InterContinental Hotels: Priority Club & Inter-Continental Ambassador - Should I use my RA referral now, or should I wait?

Got a referral certificate from a friend.
Is it wise to wait with it until I know I am going to travel and stay at an IC property before joining Ambassador (which I am not yet a member off), so that I get the maximum time out of it?
Due to commitments here all my travel in the next few weeks is going to be day trips, so I cannot see myself making use of RA until Jan/Feb really.
Am I taking a chance here that they might cancel the eferral certificates all together? or is there no danger of that?

I am thinking all this Especially since with the new rules I am not at all sure I would qualify for renewal next time, so only way I could renew it again is if I got a certificate in my welcome pack.

Sounds to me like you should wait until you know you will start using it.
As to IC canceling the whole referral certificates bonus altogether, I don't think they have plans to, but someone else in this forum perhaps an RA member could probably answer that one better then I can.

Enjoy it!

It will take a couple of weeks to get your kit and other materials, so if you have stays likely in late January, I'd send the referral in by early December. You also want to have the RA status at the time of making your bookings so this is shown on your reservations and the advisory sent to the various hotels you'll stay at. It is also useful to have the PC Plat status showing on any bookings for non-IC branded properties.

Also, keep a photocopy or scan of the filled out card in case it gets lost or delayed in the mail. Depending upon where the customer service centre is (indicated on the envelope), and where you are living, it can happen that process is delayed or cert lost. If you've not had notification of your upgraded status/RA membership after a couple of weeks, it is best to follow up with a phone call or email, or a note faxed with this copy you've made.

Welcome to the club...

[QUOTE=Shareholder]If you've not had notification of your upgraded status/RA membership after a couple of weeks, it is best to follow up with a phone call or email, or a note faxed with this copy you've made.

QUOTE]

I did the other way around. First I scanned the voucher and e-mailed it to IC. Within 2 days they responded and changed my status to RA, asking me to sent the original voucher by mail.

Thanks guys!
Yes it probably is a good idea to scan it first and send it to them, especially since I will be sending it from the UK so it can always go missing...

Thanks guys!
Yes it probably is a good idea to scan it first and send it to them, especially since I will be sending it from the UK so it can always go missing...

??

UK members should post their cert to: Service Centre, Bristol, BS38 7BL which is the address on the envelope that comes with certs sent to UK RA's.

waytogo, is your referral from a US or UK member?

??
UK members should post their cert to: Service Centre, Bristol, BS38 7BL which is the address on the envelope that comes with certs sent to UK RA's.

waytogo, is your referral from a US or UK member?


Its from a US member, my friend is from LA.
The envelope is address to the Salt Lake City Service Center.
Can I just send it to the Bristol Center in a normal envelope?

Bumping this thread rather than starting a new one. Can anyone advise if I should send, email or fax this in? I have a stay next weekend and would love to have the RA through by then, but that might be tricky.

Cert is in my hands, and I'm UK based, already an Ambassador, but just been referred by one of my friends.

First of all, one week is verry tight.

All depends a bit on how you got the cert. My and other FT members experience is that they ask a lot of questions when you fax them the cert. For example they will ask you who gave you the cert. If that's not a problem for your friend, then you might want to give it a try emailing them a copy of the cert and at the same time sent the original cert by mail.

No questions asked if you mail the cert by post. My advice would be to sent the cert by express mail and pray they process it in time.

Macspreader,

Don't bother faxing it as they won't action your certificate if you fax it until they have received the physical certificate - so it's unlikely that you will be upgraded before next weekend as at the moment it seems to take closer to two weeks rather than one.

An option is to contact the property and ask them whether they might respect the imminent upgrade ( offer to fax them the completed cert to prove it) - I've managed the reverse when a booking was a month after expiry - but before the start of a spouse RA start date - and the property confirmed they'd still respect the RA level. So sometimes they can be accomodating.

It took OVER A MONTH from when I posted my referral to getting the email upgrading me. Box has still not arrived and it is now over 6 weeks since I posted the cert.

It took OVER A MONTH from when I posted my referral to getting the email upgrading me. Box has still not arrived and it is now over 6 weeks since I posted the cert.

I'm not a conspiracy bunny - but several things they say they sent haven't arrived. I'm beginning to wonder whether not sending is a part of a cost cutting exercise.

You're going to be out of luck on this one. I gifted a RA referral to a FTer last month. He had a couple of IC stays coming up mid-month and I completed the details on his behalf (he was based in Europe, I'm in Canada) and Xpressposted the cert to the Utah service centre. Also faxed him a copy so he could fax it to the Ambassador service centre, but he emailed them in advance about using a faxed version and they nixed the idea outright. Said the actual cert had to arrive and be processed by the USA centre for the upgrade in his status (he was already an Ambassador) to go through. It took about two weeks for the cert to be processed, even though it should have only taken two days to be delivered by the USPS.

Ironically, his status did get upgraded the day he checked out of the IC here in Toronto...not sure if the benefits clicked in for his stay two days later in Bucharest.

Thanks for this, noted and I won't count on any chances. Next planned stays are in June / July, so should be sorted for there I guess.

Now, as to where to send the certificate. A search on here suggests an address in Bristol, UK or the Salt Lake City address. Anyone advise? If the UK address is still alive then that would be better surely? Unfortunately my friend lost the envelope the certificate came in, so I'm a bit out of luck that way...

Thanks,

An option is to contact the property and ask them whether they might respect the imminent upgrade ( offer to fax them the completed cert to prove it) - I've managed the reverse when a booking was a month after expiry - but before the start of a spouse RA start date - and the property confirmed they'd still respect the RA level. So sometimes they can be accomodating.

Think I might just take the filled in form to them at the hotel and ask if they would be able to process it for me and give me the benefits henceforth - any ideas if that would work? It's Le Grand we're going to and they seem to have a good reputation for treating RAs well.

Only problem is they might think I'm taking the mick slightly - I'm going to be using a BOGO as well, albeit on a 360 Euro / night rate.

Don't forget that RA's get free club access (with unlimited champers, and overall one of the best lounges you'll find) at LeGrand, plus upgrades into the best Opera View rooms, so its certainly worth a try.

Don't forget that RA's get free club access (with unlimited champers, and overall one of the best lounges you'll find) at LeGrand, plus upgrades into the best Opera View rooms, so its certainly worth a try.
Thanks, yes. Had already decided that a trip back with Mrs Macspreader would be a nice weekend plan for later in the year - this weekend is with for myself and Mrs Mac's father, visiting his forebearers' graves in northern France (don't mention the ...).

After our summer trip around California (can the MH really be that bad ?) I should have a decent boost of PC points by then and will probably try for a freebie in Paris next time round.

Think I might just take the filled in form to them at the hotel and ask if they would be able to process it for me and give me the benefits henceforth - any ideas if that would work? It's Le Grand we're going to and they seem to have a good reputation for treating RAs well.

Only problem is they might think I'm taking the mick slightly - I'm going to be using a BOGO as well, albeit on a 360 Euro / night rate.


In my view you reduce your chances of doing the bogoff and chancing your arm with RA at checkin. It's inviting rejection. I'd email re RA and ask.