how could I figure out what that meant here in Euro land. Finally a senior person came out and wrote down for me €44.33 which is pretty close to the true bank rate. So that was good news as I expected them to use a terrible exchange rate. But the bad news is that the half-bottle of Champagne in the minibar costs €52 But the good news is that I guess this $50 credit applies to the food items now. And more good news was a nice fruit and flower display in my room with a half-bottle of red and Evian.
Another interesting point is the welcome letter specifies that RA's get 8am check in. And the letter states that as an RA I will have 70,000 points put on my account to use for a free night.
All in all, while I detest the new mini-bar policy, I am still quite happy with the RA treatment.
Then I asked about the $50 minibar credit (mentioned in the welcome letter) and how could I figure out what that meant here in Euro land. Finally a senior person came out and wrote down for me €44.33 which is pretty close to the true bank rate. So that was good news as I expected them to use a terrible exchange rate. But the bad news is that the half-bottle of Champagne in the minibar costs €52 But the good news is that I guess this $50 credit applies to the food items now. And more good news was a nice fruit and flower display in my room with a half-bottle of red and Evian.
Another interesting point is the welcome letter specifies that RA's get 8am check in. And the letter states that as an RA I will have 70,000 points put on my account to use for a free night.
All in all, while I detest the new mini-bar policy, I am still quite happy with the RA treatment.
Feb 14, 2019, 10:55 am
#294
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: PARIS (France)
Programs: AF/KLM Club 2000 | InterContinental Diamond RA |AMEX Plat | Visa Infinite |Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 10,960
At Amstel, I checked-in the 2nd of February
Reception said: no changes for you! (which was nice). My rate was with breakfast included.
At Madrid, at club lounge, the lady recalled me the rules for minibar (but strangely no other rules), and had prepared the conversion in euros of the USD50 Royal Ambassador minibar voucher.
Like in Marseille obviously, training of the reception staff has not been made intensively.
Reception said: no changes for you! (which was nice). My rate was with breakfast included.
At Madrid, at club lounge, the lady recalled me the rules for minibar (but strangely no other rules), and had prepared the conversion in euros of the USD50 Royal Ambassador minibar voucher.
Like in Marseille obviously, training of the reception staff has not been made intensively.
Enjoying my first IC stay in February with the new rules, at a Euro IC. The guest relations manager had no idea about the changes. She said there was no free breakfast. Then I pointed out on the welcome letter where it says free breakfast. She had to keep going back to the office several times to find out what the RA benefits were. But that's ok. They'll learn.
Then I asked about the $50 minibar credit (mentioned in the welcome letter) and how could I figure out what that meant here in Euro land. Finally a senior person came out and wrote down for me €44.33 which is pretty close to the true bank rate. So that was good news as I expected them to use a terrible exchange rate. But the bad news is that the half-bottle of Champagne in the minibar costs €52 But the good news is that I guess this $50 credit applies to the food items now. And more good news was a nice fruit and flower display in my room with a half-bottle of red and Evian.
Another interesting point is the welcome letter specifies that RA's get 8am check in. And the letter states that as an RA I will have 70,000 points put on my account to use for a free night.
All in all, while I detest the new mini-bar policy, I am still quite happy with the RA treatment.
Then I asked about the $50 minibar credit (mentioned in the welcome letter) and how could I figure out what that meant here in Euro land. Finally a senior person came out and wrote down for me €44.33 which is pretty close to the true bank rate. So that was good news as I expected them to use a terrible exchange rate. But the bad news is that the half-bottle of Champagne in the minibar costs €52 But the good news is that I guess this $50 credit applies to the food items now. And more good news was a nice fruit and flower display in my room with a half-bottle of red and Evian.
Another interesting point is the welcome letter specifies that RA's get 8am check in. And the letter states that as an RA I will have 70,000 points put on my account to use for a free night.
All in all, while I detest the new mini-bar policy, I am still quite happy with the RA treatment.
Feb 20, 2019, 11:24 am
#296
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: NUE
Programs: Skywards Gold, IC Ambassador, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, Accor Platinum
Posts: 495
Free Weekend Night Paper Certificates will be eliminated in March
Received an email today concerning the ‚Upgraded Ambassador Experience‘ from March 1st which also stated that the paper weekend certificates will go away in March...
Quote: ‚Your complimentary weekend night is paper-free. To make your stay even more seamless, paper certificates for your complimentary weekend night will be eliminated in March. To redeem, simply visit intercontinental.com/AMBWeekend to book your night, and you will be credited one night at check in‘
Wonder if this would also work if the paper certificate has already been used or if you already booked a weekend stay for the future?
Quote: ‚Your complimentary weekend night is paper-free. To make your stay even more seamless, paper certificates for your complimentary weekend night will be eliminated in March. To redeem, simply visit intercontinental.com/AMBWeekend to book your night, and you will be credited one night at check in‘
Wonder if this would also work if the paper certificate has already been used or if you already booked a weekend stay for the future?
Last edited by Mr. LAU; Feb 20, 2019 at 11:29 am
Feb 20, 2019, 11:50 pm
#297
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Usually in SAN or Central Europe.
Programs: AA:EXP/1MM. Accor/Radisson:Silver; HH:Gold; ICH:Plt Amb.
Posts: 22,307
Received an email today concerning the ‚Upgraded Ambassador Experience‘ from March 1st which also stated that the paper weekend certificates will go away in March...
Quote: ‚Your complimentary weekend night is paper-free. To make your stay even more seamless, paper certificates for your complimentary weekend night will be eliminated in March. To redeem, simply visit intercontinental.com/AMBWeekend to book your night, and you will be credited one night at check in‘
Wonder if this would also work if the paper certificate has already been used or if you already booked a weekend stay for the future?
Quote: ‚Your complimentary weekend night is paper-free. To make your stay even more seamless, paper certificates for your complimentary weekend night will be eliminated in March. To redeem, simply visit intercontinental.com/AMBWeekend to book your night, and you will be credited one night at check in‘
Wonder if this would also work if the paper certificate has already been used or if you already booked a weekend stay for the future?
Feb 21, 2019, 4:20 am
#298
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: SAS EBS, IHG Spire Elite, Hertz Five Star and Sixt Gold
Posts: 49
Received an email today concerning the ‚Upgraded Ambassador Experience‘ from March 1st which also stated that the paper weekend certificates will go away in March...
Quote: ‚Your complimentary weekend night is paper-free. To make your stay even more seamless, paper certificates for your complimentary weekend night will be eliminated in March. To redeem, simply visit intercontinental.com/AMBWeekend to book your night, and you will be credited one night at check in‘
Wonder if this would also work if the paper certificate has already been used or if you already booked a weekend stay for the future?
Quote: ‚Your complimentary weekend night is paper-free. To make your stay even more seamless, paper certificates for your complimentary weekend night will be eliminated in March. To redeem, simply visit intercontinental.com/AMBWeekend to book your night, and you will be credited one night at check in‘
Wonder if this would also work if the paper certificate has already been used or if you already booked a weekend stay for the future?
I asked them since I have a reservation in March, where I want to apply my voucher. Because I enrolled in september and, of course, I haven't used my certificate before I should use my paper certificate they said.
Feb 21, 2019, 2:39 pm
#299
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: ZRH
Programs: M&M SEN (*G), HH Diamond
Posts: 2,418
Another question regarding yesterday's e-mail:
My accounts still shows Gold status today. Did anyones account actually get upgraded?
Make this your year. We have enhanced our Ambassador programme, so you can expect even more. You have also been upgraded to Platinum Elite status, which means you will now earn 50% bonus earnings on top of each base point. Find the full list of the updates here.