The InterContinental Ambassador Program effectively allows you to purchase IHG elite status and receive additional benefits when you stay at IHG One Rewards brands. InterContinental Ambassador members receive many benefits, but one of the most valuable is a complimentary weekend night at an InterContinental hotel or resort each membership year.
In this guide, we’ll start with an overview of the Intercontinental Ambassador Program before discussing its complimentary weekend night benefit.
What is an Intercontinental Ambassador?
For $200 or 40,000 IHG points – worth $200 based on TPG’s July 2024 Evaluation – You can purchase a 12-month Intercontinental Ambassador membership. This membership provides benefits when staying at InterContinental hotels and resorts, including:
- One-class room upgrade
- 4 pm late checkout
- $20 food and beverage credit per stay
Intercontinental Ambassador benefits generally do not apply when you stay at other IHG brands. However, when you book through qualifying methods, InterContinental Ambassador members receive a few additional benefits at participating Six Senses and InterContinental Alliance resort properties.
InterContinental Ambassador membership also includes Platinum Elite status in the IHG One Rewards program. However, if you are eligible for the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card or IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card. Finally, these IHG credit cards offer Platinum Elite status and access to the benefit of a free fourth award night when redeeming IHG points for a lower annual fee than an InterContinental Ambassador membership.
RELATED: Which Credit Card Should You Use for an IHG Stay?
Intercontinental Ambassador weekend night
You get an Intercontinental Ambassador weekend night every time you buy or renew your membership. However, this bonus works differently than on weekend nights Anniversary nights you can earn with some IHG credit cards. Instead of being worth up to a set number of points, InterContinental Ambassador covers room and tax on the second night of an eligible paid booking on a weekend night.
You can redeem an Intercontinental Ambassador weekend night once before your 12-month membership expires. To use the complimentary weekend night, you must book a stay of two nights or more using the Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night Rate.
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In most regions, this special rate is only available at InterContinental hotels and resorts for weekend stays, defined as Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Therefore, you’ll need to check in on a Friday or Saturday in most regions to book this rate and receive a complimentary weekend night.
Before we look at the booking process, here are a few other things you should know about InterContinental Ambassador complimentary weekend nights:
- You cannot use complimentary weekend nights in conjunction with award nights or other IHG promotions. You must book online using the Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night Rate.
- Only InterContinental Ambassador members can use the complimentary weekend night (proper identification required at check-in).
- You must make an advance reservation, and you can only use one complimentary weekend night per stay. You may only book one reservation using the Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night Rate; If you have multiple reservations using this rate your booking may be cancelled.
- When you check in at the hotel, you must have one unredeemed and valid complimentary weekend night in your account. If you do not, you must pay the hotel’s best flexible rate for all nights of your stay.
Related: Top Intercontinental Hotels Around the World
How to book your complimentary weekend night
To book your InterContinental Ambassador complimentary weekend night, go to your IHG One Rewards account homepage, scroll down to the “Enjoy Your Rewards” section, find the “Ambassador Weekend Nights” tile and click the “Book Your Nights” link.
Then, under “Free Nights and Booking Rewards,” find the “Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night” tile and click “Redeem.”
Alternatively, you can shorten this process by searching This exact link. This link is useful to bookmark, as you can check the Ambassador complimentary weekend night rate from this page, even if you don’t currently have eligible complimentary weekend nights in your account.
As you browse your search results, notice the Ambassador complimentary weekend night rate. Unfortunately, this rate is often not the least expensive flexible rate.
For example, here are the rates on both the Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Level and the least expensive Flexible Level for a two-night stay May 9-11, 2025 at the InterContinental New York Times Square:
| Rates for 2-night stay inclusive of taxes and fees | Classic low floors | Premium midtown view | Classic angle | Premium skyline view | Junior Suite Midtown View |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambassador complimentary weekend nightly rate | $957.22, with $438.44 credited at check-in, net price of $518.78 | $1,071.98, credited at check-in with $495.82, net price of $576.16 | $1,083.46, for a net price of $581.9, with $501.56 deposited at check-in | $1,117.88, with $518.77 credited at check-in, net price of $599.11 | $1,645.78, with $782.72 credited at check-in, net price of $863.06 |
| Cheapest flexible rate | $931.12 | $1,042.44 | $1,053.58 | $1,086.96 | $1,599.02 |
| savings | $412.34 | $466.28 | $471.68 | $487.85 | $735.96 |
And here are the rates on both the Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Level and the least expensive Flexible Level for a two-night stay May 9-11, 2025 at the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa:
| Rates for 2-night stay inclusive of taxes and fees | Garden view | Pool view balcony | Lagoon view balcony | Beachfront balcony | Suite with Club Lounge access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambassador complimentary weekend nightly rate | $978.72, with $430.33 credited at check-in, net price of $548.39 | $1,024.48, with $452.65 deposited at check-in, for a net price of $571.83 | $1,161.74, with $519.60 credited at check-in, net price of $642.14 | $1,344.77, with $608.89 credited at check-in, net price of $735.88 | $1,527.79, credited at check-in with $698.16, net price of $829.63 |
| Cheapest flexible rate | $929.79 | $973.25 | $1,103.66 | $1,277.53 | $1,451.40 |
| savings | $381.40 | $401.42 | $461.52 | $541.65 | $621.77 |
The charts above show the nightly premium you’ll need to pay to use your complimentary weekend night. But room rate and tax are covered when you use your Ambassador complimentary weekend night, so this benefit can pay for more than a year of Ambassador membership.
Although the Ambassador complimentary weekend night rate before the second night credit is usually higher than the cheapest flexible rate, you’ll usually get the best value when you extend your complimentary weekend night stay by just two nights.
Finally, you’ll see even more savings when you use your Ambassador complimentary weekend nights at more expensive properties. For example, here are the rates for both the Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Level and the least expensive Flexible Level for a two-night stay on May 9-11, 2025 at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur:
| Rates for 2-night stay inclusive of taxes and fees | Excellent | Classic high floors | Super classic | Classic Club Access | Executive Suite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambassador complimentary weekend nightly rate | $131.96 credited at check-in, for a net price of $265.17, $133.21 | $290.36, with $144.54 credited at check-in, net price of $145.82 | $315.54, $157.14 credited at check-in, for a net price of $158.40 | $416.27, $207.51 credited at check-in, for a net price of $208.76 | $693.28, with a $346.02 deposit at check-in, for a net price of $347.26 |
| Cheapest flexible rate | $257.22 | $281.65 | $306.07 | $403.78 | $672.48 |
| savings | $124.01 | $135.83 | $147.67 | $195.02 | $325.22 |
As you can see, the savings will not fully cover your InterContinental Ambassador membership fee (unless you book an Executive Suite) if you used your complimentary weekend night at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur. But, even at one of the least expensive InterContinental hotels in the world, you’ll still be covering more than half of your annual membership fee on most weekend dates when you use your complimentary weekend night.
Related: 19 Best IHG Hotels in the World
Bottom line
The InterContinental Ambassador Weekend Night Perk has the potential to save you more than the program’s membership fee each year. For example, we saved about $286 compared to the cheapest rate available during our two-night stay at InterContinental Fiji in 2019. Additionally, we knew we would get a room upgrade, late checkout at 4pm, and a $20 meal. And a beverage credit thanks to our Intercontinental Ambassador membership. That all adds up to a well-invested $200 in the Intercontinental Ambassador Program.