The travel world has been abuzz with Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) program changes and a new credit card – here’s why I’m not as enthusiastic.
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How Does The New Program Compare?
It has one more tier. That’s it. That’s all that’s been announced and that more details will be coming in March but earning elite stays and nights will count toward whatever the new benefits look like whenever they are announced.
For reference, I was a Spire elite (highest published tier outside of paid Ambassador status) for a couple of years. I had an extended stay and the only reasonable property in the rural town was a Holiday Inn. That property upgraded me to a decent suite, one that’s absent at most other Holiday Inn properties.
During those years, I never got a free breakfast, rarely got a late checkout or early check-in yet was required to achieve more than with either Hilton or Hyatt. In fact, depending on the stays I could have qualified for Hilton Diamond status twice for less than the amount required for IHG Spire.
Regardless, the travel world may be swooning for a refreshed IHG program simply because it’s been such a non-factor over the years and has such a large footprint. I have more confidence in my peers than chalking it up to a slow news day, so perhaps they know more than I do.
As it sits now, there’s nothing special about IHG and no reason to believe that it should improve just because they said it would. Even if the program is drastically improved, the luxury sector of the chain is relatively small when compared to the overall behemoth of roadside motels and Holiday Inn Express properties. Of the 6,031 hotels here’s the split:
- (19) Six Senses – 0.3%
- (7) Regent – 0.1%
- (15) Hualuxe – 0.2%
- (75) Kimpton – 1.1%
- (205) Intercontinental – 3.4%
- (0) Vignette – 0%
- (400) Mr. and Mrs. Smith – 6.2% (these are not IHG properties and do not fully participate in the program but can be booked with IHG points much like the SLH partnership with Hyatt)
There are a number of mid-tier products like Indigo, Even, and business hotels like Crowne Plaza but these still number less than 10%.
Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt all offer a number of select-service properties too but they have far more proportionately at the top end of the market than IHG. However, IHG’s reward chart has spiraled out of control jumping from a top-level of 50,000 points from just a couple of years ago to as high as 120,000 points per night during the pandemic (before rescinding that level.) The few properties that are truly aspirational are so expensive that only true enthusiasts can find value.
Ooooh: The Credit Card Is “Improved”
Some IHG credit card changes have other bloggers dazzled. I’m not so impressed. Yes, bloggers often rely on credit card sales to supplement their income through referrals – for what it’s worth, credit card referrals account for less than 0.1% of revenue for LiveAndLetsFly and we both have other primary roles. However, assuming that it’s simply amazing benefits that have peers wowed – just what’s so exciting about the new card ($49 annual fee)?
Most of the excitement seems to center around the ability to spend more points to improve the limited value of its free night certificate. The certificates are valid for up to 40,000 points per night, but if a guest wants to spend more points to use it toward a free night they can add to it.
Cool. Except then Miles to Memories found out that those cards won’t allow the top-up points for the free night certificate for the lower annual fee cards. So the biggest deal turns out to be a bust. Like I said, cool.
Anything else? Yes, in fact, the annual fee is offset by a $50 United Travel Bank credit which is great if you were already going to spend money on United but is worth zero if you don’t book United flights.
There was the promise of bigger bonuses but in a currency that devalues faster than the Venezuelan Bolivar (not true literally, but it feels that way) does a bigger bonus really do anything?
Will IHG Suddenly Appreciate Its Elites?
No. Never forget that IHG hates its elites. I mean, if they altered course this would be a nice change but it’s unlikely for a few reasons.
First, if they suddenly started to treat their elites better it’s unlikely they could even get up to parity with the rest of the hospitality world. For its top level, Spire, soon to be renamed Diamond Elite (™) (so original given that Hyatt had this and Hilton still does), currently requires 70 nights/year which is five stays fewer than Titanium at Marriott, 10 nights more than Hilton requires, and 10-15 more than Hyatt – they’d have to give suite upgrades with some commitment language. They’d have to add a breakfast benefit of some sort (full = Hyatt, partial = Hilton, win some/lose some = Marriott.) Waived fees like parking or resort fees on award stays would also be part of the mix.
And that’s just to come even with current benefits offered elsewhere for fewer nights.
Second, is implementation. Convincing Holiday Inn Express employees to offer and honor additional benefits especially properties across Europe would be a substantial challenge. I doubt that hoteliers would gladly implement benefits like late check out at a time when hospitality staff is woefully light on employees.
In essence, with perfect implementation (doubtful) and matching benefits with other top-tiers, IHG would still require more nights with the brand despite fewer premium properties to spend reward nights on. Seems like a stretch.
Conclusion
As it says on the tin, these IHG changes are much ado about nothing. We literally know nothing of what the new tiers will or won’t provide. We can only speculate (in some cases incorrectly) about what those benefits might look like only for the dim glimmer of hope that value exists in the program to be shut down by the brand’s corporate relations team. In other news, perhaps one way to find out if there is any value in the program whatsoever, perhaps we publicly accuse them of new benefits so they can come out and deny them and start the process of elimination.
What do you think? Are you stoked about these unannounced IHG changes? Does a $50 United credit for a $49 annual fee card light your fire? Feel free to speak about it enthusiastically in the comments.
Excellent points. Finally. Someone who gets it. Just how much elite status recognition can the vast majority of IHG’s properties — flagged as Holiday Inn Express or Holiday Inn — provide beyond maybe a late check-out? At Holiday Inn Express, there’s almost never a real restaurant or bar outside a few outliers here and there. At Holiday Inn, they always have some sort of restaurant but the food is generally inedible. I don’t know anyone who has ever gotten excited about eating at a Holiday Inn. In fact, I find the free breakfast at Holiday Inn Express to be much better quality than the non-free breakfast in the Holiday Inn restaurants. The Holiday Inn restaurants tend to be so bad that they don’t even market to non-hotel guests. The reality is most IHG customers in North America are interacting with Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. A small minority stay at Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza or Intercontinental properties.
Crown Plaza offer appears to be the only IHG brand offering solid recognition for Spire Elite with Lounge access and Free breakfast
Crowne Plaza offers neither lounge access nor breakfast as a rule, although a couple of properties (Plymouth, England; the now-deflagged downtown Detroit property) offered both. But one of the best Crowne Plaza properties anywhere in the world — the one at Singapore’s airport — didn’t offer me breakfast or lounge access as a Spire.
And Crowne Plaza is so few and far between that the brand is mostly irrelevant. I can’t remember the last night I saw Crowne Plaza domestically in the US.
I suspect any enhancements IHG makes to Diamond/Spire will be conditioned upon region. IHG only cares about Asia and China. Even the Intercontinental Ambassador status comes with more benefits in Asia/China than it does elsewhere. In North America, IHG is only opening Holiday Inn Express properties.
This is such a disingenuous post. Nobody qualifies for top status on stays. Nobody. There so many ways to game system to qualify on points on 20 stays or less. Pay $15 to take on another 3,000-5,000 points and they all count toward status. Several other work arounds. And for mid tier spend requirement they throw 2x points bonus, which is better than other chains. The true comparison for spire to to mid tier in other plans. Adding a true top tier status would be a game changer but as you correctly point out, what does that get you on a $100 holiday inn? IHG works well for people that that need a hotel where they want to go rather than deciding where to go based on where the chain has a hotel (ie hyatt). IHG asks very little to be top level and you get what you pay for.
Not true. In 2019 I qualified for Spire with 81 nights for the year.
I twice qualified on nights as well and I never held the card.
That’s hard core. For math to work you were 81 nights in sub $100 a night IHG properties. That sounds kinda miserable. I’ve generally qualified for Spire with around 30 nights. On Hyatt it always the reverse, qualify on nights vs spend. Thanks for sharing.
I’d love free breakfast and 4PM checkout at Kimpton, but I like the brand so much I’ll stay there anyway, and just lament every single time that I wish Hyatt had nabbed them. Benefits don’t matter here
Where benefits might move the needle is Indigo. If I had free breakfast and late checkout, I might actually move some stays there, but with no bennies, I’ll choose a competitor’s limited service property every single time. It’s a shame because there are some decent Indigos out there
“Just what’s so exciting about the new card ($49 annual fee)?” Kyle, the only US card that has a $49 annual fee is the legacy Chase IHG Rewards Select card, which is closed to new applicants. The Chase IHG Rewards Premier card is currently $89 a year (going up to $99 in March). The Chase IHG Rewards Traveler doesn’t have an annual fee.
So you start the post by saying the only different in the program is another tier and end your rant by saying no one knows what the benefits will be in the new program . . .
So you want a blast a program you basically know nothing about preemptively. What’s the point of your post???
When did they move Manchester, UK to the beach? I assume you changed the photo and not the caption.
We’re staying at the Kimpton Clocktower in Manchester in May and can’t wait to feel the sand between our toes!!
Excellent post that validated some of my own opinions about IHG. As a Spire and Ambassador I find very little to cheer about. Tried to book Ambassador free weekend night bene at a number of IC’s only to find “not available”. Frankly I place little value on any hotel loyalty program. All have been gutted to the point of “why bother?”