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【2019.10.24 Updated】 IHG has relaunched the China Southern status Match rules (you can check them on IHG's WeChat official account). The rules are very much a typical frequent-traveler program. Main changes include:

  • Much harder to Match: you must first meet IHG qualifying night requirements to participate in the Match; Platinum requires 40 nights. So that Platinum you got for free from the credit card, ha ha ha. credit card status.
  • Match capacity has been capped: 10,000 spots total, first come, first served;
  • More review: after a member registers, China Southern will review it within 8 business days;
  • China Southern status requalification has been made harder: now you need to fly 6 requalification segments and reach 6,600 km in upgrade mileage
  • The new requalification rules only apply to people who start matching on 2019.10.25. Those who successfully Matched earlier are not affected. Congrats to friends who already got China Southern Gold and can fly two domestic segments.

【2019.10.12 Updated】 IHG has started taking back Spire status, emailing some users that their status will be reverted to the pre-upgrade level. A certain percentage of people still haven't had Spire taken back. For readers who don't have another hotel elite status, you've already matched Wyndham Diamond, right?

China Southern has also started taking back Gold from customers whose IHG status came back as “not real Spire,” as shown below. For most U.S. readers, the IHG Platinum from the Chase card is allowed to match to China Southern Gold. If you previously had Platinum or Spire status, in theory you don't need to worry about the China Southern Gold issue.

If there are any further updates, we'll keep you posted.

【2019.10.10 Updated】All Matches are currently paused. For those who have already gotten Spire and China Southern Gold, status is still unchanged for now, though it could still be clawed back. IHG has already removed the 15,000-point offer earned through matching Spire from My Offers.

This wave of IHG Spire was massively upgraded, and IHG seems to be trying to drag China Southern down with it. After dying for a short while, the official account reposted the promo, and the WeChat account even commented, “The event still has a long time to run, everyone don't rush, just Match slowly.” After it came back to life, I successfully got LD matched too. The entry page is very congested; keep logging in and try a few more times and you'll get in. Entry: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/t5oLLbIuxzxXp02RuRdBuw or scan the QR code below on WeChat to enter:

【Update, China Southern Gold Match is dead】Now IHG Spire status can be matched directly to China Southern Gold inside the IHG WeChat mini program. Gold is valid through 2020-02-29. By completing the relevant China Southern CZ segments flown nonstop on China Southern metal (one two-cabin segment or two segments in P, B, M, H, K fare classes; see China Southern's official explanation for details), it can be renewed through 2021-02-28. This Match also instantly upgrades you to China Southern Gold. There are too many people matching now, so once again: if you matched China Southern Gold using an upgraded Spire, do so at your own risk. Of course, IHG Platinum also matches directly to China Southern Gold; if you don't want to upgrade to Spire, you can consider using your own Platinum to match. IHG Gold matches to China Southern Silver. Get your IHG and China Southern accounts ready (for the China Southern account, it's recommended to bind an address to receive the Gold card)

  • Open the IHG WeChat official account and find the entry: Member Activities—Yuehui China Southern | Elite Status Match
  • Go to the IHG WeChat mini program and log in to your account (it's crowded, so try a few times)
  • Then just follow the prompts; after registration, it will either send a text message instantly or upgrade you if you're already Gold

The mtch entry is badly jammed now, so keep refreshing. I also had to click it many times before getting in. And there are too many people in China gaming it; it looks like it could die at any moment.

What can China Southern Gold do? Right now, I think the biggest use is that it lets you bring one guest into China Southern and American Airlines (AA) lounges. Especially in mainland China, these lounges are much better than the ones in North America.

Recently, the Chase IHG Premier Credit Card's all-time-high bonus "125, 000+$50" is about to expire. The IHG status this card gives you is Platinum, which in many cases isn't very useful, especially in North America. Above Platinum there is another status, Spire Elite, which is a top-tier IHG elite status. Normally, besides earning it through stays (75 nights), you can also get it via other hotel program status matches, or through an upgrade-link challenge.

Upgrade link

In the past couple of days, a leaked IHG link has appeared that can instantly upgrade you to Spire status (Spire Elite), and you can earn a total of 15,000 points by completing three stays. I tried it, and even newly registered accounts can be upgraded. The IHG Spire member challenge is actually provided to employees of big companies, and usually requires a specific code to register. Because this is a leaked link, there may be unknown consequences after registering; please weigh the risks yourself. I was already Spire before, and I successfully used the link below to register LD, and also upgraded my own small account. If you want to open a new account, you can see the stacked promo in the last part of this article.

  • Leaked IHG Spire status upgrade link: Click here
  • After entering your information, you'll be instantly upgraded to Spire Elite and it will last through 2019-12-31; complete 10 nights within three months to keep Spire status through 2020-12-31; if you don't get the instant upgrade, refresh the status page.
  • After upgrading, complete three paid stays and you can also earn 15,000 IHG points;

Simply stay a few nights to keep your Spire Elite status and earn bonus points:

Stay 10 nights (instead of 75) in 90 days and keep Spire Elite status.

Stay 5 nights (instead of 40) in 90 days and keep Platinum Elite status.

  • Stay once and earn 1,000 IHG® Rewards Club bonus points
  • Stay twice and earn 4,000 IHG® Rewards Club bonus points
  • Stay three times and earn 10,000 IHG® Rewards Club bonus points
  • After registering, you can check it in My Offers; the offer status is as follows:

Instant Spire - Q4/Registration

Starts: 10/09/2019
Ends: 12/31/2019

  • Because this is a leaked link, it is expected not to stay alive for long. If you need it, you can consider whether to upgrade; after registering, it upgrades to Spire instantly.As for whether IHG may later take back the status or freeze the account after registration, readers should weigh the risk themselves.

What IHG Spire status can do

Official core benefits

The official benefits include:

  • 100% bonus points
  • Complimentary room upgrades*
  • Early check-in from 10am*
  • Extended check-out until 2pm*
  • Priority check-in
  • Free internet**
  • You can also match Hertz Five Star status, entry: https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/us/en/account-mgmt/spire
  • 3 free Amazon Kindle eBooks per quarter, entry: IHG app ️ tap your account name ️ Extra Benefits ️ tap Buy to jump to Amazon and place the order

Match China Southern Gold

[Update] The IHG mini-program Match entry has been restored.

Now IHG Spire status can be matched directly to China Southern Gold in the WeChat IHG mini program. Gold status is valid until 2020-02-29, and after completing the required flight segments it can be renewed until 2021-02-28. This Match is also an instant upgrade to China Southern Gold. There are too many people doing this Match now, so as always, proceed at your own risk.

  • Prepare your IHG and China Southern accounts (for the China Southern account, it is recommended to bind an address to receive the Gold card)
  • Open the WeChat IHG official account and find the entry: Member Activities—Yuehui China Southern | Elite Status Match
  • Go to the WeChat IHG mini program and log in to your account (very crowded, try a few times)
  • Then follow the prompts to finish. After registration, you will receive an SMS instantly, or if you are already Gold it will be upgraded right away

The mtch entry is heavily congested right now, so you can refresh a few more times. I also had to click many times before getting in. And there are too many people in China doing this, so it could die at any time.

By the way, if you already have China Southern Silver or Gold, you can Match back the other way. The entry is in the "China Southern e Xing" WeChat mini program.

Match elite status from other hotels

Since this is one of IHG's higher elite statuses other than the InterContinental Ambassador program, you can use this Spire Elite status to match top-tier status with other hotel chains. Here is a summary of the Match opportunities that are still available (I am not listing niche hotel programs):

Note: For readers in the U.S., simply applying for (or upgrading to) a Hilton Aspire credit card gets you Hilton Diamond status, click here to apply quickly (150,000 sign-up bonus).

In short, it is not all that useful, but Spire status is still pretty good in the Asia-Pacific region, especially Greater China. During an award stay at ANA Crowne Plaza Narita Airport in Tokyo, because of Spire status, the front desk gave me an executive suite plus breakfast for two (stay report in preparation). For Spire benefits in Greater China, you can refer to an article I wrote আগে.

Spire exclusive benefits in Greater China

  • Stay at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in Greater China and receive dining vouchers with a face value of RMB 120
  • Stay at Hotel Indigo and receive dining vouchers with a face value of RMB 90
  • Stay at Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts and receive dining vouchers with a face value of RMB 60 in RMB (hotels in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan will be converted into local currency of equivalent value, same below)
  • Stay at Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts and HUALUXE Hotels & Resorts and enjoy club lounge privileges (the lounge may not be open during breakfast hours)
  • Stay at Holiday Inn Express and receive one welcome gift bag.
  • Note: dining vouchers usually cannot be used for breakfast.

Stackable promotions

New member offer

If you do not have an account, or want to register a burner account or temporarily open one for your parents or LD, you can first enroll in the new member offer (new members only). After signing up, you may receive the offer below, with at least 15,000 points (this is not an Accelerate promotion). The screenshot below shows the 30,000-point offer that our author Darren received for a family member's account:

(Warning: if you are opening a second account for yourself, please think carefully about the potential unknown risks. If you insist on opening one, the billing information should be different)

Other stackable offers

Once you have an account and upgrade to Spire Elite, you can consider pairing it with the following promotions to earn more stay points.

  • Combine it with IHG's current-quarter Accelerate promotion
  • Combine it with the promotion “Earn 3,000 points per stay at InterContinental hotels and get 10,000 points for joining the new Ambassador program + an extra 3,000 points per stay”: each stay at an InterContinental hotel can earn 3,000 points. The promotion runs from 2019-09-26 to 2019-11-30. Also, if you join the InterContinental Ambassador program during the promotion period, you can get 10,000 points upon sign-up, plus an extra 3,000 points per stay.
  • You can also pair it with IHG's Greater China weekend “Extraordinary Benefits” promotion; with Spire status, it is still pretty good. See the article below for details:

https://www.uscreditcards101.com/ihg-greaten-china-spire-elite-benefit-2019-2020-weekend-promotion-review/

Screenshot of Multiple Offers

After you’ve registered for all the promotions above (the Greater China weekend “Exceptional Benefits” promotion does not require registration), you’ll see the following in My offer (using a new user as an example):

Once again: after registering, there is a chance IHG may take back your status or freeze your account, so please weigh the risk yourself.