marcello1982

Hi together,

my IHG Ambassador Membership is ending by December 1st.

Therefore I have the followingquestions:
1. Would you extend by Points (40k) or more likely with Cash (200 USD and receive 15k points) ?
2. Does anyone now how long the new membership will last if I extend for example today (October 5)?
Year by year which will mean October 5 in 2021 until October 4 in 2022?
Or will it be a year from the last ending date? (Which will then mean until December 1st in 2022 )
3. Does anyone have experiences in adding a 6 month free extension period (which could be applied for) ?

Thanks for our help.

Best regards
Marcel

Unterwegs

I believe it would be better to just wait for now and see if they do a free extension for next year.
Personally I value the points at around 0.5 cents. Reneweing by points you end up with 55.000 less points compared to renewing by cash, which is a pretty good value for the points.

marcello1982

Thanks - unfortunately I need to extend by now as I need another "weekend certificate"

UKtravelbear

Why would they do an extension next year when they didn't for this year?

The 2 x 3 month extensions were in 2020.

craigthemif

There won't be an Ambassador extension.

I'm also not at all sure that you get another weekend certificate right away, instead of on your "renewal date" of December 1st.

rbAA

1. Cash and take the points;
2. Extends 12 months from your expiration date;
3. I used my 6 month extension this year when they extended my AMB to July. It extended my BOGO to 12/31, which I used recently at the IC SF (saving over $250, so worth it, plus the $20 F&B credit.)

I'll be paying $200 for another year of AMB and the Spire extension, soon, plus 100% bonus points and the 15k renewal bonus.

js1993

I currently have Spire but no Ambassador. There�s no chance I�ll re-qualify as Spire this year.

Does buying Ambassador still include a Spire extension, either officially or unofficially?

If so, is the best strategy for a first-time Ambassador subscription still to buy as late in the year as possible so that the Ambassador status and Spire extension overlap with the program year?

Also, are there any Ambassador specials to watch for or do we expect the price to remain constant until 2022?

Thanks very much.

chrism20

Mine dropped into my account immediately upon renewal which was about six weeks before the previous years expiry and could be booked/used immediately.

xenole

I'll jump in here rather than start a new thread.

When is the best time to purchase Ambassdor?
Got 2 x weekend stays in San Francisco in December (paying cash).

The second one would benefit from a 4pm checkout as I have a late flight, although I could keep myself occupied if need be.

May have another couple of night in Sofia (Bulgaria) in January.

Is it best to wait until as close as possible to the stays, or is it best to allow a little time for updates to be reflected. Not sure if the hotel could fill up in the meantime?
Happy with what room I've booked, so if no upgrades, it won't be the end of the world. 10k compensation is probably of more use ultimately if a benefit couldn't be delivered.

IAN-UK

That's quite a promotion for purchasing Ambassador membership

But I'm not sure there is an official Ambassador �> Spire link.

Which is a shame: neither status offers much, but bundled together they at least offer significant geographical cover, even if the depth is meh.

uastarflyer

Does AMB renewal still include 10% points rebate on award stays? I was getting 20% btw this and my old Priority Club Visa

rbAA

As Aaron Burr was quoted as saying: Don't do today what you can put off until later as things may change and make your decision foolish. (Or something like that!) Spire is extended until 2/23 so may not need AMB next year. Of course, there is no written provision for the Spire extension with AMB renewal, it just has always worked that way, at least since 2016, the last year I actually did 75 nights. Last year's AMB renewal generated about a $250 benefit over cost: $75 cost/value for the 15k points, plus got the 25k Spire renewal benefit for another $125 apx, and the BOGO saved $250 at the IC SF. Of course, I had few paid IHG stays in 2021, actually just the IC SF, concentrating mainly on Hyatt and Marriott while burning through a great number of IHG points in Sept and Oct.

AMB and Spire may not have much in the way of benefits, but at $200 per year, it's too cheap to pass up in order to get a mid-level status in IC and top level at IHG. It's always been worthwhile for me. YRMV.

rbAA

Apparently not.

Bowgie

I got an e-mail with a "renewal and stay" offer by e-mail (must sign in to account to renew):

Renew Ambassador membership by January 1, 2021, and stay two nights (IC, Regent, or Kimpton) by April 30, 2022.
Get bonus points (differing amount depending on which renewal option is chosen).

1. Renew for $200, get 35,000 bonus points with the stay
2. Renew for 40,000 points, get 20,000 points with the stay

I'll renew for $200 because the 40k option only gets one-half point per cent of value. Also, as I recall, using the Chase IHG Premier card (or Select or Traveler) only earns one point per dollar in the "other" category. If so, better to use a 1.5 or 2 cents per dollar cash back card to renew Ambassador. I am positive that point purchases also earn as "other" on Chase cards.

IAN-UK

They might be finding it hard to sell renewals.

Any clue if the stays that generate the points can be reward nights?