(UPDATE: I’ve bitten the bullet myself and the lounge pass is valid till the end of 2026, Hurray!)
Two recent rumours have, unfortunately, proven true. One is British Airways changing its tier qualification structure, making it near impossible to hit Gold or even Silver for most leisure travellers. I have to reconsider my Oneworld strategy next year.
The other news is about IHG. In their membership terms there’s now an update:
Beginning in 2025, the Annual Lounge Membership is valid for the remaining days in the year, if any, following the date the Milestone is achieved, plus one Calendar Year, regardless of when Milestone selection occurs, e.g. an Annual Lounge Membership Milestone choice achieved in June 2025 and selected in August 2025 will be valid until 31 December 2026.
From 2025, the validity of the annual lounge membership will be calculated from when the milestone is achieved, instead of when you select the benefit. In other words, an annual lounge membership earned in the year of 2025 will be valid through 2025/2026 regardless whether you select it in 2025 or 2026.
Honestly you can’t blame IHG for this change, as it’s more naturally how it is intended to work in the first place – getting one more year of benefits by choosing the reward on 01/01 instead of 31/12 doesn’t make a lot of sense, although it works in our favour of course.
It’s not crystal clear what happens to the rewards that were earned in 2024. I believe that they should still be valid for (almost) two years if we select it in 2025, as it would be unwise for IHG to apply the term change retroactively. Anyway, we should find out tomorrow!
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