Thanks for the real-life info guys.
Well, here's what happpened. A couple weeks back when I called to inquire how the process worked, I was told it would take 2 weeks for the certificate to arrive.
When I called (several different times, hoping to get different answers) yesterday to request my certificate for the 9th, each person told me, "Oh no, it takes 3-5 weeks for the certificate to get to you." All of them insisted it need to be expedited. So I'm paying $25 for Fedex - and they're even sending it to the hotel, cause they're afraid Fedex can't get it to me by the 9th. Strange. Maybe they're afraid of the delay on their end, just processing the Fedex order.
I wasn't aware there was an online redemption option. Perhaps I should've tried that.
[This message has been edited by bokich (edited 09-01-2000).]