It is a programme that I was fond of in the past when it was still called Priority Club. Those were the days when you could find great points redemptions, called PointBreaks, at 5000 points a night. They were changing them each quarter and they were available at selected hotels across their brands. So, you could potentially get Holiday Inn Express, Indigo or InterContinental all at the same price. Some of my favourite redemptions were PointBreaks at InterContinental Kiev and InterContinental Mendoza among others.

In the past loyalty recognition also included free breakfast even for Platinum members, which used to be the highest tier. Lounge access and free laundry credits were frequent as well. During my years as IHG Royal Ambassador, suite upgrades, free minibar and very flexible check-in/check-out policies made stays very enjoyable. But then things started to go downhill. Royal Ambassador benefits were downgraded to just 2-category upgrades (which at certain properties would mean just a normal room on a higher floor), reduced minibar perks and other “enhancements”. Besides Platinum, Spire was born. A level that had higher qualification criteria, but reduced perks compared to the past.

This has made the IHG Rewards programme quite weak, when compared to other competitors, such as Accor ALL Limitless, Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy or World of Hyatt.

The only exception is when you are staying in the Greater China region (of Mainland China, Macao, Hong Kong and Taiwan), where there are some F&B credits available for elite members as well as lounge access in Crowne Plazas.

So, what will be changing in 2022?

New names for statuses and new qualification criteria as described in this webpage of IHG.

• Silver Elite, requiring 10 qualification nights

• Gold Elite, requiring 20 qualification nights or 40k qualification points (4000 USD base-rate spend)

• Platinum Elite, requiring 40 qualification nights or 60k qualification points (6000 USD base-rate spend)

• Diamond Elite, requiring 70 qualification nights or 120k qualification points (12000 USD base-rate spend)

So, instead of previous Gold, Platinum and Spire levels, we are going to have Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond elite levels.

In the past 2 years (2020/2021) the qualification criteria were slightly lower:

• Gold Elite required 7 qualifying nights or 7,000 qualifying points

• Platinum Elite required 30 qualifying nights or 30,000 qualifying points

• Spire Elite required 55 qualifying nights or 55,000 qualifying points

In 2019, before the COVID19 pandemic, the criteria were as follows:

• Gold Elite required 10 qualifying nights or 10,000 qualifying points (1000 USD base-rate spend)

• Platinum Elite required 40 qualifying nights or 40,000 qualifying points (4000 USD base-rate spend)

• Spire Elite required 75 qualifying nights or 75,000 qualifying points (7500 USD base-rate spend)

Thus, the new programme is certainly with higher qualification criteria, when you are going to use the spend-based route. Instead of getting Spire for 7500 USD base-rate spend, now you have to fork out 12000 USD. However, if you go via the nights-based route, you need to spend 5 nights less than before.

The current elite benefits are as follows:

Benefits in Greater China:

In the new programme, it seems like Platinum Elite will be getting 10% more bonus points (increase from 50% to 60%) and Gold Elite will be earning 30% more bonus points (increase from 10% to 40%). The only benefit for Spire/Diamond seems reduced night-based benefit of 5 nights.

Will there be new benefits?

One would think that with the new Diamond tier that requires 12000 USD base-rate spend (or 70 nights) there will be perhaps some tangible loyalty benefits as well. At other loyalty programmes (Accor, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Radisson) at that spend level, one would get complimentary upgrades up to standard suites, free lounge access and free breakfast. Currently, IHG Rewards offers none of those out of China.

In the new IHG Rewards FAQ, there is a question regarding this topic.

Are there new benefits associated with the new tiers and will I still receive all the current benefits associated with my tier?

We can’t reveal all the details just yet, but stay tuned for the official launch of the new IHG Rewards programme later this year. You’ll hear more about our new benefits and all the updated ways to earn and redeem.

So, there is a promise to reveal some new benefits, but I would not hold hopes high, at least until March.

If you have options for choosing your places of stay, until IHG Rewards provides tangible benefits for top-tier Diamond members, you can opt for staying at Accor, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and Radisson instead, where loyalty benefits at the same spend levels are more meaningful and rewarding.

I have made a video on this process at Hotelhoppers Youtube channel:

You can download the required application form, in pdf-format here.

The process costs 1900 THB administrative fee, to be paid in cash (no card payments accepted) at the local Thai immigration office.

First, you need to apply for a 30-day extension, after that you can (if still supported by Thai Immigration) also 60-day COVID-19 extension.

You need the first 2 pages of this 6-page document for 30-day extension, and if applying for 60-day COVID19 extension, also the remaining 4 pages.

It is suggested to print all pages double-sided. Fill in the form using blue pen.

In addition to the filled in application form, bring with you also:

• Your passport

• Copy of your passport data page

• Copy of your entry stamp to Thailand

• Copy of your arrival/departure card (TM6)

• Copy of your previous extension(s) if applying for 60 day extension

• 1 passport picture, which has to be glued to the main application form (see the location on application form)

• 1900 THB cash - you pay this at the Thai Immigration Office.

Add additional signature of yours (in blue ink) to all those photocopies you made. Also add on the 2nd page of the main application (where you’ll be adding your passport picture with glue) also the mobile phone number, which you are using in Thailand.

If you wish to apply for the extension in Bangkok, you should head to Temporary VISA Extension Center at Muang Thong Tani and their Counter K on 3rd floor.

The office opens up in the morning, then has lunch break from 12.00 to 13.00 and last documents are accepted at 15.30. The first two times I extended there was quite a short queue, last time it took over an hour.

Also, when you are visa-exempt, and using 30-day or 60-day extensions, there is no need to do 90-day reporting.

Many of you, staying 100s of nights a year on the road are using hotel loyalty programs to get extra perks, such as suite upgrades, free breakfast, lounge access and more while staying at the hotels. That’s on top of the points you have been earning as well, to get free night stays. Until now Airbnb has been offering almost none of that, except earning some airline miles with selected partners (ANA, British Airways, Delta, Qantas). It seems like this might change in 2022, per a tweet of the CEO of Airbnb

So far we can just speculate, what kind of benefits you could potentially get.

Room upgrades?

When hotels have usually different room and suite categories to choose from (unless you are staying at one category hotels like Ibis or CitizenM), Airbnb’s offer is really fixed - you are getting exactly the room that you see in the pictures - and there has been no upgrade option on-site. When booking a studio or a room in a bigger apartment, that’s what you’ll get as well.

Now, theoretically, if the same owner has 50+ flats to be rented out, they could upgrade you to a better one, but it is unlikely that Airbnb can push for that kind of upgrade.

Airbnb is also selling some hotel and hostel rooms on their platform, there could be the biggest opportunity for upgrades. However, what I have seen at other 3rd party platforms, such as Hotels.com VIP program or Halalbooking or Agoda Rewards, which advertise upgrade perks for their elite tier members, most of their hotels do not offer that. All considered I don’t think the Airbnb loyalty programme will feature upgrades.

Early check-in and late check-out?

On availability, that’s something that could be a benefit of the Airbnb loyalty program. It’s a perk I’ve been using for years at hotels - checking in at times as early as 8 am or checking out as late as 8 pm.

While I have seen that over time the hotels have cut the official hours - it used to be 8 am for IHG Royal Ambassadors, now it is 10 am. Radisson Blu’s 6 pm check out policy has cut back. In the recent refresh of GHA Discovery just last month, the top-tier elite benefit of 9 am has now been reduced to 11 am and check-out cut back from 6 pm to 4 pm.

Airbnb loyalty members could potentially benefit from this approach as well if the host has availability - during the previous night the room was free and there is no need to clean it on the day of arrival - why not allow checking in early for the VIP members. Likewise, if there is no incoming guest on the day of departure, late check-out could be feasible as well.

Free breakfast or lounge access?

Hotels have restaurants, where you could get free breakfast as an elite member. Even better when hotels have also executive lounges, where you could also get afternoon tea and evening happy hour drinks and snacks. At Airbnb, you’ll likely need to buy groceries yourself and then cook something out of those, or use food delivery services. That is unless you’ll be enjoying (and separately paying for) the local food experiences at restaurants, cafes and bars. While at some Airbnbs you’ll be staying with the host, who could share their food with you, it is unlikely that Airbnb HQ can convince the hosts to start cooking free breakfasts and dinners for their guests. Slice of toast with jam, perhaps, but a lavish buffet in Asian 5* style, most certainly not.

However, what could possibly work, in co-operation with local food delivery apps, where let’s say Airbnb Diamond members could get some 3-5 USD off coupons to be used in the city.

Welcome amenity?

I have seen welcome amenities of various quality levels through the years during my hotel stays. In the past, it was often a bottle of wine and some snacks. With pressure on cost-cutting, it is now mostly some snacks or fruits. It can vary a lot between the properties and your tier level. Some hotel chains, like Accor, provide also welcome drinks. Those again can, sometimes depend on your status. As Accor ALL Silver you could be limited to soft drinks, or as ALL Platinum or Diamond, could possibly enjoy various cocktails. Could Airbnb elites be offered welcome amenities as well? I think, yes, that’s something they could execute. Likely it could vary, in similar ways as it varies at hotels. Some hosts could perhaps offer you an apple or a cookie while booking a villa for a week could come with a bottle of local wine.

Member discounts?

Hotels have been offering 10% member discounts for booking direct. It is unlikely that Airbnb would offer this kind of blanket discount. However, it could be something that those staying at least 30 nights a year could get a 3% discount and those staying 50 nights a year at a 5% discount. The question will be also at whose expense that discount comes. Would Airbnb pressurise the hosts to eat up the loss due to the discount, or will it be something that Airbnb HQ is going to give up as part of their commission fee?

Earning and redeeming points?

Hotel loyalty programs usually offer an option to earn points for your stays and then redeem those points for some other future stays. Considering that many hotel programs are moving towards dynamic pricing of redemptions, which essentially means cashback, I feel like if Airbnb would implement a points system, it would be something similar to Accor ALL or GHA Discovery, where essentially you are earning 1 to 7% cashback in the form of points, depending on your loyalty level.

We could see something like 2% cashback in points for those staying at least 50 nights a year, up to 5% for those staying 100 nights a year.

Conclusion

While the Airbnb loyalty program is not likely going to be as fancy as some others in the field, where top-tier elite members can expect multi-category upgrades, lavish free breakfast or evening drinks, it still could potentially provide some perks, such as more flexible check-in/check-out terms, welcome amenities and additional discounts or cashback.

Stay tuned for more updates on this in 2022.

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