BigE

flights update: After waiting about 20 days, instead of the promised 8, they finally got back to me. (It might have been longer had I not been bugging them. )

At that point, they told me that none of my flight dates would work because they spanned more than one month. I asked where in the T&C it mentions anything about this. They admitted it's not in there, but there is a clause saying "subject to availability" and that they can change the rules whenever they want. Recall that they deleted Hawaii from the list earlier as well.

I was able to find a trip that I could use, but of less value. They seemed to want to stick to nearly the lowest available airfare, which was about $270'ish in this case (though I did get United and I will earn miles, apparently). I had to pay $50 in taxes and fees, which surprised me, since award tickets are only about $11. They said that $10 was a travel agent fee.

In the end, I didn't really save any money (given that the Rite Aid prices I got online weren't great), so it definitely wasn't worth the trouble and frustration (unlike for the Hyatt certs). After they denied my first 3 choices, I had to book that flight on my own, and it was getting close to departure so I lost a little bit there. The flight I did get from the Rite Aid promo was technically worth about $220, but if I waited for a sale and chose different dates, I probably could have gotten it for much less.

Speaking of Hyatt certs, I'm still waiting on my own. I asked them to send them early, and they said they would, but it didn't happen.