In addition to status offered through IHG One Rewards, there is a separate, lesser-known benefits program specifically built around the InterContinental brand, which is the flagship premium brand within IHG Hotels & Resorts. 

InterContential Ambassador is a paid program that provides members with additional perks at InterContinental hotels and participating Six Senses properties around the world.

Let’s go over all the details you need to know about the program, and whether or not it’s worth considering in advance of your next stays.

What Is the InterContinental Ambassador Program?

InterContinental Ambassador is a paid membership program that offers benefits at InterContinental hotels and participating Six Senses properties worldwide.

As the name suggests, Ambassador is most useful for travellers who frequent the InterContinental brand, of which there are 200+ locations around the world. However, there are also meaningful perks offered through the program at Six Senses resorts that participate in the IHG One Rewards program, as we’ll explore below.

Note that InterContinental Ambassador is separate from the IHG One Rewards loyalty program, and it’s also different than other status tiers available in the IHG One Rewards program.

What Are the Benefits of InterContinental Ambassador?

There are a wide range of benefits and perks for those who frequent InterContinental hotels as an Ambassador member.

Note that in order to receive these benefits, you must book directly with the applicable properties or through the IHG One Rewards program. Bookings made through third-party platforms or online travel agencies would exclude you from Ambassador benefits.

IHG One Rewards Platinum status

This is perhaps the most intriguing benefit, since at face value, the InterContinental Ambassador program only provides benefits at InterContinental hotels and participating Six Senses resorts.

However, InterContinental Ambassador members also get automatically catapulted to IHG One Rewards Platinum status, which unlocks numerous benefits applicable across the entire IHG portfolio.

Platinum status is the second-highest IHG One Rewards elite status and comes with a wide range of meaningful perks.

Guaranteed one-category room upgrade

Those who already hold Platinum or Diamond status with IHG One Rewards already have the benefit of a complimentary room upgrade. However, under the Ambassador program, this differs significantly in that it is a guaranteed benefit, rather than subject to availability.

This guaranteed upgrade is not applicable on nights booked with reward points, nor on stays booked with an anniversary Free Night Award. If you book with either of these instruments, you’d then resort back to the Platinum benefit of upgrades being subject to availability.

The upgrade is only applicable to the Ambassador member’s room and not on any additional rooms booked by the Ambassador on the same night.

At the hotel’s discretion, an upgrade beyond one category can be given; however, upgrades exclude Residences, Penthouses, Presidential and Specialty Suites, and two bedroom or greater suites and villas. Moreover, any upgrade to a club room or suite does not grant access to the relevant club or lounge.

Lastly, this guaranteed upgrade cannot be stacked with a Confirmable Suite Upgrade, which is a Milestone Reward under the IHG One Rewards program that you earn by staying a certain number of nights every calendar year. 

$20 (USD) restaurant and bar credit

A $20 (USD) restaurant, bar, and minibar credit is included one time for every stay. While this credit excludes in-room dining, it covers taxes, service charges, and gratuities up to $20 (USD).

If the hotel doesn’t typically charge in US dollars, the $20 (USD) will be converted to the hotel’s local currency at the same rate, with a few exceptions where it may vary slightly.

The $20 (USD) credit is not applicable at any participating hotels in Mainland China, since breakfast is provided for those stays.

Guaranteed late check-out

The 4pm guaranteed late check-out benefit is significantly better than the 2pm late check-out offered to all IHG One Rewards members.

Similar to the one-category room upgrade, this is also a guaranteed benefit under InterContinental Ambassador, rather than subject to availability.

Complimentary weekend night certificate

The complimentary weekend night certificate is issued immediately upon enrollment and is valid for 12 months from date of issue.

Using these weekend night certificates is subject to a number of stipulations.

Most significantly, it’s only valid at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts worldwide, and you must book a minimum two-night paid stay in order to apply the free night award against one of the nights – greatly limiting its potential value. 

While on the surface this would be far and away the best benefit of the Ambassador program, in reality, it may not be as easy to use when compared to similar Free Night Rewards with Hilton, or Free Night Awards with Marriott.

Complimentary breakfast (Mainland China only)

For those who frequent applicable hotels in China, this benefit may be enough to convince you to sign up for the program. You will receive complimentary full breakfast for each night of the stay, for the member only.

Note this is not applicable to in-room dining, and is not available for the Ambassador member’s guest.

Ambassador benefits at Six Senses hotels

The Six Senses portfolio is progressively integrating into IHG One Rewards program. The following additional benefits will apply for Ambassador members at participating Six Senses properties:

• Complimentary breakfast for two in the main restaurant
• A complimentary 50-minute massage for two or a local experience once per stay.
• A wellness platter as a welcome amenity

It’s worth noting that these are excellent benefits to enjoy, and arguably much better than the Ambassador benefits offered on stays at the InterContinental brand.

How to Enroll in InterContinental Ambassador

Relative to navigating through the benefits, enrollment is very straightforward. You first have to log in with your IHG One Rewards account, and then you can purchase your InterContinental Ambassador membership.

A one-year InterContinental Ambassador membership can be purchased for either $225 (USD) or 45,000 IHG One Rewards points.

We currently value IHG One Rewards points at 0.4 cents (USD) per point, and using our valuation, 45,000 points would be equivalent to $180. 

In the past, there have been enrollment promotions around once a year, offering extra IHG One Rewards points simply for signing up. It’s worth keeping an eye out for promotions like this.

Membership Extensions

The InterContinental Ambassador program has a few options for extending your membership past the expiration date.

There are two types of extensions and both can only be requested once per member’s lifetime: a two-month extension and a six-month extension.

The only requirements for the two-month extension is that you are a current Ambassador member, and you have not received this extension in the past.

The six-month extension differs slightly in that the membership must be active and in their second or greater consecutive membership year, and not have received a six-month extension in the past.

These two different extension benefits cannot be combined and applied consecutively. This means you can’t combine them to receive an eight-month extension; they must be applied in two separate years.

The best play would be to use the first two-month extension at the end of your first year and the six-month extension at the end of your second year.

In this fashion, for two separate payments of either 45,000 IHG points or $225 (USD), you’d end up with two years and eight months of InterContinental Ambassador membership – which makes enrollment look a lot more tempting.

Who Should Sign Up for InterContinental Ambassador?

Naturally, signing up for the program would be best suited to those who frequent InterContinental hotels and participating Six Senses properties.

For example, for anyone who’d stay at InterContinental hotels at least 10 times in the upcoming year, the $20 (USD) dining credit per stay goes a long way to justifying the initial $225 (USD) cost.

Additionally, anyone who is able to get more than $225 (USD) in value out of the annual Complimentary Weekend Certificate would also stand to benefit from enrollment.

InterContinental Ambassador would also be ideal for those who are eyeing an automatic upgrade to IHG One Rewards Platinum status, but who are unable to sign up for the US-issued Chase IHG credit cards because they are “at 5/24” or they do not have an established US credit file.

If you value the guaranteed 4pm late check-out and guaranteed room upgrades, compared to the “subject to availability” benefit offered through IHG One Rewards regular elite benefits, you’ll also stand to benefit from being an Ambassador member. 

Lastly, even if you aren’t an IHG loyalist, the InterContinental Ambassador program can be a useful way to dabble with a the hotel chain without necessarily committing all of your loyalty to IHG.

If you only have a handful of stays coming up at an InterContinental or participating Six Senses property, investing in an Ambassador membership can deliver useful benefits immediately comparing to earning IHG One Rewards status the “slow” way.

Conclusion

The InterContinental Ambassador program offers meaningful perks when staying at InterContinental or participating Six Senses properties, whether you’re a frequent guest or someone who’s just trying out the brand a few times. 

At a reasonable price point of $225 (USD) or 45,000 IHG One Rewards Points for the year, this is one of the few “pay to play” elite membership programs out there, and can be an interesting alternative to traditional hotel programs if you want to sample the perks – many of which are better than what’s available through IHG One Rewards – without having to earn your way there through traditional routes.