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IHG Diamond Elite status is one of the IHG One Rewards benefits that can be valuable for on-property benefits such as elite recognition, room upgrades, bonus points, and complimentary breakfast. All Chase IHG Credit Cards only offer complimentary IHG Platinum Elite, which is one below the IHG Diamond Elite status. To get IHG Diamond status, you generally will have to complete multiple nights stays requirement or participate in any fast-track challenge if there are any.
If you have achieved the IHG Diamond Elite status, congratulations. The good news is after that, there’s an unofficial method to extend your IHG Diamond Elite status through the InterContinental Ambassador Program that does not require you to meet any multiple nights stay requirement. I’ll show you how.
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| Photo: InterContinental the Clement Monterey |
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How to Get IHG Diamond Status?
While this post is about extending IHG Diamond Elite status, here’s a quick recap on how to get IHG Diamond Elite status with IHG One Rewards program:
- You need to stay 70 nights per year, or
- You earn 120,000 qualifying IHG points per year, or
- You complete the IHG One Rewards status match or fast-track challenge if there’s any.
Therefore, your first step is to acquire the IHG Diamond Elite status first. After that, you can maintain the IHG Diamond Elite status by buying or renewing the InterContinental Ambassador Program.
How to Extend IHG Diamond Status With InterContinental Ambassador Program?
From the miles and points community, it is known that you can extend your IHG Diamond Elite status for another calendar year when you buy or renew InterContinental Ambassador Program.
Here’s how my experience with this tick went:
- My IHG Diamond Elite status is set to expire on December 31, 2022.
- I have not had enough stays or earned enough tier-qualifying IHG points to re-qualify for Diamond elite status this year, 2022. See the screenshot below.
- I enrolled in the InterContinental Ambassador Program on November 1, 2022, with the current enrollment promotion available to earn 20,000 IHG One Rewards points after two qualifying stays.
- You can enroll in the InterContinental Ambassador Program anytime to extend your IHG Diamond Elite status. However, it’s best if you buy or renew it when they offer a promotion to do so.
- I looked up my IHG Diamond Elite status through my IHG One Rewards account and noticed that my IHG Diamond Elite status now shows an expiration date of December 31, 2023!
- The status expiration date is updated immediately after I enroll in the InterContinental Ambassador Program. To look up the expiry date of your IHG elite status:
- Go to the IHG One Rewards account homepage, sign in, and look under the Current status section.
- I also immediately received the complimentary InterContinental Weekend Night reward in my IHG One Rewards account. The interesting part is that the weekend night is set to expire on January 1, 2024, instead of November 1, 2023.
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| IHG Diamond Elite Status Extended After Joining InterContinental Ambassador Program |
What Is InterContinental Ambassador Program?
If you are new to the InterContinental Ambassador Program, it’s a loyalty program separated from the IHG One Rewards and offers exclusive benefits, mainly at InterContinental Hotels and Resorts worldwide. The benefits include the following:
- Complimentary InterContinental Weekend Night on the second night of a paid weekend stay. The complimentary weekend night is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
- Guaranteed complimentary one-category room upgrade at check-in at InterContinental hotels and resorts.
- Automatic IHG Platinum Elite status in IHG Rewards One program.
- This is the same benefit you receive from the Chase IHG Premier Credit Card or Chase IHG Premier Business Credit Card.
- Guaranteed 4 P.M late checkout.
- Up to $20 credit towards restaurants and bars for every stay.
- Complimentary mineral water.
- Complimentary high-speed Internet.
- Single room rate for double occupancy.
The following benefits apply if you stay in China:
- Complimentary daily breakfast for one guest (the Ambassador member-only).
- This benefit is not valid for in-room dining, valid only in the property’s onsite main restaurant.
- IHG Diamond Elite members can receive up to two breakfasts for the member plus one additional guest as part of the IHG Diamond Elite benefit.
Per the InterContinental Ambassador Program: Beginning January 1, 2023, your Ambassador benefits will no longer be applicable at Regent, and the complimentary InterContinental Weekend Night will not be available at Regent or Kimpton hotels.
The InterContinental Ambassador Program is not free. In other words, to join or renew your status with InterContinental Ambassador, there’s a cost to pay:
- You can pay $200 to become a member, or
- You can use 40,000 IHG Rewards Points to redeem for the membership in place of the $200 cash.
- The membership fee is not a one-time thing. You must renew annually to keep your InterContinental Ambassador membership and its ongoing benefits, including this unofficial way to extend your IHG Diamond Elite with IHG One Rewards.
Related Post:
When Should You Join Or Renew InterContinental Ambassador Program to Extend Your IHG Diamond Elite Status?
You can join the InterContinental Ambassador Program anytime to extend your IHG Diamond Elite status. However, I recommend that you do it strategically because the InterContinental Ambassador Program is not a free program to join.
Consider a few questions to ask yourself as to when you want to join the program:
- Is there a promotion available to join or renew the InterContinental Ambassador Program?
- Do you have any InterContinental Hotels and Resorts stay that can benefit from becoming an InterContinental Ambassador member?
- Do you want to push the complimentary InterContinental Weekend Night as far as possible?
- Once you join/renew the program, you immediately receive the weekend night reward in your IHG One Rewards account to use. The complimentary weekend night is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
- I joined the program on November 1, 2022, and immediately received the complimentary InterContinental Weekend Night reward in my IHG One Rewards account that is set to expire on January 1, 2024, instead of November 1, 2023.
- You can also check the InterContinental weekend night rate here to see if you can benefit from the weekend night reward for your upcoming InterContinental Hotels and Resorts stay.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you can join or renew InterContinental Ambassador Program by paying $200 or redeeming 40,000 IHG One Rewards points to become a member. Besides all the benefits you receive while staying exclusively at InterContinental Hotels and Resorts worldwide as an InterContinental Ambassador member, you also can extend your IHG Diamond Elite status by another year. The extension is done automatically and instantly after the enrollment of the InterContinental Ambassador Program, requiring no qualifying nights and points requirements to re-qualify you for the IHG Diamond Elite status each year. Ideally, you want to renew or enroll in the InterContinental Ambassador Program when a promotion is available. Subscribe to our blog posts below to stay informed when the such promotion is available.
