With all the uncertainty surrounding future travel plans and a strong sense of doom in the air many elite members are already beginning to wonder how to manage their loyalty activity this year. It seems like a matter of time before modifications are made by almost all of the loyalty programs. IHG seems to be one of the first. Miles to Memories reported some of the modifications that World of Hyatt has already made and Shawn has already confirmed that his status was extended until 2022.

Since there are constrained travel plans and a shorter time period during which members can earn Elite tier status, IHG just sent out an email that they will be reducing the Elite membership criteria required (nights or points) this year by 25% or more. Top tier Spire Elite status can now be attained at 55 nights. 

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Quick Take

We'll see how this goes in the weeks to come. There are already a ton of elites with Hilton thanks to the Aspire Card, but Marriott just downgraded the status of a lot of members so I'm curious to see how they handle things. So far programs seem to be doing things on a piecemeal basis, which makes sense because it's unclear how long the status quo will be impacted.