IHG offers three different status levels: Gold, Platinum and Spire. Although it is not as desirable as having status at many other chain properties, it is quite easy to get. There is no complimentary lounge access, no complimentary breakfast and no guaranteed upgrades. Of course, having status might get you a better room or potentially the suite, but it is up to the hotels discretion. You will also have more leverage to ask for a better room in advance or even late check-out.
The biggest benefit of having status, in my opinion, is that your points do not expire. IHG has pretty strict rules with their point expiration policy — points expire 12 months with no activity and they are not lenient with reinstating them. I personally love having status solely so I do not have to even think about my points expiring.
Despite the lack of benefits, if you can easily earn status it is worth doing. You can also then use your IHG status to status match at another hotel chain, which can come in handy.
1. IHG Credit Card
There are many reasons to having the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card, with one of them being that you earn automatic IHG Platinum status. Again, with IHG Platinum status there are no guarantees that your stay will be any more special, but it is worth having as part of a credit card that already provides many unbelievable benefits already.
2. Status Match
IHG is offering a status match opportunity for those who have status in another program. With the status match, you can earn Gold, Platinum and even Spire elite status. I personally was able to earn my Spire elite status this way, although it didn’t do much at all during my recent stay at the InterContinental Lisbon. The only benefit I received was that they allowed me to check out of my hotel room one hour later.
Again though, some sort of status is better than no status at all. This status match opportunity was recently extended, although you only have until July 26, 2019 to submit your match. Once you are matched, you’ll then have the opportunity to complete a challenge to maintain your earned status.
3. Transfer Points from Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to IHG points at a 1:1 ratio. With IHG points being worth only 0.5 cents per point, it is definitely not a recommended transfer partner. (I value my Chase Ultimate Reward points at 2 cents per point). With that being said, No Mas Coach is reporting that points transferred from Chase to IHG are counting towards status. I always knew that all points earned counted, but never thought of Chase since I have never transferred my points from one account to another.
To earn IHG Spire Status you need to earn 75,000 points. This means you can instantly transfer those points over, or just the number needed in your account to earn the status. Your status will then be good until December 31st of the following year.
Once you earn IHG Spire status, you’ll earn 25,000 IHG points (as long as you pick it as your elite benefit). This means you are essentially getting a 34% bonus on your transferred points if you transfer exactly the 75k needed. While this makes your Ultimate Reward points slightly more valuable, it still doesn’t make the transfer worth it, in my opinion.
Overall…
While I definitely would not go out of my way to earn IHG elite status, if you can receive it easily, then it is worth getting. I will admit that I have not received many benefits of having status, although I do thoroughly enjoy not having to pay attention to my IHG account.
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