Old Jun 18, 2016, 4:39 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: HadesNL
Update 2023:
- it seems no new RA have been invited by IHG
- criteria for RA requalification are still unknown
- geographical location of member / country account registration seems of some impact due of covid19(restrictions/availability)
- RA is processed in weekly batches starting december 2022
- proof by nicolas75 shows RA qualification for 2024 seems to be strictly based on IC hotels only (not Regent, Kimpton, SixSenses anymore)

As per Tim O'Brien's post about IHG-corporate explaining RA criteria:

As you are aware,
Royal Ambassador is our invitation only tier with the number of members invited each year
limited to ensure our hotels are able to consistently deliver on the benefits promise,
elevating your stay experience at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.

Although we do not currently have a published criteria for Royal Ambassador,
consideration is determined by variable activities within a members account such as
- qualified paid room nights & spend across our luxury brands (, 2023 EDIT: Post-Pandemic from 2024 InterContinental only : Pre-Pandemic also Kimpton & Regent ) ,
- member region,
- primary hotels,
- category (of the hotel class / $ price levels compared to currency rates / competition / city / region / country / continent )
- tenure (repeat custom / average spend at hotel)
Accompanying or adjoining reservations,
such as the additional rooms of your family etc are not included for Royal Ambassador consideration
but are included in determining Spire Elite status within IHG Rewards Club
.


* FT:IHG forum community group consensus / empirical evidence shows
- that members must have stayed at different unique hotels per city / country / region / continent
the amount of uniques needed for RA qualification is unknown but generally extended long stays at just 1 hotel do not qualify
- IHG-corporate showing keen interest in how much guests are spending $ at hotel's own operated F&B / Spa / transport / extra services / other venues
atacama40 has given us insights that extra spend at the hotel charged to the hotelfolio generates EQP but also flags the database as high valued spending guest
- one must have AMB to get considered for RA invitation by IHG as they seem to evaluate over a longer period the length of one's tenure / devotion / spend / undisclosed criteria at stayed IC-hotels

2024
Royal Ambassador 2024 (Re)Qualification - statistics

Thank you everyone who graciously shared their status and statistics. I took the liberty to compose an overview.
The common factor that is instantly recognisable is:
  • everyone has a valid AMB membership
  • everyone has spent a good amount in $
Shoven
IC: 69 N - 4 unique IC - $17400 - 2 unique country

AndyMick
IC: 96 N - 10 unique IC - 7 unique country - 164778 EQP

Ithink
IC: 78 N - 10 unique IC - 27000

Richelieu
~

ProjectSunburst
15 unique IC (USA) - $35000
Kimpton spend: $11000

Milleage Millionaire
IC: 100 N : 58 revenue & 42 award - 166514 EQP

Raynyan
~

Nicolas75
~

ILS2
$20000

HadesNL
IC: 41 N - 8 unique IC (2x USA, 1x UK, 3x EU, 1x Indonesia) 250458 EQP

Marlin1978
IC: 40 N - 9 unique IC (USA + EU) - $13000

HClee01
IC: 30 N - 6 unique IC - $8700
2x Kimpton / 1x Regent : 22 N - $7400

VAbeachgirl
IC: 88 N - 14 unique IC - 8 countries
2x Kimpton : 7 N
total $20000 (IC + Kimpton)

PremexecSNA
IHG : 85 N - 147000 EQP of which
90% revenue stay
85 % IC + Kimpton
10 unique IC
15 unique Kimpton

Darby1970
IC 100 N : 59 revenue of which
37 N : 11 unique IC (USA)& 4 (non-USA)
187682 EQP

Atacama40
IC + Kimpton : 40 N : UK, ME, Asia
Roomrate > 1000

EmeraldLady
11 unique IC : 4 continents
IHG: 87 N
$20000

Dmac1418
IC: 3 N - 2 unjque (IC Houston MC & IC San Diego)
6S Fiji $22000 (room: $10000 + spend $12000)

Smythmeister
~

Additional statistics can be found in the comments of LL
https://loyaltylobby.com/2023/12/03/...4-share-yours/
The only other place on the whole interweb that has an interest in Royal Ambassador.
============================

2023
Below our FT-members from the IHG forum with RA status
some of whom have graciously shared their statistics to shed some light
-----------------------
Mileage millionaire: 155359 EQP - IC nights 58 - total nights 108 - unique IC 15
Shoven : $16000 - IC nights 49 - Kimpton nights 8 - total nights 57 - unique IC 5 - unique Kimpton 2 - [unique countries UK/Thailand]
Stimpy: overall stats higher than Shoven
Nicholas75 : 230236 EQP - 93 EQN
Raynyan : 190000 EQP - IC/Kimpton nights 90 - unique IC/Kimpton 10
Vsevolod4 : $24000 - IC nights 67 - total nights 87
Vabeachgirl : $17500 - IC nights 75 - Kimpton nights 4 - total nights 79 - unique properties 13 [unique countries 7]
Hclee01: >$12600 - >156K EQP - 54 EQN - unique IC 3 - unique Kimpton 1 - unique Regent 2 [unique countries Singapore/Thailand/Taiwan/Japan]
Chinatrvl :
Ithink : 220.000 EQP - 47 EQN
Ninjalad : 150000 EQP - IC nights 34
Andymick : 145000 EQP - IC nights 100
Gentleman adventurer :
Marlin1978 :
Pseudo nim :
Hadesnl : 250000 EQP - Kimpton/IC nights 30 - 44 EQN - unique IC 3 - unique Kimpton 2 [unique countries UK/NL/FRA/Indonesia]
Itadakimasu : 120000 EQP - IC nights 12 - 51 EQN
Atacama40 : >25000 - IC nights 60 - unique IC 8 - unique Kimpton 1
Eein : corporate rates global & local
Raynyan's friends : RA extension because their account is Japanese registered
Tim O'Brien: after own friendly persuasion effort : $8,500 - IC nights 79 of which 49 at pres.suite - unique IC 4 [unique countries US/AUS/CAN]


----------------
The only other place on the internet that has an interest in RA (re)qualification statistics is at the comments at Loyaltylobby,
more 2023 RA datapoints can be found there:
https://loyaltylobby.com/2022/12/09/...re-your-stats/
https://loyaltylobby.com/2023/01/18/...re-your-stats/



==============================================

Update 2020 / 2021:
RA status was extended due to the global pandemic of covid19


================================================== =======

Update 2019: The RA status granted at the start of the calendar year 2017 and 2018 has been based on IC revenue. As from 2019 criteria again have become vague. RA is not achieved through IC spend only. Other, unknown elements are taken into account as well. (Fact: Some users with very high +25k IC spend were not renewed in 2019.)

Update December 2018: it looks like some accounts are proactively being renewed in December 2018, well ahead of the stated expiration of Jan 31, 2019. It is currently unknown what criteria were used, but previous years appeared to indicate around $10K++ in IC spend only.

As before, please Divide EQPs by 10 to get $$$ Spend
================================================== =====
December 2019 / January 2020 Link to RA Renewals & Upgrades
================================================== =====
================================================== =====

JANUARY 2019 RA RENEWAL STATS [put total IHG vs. IC if you can]
================================================== =====
NAME.... IHG total (paid)/IC/EQP, break out IC spend if you can
Pseudo Nim 73 IC nights, $14.6K IC spend ($17.7K total),
Shoven 70 (50) IC nights, $17.3K IC spend ($17.3K total),
Unterwegs 52 IC nights, approx $12K net IC spend. No other brands this year! No more mediocre HIs to make status.
Kaix 63 IC nights, $14.4K IC spend ($15.1K total)
Tim O'Brien 26 IC Paid Nights as at Dec 27, when notified of RA renewal, 140,171 EQP, IC Net Spend 14, 017.
Vsevolod4 IHG total 132, IHG total paid 101, IC nights 85, IC Qualified Spend $16.5K, total EQP 398,800, Kimpton nights: 3, RA Ambassador Kit renewed Dec 27, RA renewal (again) and Kimpton Inner Circle upgrade Jan 4.
kaka(mom) 34 nights 1 country (all IC), IC spend:23k USD
Lewis42 / 81 Total (unknown IC) / $16k IC / $2k Kimpton / 4 Continents
81 nights total
$18k Kimpton / IC (about $2k kimpton)
stays in 4 continents

been Ra for ~3-4 years

ID;Name;Confirm;Kit msg; Revenue ;Nights;Challenge?;Additional Info

40;stimpy;+;none; $9,000.00 ;50;?;RA since 2001 - exceptional renewal
38;turner32;-;none; $9,000.00 ;?;?;8/9 years as RA
49;hannes08;+;01/16/2019; $9,990.00 ;52;2000;renewal probably because of challenge
17;Lewis42;+;12/27/2018; $10,000.00 ;?;2000;renewal probably because of challenge
27;scienm;+;none; $10,032.00 ;32;?;8 years RA
25;hclee01;+;none; $10,142.16 ;37;?;current RA since 2014 - manual renewal
18;annihilation;-;none; $10,605.00 ;39;?;
51;crosskonaftw;?;none; $10,700.00 ;35;?;not yet RA
30;Land-of-Miles;+;none; $10,999.00 ;19;?;
16;Kimsbrand;-;none; $11,297.88 ;5;?;not RA yet. 13,532.92 USD total?
48;Urby38;+;12/27/2018; $11,300.00 ;47;?;Royal since 2012
42;SAWorldVoyager;?;12/21/2018; $11,391.52 ;?;?;
14;Cielito_;+;none; $11,511.00 ;62;no;77/62/8 with 12042 USD after batch
45;whimike;+;none; $11,700.00 ;?;?;RA for about 7 years
10;Unterwegs;+;12/27/2018; $12,000.00 ;52;yes;
44;serendipity1211;+;01/16/2019; $12,300.00 ;45;no;first-time RA
28;cazane;+;12/27/2018; $12,600.00 ;61;no;4 prepaid nights not posted until 27th 11890 -> 12600
11;VaBeachGirl;+;12/27/2018; $12,750.00 ;68;no;
50;lukah;?;none; $12,800.00 ;80;?;3 years RA
15;336;-;none; $12,900.00 ;16;2000;NOT completed challenge / Lots of adjusted stays
1;DonPedro;+;12/21/2018; $12,971.00 ;49;no;
47;SD2019;+;none; $13,000.00 ;35;no;stays erroneously adjusted or marked as overlapping
36;BRUSS;+;01/16/2019; $13,001.00 ;?;?;
13;Tim O'Brien;+;12/27/2018; $14,017.00 ;26;?; Kimpton;
33;marlin1978;?;12/27/2018; $14,182.00 ;46;no;
26;Kaix;?;12/27/2018; $14,400.00 ;63;?;
9;Pseudo Nim;+;12/27/2018; $14,600.00 ;73;?;
41;PMMMDL;?;?; $15,000.00 ;50;?;
23;nicolas75;?;12/27/2018; $15,000.00 ;81;?;
5;sharps1337;+;12/21/2018; $15,200.00 ;79;no;
3;Raynyan (friend2);?;12/21/2018; $15,500.00 ;69;no;
22;pantanal;+;12/27/2018; $16,000.00 ;?;?;
24;vsevolod4;+;12/27/2018; $16,319.00 ;84;no;
34;boekel;?;12/27/2018; $16,950.00 ;60;no;
21;ILS2;+;none; $17,000.00 ;40;?;
8;skaya (2x);+;12/27/2018; $17,000.00 ;?;?;
7;shoven;+;12/27/2018; $17,304.00 ;50;?;
51;EmeraldLady;+;12/27/2018; $18,000.00 ;47;?;
32;Mr. Chan;?;12/21/2018; $19,582.00 ;45;yes;completed challenge
46;kaka;+;12/21/2018; $20,001.00 ;34;no;
31;christenlabelle;?;none; $22,000.00 ;51;1k + Kimpton;
39;marcel.baden;?;12/27/2018; $22,000.00 ;77;?;
35;Flying Lawyer;?;12/27/2018; $22,135.00 ;70;?;
37;Roey007;?;none; $25,000.00 ;42;?;9 years RA - 9k adjustment: no kit message with 11k before
12;IThink;+;12/27/2018; $25,000.00 ;85;no;
19;HadesNL;+;12/27/2018; $28,273.90 ;52;?;
4;Raynyan (friend3);?;12/21/2018; $30,000.00 ;73;no;
29;btravers33;?;12/27/2018; $30,000.00 ;98;?;
2;Raynyan (friend1);?;12/21/2018; $32,000.00 ;75;no;
20;Raynyan;+;12/27/2018; ? ;70;?;~30 nights not counted somehow
6;samjnz;?;12/21/2018; ? ;?;2000;


04 JAN 2018 RA RENEWAL STATS [put total IHG vs. IC if you can]
================================================== =====
NAME.... IHG total (paid)/IC/EQP, break out IC spend if you can
Pseudo Nim 139 (116)/85/192K, of which $18K in IC
Boekel 85 (70)55/170K, of which $15K in IC
Tim O'Brien 29 IC Nights 2 Non IC IHG nights, 341,976 EQP
scubaccr 55 paid IC Nights , us$13,000++ / 4paid non-IC nights us$900++ (plus 8x IC reward nights, 20x non-IC reward nights) <== Sorry.. forgot to cop exact EQP values before 1/1/2018 acct zeroing
Cielito_ 81/77/5 - $7,353 F&B + $11,656 Room = $19,009 IC net spend - EQP 468,000 (First Time RA)
hclee01 50 IC us$13k++
Land-of-Miles ?? IC us$10.5k++
cazane 60 IC us$11.8k++
VaBeachGirl 54 IC us$13k++
PiffPaffPuff 60IC us$25k++
??????? 35 IC us$10.2k++ <== first time RA ref PiffPaffPuff colleague
Spitcool 40 IC us$15k++
Eltham 40 IC us$12k++
shoven 43 IC us$15k++ <== first time RA
skaya (partner) ?? IC us$10.2k++ <== renewed
darby1970 62 IC us$13k++
The Mileage Millionaire 102 paid IHG nights / 100 paid IC nights / 229k EQP / $22.7k++ IC spend
Orion_1 8 nights at IC, spent at 2 properties - USD 10,200 in total at ICs (honeymoon...)
HadesNL Elite qualifying points: 239,095, Qualifying nights: 39
Aussielori 50 IC us$8k++ 9.2k overall renewed on 16 jan

04 JAN 2018 RA LOSS STATS [put total IHG vs. IC if you can]
================================================== =====

tarek.h ?? IC us$9.1k++

sharps1337 IC us$9.9k++ (and 129 non-IC us$17k++ )

04 JAN 2017 RA RENEWAL STATS (Please include 2016 y/end EQP count)
================================================== =====
NAME.... IHG/IC/IC's EQP $$$$s
SCUBACCR 80/56/13 EQP=14,979 (Split $12864 + $2115)
HANNES08 76/46/10 EQP=11,200
OZ_CATALYST 75/63/8 EQP=14,700 (first Time RA) ($12414 at ICs)
TAREK.H 46/37/4 EQP=14.500 ($10,917 IC Spend)
TravelTheWorld66 147/33/11 EQP=27.972 ($8500 IC Spend)
HCLEE01 67/50/6 EQP=14880
ATACAMA40 82/56/10 EQP=??,???
VaBeachGirl 84/42/12 EQP=15,000
Land-of-Miles 87/73/10 EQP=40,000
SSH4POOH 132/99/28 EQP=50,000
???????? 75/35/8 EQP=??,??? (First Time RA, ref SSH4POOH)
iThink 82/36/11 EQP = 18,200
aussielori 75/45/5 EQP =15,100
1010101 50/48/4 = 12,500
MYSTERY7 63/45/? EQP=25,000 (First Time RA)
EmeraldLady 68/42/10 EQP=15,500
NKU 86/80/5 EQP=20,000
Petrus 110/40/3 EQP=20,000 ($8500 IC Spend)
JOHHENRIK 74/65/10 EQP=16,800
SyLance 76/76/4 EQP=17,500 (RA again after 3years missed)
Pseudo Nim 90/58/15 IC spend $9,500, $17K across chain (175K EQP)
Tim O'Brien 58 nights, EQP 474,576 , July 31, 2017 Year End, renewed to Dec 29, 2017
HadesNL 22/20/7 and us$20,000 ref two posts.
PROTEOME 53/36/? $25,000 (Plus further 30x IC Non-qual nights and 18 IC Award nights) <== nb Maybe/Maybe-Not the IC Non-qual $$'s count as about half EQPs spend, probably > 10k IC qual spend
Chinatrvl 88 nights (in all brands, but c. 75 in ICs), 300,000 EQP, ADR c. 115 USD as I stayed mostly on a locally negotiated rate (spend c. 10k USD)
Unterwegs 78(my count 86)/63/10/285.000 (according to email, I would have expected less. my spending estimate is 15-20K$)
Lewis42 77/39/10 EQP=16010
Whimike 88/35/12 EQP=14220

04 JAN 2017 RA Demotion to xxx Ambassador stats (if > 75/30/3)
==================================================
NAME IHG/IC/IC's EQP $$$$s

[Archived - no longer valid] New (Royal) Ambassador Criteria

A document was unintentionally available in the internet about changes to the (Royal) Ambassador Qualifying and Re-Qualifying criteria.
The document is available on

http://viewfromthewing.img.boardinga...Ambassador.pdf

Older discussion
There was an ongoing discussion about the criteria for some time. This thread is now closed.

update from Executive Liaison Sept, 2023,
spend at other IHG luxury brands does count for RA, and Renewal.
Brands weren't stated, but reasonable to assume Six Senses, Regent, and Kimpton.

















Print Wikipost

New RA qualifying criteria based on IC Revenue

Old Feb 19, 2018, 8:29 am
  #2356  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: UK
Programs: IHG
Posts: 1,316
This is awful, Tim. Maybe try that corporate email, that some of us used to re-qualify for RA. [email protected]. It can't do any harm.
turner32 is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 8:42 am
  #2357  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,685
Originally Posted by turner32
This is awful, Tim. Maybe try that corporate email, that some of us used to re-qualify for RA. [email protected]. It can't do any harm.
yes, that suggestion is probably a good start, thks.

i've felt uncomfortable reaching out to my connections.
Tim O'Brien is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 8:43 am
  #2358  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,685
Originally Posted by JohnSydney2000
Tim,
Very sorry to hear this.
More importantly, hope the reason for the hospital visit has resolved itself.
I trust that the wonderful , world class, Royal Ambassador service in Makati is able to resolve this for you in the next 3 to 6 hours.
You know, Worlds best practise and all of that.
Please be safe.
JohnSydney2000
thks, cldn't help notice your name. iworked for SOCOG on the Games back two decades ago.
Tim O'Brien is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 9:26 am
  #2359  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,685
Originally Posted by turner32
This is awful, Tim. Maybe try that corporate email, that some of us used to re-qualify for RA. [email protected]. It can't do any harm.
that was a good suggestion.

i sent them an email, and copied it to Keith Barr.

i kept it on point, factual, and told them if unresolved by the end of this week, i will instruct counsel, and i will if need be.

i genuinely hope they resolve it before it comes to that to determine.

they are outrageous, limiting us to four digit pins, no third party security authentication, total lack of security.

i predict we will see some security changes implemented soon.

and the audacity of the supervisor i spoke with last night, who was the one that told me on Feb 7th, that it was general audit, said "well, the points were spent from your account" implying it was me.

you'd think their fraud department, with Apple, or the online retailer, could make determinations for example the source ordering originating ISP and address, and where the items were delivered?

Last edited by Tim O'Brien; Feb 20, 2018 at 10:45 pm
Tim O'Brien is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 11:52 am
  #2360  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Programs: SAS Diamond, Hilton Diamond, IHG RA Spire
Posts: 423
My app card has been updated with expiration date 31 Jan 19., however, any reference to Royal (Ambassador) status has disappeared. It just says Spire where it used to say Royal. On the website it still says Royal Ambassador everywhere, though - but expiration date 31 Dec 18).
ILS2 is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 7:20 pm
  #2361  
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Singapore
Programs: SIA Solitaire PPS, IHG Royal Amb, Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy Gold, Hilton Hhonor Gold
Posts: 2,203
Originally Posted by ILS2
My app card has been updated with expiration date 31 Jan 19., however, any reference to Royal (Ambassador) status has disappeared. It just says Spire where it used to say Royal. On the website it still says Royal Ambassador everywhere, though - but expiration date 31 Dec 18).
Same observation for me as well. Now I am awaiting for the renewal pack to see how it goes on the expiry date.
hclee01 is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 3:14 am
  #2362  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,587
Originally Posted by Tim O'Brien
i can't even access my account to see if the date's been updated..

On Feb 8th just before midnight i tried to check my account online, and it stated: "We have temporarily disabled your account due to a possible conflict with the IHG Rewards Club Terms and Conditions. To resolve this issue, please contact us for assistance."s

to me, the implication being, I had done something in conflict.

i had a back surgery schedualed the next morning, in about eight hours time, at 8am.

I called, asked for a supervisor, and Nicole told me it was a random audit.

upon return from hospital, still distressed about it, i phoned again, asked for a supervisor i know, spoke with Pinky, and she told me what was told to me was incorrect information, not random audit, but fraud, where 4.675M points had been swiped from my account, and spent at Apple or similar online store fraudulently. ie stolen from my account.

Now 10 days later, no communication, no appology, still no access to my account.

it caused me enormous stress, late the night before hospitalisation. Loss of 935 PointBreaks nights, plenty to stress over.....

they limit us to 4 digit pins, just crazy, and totally incompetent IT managment.

loyal customers shouldn't have to put up with that anywhere.

the solution for the customer, should be to put the points back in the account, make it accessible for the customer, and continue with their fraud investigation on the account. they would have to know by now that it was another party that perpetrated the fraud.

incredibly disappointed now, over 10 days later, still remains unresolved.

considering two options, legal action, or reaching out to contacts at the corporate level in the UK.

they really do a good job of pissing off customers.
I am at a complete loss for words. This is a terrible way for IHG to treat one of their best customers. I am sure IHG will resolve this in due course, the consequenses of them not doing so are to dire to think about. Still that is no comfort when you are locked out of your account and unable to use your points.

I would most certainly reach out to your contacts, help from senior level may bring the whole security situation to the forefront of board level thinking.
vsevolod4 and Tim O'Brien like this.
rapidex is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 8:31 am
  #2363  
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Princeton, NJ; Lviv Ukraine
Programs: UA 3.6MM, AF/KL Lifetime Plat, BA Gold, AA 1MM, IC Spire RA, Kimpton IC, Marriott Plat, et alia
Posts: 2,732
Received renewal card. It says "Royal" and expiration is 31 January 2019 ... great, the problem with status expiring Dec 31 is hopefully behind us. Of course the website and the app still say Dec 31 2018 and Dec 30 2018.
Renewal pack doesn't have the 5000 point voucher any more. Just a new format of BOGOF. And a business/credit card case.
Also my Spire should have renewed thanks to rollover nights, but this did not trigger my 25K bonus either.
vsevolod4 is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 1:10 pm
  #2364  
 
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
Originally Posted by vsevolod4
Received renewal card. It says "Royal" and expiration is 31 January 2019 ... great, the problem with status expiring Dec 31 is hopefully behind us. Of course the website and the app still say Dec 31 2018 and Dec 30 2018.
Renewal pack doesn't have the 5000 point voucher any more. Just a new format of BOGOF. And a business/credit card case.
Also my Spire should have renewed thanks to rollover nights, but this did not trigger my 25K bonus either.
except since a few days ago Android Phone App viirtual card image does show both
a)expiry 31Jan2019 b)Royal

Website still shows Royal expiry 31Dec2018
scubaccr is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 2:02 pm
  #2365  
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Princeton, NJ; Lviv Ukraine
Programs: UA 3.6MM, AF/KL Lifetime Plat, BA Gold, AA 1MM, IC Spire RA, Kimpton IC, Marriott Plat, et alia
Posts: 2,732
Originally Posted by scubaccr
except since a few days ago Android Phone App viirtual card image does show both
a)expiry 31Jan2019 b)Royal

Website still shows Royal expiry 31Dec2018
By golly, so does mine!
Bit by bit, it's coming together ...
vsevolod4 is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 4:56 pm
  #2366  
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,917
I must be the only one completely nonplussed about the new expiry. Why are all of you so excited? You do realise they're going to simply procrastinate until Feb 10 to tell us if we renewed, right? So it'll be exactly the same thing as before but a month later. I guess I should be happy we got a free month of RA for those who won't renew, heh?
Pseudo Nim is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2018, 1:55 am
  #2367  
 
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
Originally Posted by Pseudo Nim
I must be the only one completely nonplussed about the new expiry. Why are all of you so excited? You do realise they're going to simply procrastinate until Feb 10 to tell us if we renewed, right? So it'll be exactly the same thing as before but a month later. I guess I should be happy we got a free month of RA for those who won't renew, heh?
Or maybe... Saltlake having calculated all RA renewals for Calendar Year 2019 sometime between 1st-15th Jan 2019 may then remove RA flag/status 2weeks or so early from those 2018 RA's who fail to requalify.

I will be dropping my RA status going forwards after this current 2018 year, but may stay during Jan2019 month if RA keeps flagged to 31stJan. I am not bothering to renew my RA going forwards as I find the new program +2cat/foc-lounge worse than the previous Club/Exec/Suite as I now find I am having to pay more for the costlier clubroom booking over a previous years lesser room cat to get the good suite rooms I enjoyed pre Sep2016 changes.... an especially bitter pill paying for lounge which is now included for RAs.

Yes there are still good IC's if booking Club as RA, eg IC KUL (Club Room -> Ambassador Suite) but I typically only stay there only on overnighting with MH airline transfers. imho I might as well be Ambassador and book Club Room at some IC's, so will for 2019 onwards, and can then stay a bit more at MR and HH
scubaccr is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2018, 2:11 am
  #2368  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: SQ TPPS (21),QF G, NZ E, IHG D Amb, Marriott Gold, HH Gold, Shangri-La Jade, Accor Plat, Hertz P
Posts: 394
Originally Posted by scubaccr
Or maybe... Saltlake having calculated all RA renewals for Calendar Year 2019 sometime between 1st-15th Jan 2019 may then remove RA flag/status 2weeks or so early from those 2018 RA's who fail to requalify.

I will be dropping my RA status going forwards after this current 2018 year, but may stay during Jan2019 month if RA keeps flagged to 31stJan. I am not bothering to renew my RA going forwards as I find the new program +2cat/foc-lounge worse than the previous Club/Exec/Suite as I now find I am having to pay more for the costlier clubroom booking over a previous years lesser room cat to get the good suite rooms I enjoyed pre Sep2016 changes.... an especially bitter pill paying for lounge which is now included for RAs.

Yes there are still good IC's if booking Club as RA, eg IC KUL (Club Room -> Ambassador Suite) but I typically only stay there only on overnighting with MH airline transfers. imho I might as well be Ambassador and book Club Room at some IC's, so will for 2019 onwards, and can then stay a bit more at MR and HH
You obviously havent invested time in building good senior management relationships at your regular ICs. Its worth it 😉
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Eltham is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2018, 2:22 am
  #2369  
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,917
Originally Posted by scubaccr
Or maybe... Saltlake having calculated all RA renewals for Calendar Year 2019 sometime between 1st-15th Jan 2019 may then remove RA flag/status 2weeks or so early from those 2018 RA's who fail to requalify.

I will be dropping my RA status going forwards after this current 2018 year, but may stay during Jan2019 month if RA keeps flagged to 31stJan. I am not bothering to renew my RA going forwards as I find the new program +2cat/foc-lounge worse than the previous Club/Exec/Suite as I now find I am having to pay more for the costlier clubroom booking over a previous years lesser room cat to get the good suite rooms I enjoyed pre Sep2016 changes.... an especially bitter pill paying for lounge which is now included for RAs.

Yes there are still good IC's if booking Club as RA, eg IC KUL (Club Room -> Ambassador Suite) but I typically only stay there only on overnighting with MH airline transfers. imho I might as well be Ambassador and book Club Room at some IC's, so will for 2019 onwards, and can then stay a bit more at MR and HH
Yup, this is absolutely right. These days, you have to pay for higher end rooms to be "guaranteed" better rooms, and it's really, really annoying. Then again ... it's a race to the bottom everywhere, so this is just one of the boats.

Originally Posted by Eltham


You obviously havent invested time in building good senior management relationships at your regular ICs. Its worth it 😉
Although this is very true in general (and RA is certainly a great gateway to meet the senior management, as they're more likely to do it with RAs and remember them than with regular folks), it's completely not a definitive benefit. Case in point: IC ANA (Tokyo). I've done around 25 stays with them so far, and spent a bit over $20K. Yet, every time I ask for something beyond the two-level upgrade (since my corporate rate tops out at the second cheapest room), they huff, and they puff, and they throw the book at me, and I escalate. I'm really tired of this. I miss the old 'suite' requirement because I still end up getting it whenever it's available today, it just requires a lot more fighting than it should.

Of course, there was a guy in the lounge yelling and screaming that he demands an upgrade because he's stayed at this hotel 95 times, so maybe I'm just cattle class having been there a quarter of that...
Pseudo Nim is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2018, 2:25 am
  #2370  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: SQ TPPS (21),QF G, NZ E, IHG D Amb, Marriott Gold, HH Gold, Shangri-La Jade, Accor Plat, Hertz P
Posts: 394
Originally Posted by Pseudo Nim
Yup, this is absolutely right. These days, you have to pay for higher end rooms to be "guaranteed" better rooms, and it's really, really annoying. Then again ... it's a race to the bottom everywhere, so this is just one of the boats.



Although this is very true in general (and RA is certainly a great gateway to meet the senior management, as they're more likely to do it with RAs and remember them than with regular folks), it's completely not a definitive benefit. Case in point: IC ANA (Tokyo). I've done around 25 stays with them so far, and spent a bit over $20K. Yet, every time I ask for something beyond the two-level upgrade (since my corporate rate tops out at the second cheapest room), they huff, and they puff, and they throw the book at me, and I escalate. I'm really tired of this. I miss the old 'suite' requirement because I still end up getting it whenever it's available today, it just requires a lot more fighting than it should.

Of course, there was a guy in the lounge yelling and screaming that he demands an upgrade because he's stayed at this hotel 95 times, so maybe I'm just cattle class having been there a quarter of that...
Have you made the effort to meet the senior management? It pays off. No need for escalation and certainly not screaming and shouting.
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Eltham is offline  

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