What is an IHGAmbassador? Is it worth purchasing? What benefits does an Intercontinental IHG Ambassador receive?
In this article, we delve into the details of the Intercontinental Ambassador program. If you’re looking to expedite the upgrade of your InterContinental membership – IHG One Rewards level, the Intercontinental Ambassador is a superb choice.
The Differences Between IHG One Rewards and IHG Ambassador
IHG offers two main loyalty programs:
- IHG One Rewards: This program is offered by the InterContinental Hotels Group. With this free registration membership plan, members can earn points and room nights by staying and dining at the hotel, and achieve corresponding membership levels and benefits.
- Intercontinental Ambassador: This is a paid membership plan. To join, you need to pay US$200 or 40,000 points per year. Members can enjoy benefits such as free weekend accommodation, IHG One Rewards platinum membership, and more.
One key difference between these two membership programs is that the IHG One Rewards benefits apply to all brands of InterContinental hotels. However, the benefits of the IHG Ambassador program are only applicable to InterContinental Hotels.
IHG Ambassador Benefits
Intercontinental Ambassador Price: Purchase for US$200 or redeem with 40,000 points.
InterContinental Ambassador membership is valid for 12 months and offers the following benefits at more than 200 InterContinental hotels and resorts worldwide:
- Guaranteed room upgrade
- Guaranteed late check-out until 4pm
- Weekend stay gift certificate
- IHG Rewards Club membership and associated IHG One Rewards benefits (includes IHG One Rewards Platinum membership)
- Up to US$20 in restaurant and bar credits per stay (only at Greater China hotels)
- Complimentary mineral water
- High-speed internet connection
- Dedicated check-in area
- Double occupancy at a single rate
- In Greater China only: Complimentary breakfast for one person per night of stay
- In Greater China only: Welcome fruit platter (only for Platinum Elite and Joy Elite members)
Visit the official Intercontinental Ambassador website to purchase.link:https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/content/ambassador
InterContinental Ambassador Benefits Guide: Weekend Accommodation Gift Certificate
The weekend night voucher can be used at any InterContinental Hotels and Resorts worldwide (excluding InterContinental Alliance Resorts). Book a minimum two-night weekend stay at the Ambassador Weekend Rate, with a weekend night voucher available for the second night.
Here’s what you need to know about InterContinental Ambassador’s free night vouchers:
- When booking a hotel, the Ambassador weekend price is labeled as an “AMB gift certificate”. You must confirm the price tag before booking, otherwise you will not be able to enjoy the benefits.
- The definition of a weekend is Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but hotels in the Middle East might define weekends as Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
- If you join the InterContinental Ambassador program at the hotel front desk, you cannot redeem your free night for accommodation immediately. Hence, it is recommended to join in advance via the Intercontinental official website.
- Weekend night vouchers must be booked in advance, are non-transferable, and are only available to InterContinental Ambassador members.
- Weekend night vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase of the Ambassador membership.
- A select few InterContinental Ambassador members who have a stay record at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts will be invited to join the Intercontinental Royal Ambassador Membership.
How to use a weekend night voucher to get a free night?
To use the gift certificate, you must join the Intercontinental Ambassador Program. The certificate will then be automatically deposited into your InterContinental membership account. You can view it by logging into the IHG Rewards Club account management tab.
- Log into your IHG One Rewards membership account.
- Check the expiration dates of the Ambassador Weekend Rate “AMB Voucher”.
- Book online on the official website.
- Present your membership number and ID card when checking in at the hotel.
InterContinental Ambassador Benefits Guide: IHG One Rewards Platinum Membership
Another significant benefit is the gift of Priority Club Platinum membership. Normally, you need to stay 40 nights or more to achieve Platinum status. The requirements for InterContinental’s membership upgrades are as follows:
Silver: Stay 10 nights
Gold Card: Stay 20 nights, or accumulate 40,000 qualifying points
Platinum Card: Stay 40 nights, or accumulate 60,000 qualifying points
Diamond Card: Stay 70 nights, or accumulate 120,000 qualifying points
As an InterContinental Ambassador, you can directly upgrade to Platinum status and enjoy the following Platinum membership benefits:
Member booking discounts; extended check-out (until 2 p.m.); 60% points bonus; free room upgrade; welcome benefits such as snacks or points. To see more benefits for each level of InterContinental membership, you can view here.
Additionally, at the following IHG brand hotels and resorts, InterContinental Ambassador Platinum members can enjoy Platinum benefits. Meanwhile, InterContinental Ambassador Diamond and Royal Ambassador members can enjoy Diamond benefits:
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, HUALUXE, Crowne Plaza, voco Hotels, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, avid, Staybridge Suites, Atwell Suites, and Candlewood Suites.
- If you’re not yet an IHG One Rewards member, purchasing an InterContinental Ambassador membership will automatically register you as an IHG One Rewards member and upgrade you to the platinum level.
- If you’re an ordinary, silver, gold, or platinum member of the IHG One Rewards, after purchasing an InterContinental Ambassador membership, you will maintain or upgrade to Platinum Ambassador status, or be invited to become a Royal Ambassador.
- Click to learn more about Intercontinental membership benefits.
Is Intercontinental Ambassador worth buying?
Let’s analyze this by doing some calculations.
Firstly, Intercontinental Ambassadors can use the weekend accommodation voucher to deduct the room charge for the second night of a two-night stay, effectively making it a ‘buy one, get one free’ deal. If this voucher is utilized wisely at a luxury hotel, this benefit alone can save up to $200.
If you plan to book two nights at an InterContinental luxury hotel, then purchasing the InterContinental Ambassador is a good idea, with all other ambassador privileges being an added bonus.
However, if your travels mainly involve staying at mid-range Intercontinental hotels like Holiday Inn Express where the average nightly rate is less than $200, then I would not recommend purchasing the Intercontinental Ambassador.
In conclusion, purchasing the InterContinental Ambassador just for the sake of obtaining InterContinental Platinum membership isn’t cost-effective. However, if you plan to stay at an InterContinental luxury hotel for two nights over the weekend, even just once a year, then the Intercontinental Ambassador is a good deal. Aside from saving money, you also directly obtain InterContinental Platinum Membership.
For everything you need to know about IHG InterContinental Hotels, click here.
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