Good afternoon everyone. A few weeks ago, I received an email from IHG stating that I had reached IHG Spire Elite Status which required 75 qualified nights or 75,000 qualifying points. This was surprising to me since I haven’t spent that many nights at IHG hotels this year (only 16 nights in 2019), but I did have a few expensive hotel stays this year (82,768 qualifying points in 2019). In the email, it stated 3 key Spire Elite benefits:
- 100% bonus earning on top of base points (IHG Platinum Elite members get a 50% bonus)
- Complimentary room upgrades (this is the same as IHG Platinum Elite members)
- Exclusive annual choice benefit
The last bullet was the one that caught my attention. I had the option to choose between 25,000 IHG Points or gift someone IHG Platinum Elite Status. I clicked on the Choose Now button in the email and signed into my IHG account.
Considering 25,000 IHG Points is worth about $125 and the fact that I received IHG Platinum Elite Status from my $49 annual fee Chase IHG Rewards Select Credit Card, the choice was easy – I selected 25,000 IHG Points.
I went through the process to claim my 25,000 IHG Points.
The claim process was very quick and easy.
I checked my account activity and the 25,000 IHG Points were already added to my IHG account.
Next, I went through the process to be upgraded to Hertz Five Star Status.
I entered my Hertz Gold Plus Rewards number and clicked the Request Hertz Upgrade button.
The box says that it should take 3 weeks to receive the email from Hertz regarding the upgrade.
At that point, I had no more IHG Spire Elite freebies to select / claim.
I went back to my account activity page and saw the Hertz upgrade requested on October 25. 3 Weeks after October 25 is today, November 15.
As of today, my Hertz account has not been upgraded and I have not received the email from Hertz. I will need to follow up with IHG regarding the Hertz upgrade.
If you have any questions about the IHG Spire Elite Status and freebies, please leave a comment below. Have a great weekend everyone!
I’d be interested in your thoughts on Spire status a year from now as to whether you felt that the upgrades and treatment you received at IHG hotels was noticeably better.
I’m sure I won’t notice a difference. I tend to stay at a lot of low end Holiday Inn Express hotels, so I’m not expecting much.
I am in the same boat, I requested Hertz Five star status on 10/25. It still show Gold Plus instead of Five star. I’ll wait another week before writing to IHG twitter handle or send direct message
I wonder if you will get it before I do. Not sure why it is taking hertz so long to process the upgrade.
Grant,
Did you ever receive your 5 Star Hertz Upgrade. I’ve been waiting for about 6 weeks now. Two Phone Calls to IHG and One to Hertz.
Thanks
Hi Erik, eventually yes, I did get my Hertz Five Star Status. I believe it took 5-10 weeks for the status to post. I’m not sure if that is still the case. I would recommend following up with IHG to see what the status is of your Hertz Five Star Status. Good luck!
Thanks for you’re Reply. The IHG / Spire / Ambassador Customer Service Rep told me all they can do is continue to send Hertz an Email and wait 5 Business Days. We are on our Third IHG to Hertz 5 Star Upgrade Email right now. When I asked at what point does IHG Pick Up the phone and call Hertz to get the Upgrade completed? Was Told “Never”.
IHG’s performance concerning this issue has been “Last in Class” Customer Service.
Dang, that sounds like a terrible process. I would actually ask IHG for points as compensation since I don’t think Hertz Five Star Status is really worth much.