Originally Posted by
nittany987
Except... They didn't send me any certificate, as I believe happens frequently because they are attached directly to the reservation...
I'd like to see the explanation of HHonors trying to explain why the agent allowed me to make a booking with what would be an expired certificate. Seems like a beyond inane argument: "Well, we didn't send him a certificate, but that's what we use internally. And even though our agents made him a reservation more than 365 days away, the certificate is only good for 365 days. While he would have no way of knowing this, the responsibility rests on him to pay the room rate."
Edit - I want to say I remember seeing somewhere that this has happened before, and HH just renews the certificate.
Actually, you are wrong about HH renewing AXON certificates automatically. It doesn't happen. You have to cancel and remake the reservation. Once they are past the expiration date, they are dead and no longer accepted as payment. If you can find documentation of otherwise, please post it.
The regular and former GLON awards had internal expiration dates of 1 yr and were re-issued when this passed to cover the bookings of > 1 yr. GLONS and standard awards stopped sending out separate award certificates prb a year or so ago. This has NEVER been the case with AXONs which have a completely different procedure.
AXONs have a clearly stated expiration date of EXACTLY one year from when you request them printed on them. AXON certificates ARE sent to you. You should recheck your emails. The AXONs awards are the ONLY certificates that are still emailed to you. The actual certificate is emailed along with the reservation confirmation. When you make your reservation booking, you get 2 emails sent at the same time: a one with your AXON certificate with the clearly stated expiration date and a second one with the booking details.
I just made an AXON booking on March 27, immediately before the devaluation. I am looking at both my AXON certificate AND my reservation confirmation emails.
If you made 2 AXONs, your certificates will NOT be good after 12 months from the date you made the reservation. The hotel will NOT accept your expired certificates because they will not be paid. Also were you explicit in telling them you had an AXON award? It makes a difference.
The agent made the booking because you had the points and the AXON was good at the time you made the booking. However, as we all know, not all agents know all the nuances of the HHonors certificates. The agent you worked with may not be aware of the AXON 1 yr expiration date. However, as you have the AXON certificate with the clearly stated expiration date, you KNOW it will not be any good when you stay comes around.
As I suggested before, recheck your emails. If you ordered an AXON, you have the emailed certificate. You can always ask to have it resent to you if you cannot find it. But the onus is on YOU to use it properly, i.e., before the expiration date.
If you are NOT using AXONs, then you should have no problems.