American Express Membership Rewards - AMEX Daily Wish - Denied

So much for the daily wish, more like a daily runaround. Finally a daily wish that is appealing to me and I am unable to take advantage of it.

Today's Daily Wish featured 50% of Swissotel in Chicago Illinois. As luck would have it today's workload was enormous and I was unable to try to take advantage of the deal until I returned home from work.

No worries, the deal is unlimited, based on availability of course. A quick check of the hotels website and they have still have almost any room type and package deal available for my desired check-in of 12/31/09 and check-out of 1/2/10.

So I go ahead and proceed with the Daily Wish on AMEX's website and receive the confirmation email with details on how to fulfill the reservation. I call the hotels reservation number as instructed only to hear them say the Daily Wish is sold out. Wait a minute; the Daily Wish is unlimited, based on hotel availability.

So I call AMEX and try to get a phone number for the Daily Wish people, only to get cut off after 15 minutes on the phone. So I call back the Swissotel reservations line and ask for a supervisor. He informs me they only have availability for one week in November. I ask him why their reservations website is showing almost every room night imaginable for 12/31/09 - 1/2/10 only to have him tell me he can't help me other than to escalate my concerns on to their complaint resolution department (which I had him do).

Another call back to AMEX and I end up getting transferred to their concierge department. By the way, nobody who answers the phone at AMEX has ever heard of the Daily Wish promotions of which I receive weekly emails about. So concierge says they can't help me with Daily Wish, but they are showing availability at this hotel for my desired dates at $98.99 per night on www.americanexpress.com/travel

So I told the concierge person to go ahead and book the 2-night stay for me and she says she can't. She says that I have to log onto www.americanexpress.com/travel and book it myself (so much for the benefit of having AMEX concierge service at my fingertips as a Delta Reserve Card Holder).

So I log onto the AMEX travel website only to find the room at $204 a night. The concierge person can't understand why she is seeing it at $99, but it is showing up at $204 a night for me.

So she says she will forward my call onto the online reservations help desk or something after she politely asks my permission to put me on hold. No problem, I have been on hold for the last hour and a half already. So finally someone at online services, or reservations, whatever finally picks up. It sounds like she is in an elevator, on a cell phone, in a third world country. At this point I don't know if I am being transferred to the FU department or what, but this lady was either totally messing with me, or she really was on an elevator on a cell phone in a third world country.

Anyway, I PDF'd every detail of this ordeal, the Daily Wish offer, the hotels availability showing every imaginable room style and package deal being available, the terms and conditions for AMEX, the terms and conditions for Swissotel, literally every piece of this puzzle showing that I should be eligible for this 50% off promotion.

Any tips on where to turn next would be appreciated.

I would expect that the "availability" is a capacity control, rather than any available room.

As for AMEX travel, I see the 98.99, so if you try that again, you might be able to get that. It comes to $231 for both nights, incl. fees and taxes.

I would expect that the "availability" is a capacity control, rather than any available room.

As for AMEX travel, I see the 98.99, so if you try that again, you might be able to get that. It comes to $231 for both nights, incl. fees and taxes.

Wow your right, but not for 2 adults and one 9 year old child. The rate for one adult is $99. The rate for 2 adults is $99. The rate for 1 adult and 1 nine year old child is $99, but the rate for 2 adults and 1 nine year old child is $204.

So I guess I could have two rooms with four adults (2 rooms, 4 people), or two rooms with two adults and two children (2 rooms, 4 people), for less than one room with 2 adults and one child. :confused:

Perhaps rates are based upon double occupancy and the third person (of any age) is increasing the room rate.

So I guess I could have two rooms with four adults (2 rooms, 4 people), or two rooms with two adults and two children (2 rooms, 4 people), for less than one room with 2 adults and one child. :confused:

That's bizarre. I have no idea what the hotel would say, but you could always book it for two adults and show up with a 9 year old in tow.

When you book on the hotel's website, it's the same price for 2 adults or 2 adults and 1 child ($160 per night, either way), so maybe they don't have a problem with the child - it could just be a Travelocity issue.

Book it for two adults.

Chicago isn't Asia, no one will care if there are three people in the room.