Renew IHG Diamond With InterContinental Ambassador

After signing up for the InterContinental Ambassador program, I was able to extend my one rewards diamond status by a year. Let me tell you what's going on.

Extending IHG Diamond with InterContinental Ambassador

There can be a bit of a complicated situation.

• IHG One Rewards is IHG’s primary loyalty program, covering all hotel brands
• InterContinental Ambassador is a paid membership program (it costs $200 or 40,000 IHG points per year to enroll), and offers additional perks at InterContinental properties

For years, IHG has had an unofficial but consistent policy for easily renewing top tier status. If you register or renewal your InterContinental Ambassador membership, your status will be renewed by a year.

Let me once again emphasize that while this has consistently been offered, it’s not a published policy. I’d imagine it’s not an error either, though. Enrolling for InterContinental Ambassador ordinarily gets you IHG One Rewards Platinum status, so I suspect the idea is to give existing Diamond members some further incentive to enroll.

I signed up for Ambassador, extended Diamond

I have known about this trick for a long time and finally used it for myself.

• Like many of you, I recently picked up free instant IHG One Rewards Diamond status, valid through December 31, 2022 (this offer is no longer available)
• There’s currently an InterContinental Ambassador enrollment offer, where you can get 20,000 bonus points when you enroll by December 31, 2022, and stay two eligible nights at select properties by January 31, 2023

I thought this was a good chance. The status of my account was showing that it expired on December 31, 2022.

The process to enroll in InterContinental Ambassador takes less than a minute. It is possible to do this for $200 cash or 40,000 Ihg points. Breakeven is the amount of points I value at 0.5 cents per point.

My status was extended by a year, through December 31, 2023, after I refreshed my account. An email was sent to me that said my status had been extended.

Is this actually worth it, though?

Some will see the immediate value in this, while others will wonder if it is worth giving up a lot of points for this. This is how I see it.

• At a minimum I’m intrigued by IHG One Rewards Diamond status, and I want to experience the perks for more stays, to see how valuable it is; being able to get perks like free breakfast, 100% bonus points, and more, could really add up
• InterContinental Ambassador membership has the potential to pay for itself if you stay at InterContinentals with any frequency, and offers a guaranteed upgrade, a $20 credit per stay, and a complimentary buy one get one free weekend night reward, among other perks
• If I can stay two eligible nights by January 31, 2023, I’ll earn 20,000 IHG points, which I value at $100, so that recoups half of my InterContinental Ambassador enrollment cost

If you are focused on other programs, this is not a slam dunk value. There is a lot to be had for the right kind of person here.

If you spend $40,000 on either card in a calendar year, you can earn IHG Diamond status, and if you spend more than that, you can get IHG Platinum status for free.

Bottom line

If you enroll or renew an InterContinental Ambassador membership, you can extend your status by one year.

Since many people recently picked up temporary IHG Diamond status, I thought it was worth covering. My Diamond status is valid for an additional year after I enroll for InterContinental Ambassador.

It has been in place for a long time, but it is not official. I don't know if this will continue to be possible forever, but I will share my experience.

Is there anyone else who wants to extend their status by joining InterContinental Ambassador?

The tip of the hat was given to the man.