American Express Membership Rewards - Mandarin Oriental Centurion Amenity 2007

I was told today by the French CTS hat there was no Centurion amenity at the MO Tokyo in 2007 (it used to be a free lunch). Has anyone been there this year to confirm this?

I was told today by the French CTS hat there was no Centurion amenity at the MO Tokyo in 2007 (it used to be a free lunch). Has anyone been there this year to confirm this?

fredsxb,

I think MO Tokyo has Cent amenity for 2007.

Customized Special Amenity
• A complimentary lunch for up to two people per room, excluding alcohol, taxes and gratuities, once during your stay.

Centurion Hotel Program

• Confirmed room upgrade at time of reservation, based on availability.

• One complimentary night with a two-night minimum stay, once per year.


This URL is FHR website for Japanese Centurion.

http://www134.americanexpress.com/travelfhr/PlatCCSGServlet?request_type=fhrintl&action=4&lang=en&ctry=jp&pdtyp=ccsg&cdtyp=cent&fid=5251

You can check the benefits for MO Tokyo.

thanks,
masahiro

I called the French CTS today to clarify this matter.

After an extensive research, they ended up sending me an email stating that you don't get the free lunch if you're taking advantage of the complimentary night. The latter being the case for me, I am not entitled to the free lunch.

Was anyone told this before?

(FYI, I'm only staying 2 nights at this property, one night being the complimentary one).

TANSTAAFL. :)

Hi Fred,

They are wrong - the free night is a separate benefit to the FHR benefits. We are staying at the MO Tokyo in April, and getting the free night and the amenities.

Thanks,
Richard

How many nights are you staying there in April ?

They told me the free lunch wasn't part of the amenities.

Can you confirm you're supposed to receive it?

4 nights.

I booked 2 (so paid for one, and one free). Then my good lady did the same (she has Centurion too).

Both our confirmations show the free night and amenity.

To get the free night, you need to book a qualifying FHR rate, and FHR rates come with the appropiate amenities:
http://www134.americanexpress.com/travelfhr/PlatCCSGServlet?request_type=pcfhrdetail&region=gns&action=6&fid=5251

Thanks,
Richard

I've just checked in at the MO Tokyo and they mentioned the free lunch in the list of beneifts under the FHR & Centurion offer. So I will end up getting this free lunch.

FYI, the French CTS never got back to me on this matter eventhough I called them at least 4 times and sent them 2 emails (meaning that for them, lunch is NOT included...). Maybe Amex is trying to accelerate the loss of benefits of the Centurion card by not even giving their customers benefits they're supposed to get... :D

but so MO has not canned free nights at almost all their properties, like was originally feared...

4 nights.

I booked 2 (so paid for one, and one free). Then my good lady did the same (she has Centurion too).

Both our confirmations show the free night and amenity.

To get the free night, you need to book a qualifying FHR rate, and FHR rates come with the appropiate amenities:
http://www134.americanexpress.com/travelfhr/PlatCCSGServlet?request_type=pcfhrdetail&region=gns&action=6&fid=5251

Thanks,
Richard

Well-mark this as my official "I am dumb as a stump" moment. I cannot believe that this has never occurred to me! (dh & I are both cent)

Thank you Richard! Seriously, I cannot imagine why I never thought of this.
Hopefully, MO benefits will stll be in place when we visit Prague.
I've heard wonderful things about the new MO-- and 2 free nights are better than 1!


edited to add: it dawned on me after I posted this that perhaps the MO benefits don't accrue to supplemental card holders-- although it's worth looking into since each holder gets the elite upgrades, etc.

IF it's possible, then it's a major coup that would help offset the additional cardholder fee.

edited to add: it dawned on me after I posted this that perhaps the MO benefits don't accrue to supplemental card holders-- although it's worth looking into since each holder gets the elite upgrades, etc.

IF it's possible, then it's a major coup that would help offset the additional cardholder fee.

I am a supplemental card holder, and I get the same benefits. I'll be using the MO benefits at MIA later this month.

right, i think its fair to assume that richard was also referring to a supplementary card here Then my good lady did the same (she has Centurion too)

Are there still certificates for the MO free night or is it done electronically now? I never got a 2007 cert. Do I need to do anything to get the night identified as being free?

Correct, she is a supp on my account. Here in the UK we are not issued vouchers for each property. It was confirmed with 2 people at Centurion that as long as she has a black coloured supp card, she can have a free night too.

Some friends of ours are in the same position and did the same two-fer trick at the HKG Landmark over Christmas, the only condition was that they had to pay for the two separate 2 night stays on a different Centurion card. No problem at all! ^

Thanks,
Richard

Correct, she is a supp on my account. Here in the UK we are not issued vouchers for each property. It was confirmed with 2 people at Centurion that as long as she has a black coloured supp card, she can have a free night too.

Some friends of ours are in the same position and did the same two-fer trick at the HKG Landmark over Christmas, the only condition was that they had to pay for the two separate 2 night stays on a different Centurion card. No problem at all! ^

Thanks,
Richard


OK- then this may qualify for the most valuable tip I ever received on FT!
(and I've received so many)


I'm PMing you now, bc I think you just earned yourself a reward--

I was told by the German Cent desk that the MO benefit does not apply to supplementary card holders. Only the primary card holder is eligible - at least for German Cents

I was told by the German Cent desk that the MO benefit does not apply to supplementary card holders. Only the primary card holder is eligible - at least for German Cents

It's true for US as well. Only the primary is eligible for the free night. You could use it twice if 2 people in household had 2 separate primary accts, say for 2 different businesses or something. Of course you could get lucky and a CTS agent might not notice and let you go ahead and book 2 free nights (provided you had the coupon to surrender at check-in- and from my experience, they send out the coupon books with additional cardholders too!)

I didn't reveive any paper certificate so I assume it is done electronically (if I don't post here after checking-out then it means it was electronic...). (I also asked the French CTS 3 times about this and then never got back to me).

I had assumed RichardMannion was talking about 2 different Centurion accounts when he mentioned his brilliant idea. Hence, I did not ask if my wife (she is a supplementary card holder) would be entitled to the free night as well but I doubt it would have worked (or that a French CTS agent would have gone through the trouble of checking this for me).

Are there still certificates for the MO free night or is it done electronically now? I never got a 2007 cert. Do I need to do anything to get the night identified as being free?

Richard seems to have extraordinary fortune when dealing with Centurion as far as the benefits go: I seem to remember he even got the SPG and Hilton statuses for his supplementary Centurion which no-one else I know of has achieved.

what? i thought spg was given to supp?

and climbermom (US) also said her supp got the amenity..?

what? i thought spg was given to supp?

and climbermom (US) also said her supp got the amenity..?

Yes. SPG Plat was given to Supp. But now it is Gold the Supp gets nothing.

Hilton should not be given to Supp.

Just last week Centurion C/S UK told me that Supp gets MO benifits.

i thought amex plat supp plat cardholders got spg gold.. so they dont either?

SPG Plat was given to Supp. But now it is Gold the Supp gets nothing.
makes no sense considering how much more valuable plat status is..

Very true, my primary supp got both SPG Plat and Hilton Gold. Actually so too did another supp on my account.

The lack of clear T&C's for the cards makes it an easy argument. Only time I have seen precise definition is around access to Virgin Clubhouses when it was clearly only people with Black coloured Centurion cards - not that stopped people rotating people around the account so they had a Black coloured card.

No one ever defined that is one night per overall Centurion account. I know supps that have used the benefit before. Hell I even used a free night at the MO NY (back then) as a gift for some people in my team, I wasn't even there.

Thanks,
Richard

Richard seems to have extraordinary fortune when dealing with Centurion as far as the benefits go: I seem to remember he even got the SPG and Hilton statuses for his supplementary Centurion which no-one else I know of has achieved.


In the US all of the other benefits accrue to supplementary cardholders. Otherwise, why on earth would one pay for it? Before they changed it, we both were SPG plat. Now only 1 of us, since we have to earn it the hard way.

The last time I received MO coupons was (I think) 2005. Last year cent travel told me that it's all electronic now. I'm thinking that each person would need to call and make separate reservations and each would need to present his/her card.

Yes. SPG Plat was given to Supp. But now it is Gold the Supp gets nothing.

Hilton should not be given to Supp.

Just last week Centurion C/S UK told me that Supp gets MO benifits.


On our acct the primary cardholder has (earned) SPG plat and supplementary card holder has (comped) Gold.

Supplementary also has all of the other elite benefits.

Yea i have 2 supplemental members on my account and they have all the same benefits I have. I have not tried using the MO free night so i can't say whether it works or not.

Decided to look on the MO site, since I'm definitely planning to try this new
tip.

Looks as if there will be a lot of new MOs soon:


· Hainan Island (2007)
· Macau (2009)
· Guangzhou (2010)
· Taipei (2010) ·
Riviera Maya, Mexico (2007)
· Boston (2008)
· Grand Cayman (2009)
· Chicago (2009)
· Las Vegas (2009)
· Dallas (2009)
· Dellis Cay (2009)
Barcelona (2008)
· Marrakech (2009)
· Paris (2010)


No telling how long the free night will last though, so it may not be an option by the time all of these open.


The 2 that I'm thinking about now are MO San Fran and MO DC. I've heard great things about the MO in SF. Has anyone stayed at the one in DC?

It's one of the few major cities I've never visited and we've talked about making a trip soon. I know there's a St. Regis we'll stay at, but perhaps we'll move around and accrue more stays.

The 2 that I'm thinking about now are MO San Fran and MO DC. I've heard great things about the MO in SF. Has anyone stayed at the one in DC?

The MO SF is quite good. Good views from the corner bedrooms, including the baths. Breakfast was truly wonderful. The location is okay. The lobby is small and the decor throughout a bit too traditional for me (eg compared to Miami), but overall I would probably stay there again.

Is the free hotel night available only once per calendar year? Or is it once per hotel per calendar year?

Thanks.

rooms, dining, spa @ MO DC are reportedly great, while service sounds like a step down from the RCs.

Just to clarify how it works in the UK and Australia:

One stay per property per year - and supplementary Centurions are eligible.

Primary and supplementary eligible for FHR, Hilton Gold and Starwood Gold.

The MO San Francisco is magnificent - I recommend booking one class down for an at-time-of-booking upgrade into a Bridge to Bridge room.

MO DC is good, but a bit out of the way (near the Jefferson memorial).

The 2 that I'm thinking about now are MO San Fran and MO DC. I've heard great things about the MO in SF. Has anyone stayed at the one in DC?


Plenty of discussion about MO DC in the Luxury Hotels forum.

Plenty of discussion about MO DC in the Luxury Hotels forum.

I actually just discovered that forum last week. I'm pretty loyal to Starwood but we have small lux favorites we're devoted to as well.

I'm checking out the forum now---

@Damon88

I am dumb as a stump
You`re not alone...

@Damon88

I am dumb as a stump
You`re not alone...



seriously-- for someone who searches out every way to maximize points and
benefits--

how how how I never thought of Richard's idea amazes me!:o