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The Offer
- IHG is offering free spire elite status for 90 days. You can also keep Spire elite status for the calendar year of 2019 if within 90 days of registering of the offer you meet the following requirements:
- Stay 10 nights (instead of 75) in 90 days and keep Spire Elite status for a year
- Stay 5 nights (instead of 40) in 90 days and keep Platinum Elite status for a year
The Fine Print
- The Instant Spire Elite offer (“Offer”) allows full time employees of an Eligible Company to experience most of the Spire Elite membership benefits for 90 days upon joining IHG Rewards Club or registering for the offer as an existing IHG Rewards Club member.
- The Offer is valid between August 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018 and the member will have 90 days from the day of registration to consume the designated number of nights required to retain elite status for the calendar year of 2019.
- Instant Spire Elite members under this Offer will receive the bonus points or gifting benefit after completion of the required Stays. All full-time employees of an Eligible Company, who register in advance, stay at any IHG hotel between August 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018 and book through ihg.com or an eligible company booking tool will retain Spire Elite status after ten (10) qualifying nights and Platinum Elite status after five (5) qualifying nights during the Offer period. If the member does not make the designated nights during the 90 day offer period then they will be downgraded to their previous membership level as of January 30, 2019.
- Members must book their stay using the corresponding IHG corporate travel booking codes through the Eligible Company corporate booking tool or booking direct at ihg.com with a minimum qualifying rate of $35.
- IHG reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Offer if any fraud, technical failures, human error or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper administration of the Offer.
- Offer and members are subject to the IHG Rewards Club membership terms and conditions found at ihgrewardsclub.com.
- The Offer is valid on reservations consumed during the Offer period but all stays must be consumed by January 29, 2019. Reservations consumed prior to registration or outside the Offer period will not be eligible for the Offer.
- This Offer is only available for each new booking/Stay during the Offer Period.
Our Verdict
The fine print specifically talks about having to be a full time employee of an eligible company, so it doesn’t look like this is supposed to be public. People are receiving confirmation e-mails even if they aren’t from targeted companies, but I only saw one data point of somebody actually receiving the updated status and that wasn’t the full 90 days. Probably doesn’t hurt to try and sign up, I’d be worried you won’t get the updated status for 2019 if you meet the requirements though even if they do give you the 90 day trial so I wouldn’t be going out of my way to make IHG bookings.
Hat tip to Points Nerd via VFTW
It actually worked. I was welcomed as spire elite at a Holiday Inn.
My status still shows platinum elite…
Did yours change in your account?
Just had back and forth emails with IHG. There are 5 companies that are eligible for this offer, even though some of us were able to activate it into our accounts. They are all consulting companies – Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, EY and McKinsey. And you must book the rooms with the corporate code attached to the booking. I was hoping to find a corporate code from someone here, but not seeing any, it looks like we are out of luck. I did receive 2,000 points compensation for the confusion.
Weird, in the T&C it says you can book it for personal stays too (assuming you’re an employee of a named company) from what I read.
I do not work for any of those 5 companies, but the offer has been working for me after signing up. I received Spire Elite status after my first stay after registering for the offer.
So after 40 minutes on the phone with their customer service and escalated 3 times they basically said you don’t get instant Spire Elite Status for 90 days or even until the end of the year. The call did appear to be outsourced.
Every CSR and Manager I spoke to just kept reiterating that you have to stay the ten nights first to get any Status.
I quoted the offer over and over and they just kind of blew it off.
“Try Spire Elite for 90 days as soon as you join.
Stay just a few nights to keep your Elite status:”
It’s clear as day, in the first one it says you get to try it, and in the second sentence it says “Keep Your Elite Status”, meaning you already have that Status you are only retaining it, not getting newly upgraded status.
Then the icing on the cake,
“The Instant Spire Elite offer”
Instant means right away!
They just continued to say I’m sorry for your confusion. What exactly is confusing?
Finally though 46 minutes in after the manager realized I wasn’t giving up and that I was correct in my analysis of the offer (as anyone who can read would be based on the above quotes), he offered 1,000 points as a “Goodwill” saying it was not his place to give this status, but could not transfer me to a department who could.
Reading other forums it looks like if you registered early on even if you didn’t have proof of being with a company they gave you Status.
It looks like cannot sign up now through the link provided.
Signed up, received confirmation email. I am currently still Gold Elite. Will be staying at least 5 nights at IHG over the next 90 days, maybe even 10. They will all be booked through my company’s travel portal. The language in the T&C that confuses me is
“All full-time employees of an Eligible Company, who register in advance, stay at any IHG hotel between August 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018, …..”
I have stayed at a IHG property between August 1 and October 31, 2018, however I just registered for this offer, so I wonder if it will still apply to me. I plan on calling this afternoon to find out how this will work.
Update:
Not sure when it changed, but status is showing as spire elite in IHG app.
Believe it changed after my first stay after signing up. It stacks with the double points promotion as well.
Worth noting the last triple points offer same T&C for employee of eligible company. They gave me the 3x point without actually enforced it, hopefully this one does as well
I do have a question for anyone currently Platinum Elite or Spire:
For the Complimentary Room Upgrade Benefit do they usually upgrade you or do you get what you booked normally?
It’s my first stay with IHG and I got Plat Elite Status through the CC. I have a stay coming up next week at a HIE it shows they have suites available, but not sure if I’ll get upgraded or how it typically goes.
It’s pretty hit or miss, with nothing guaranteed, which is part of what people hate on IHG so much for. That being said, I’ve received upgrades to suites at HIEs on a number of occasions so you could get lucky.
Thanks for sharing, hopefully I do as it’s a 4 night stay and it shows they have those rooms available!
I registered, got the confirmation e-mail but Status still only shows Plat Elite. I do have a stay coming up in a week so hopefully it changes by then. Fingers Crossed!
This is great. The wife and I are spending 2 nights Crowne Plaza in Melbourne next week so this will work out great. DoC is top notch!!!!!!!
doc, would the 10 night/5 nights work with reward bookings?
Think they need to be paid nights with IHG, but not 100% certain
In the T&C it mentions need to spend $35 a night minimum to qualify, but YMMV