[frustratedflyer]

So I have an IHG mastercard issued by Creation in the UK. They have just written to say that their relationship with IHG is stopping on 27 June. Great shame as I loved the card. For £99 a year I got a free night voucher plus so many points that I qualified for Top Tier in IHG one Rewards. Any suggestions on what to replace it with. I have a BA Amex but can’t see anyone else doing an IHG card at the moment?

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airfrancereservation

[AlanOrton1]

Unfortunately I’m not aware of one, though the IHG one was a little unique in I think spend on the card counted towards status – which isn’t always the case.
Sadly most hotel credit cards are US focussed, so unless you have US credit and an address you may find it difficult to access.
Marriott have a UK Amex, and something like an Amex Plat allows you to transfer points to other travel related programmes. Plus it grants access to Hilton Gold.

[JD_84]

Disappointing to see this happen, going to be sad to see the cared go, but not Creation. I have managed to retain Spire Elite/Diamond for a long time through this card and IHG has been my chain of choice as have good negotiated rates through work. I guess the Ambassador membership will become a bit more valuable in 2024.

Creation has been a pain in the backside though, their IT is terrible, the customer service is worse.

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GBAIR72

[GBAIR72]

I am gutted about this. It really helped me maintain Diamond status some years.
There is now no decent credit card for hotels in UK

[ASK1945]

I am also disappointed with this (I received the same email earlier today). I have the free Mastercard.

However, I use my Black BA Amex card for 90% of my purchases, so it’s not the absolute disaster for me that others have reported.

[huey]

IHG Rewards is such an odd duck. IHG seems to have policies that are set up just to annoy their members. For example, you receive upgrades to executive floors but no access to the lounge.

But I can’t see them being so lame as to exclude the Brits from an affinity credit card … an excellent path to earning bonus points. That would see their biggest users move to another hotel chain. I suspect a new CC issuer will be along shortly.

[ASK1945]

huey: Marriott are aggressively marketing their Amex tie up at the moment.

[huey]

ASK1945 wrote:

huey: Marriott are aggressively marketing their Amex tie up at the moment.

But Marriott is a real disaster. Like American Airlines, they can’t seem to do much right. In my experience, Hilton is the only other chain that makes sense to this points & miles junkie. Hilton’s big enough, with a large family of different types of hotels. Like IHG, where you can earn your points at Holiday Inns and spend them at InterContinentals. The HHonors AmEx is just wonderful for earning HH points. Of course, the HH redemption rates make your eyes water, but there are all kinds of ways around that.

[ASK1945]

huey: you asked a question and I answered it. I didn’t make a recommendation, just provided a fact.

[huey]

My response was for others who might not be aware of the current situation. Sorry to bother you.

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ASK1945

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