Free Instant Top Tier Elite Status From IHG Rewards Club

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IHG Rewards Club is the loyalty program for Intercontinental, Kimpton, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and related brands.

The IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card comes with Platinum status as long as you hold the card, and has an initial bonus of 80,000 points after spending $2,000 within 3 months of account opening. [Offer expired]

Platinum is the second tier of status. The program has general members, Gold, Platinum, and Spire Elite. Here are the key benefits of their status levels:

Benefit Gold Elite Platinum Elite Spire Elite
Extended Check-Out
Points Don’t Expire 5
Priority Check-In
Welcome Amenity/Minibar (Kimpton)
Bonus Earnings on Top of Base Points 10% 50% 100%
Elite Rollover Nights
Room Upgrades 3
Guaranteed Availability 4
Choice Benefit Upon Receiving Status**
Hertz Five Star Status
PointsNerd reports that there’s a 90 day free trial offer for top tier Spire Elite status.

The offer may be targeted at attracting business from specific companies, and IHG doesn’t list which companies they’re interested in. PointsNerd writes, “I did receive the confirmation email, my status has not been updated as of yet so this may be a your mileage may vary situation.

It has been running since August 1, apparently, but registration is open through October 31. Once a member successfully registers they should receive 90 days of Spire Elite status. And then depending on stay activity during that time can retain status.

  • 10 nights for Spire Elite status
  • 5 nights for Platinum status

Spire Elites receive their choice benefits of bonus points or gifting elite status after completing the stays necessary to retain their status. Rates below $35 don’t count as activity to retain status.

The benefits of IHG top tier status are modest. Many members report that hotels are often more generous than what’s required. However,

  • There is no promise of club lounge access or breakfast
  • What’s considered an upgrade is “determined by the hotel” and hotels are “not required to upgrade Members to suites or specialty rooms” and are technically not available on reward nights.

Nonetheless it’s far better to walk into a participating property with top tier status than without status for sure. And no doubt some would take complimentary status and use it to status match to another hotel chain.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.

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  1. IHG is refusing to honor this promotion. I signed up on 10/15 and when my status hadn’t been updated by 10/27 called IHG. After hours on the phone including multiple transfers, disconnects, extended holds, etc I was told (by a supervisor on the Spire Elite Team) that they would offer Spire Elite status after staying 10 nights in 90 days but would not provide the instant status for 90 days. When I quoted directly from the terms and conditions she apologized for the ‘misunderstanding’ and flatly said they would not honor the promotion. Ultimately, after another lengthy hold, I reached a manager who agreed to ‘make an exception’ and honor the promotion after I threatened to complain to the BBB and FTC.

  2. @Jacob-It does sound like they are honoring the most important part of the promotion-Spire status for a year after only 10 stays in 90 days. Sounds pretty good to me.

  3. hahaha, no one will qualify lol

    All full-time employees of an Eligible Company, who register in advance, stay at any IHG hotel ****between August 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018**** and book through ihg.com or an eligible company booking tool will retain Spire Elite status after ten (10) qualifying nights and Platinum Elite status after five (5) qualifying nights during the Offer period. If the member does not make the designated nights during the 90 day offer period then they will be downgraded to their previous membership level as of January 30, 2019.

  4. hahaha no one will qualify ! Must stay by Oct per IHG lol

    All full-time employees of an Eligible Company, who register in advance, stay at any IHG hotel between August 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018 and book through ihg.com or an eligible company booking tool will retain Spire Elite status after ten (10) qualifying nights and Platinum Elite status after five (5) qualifying nights during the Offer period. If the member does not make the designated nights during the 90 day offer period then they will be downgraded to their previous membership level as of January 30, 2019.

  5. It upgraded my status but only until 12/31/2018 – 63 days, not 90 days. Too bad since I had a long stay booked for early January.

  6. I am a little puzzled why anyone would bother to pursue this “promotion” considering that IHG offers so little to elite members.

    If I am reading the IHG chart correctly and comparing the elite benefits, a person with a Chase credit card gets almost the same benefits as the Spire member who needs stays to qualify for the elite status.

    The only extra benefit from this promotion that I see is a Hertz car promotion (I don’t use Hertz) and some kind of minor welcome gift.

    What am I missing?

  7. FALSE FLAG Gary : This offer is for “full time employees of an Eligible Company” ONLY

  8. Gary, you ROCK! Thanks for the info + promo code. I registered and got a confirmation email .. will see what happens at my next stay! 🙂

  9. So I just signed up and got the confirmation email immediately. I called IHG to confirm my new status prior to a previously booked stay this week. After a brief hold, the agent informed me that only five companies are eligible for this promotion: PwC, KPMG, McKenzie, Deloitte, and I could not understand the 5th.

  10. I got a confirmation email on the 29th that I had “successfully registered.” Despite that, I’m still at Platinum.

    Text messaging the CSR, she first said the promotion had ended. I replied with the terms that after registration I had 90 days to stay 10 days and keep status. Her reply, “What company?” She said that the offer was only good for certain companies. I pointed out that it was irrelevant, and I had confirmation that I’d registered. She wouldn’t move past the point of what company, and I eventually disconnected.

    What a crap promotion, and unimpressive customer service.

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