I know the general topic of using Chase RC club upgrade certs has been discussed in other threads but I'm wondering if anyone has noticed new issues popping up in using them recently. I have an upcoming stay at the RC in Abu Dhabi and spent almost 4 hours on the phone with with various representatives and their supervisors trying to use one of my certificates. The general consensus among them was that I needed to reserve a club room and the certificate could only be used to upgrade to a higher category room on the club level. I did the normal HUCA and heard this repeatedly. I then visited the hotel in question to see if they could help me and ended up talking with another phone rep for 40 minutes. Everything appeared good and I received an email with the new club level reservation (albeit with a slightly higher room rate) but within five minutes of leaving the hotel, my reservation in the Bonvoy app was modified (not be me) from a six-night paid reservation to a 78,500 point redemption for one night (not club level). I received an email stating the same thing with a points redemption and including the same original reservation confirmation #.
So, my question is, have the T&C changed for this certificate? The only T&C that I can find online state: "
Valid only on member rates and non-discounted rates available weekdays and weekends on standard and premium rooms." with no mention of the special Z34/38 code. Is there any magical verbiage I should use when trying to redeem the remaining two certificates? For some reason, when I used these in the past, it was never remotely as difficult as it is now.
The full T&C are here at https://creditcards.chase.com/marrio...-carlton/terms and read
: 7 The Ritz-Carlton Club Level: Club Level offer valid at participating Ritz-Carlton hotels on up to three qualifying paid stays per account anniversary year using The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card with a seven-night maximum length of stay, subject to availability at time of reservation. “Account anniversary year” means the year beginning with your account open date through the anniversary of your account open date, and each 12 months after that. E-certificate is required, is non-transferable, and not combinable with other offers. Club Level Upgrade E-Certificates are valid for 1 room per e-certificate and up to 2 guests per room. Valid only on member rates and non-discounted rates available weekdays and weekends on standard and premium rooms. Not valid on special corporate negotiated rates, wholesale rates, discounts or promotions (includes AAA), packages, group rates, eChannel rates, advance purchase rates and Government rates. Reservation must be paid for with a valid Ritz-Carlton Credit Card. Account must be open and not in default to maintain your Club Level E-Certificates. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. is not responsible for offer fulfillment or the provision of or a failure to provide the stated benefits and services.