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Many loyalty programs in the travel business already have announced status extensions for next year. Hilton and Marriott were some of the first ones to announce the elite status extension. IHG joined the bandwagon today and also announced that they will extend elite status.
Status Extension
Everyone’s current elite status will be extended through February 2023. Most of you guys already received an extension from 2020 which extended your status all the way through February 2022. The extension will not be reflected right away as of today. It will take a few days for IHG’s system to process this change and extend everyone. Don’t panic if you don’t see the new expiration date just yet. If you don’t see your status extended by mid-December, try to contact IHG and follow up.
Certificate Extension
All certificates awarded in 2021 will be extended as well. You will have until December 31, 2022 to use these rewards. This includes the certificates you earn with the IHG credit cards.
Give the system time to reflect these changes. Your account probably won’t show the new expiration dates right away. Check back after a few weeks and if you didn’t see any changes by mid-December 2021, contact IHG and follow up.
Points Expiration
IHG is one of the few programs where points never expire as long as you hold any level of elite status. As long as you qualified for any of their elite levels above the regular “Club” level, your points will never expire as long as you hold any kind of status.
Conclusion
As many people are not ready yet to travel again or at least not as much as they used to before the pandemic, these are good news. You can enjoy another year of IHG status.
I was worried that I won’t re-qualify in time to keep my status with IHG. This is great news for me. So far I have organically re-qualified for next year’s top-tier status with Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton the old-fashioned way by staying at hotels for a whole lot of nights. I wish hotel chains would honor these customers a little higher. I mean overall a pandemic is out of a hotel’s control. Did your flight ever get canceled? If it’s not for equipment reasons and the flight got canceled for reasons out of the airline’s control, like weather or air traffic control, airlines are not very generous for providing hotels, vouchers and other kinds of compensation.
To be honest, I am grateful that many loyalty programs offer this extension of status. Not every one of us has returned to our old travel habits. However, it would be nice if you get rewarded for actually bringing business to hotels and staying nights overnights at hotels. Especially in the last two years, where at some point, travel almost came to a complete standstill. Hotels could offer free night certificates or just points. Oh well…
Photo: Kimpton Angler’s Hotel, Miami Beach
Peter has a passion for Traveling, Photography, and Geocaching. These are the best ingredients for amazing adventures all over the globe. “Traveling is fun, no matter if you stay in a luxury hotel or travel like a backpacker.” Peter shares his experiences on his Blog www.gatetoadventures.com
Some of Peter’s photos are published on corporate websites, in-flight magazines, travel guides, and much more.
