Today IHG launched it’s new loyalty tier, titled Spire Elite. The requirements for this new tier are as follows:
- 75,000 qualifying points or
- 75 qualifying night stays
Below is their full tier chart and benefits list:
Choosing Your Exclusive Choice Benefit
For me the best benefit of Spire is the Exclusive Choice Benefit. Basically when you reach spire status you’re given the option to choose to gift a family member Platinum status or receive 25,000 bonus points. Personally I don’t see a lot of value in Platinum Elite status, so taking the 25,000 points was a no brainer.
If you’ve currently got Spire status, just log into your account and you’ll be given the choice (my account > choice benefits).
What Is An Elite Qualifying Point?
As you can see you need 75,000 elite qualifying points (EQP) to be receive Spire status. If we dig into the fine print, we find the following definition of an EQP:
For purposes of determining Elite Status, IHG® Rewards Club points are classified as either Elite Qualifying Points or Non-Elite Qualifying Points. Base points earned from Qualifying Rates paid for hotel stays, points collected from partner transactions, IHG® Rewards Club Bonus Points Packages and Meeting Rewards are considered Elite Qualifying Points and counted towards membership elite status. A Qualifying Rate includes the following: non-discounted rate, standard corporate rate, worldwide sales negotiated rate, national/regional/local government rate and specified leisure rates as confirmed by the IHG HOLIDEX® Plus reservation system. All other point earning transactions, including promotional points, points vouchers, points purchase, points transfers, and points deposits, will be considered Non-Elite Qualifying Points and will not be counted towards elite status
The big question most people will have is, do credit card points from the Chase IHG credit card count as EQPs? I can say for sure that points that have been previously earned with the Chase IHG credit card have counted towards this total (myself and others have received spire status with only points from this credit card).
If we look at the fine print, it says that partner transactions will be considered EQPs, points earned from the credit card could fall under this category. But, they could also fall under ‘promotional points’ (for the sign up bonus), or point transfers/deposits which do not count towards elite status.
If credit card points do count, then the 80,000 IHG credit card offer just became a hell of a lot more valuable because it would mean you’d instantly hit the 75,000 point threshold for Spire status and get another 25,000 points (plus all of the other benefits).
My gut feeling is that points from the credit card won’t count towards elite status, as the card already comes with Platinum status but I’d be more than happy to be proved wrong.
