While IHG One Rewards has a Gold and Platinum fast track promotion, this offer is much better… with a catch.
Continue reading: Wow: Instant (Free) IHG Diamond Elite Status
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I called IHG customer service because I thought it may be targeted. They consulted with a supervisor and said, "As a platinum elite you are eligible. The promotion is to encourage people to try out top status and stay during the promotion period." This is just what one customer service person has said so as always YMMV.
Let’s see how fast IHG shuts this down or even tries to unwind the near-instant upgrades to Diamond.
Some of whom get in on this may want to download a digital wallet Diamond card and screenshot it and the account statement showing Diamond status just in case they want to use it to try to get a status match/challenge with a different program.
Where was it mentioned that we can maintain the status after 10 nights of stay? I don't seem to be able to locate that..
The link doesn’t show the promotion for me. Guess I’m not free diamond material!
It worked for an old account of mine that I hadn’t used in a few years that had basically entry level status, but threw an error with my current account that has Platinum status.
Have you typed in your number? After you click on submit, your Status is Diamond and you are forwarded to the promo code website.
Ingas also confused but I am diamond now - didn’t have to enter the promo
Code.
Careful folks IHG reserves the right to delete your account completely for a nything which THEY in their sole discretion regard as abuse of the system. Registering for a targeted promo you were not targeted for is abuse. Insisting that IHG "honor" your deliberate abuse is highly likely to result in a cancelled account. DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER
Really concerned about this disclaimer "Six Continents Hotels, Inc.(SCH) and its subsidiaries and affiliates which are InterContinental Hotels Group companies (collectively IHG) reserve the right to cancel any IHG One Rewards Club membership and revoke any and all unredeemed IHG One Rewards Club points for fraud or abuse of any portion of the program per the IHG One Rewards Club membership terms and conditions."
Is this likely to be a once in a lifetime challenge?
If I recall, many programs that offer status challenges say you can only gain status once per lifetime via a status challenge. If that's the case here then I may be strategic in if I register otherwise I see no reason not to register for it.
Why would IHG want to revoke this promo? They would get a PR and revenue boost off those who want to keep Diamond status in 2023.
Worked for me, went straight from Gold to Diamond.
Nice since I have an upcoming rewards stay, free breakfast!
Also, will be interesting to see if the status downgrades to Platinum Elite on Jan 1,2023
For a top tier status, I'm surprised by how little benefits they offer. Even HH gold offers more benefits (and there are promos all the time to earn it quite easily).
Instant diamond for me. I have to say this marketing ploy isn't all that bad. It has me looking at some Kimpton properties that I wouldn't have looked at otherwise.
Intriguing. Signed up for an account a couple years ago when I planned to stay at the new Crowne Plaza in Tassie, but that got cancelled. Found my account and registered, this might inspire me to give IHG a shot for a few stays in 2023.
Thanks Lucky - instant Diamond status for me and me wife (both were Platinum because of out IHG cards). Will come handy with our upcoming 6 day stay at an IHG property. Hopefully will get the free breakfast......
All it required was an email address. I'm not sure I would count that as a legitimate registration.
The promo is for real. I did not have an IHG account. I created one, registered for the promo and I was Diamond instantly. The idea seems to be to get folks to test-run the program as its top elite for a couple of months during the year-end holiday season when travel is heavy, and have them spend money to boost the chain's bottom line. Whether the majority would wish to take the challenge to renew the status is not important, just so long as they book at least one revenue stay. As an enticement, the program is likely to go out of its to recognize the Diamond status in way that it usually doesn't or won't the after promo period.
As one who is set for life as a HH Lifetime Diamond, I may just take the challenge to renew this new IHG Diamond status. That I am even considering this option makes this a clever promo - everyone wins!
Someone on flyertalk mentioned that this is a specific offer for Amazon employees so if you book rooms without using an Amazon specific code, you could find your IHG account closed.
"As one who is set for life as HH Lifetime Diamond"... as one who has spent a night in the John Jacob Astor Estate in the Maldives, I appreciate the reminder that you're special.
I must have missed something because I am a Lifetime Diamond. If that bothers you, then you need; not take it against me.
Be well.
Sadly doesn't work for me. After entering my email or member number it asks for a Promo Code 🙁
I entered the promo code and got a message that "Your code is invalid". It's either just me or I'm too late...
LOL:
Access Denied
You don't have permission to access "http://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/gb/en/offers/promoreg/confirm" on this server.
Reference #18.24da0760.1665687751.2597ce3
I get an error as well when trying to register. "Your promotion code is invalid". Looks like they fixed the glitch.
"You can maintain Diamond status through December 31, 2023, by completing 10 eligible paid nights during the promotion period"
What is the promotion period dates to maintain Diamond Elite status? Is it from today 10/13/2022 to the end of the year 12/31/2022 to complete 10 eligible paid nights?
I was one of the lucky ones to be able to receive instant Diamond Elite but I did not receive any specific instructions on how to maintain the Diamond status through December 31, 2023.
That is weird. Could it be that there is an algorithm that randomly rejects registrants to ensure that the number of people who are granted the free Diamond status does exceed a pre-established "quota"?
If that is the case, then trying again with the same membership information may not work because the system likely keeps a record of the email and/or membership number of anyone that it rejects...
I would approach this carefully. IHG has been known to close accounts that violates their T&C. If they do go after ineligible accounts at best they remove the status challenge and demote you, at worst they seize all your points and close all your accounts.
Especially since multiple sites that pick this up look to point back to only one place. Don't forget when things go wrong, bloggers have a lot more bargaining power than all of us readers. Especially bloggers that seems to be more successful at getting compensated.
I did got me thinking, what happens if IHG does shut you down and you have the credit card. Would they revoke your card benefits or close the card too.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you, right? 😉
They are already out to get you, you just don't realize it yet because they are still busy with a few hundred million people before you. 🙂
Or if your life is monetary worthless to them, a few billion ahead of you. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But jokes aside, be careful consider that they seem to make the code invalid in a day means it is leaked.
Took them longer to realize they got hacked, an even more alarming issue than a leaked status.
The promo is gone now. I don't see it when I click on the link provided in this article
LOL, so funny when the original 'leak' misquoted and everyone else misquote it.
Literally every blog that I saw misquote it, some not even giving credit to the infamous source.
FYI: This leaked offer registration period ends Dec 31.
Your offer, if eligible, is you will have a specific time frame to enjoy the benefit and complete 10 nights. But yes you should be set if you complete your 10 nights before Dec 31.
Did not work for me and I am a Platinum member. It asked for the promo code and I entered it and it isn't taking it.
Thanks for the clarification. I hope my prior stays earlier this year 2022 count towards the 10 nights.
Access denied for me...
It seems that right around ~10:30 AM (EDT), they realized their mistake(?) and stopped letting people register for it.
But naturally, now I'm curious. For those who registered before they cut it off: do you still have Diamond status, or was it reverted back to what it was before? Feeling like I might have missed out on something really good here... (With the changes they made to the program, IHG Diamond now looks like a pretty competitive and valuable status IMO!)
But jokes aside, be careful consider that they seem to make the code invalid in a day means it is leaked.
Took them longer to realize they got hacked, an even more alarming issue than a leaked status.- Eskimo
The promo is for real because if the code - likely embedded in the link to the registration page- had been "leaked", IHG would have pulled the promo a lot sooner due to being flooded with inquiries about it almost from the start, like in a very early comment by someone in this space who spoke with an IHG 'supervisor'.
Moreover, I created a new IHG One account today that showed me to be just a member. I went out of the account, registered for the promo and then went back in immediately and the display had changed to showing my status as Diamond (formerly Spire)...it even asked me to claim my 'Spire' choice benefits before they expire! That is a lot of activity on the IHG website for it not to be noticed almost immediately!
Oh, and because I would not be playing the game with a "full deck" to have the new IHG Diamond status without a co-branded credit card to go along, I decided to apply for the IHG® One Rewards Premier visa by Chase (AF: $99; welcome bonus 140K IHG points after spending $3K) from within my new IHG account. It took me to the Chase website where I applied but, as usual due to my already high total credit line with Chase, I was not approved instantly despite being at 0/24 and having a credit score of 830. I logged into my Chase account a bit later and the new IHG® One Rewards card was already listed with $20K CL. Maybe the 'leaked' code and the "promo" were designed to boost the number of applications for the Chase IHG card ?! (rhetorical question).
Bottom line:What now seems clear is that this promo was set up to award the Diamond status to a limited number of people on a "first come, first served" basis. The "invalid code" message many are getting may simply mean that the number of Diamond status to award under the promo has been reached...
As of right now (10.20 am CET) it still shows as Diamond.
I have a Rewards Stay later this month on an IC hotel. Should I still be Diamond by then, I will see if they honour the perks (breakfast for two and suite upgrade are they ones that would make my day)
On the other hand, based on the following comment in travel blogosphere, the promo remains real but its launch might have been a "botched" rather than its code being "leaked", which might explain why it was not pulled sooner. It was not easy to know for a good while that it was not the targeted people that were registering:
Called IHG to find out why the code is invalid. Appears that it only works if you are on their lists of companies that are eligible for the automatic upgrade in status and be a full-time employee.
If that is true, then there would be no reason for me qualify. I did not enter my company info in my profile.
Let's wait and see. At least I got me a "soft landing" if the Diamond status should be rescinded as a mistake: a Platinum status through the IHG Premier visa.
If something seems to be too good to be true, that is because often it is...
I just tried it and was denied. I'm sad, because I've heard good things about them and was interested in trying them soon.
Your prior stays wouldn't count. The count start the day you register for this promo.
I was successful…only to have my account deleted today. I called six times and always got disconnected, and I may sound crazy, but I think they tried to block my account. The time I called and said I forgot my info, I was able to speak with someone, who then looked up my account and said actually there is no longer an account associated with that name or number. I was platinum ambassador, and I just paid $700 to buy points a few days ago to top off my account for a large trip in December. According to the agent, those are gone forever and I effectively lose the money spent. Also the $200 on ambassador which I redid a few days ago. I’m obviously not going to stop trying to get to the bottom of this, but I’m very disappointed with IHG. I had really come to enjoy their properties and planned to give them more of my business.
A little Off subject. Has anyone received their Double Nights from Hyatt Business Cards yet?
This promo seems no longer working.....................................Code invalid........
Frankly even with Diamond status i see little value in IHG as the 2pm checkout if available and no lounge access are real deal killers compared to marriott, hilton, hyatt. My colleagues and i rarely consider IHG.
As usual with IHG the "catch" in the offer makes it unreliable if you plan to stay 10 days just to get 2023 status.
I signed up for the offer successfully and contacted IHG directly to see if my acount is eligible for the 10 stay promo and , of curse, they just repeated the "catch" rules. They said they could NOT tell me if i am eligible or not.
So my opinion of IHG has not changed and i will not bother staying there
Said earlier that I applied for the Chase IHG Premier 'visa'. The card is not a 'visa', it is a 'MC'.
Very disappointed with IHG because you actively applied for a promotion to exploit that you did not qualify for? Sounds like serious victim mentality
This is both scary and infuriating. Please keep us updated, would be interested to know how it resolves. Wishing you luck!
As it turns out, it was a series of coincidences. Because of all the activity I had the week prior, they thought my account was hacked. Now all restored and they were all too happy to welcome me as a Diamond Elite.
I upgraded on Thursday from Platinum to Diamond with this offer and confirmed it worked. I had an award stay planned this weekend and received free breakfast (and upgrade to a better view)
Does anybody know:
* what you have to do to retain Diamond status into 2023? (10 paid nights between now and 31st Dec 2022?)
* if you don't complete the challenge, are you downgraded to Platinum or back to Club or whatever the bottom rung is called?
So quick update: status was honored over the weekend at IC Lisbon. Free breakfast for two, and room upgrade (albeit not to a suite, due to "the hotel being full", but to a nice superior room with a view to the park. Can't complain, honestly). Weirdly I also got the 600 Welcome Bonus points (I thought it was either the breakfast or the points).
Just checked and it still shows Diamond on my private area, therefore I understand status will be honored all the way to 31st Dec. I am actually thinking on booking another weekend late Nov to empty my IHG account making use of the status...
I was fortunate enough to pull the trigger fast enough to get the diamond status through year end. However, there is no way I can stay at an IHG facility 10 nights before year end. I just chatted with an IHG rep (I think) regarding trying to get extended status through year end 2023 by purchasing an Ambassador membership before the end of 2022, which, I have read in various places, "might work". FYI, the rep I got was clear in stating that it WILL NOT WORK. Not much logic involved--just that it will not work.
And a further update: Just today, I decided to spend 40,000 points to enroll on the Ambassador program. Minutes from doing so, my Diamond status expiration date is showing 12/31/2023, which would suggest that enrolling Ambassador does indeed extend expiration date an additional year (on top of the rest of the Ambassador perks).
If this continues to happen in the future, by renewing Ambassador, we may have found a loophole to effectively be buying Diamond status for a mere 40,000 points/US$200 a year (even less actually, since there are Ambassador renewal promos regularly, that can lower the cost down to 5,000 points XD).
This may have been one of the most fruitful loyalty promos ever.
My partner got the Diamond status with the promotion. Sounds great but frankly IHG Diamond status proved to be relatively useless compared to marriott/hiltno/ or hyatt status. We just stayed at an IHG hotel in germany and really disappointed.
1. Only an upgrade to a better room . refused to provide a suite upgrade even though suites were available.those are th IHG program rules actually.
BTW, Almost always get suite upgrade at marriott and usually get it at hilton.
2. 2 pm chekcout - Marriot/hilton/hyatt have 4 pm for top tier elite
3. no lounge access- big issue for me asi always get it at the others.
SOOOO to make laong story short will not use the IHG dimanod again as it is a VERY POOR competitor to the others. I am shocked still some people go to lengths to get IHG diamond or acxtually pay for IHG Ambassador.
Looking for data points.
I upgraded using this, had 2 separate 1 night stays in Hong Kong within a week afterwards, Diamond recognized both nights. Status still shows Diamond on the app.
Considering a mattress run for the other 8 nights. Has anyone, who like me probably wan't one of the targeted folks, completed the 10 nights and received confirmation that they're Diamond through '23?
I got this promo and looked at my account it says under "Current Status" "Diamond Elite until 31/12/2022" which as passed. Anyone else run into this?