IHG Rewards Club launches new membership level

InterContinental Hotels Group has launched a new top membership level, Spire Elite, to recognise and reward its most loyal members.

The group has partnered with travel photographer Steve McCurry to celebrate the launch through a series of photographs.

The Spire Elite tier was introduced after extensive research into what IHG Rewards Club members wanted from the loyalty programme.

The Spire Elite level can be reached by earning 75,000 qualifying reward points or staying at an IHG hotel for 75 qualifying nights over the course of a calendar year.

Benefits include the ability to earn 100% extra bonus points on qualifying stays, and being able to choose between receiving 25,000 points or upgrading a friend or family member to Platinum.

IHG Rewards Club has also restructured its membership levels to make it easier to move through the tiers. From July, members need to earn 10,000 qualifying points or to stay for 10 qualifying nights to be eligible for Gold membership. Gold members will need to earn 40,000 qualifying points or stay for 40 qualifying nights to reach Platinum membership.

IHG SVP customer loyalty Susanna Freer Epstein said: “The feeling that you’re recognised for being special is what IHG Rewards Club aims to deliver to with the launch of Spire Elite. It’s our way of saying thank you to our most loyal members, who from today will benefit from ability to earn 100% extra bonus points on all qualifying stays across the IHG hotel portfolio – an industry first.

"This is just the start of a series of exciting enhancements we will be introducing to continue recognising and building rewarding relationships with our members.”