Last week, we covered a reader question about IHG One Rewards 40 nights Milestone Rewards and what happens if a stay consumed 2023 posts in 2024, as they sometimes do (read more here).
Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll try to cover them here several times a week.
You can access IHG here.
READ MORE: IHG One Rewards Rate & Bonus Points Offers
Reader’s Email to Ambassador Service Center:
I just want to make sure.
I need 2 more nights to reach my 40 nights milestone.
As you can see on my account I have 2 nights booked
23 Dec to 24 Dec
30 Dec to 31 Dec.
I just want make sure once the 2 nights completed by 31 Dec I will attain my 40 nights milestone as by 1st January you switch to counting to Zero.
Ambassador Service Center’s Reply:
Greetings from IHG Ambassador Service Center! My name is Rio and it’s my pleasure to be of service to one of our esteemed Diamond Elite Ambassador members. I hope this email finds you in high spirits and excellent health.
Firstly, thank you for reaching out so we may better assist. We know how important it is for you to get the 40-night milestone rewards; however, I would like to be honest with you to properly set your expectations. Milestone rewards are triggered every time a stay is posted to a member’s account. And the posting time is 3-5 days after the check-out date, meaning I cannot give you assurance that your stay on December 30 will count towards your milestone activity for 2023, as there is a possibility that it will be posted by January.
We suggest that you get in touch with our hotel manager while at the hotel before check-out to see if they can expedite the posting of your stay. Again, this option is not guaranteed, Mr. REMOVED, as the posting of stays is system-generated. I know that this is not the answer you are expecting, but this is the best option that we can recommend.
IHG stays usually take 24 to 48 hours to post, and they first show as “pending” before finalizing with the points.
An Update from the Reader:
My stay with check out 31 December was posted today 02nd January but it counted for 2023 milestone reward.So the ambassador staff was wrong.
Conclusion
So, the reply from the Ambassador Service Center was incorrect, as I initially thought that it would be.
You have to pay attention, especially to stays that span two years, as there are several ways that chains handle them regarding what membership year they post.
It is good, however, that we can now confirm that a stay consumed in one year, even if the stay posts the following year, counts towards the Milestone Rewards in the year when the stay took place, contradicting the Ambassador Service Center’s reply.
