[Expired] Incredible deal: Get instant IHG Diamond status (and a chance to keep it through 2023!)

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Update 13 October 23:00 PT: This deal appears to have been pulled as the IHG website is now asking for a code that was not previously required (it was embedded within the link to the promotion page).

Wow. IHG has released a fantastic promotion in which it’s giving its One Rewards members instant top-tier Diamond status through the end of the year and a chance to keep that status through the end of next year with stays made by 31 December 2022.

Unsurprisingly, this isn’t a promotion that IHG is publicizing widely and it only seems to be being promoted through select Facebook groups (although now that Loyalty Lobby has found it, the cat’s well and truly out of the bag). It is, however, very real.

Here’s the deal:

• Register via this IHG webpage
• Receive instant Diamond Elite status through the end of 2022
• Stay 10 nights at any IHG properties worldwide by 31 December 2022 and retain Diamond Elite status through 31 December 2023.

Note: Please read my “word of warning” that comes later on in this article before making any bookings off the back of this promotion

For reasons best known to IHG, the terms and conditions don’t appear on the registration page nor do they appear on the registration email that gets sent out but I’m reliably informed that what I’ve written above, is correct.

All you need to sign up for this “Straight to Diamond” promotion is the email address linked to your IHG One Rewards account (if you don’t yet have an account you can sign up for free here) or your IHG One Rewards member number.

Within moments of registering you’ll get an email confirming that you have registered…

…and that’s swiftly followed by an email congratulating you on reaching IHG One Rewards Diamond elite status.

A quick check of your online account should show that you now have Diamond elite status through the end of the year.

Be aware that while you’ll enjoy all the Diamond Elite benefits in this table…

…this promotion isn’t a substitute for actually earning the 70 nights that are usually needed to earn Diamond status so you won’t receive all the various Milestone Benefits that are usually collected on the way to 70 elite nights.

Still, who’s complaining?!

For doing nothing more than registering for this promotion, you’ll get a 100% bonus on all IHG points that you earn through stays between now and the end of the year, you should get an upgrade to your Hertz elite status, your welcome amenity will now include the choice of complimentary breakfast at all IHG properties, and you should have access to the better upgrades that IHG properties offer (excluding suites).

As far as retaining this elite status through 2023 goes, keep in mind that standard IHG promotion rules will almost certainly apply here and that means this:

• Award nights will not count toward your 10-night target
• A qualifying rate* will have to be booked with total spend exceeding $30 USD (or local equivalent).
• Only one room per member per qualifying stay will be eligible.

*Qualifying Rates include most business and leisure rates, such as Advanced Purchase rates, Best Flexible rates, Global sales negotiated rates (including but not limited to Corporate Gold rates), national/regional/local government rates, and specified leisure rates as confirmed by IHG’s reservation systems. In Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Greater China hotels and resorts, Qualifying Rates include all locally negotiated rates. For more details on Qualifying Rates, please visit the IHG One Rewards Members Terms and Conditions.

Unless you’ve just spent all year working up to Diamond elite status the hard way, there’s nothing not to like here and even if you don’t think you’ll be able to retain the status through 2023, you may want to consider registering anyway and then seeing if you can status-match your new-found Diamond elite status to another program that will give you elite status through 2023. You may not find one, but what do you have to lose?

Lastly, don’t forget that if you’re going to aim to earn the 10 nights needed to keep hold of Diamond elite status, you should first make sure that you’re registered for IHG’s current promotion in which you should be able to earn 20,000 bonus points after you complete your 8th night.

Word of warning

This is an incredibly generous promotion and it may just be that this is too generous for IHG’s liking.

There’s a chance that the reason IHG isn’t publicizing this offer widely is that it wanted to restrict the promotion to the people that it informed of it directly (although, if that’s the case, IHG clearly has no idea how the internet works!) and so if thousands upon thousands of people participate, there’s a chance that IHG will roll back the offer and remove Diamond elite status from those who were not directly targeted (most people).

With that in mind, please don’t make any non-refundable IHG bookings just to capitalize on this promotion. We should know what IHG’s intentions are within the week but for now, it’s best to play things safe.

Bottom line

On Tuesday, we thought that Hilton was being incredibly generous when it launched its Double Elite Nights promotion but now, less than 24 hours later, IHG has blown that promotion away.

IHG One Rewards Diamond elite status is far from the most rewarding top-tier status around but it’s still a valuable status to have if you plan to spend any time at IHG properties in the coming weeks or next year and as it’s being handed to you on a plate, why not snap it up?

Note: I know some people will ask if paying for Intercontinental Ambassador Elite status while you have this boosted Diamond status will freeze your account at that Diamond level through 2023 (something that has worked with Diamond status earned the conventional way in the past), but the fact is that we don’t know and we won’t know for sure until it’s too late to do anything about it.