The IHG One Rewards program has some stunning InterContinental resorts, such because the InterContinental Danang Solar Peninsula Resort in Vietnam and the InterContinental Phuket Resort in Thailand. And there are various different aspirational InterContinental resorts, together with the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa in French Polynesia, the InterContinental Hayman Island Resort in Australia and the InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort within the Maldives.
There are additionally many city InterContinental inns, such because the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown in California, the InterContinental Barcelona in Spain, the InterContinental Montreal in Canada and the InterContinental Paris Le Grand in France.
However, though I incessantly keep at IHG inns and resorts, I not often keep at InterContinental properties. Even so, I not too long ago paid $200 to resume my InterContinental Ambassador membership. Here is why.
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InterContinental Ambassador promotions
IHG sometimes affords promotions for members to enroll in InterContinental Ambassador or renew a soon-to-expire membership. When my Ambassador membership was set to run out in a single month, I obtained an e mail from IHG providing me 15,000 bonus factors if I paid $200 to resume earlier than my membership expired.
You won’t be focused for this similar promotion. However know that IHG sometimes affords different promotions for renewal or enrollment in its InterContinental Ambassador program. For instance, once I first joined Ambassador in 2022, I earned 20,000 factors after enrolling and finishing two qualifying paid nights inside a set timeframe.
Associated: Must you purchase IHG factors or switch factors from Chase?
You will get vital worth from simply 1 InterContinental keep
Shopping for an Ambassador membership may make sense earlier than your subsequent keep, even in the event you do not incessantly keep at InterContinental inns and resorts. In spite of everything, the assured one-category room improve offered to Ambassador members can simply justify the $200 or 40,000-point enrollment charge on some stays.
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For instance, contemplate what the Ambassador one-category room improve may get you for a keep on the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa. For those who ebook a Pool View Pool Entry room, the resort ought to improve you to at the least a Lagoon View room. Because the money distinction between these room sorts is $96 per evening, you’d recoup the $200 enrollment charge after simply three nights (assuming you worth the improve at this charge or larger).
You possibly can additionally use the complimentary weekend evening that comes with Ambassador standing in the event you verify in on a Friday or Saturday for a two-night keep or longer. The complimentary-weekend-night profit supplies a free evening as soon as per membership 12 months whenever you ebook a keep of two nights or longer utilizing the Ambassador complimentary weekend evening charge.
Relying on the place you keep, the complimentary-weekend-night profit may prevent sufficient cash to justify the annual membership charge for Ambassador. For instance, contemplate this two-night keep on the InterContinental Danang Solar Peninsula Resort in Vietnam. With out the complimentary weekend evening, you’d pay $1,539.98 to ebook a versatile charge in a Traditional Ocean View room.
With the complimentary weekend evening, you’d pay a barely larger nightly charge, however your two-night whole value can be $828.80 for a similar room sort and cancellation coverage.
Ambassador members additionally get different useful perks when staying at InterContinental inns and resorts, together with assured 4 p.m. late checkout and a meals and beverage credit score of as much as $20 per keep.
Nonetheless, the worth you may get from InterContinental Ambassador will rely upon the specifics of your keep. For those who redeem factors or free nights to remain at InterContinental properties, notice that Ambassador room upgrades aren’t assured on these stays and are topic to availability. So, you should still end up caught within the resort’s worst room, as we did for an evening on the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa.
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InterContinental Ambassador perks at Six Senses
Six Senses suits my most popular type of luxurious higher than InterContinental. So I am thrilled that InterContinental Ambassador additionally affords the next perks at Six Senses properties that take part in IHG One Rewards:
- Complimentary breakfast for 2 in the principle restaurant every day.
- Signature amenity of a complimentary 50-minute Six Senses Spa therapeutic massage for 2 or an area expertise as soon as per keep.
- Wellness platter welcome amenity on the day of arrival.
- Complimentary one-category room improve (topic to availability).
- Late 4 p.m. checkout (topic to availability).
- Early 10 a.m. check-in (topic to availability).
Primarily based on my experiences at Six Senses Laamu within the Maldives and Six Senses Yao Noi in Thailand, the complimentary 50-minute Six Senses Spa therapeutic massage for 2 can present greater than $200 of worth. And the space-available one-category improve may put you in a room with a greater view, more room or elevated facilities.
Briefly, in the event you just like the Six Senses model, it’s possible you’ll wish to purchase an InterContinental Ambassador membership even in the event you by no means keep at an InterContinental resort or resort. The signature amenity on only one Six Senses keep will seemingly present sufficient worth to justify the price of an Ambassador membership.
Nonetheless, it’s essential to ebook instantly with IHG, on the resort or through a certified journey agent to get Ambassador perks at qualifying Six Senses properties. That is price noting since you will get Ambassador perks at most InterContinental properties no matter the way you ebook.
Associated: maximize redemptions with the IHG One Rewards program
Backside line
InterContinental Ambassador membership is not for each traveler. However do not assume it is not for you simply since you do not incessantly keep at InterContinental inns and resorts. Between the renewal promotion, assured one-category room improve at InterContinental properties, complimentary weekend evening and advantages at collaborating Six Senses inns and resorts, I made a decision Ambassador membership was price renewing this 12 months.
There are additionally extra InterContinental Ambassador perks that I did not focus on on this article as a result of they did not play a task in my resolution to resume. For instance, I did not focus on getting IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite standing as an Ambassador perk as a result of I get this standing as a good thing about my cobranded IHG bank card. However vacationers who don’t need, or aren’t eligible for, the IHG Rewards Premier Credit score Card or the IHG Rewards Premier Enterprise Credit score Card might discover this Ambassador perk compelling.
