Last chance: Check if you're eligible for IHG's instant Spire Elite offer with a chance to earn 15,000 bonus points
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Editor's note: This post was originally published on Oct. 8, 2019.
IHG is currently running an Instant Spire Elite offer where full-time employees of an eligible company can get Spire Elite status for 90 days simply by registering by Dec. 31, 2019. TPG values Spire Elite status at $2,185, but this valuation assumes you're staying at IHG properties for 90 nights each year -- 15 nights more than is normally required to earn Spire Elite status.
Related: 5 tips to turn business travel into family vacations
Through this offer, you can instantly get top-tier status for 90 days. If you want to keep it for longer, you'll have to complete a challenge. The challenge is based on the number of nights you stay during the 90 days after registering for the offer:
- Stay five nights to keep Platinum Elite status through the end of 2020
- Stay ten nights to keep Spire Elite status through the end of 2020
You'll also earn 1,000 bonus IHG points for completing your first stay, another 4,000 bonus points after the second stay and 10,000 more bonus points for completing a third stay. That's a total of 15,000 bonus points from this offer -- which is worth $75 based on current TPG valuations. Plus, you'll earn even more points from these stays, as Spire Elite status earns 100% bonus points over the base earning rate for general members.
While getting Spire Elite status for 90 days is certainly helpful, there's an even more valuable aspect to this offer: keeping Spire Elite status through the end of 2020 by staying just ten nights in 90 days.
The offer is valid through December 31, so register here if you're eligible to participate (read the official terms and conditions here). The most important aspects are:
- The offer is for full-time employees of an eligible company.
- The terms and conditions don't define which companies are eligible, but a reader reported that employees of select accounting and consulting firms (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, McKinsey & Company and Accenture) were eligible for this promotion last year and a reader who works for Ford was eligible this year.
- Once you register for the offer, your status will be upgraded to Spire Elite once you're verified as an employee of an eligible company.
- Instant Spire Elite members under this offer will receive the bonus points or gifting benefit after completion of the required nights.
- The offer is limited to the first 5,000 people that register.
- If you don't complete the challenge, you'll be downgraded to your previous membership level 90 days after the date of registration for this challenge.
- You must book your nights through an Eligible Company corporate booking tool or direct on IHG's website.
- Each night must have a minimum qualifying rate of $35.
- Nights stayed prior to registration or outside the 90-day window after registration aren't eligible.
- This offer is only available for each new booking/stay during the offer period. (I take this to mean that only reservations made after registration for the offer and completed within the 90-day window after registration will count.)
Putting It to the Test
On a prior iteration of this offer, I was able to register for the offer. But, my status wasn't elevated and the offer eventually disappeared from my profile since I wasn't actually an employee of an eligible company. Now, IHG is controlling registrations by requiring a promotion code in order to register.
Bottom Line
If you're an employee of an eligible company, hopefully you've been notified of this promotion by your company or IHG. But, especially if you work for one of the accounting or consulting companies that were targeted last year, it might be worth searching your email or company travel information to see if you've received any information about this promotion from your travel department.
If you're looking for status, and aren't an employee of an eligible company, the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card is a great way to get Platinum Elite status, a free anniversary night each year at a property costing 40,000 points or less and a fourth night reward on award stays for just an $89 annual fee. This card is worth having even if you periodically stay at IHG hotels. I've gotten many room upgrades through my Platinum Elite status, even during fourth-night free award stays.
Further reading: IHG Rewards Premier Card: Is it worth a 5/24 slot?
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