One of the statuses I pay actual cash for (well, IHG Reward Points), is the Intercontinental Ambassadors programme. This is for three good reasons:
- The One Category Upgrade (which is 9/10 times a nicer room at least, and sometimes a suite)
- The Free Night voucher (which I value heavily when on holiday)
- The 4pm check-out (and this is probably the biggest use of it for me).
Whilst the renewal fee is not unreasonable at 24,000 points or US$150, I find the programme works for me in the benefits it gives.
But what’s in the renewal pack? Apart from taking a good two months to arrive (thanks IHG) here’s the new Ambassador pack. And it’s very different to previous years. Firstly, it’s a lot slimmer than before…
Trust me – it’s slim.
So what have we got?
The pack itself extracted from the envelope.
Well – there’s the welcome letter (with a magic code for to redeem IHG points – making the renewal cost a lot less
Most importantly, – the Free Night Certificate (which is a lot larger than before…)
A bit of publicity material that can be filed in the recycling bin…
And finally – a card wallet – something new (making a change from the collection of Intercontinental Ambassadors key-rings I have
)
Card wallet (branded) with contact details card – neat.
Whilst the packaging is a bit slimmer than previous years – the contents at least have improved with the wallet. But that’s just gloss as we know – we’re after the extra points, and the free night stay certificate.
And never underestimate the power of that free night certificate – it has saved me a fair few pennies over time when travelling to Singapore, Japan and the USA…
What do you think of the new Intercontinental Ambassadors pack?
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This is the first year that I’m going to let that weekend night certificate expire 🙁 I live in LA where they just built a fabulous new hotel, but I couldn’t bring myself to use it in my hometown even though the rate would have only been $190+tax. I don’t think I’ll renew the Ambassador status, as the only city where I used to choose IG is San Francisco, and I need the stays for SPG these days… Sad day…
Garrett: Why not sell the certificate rather than let it expire?
When using the Ambassador Free Night Certificate do you still earn points?
I just recently used mine and it showed up as Invalid Stay for earning points. I also lost out on Accelerate Bonus which I was banking on for that stay.
You should do – I certainly did when I stayed the IC Singapore (base and bonus… also my acelerate bonuses kicked in. Might be worth a chat to Customer services…