American Express Membership Rewards - RC Berlin Club Room with no Club access.

Just tried this morning to make a reservation with American Express Centurion UK for a Club Room at the Ritz Carlton Berlin and spent sometime processing it!

However at the end of the call I was told that we would not have access to the club level, which was the purpose of requesting a Club room. There was no club floor access available when booking Centurion FHR, however I could access the club lounge at a charge of 100 Euros per day making the total cost for a Club Room 395 Euros per night. Having previously checked online I knew Club Rooms where available at Rack Rate of 315 Euros so asked to book this instead under the Platinum FHR offer. (See below for details of offers from RC website)

Is it normal for RC to offer Centurion guaranteed upgrade to Club Room without access to The Club? I found the process very confusing and to be honest misleading as there is no way to book Club access under Centurion rates!

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American Express Centurion rate,
* Club Level Room
* 295.00 (EUR) per night
* Amex Centurion, Club Level Room already upgraded from deluxe, 1 king or 2 twin beds, see rate facts below for benefits

RC Club room already upgraded from Deluxe at time of booking
(Important Upgrade DOES NOT include access to Club Lounge!!!!)
Daily buffet breakfast for 2 in our restaurant Desbrosses
(will not be credited when unused, does not include gratuity)
Lunch for two in our restaurant Debrosses, once per stay
(excluding alcohol and gratuities)
Guaranteed 4 pm late check out
40 Euros incidental credit - cannot be applied to room and tax
Must be booked by American Express Centurion Travel Services
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Fine Hotels & Resorts rate,
* Club Level Room >>
* 315.00 (EUR) per night
* Fine Hotels & Resorts, RC Club room, 1 king or 2 twin beds, please see rate facts for benefits included

Upgrade to Junior Suite based upon availability at check-in
(Important Upgrade includes access to Club Lounge!!!!)
Daily buffet breakfast for two in our restaurant Debrosses
(Will not be credited if unused, does not include gratuity)
Lunch for two in our restaurant Debrosses, once per stay
(excluding alcohol and gratuities)
Guaranteed 4 pm late check out
Must be booked by American Express Platinum Travel Services
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Just tried this morning to make a reservation with American Express Centurion UK for a Club Room at the Ritz Carlton Berlin and spent sometime processing it!

Is it normal for RC to offer Centurion guaranteed upgrade to Club Room without access to The Club? I found the process very confusing and to be honest misleading as there is no way to book Club access under Centurion rates!


Not in my experience. I book a club suite on the club floor with a discount through Centurion...arrive...I open my door go down the hall and I am in the club lounge.

Is there any chance you just got a "bad" agent? It could be the US and UK are different (I am US).

Usually my experience when booking a Club Room.

Not a bad agent, I checked online at Ritz Carlton using the FHR and AXC codes, that's what I posted above. Seams odd that a Centurion cant book a club room, but Platinum can! Is it worth highlighting this to anyone at Centurion or FHR, would anyone care apart form the customer?

Is it normal for RC to offer Centurion guaranteed upgrade to Club Room without access to The Club? I found the process very confusing and to be honest misleading as there is no way to book Club access under Centurion rates!

That seems very odd to me. Have you tried calling the hotel directly to find out if there is a reason for this? I know that when booking under the AXC rate through CTS in the UK and Japan I have sometimes had to confirm directly with the hotels what the benefits are, and then ask the CTS agent to call the hotel to confirm the benefits. This happens when they are unfamiliar with the AXC package. At the RCs I have stayed at, a Club room has meant access to the Club lounge - the rooms don't really have any benefits without that!

The CTS called the hotel as he noted on the booking the Club lounge issue and could not belive it. The hotel confirmed and offered access for 50 Euros per person per day.

I booked the PTS rate instead which is the same as Rack Rate for Club Room and emailed the manger at the hotel with the bizzare scenario. He agreed that it was odd and is taking it up with the marketing team, but no clear explanation of why this exists the way it does.

Will let you know what the hotel is like and actual benefits offered, but do feel free to check yourself using the AXC and FHR codes on the RC booking section of their website, as very odd. Any other RC have this weird Club rule?

Will let you know what the hotel is like and actual benefits offered, but do feel free to check yourself using the AXC and FHR codes on the RC booking section of their website, as very odd. Any other RC have this weird Club rule?
I had checked with the RC booking section before posting earlier, and found it really strange. In particular, the fact that on the RC web-site they put 4 exclamation marks after the lack of club access seems odd, and un-RC-like. I haven't come across a situation with RC where a room quoted as being a club room doesn't have club access. Since CTS has already spoken to the hotel's reservations department, if I wanted to pursue ithis (and if it were me, I probably would!), I would contact RC's central reservations to point it out to them and ask them what the meaning was of a club room that did not have club access.