ac/elite

I haven't seen it promoted on social media anywhere yet, but I clicked on an old link to last May's 20% bonus promotion and it seems that the terms have been changed to indicate that the promotion is running again this Friday, May 10th.
e-GIFT CARD PROMOTION RULES & REGULATIONS: Fairmont Moments

CanadaDH

It is on social media. It popped up on my Facebook news feed on the Fairmont page around lunchtime yesterday. But I have noticed in the past year or so, that I don't always see everything posted by the organizations I'm following.

ozmouse

has anybody used these to pay for online prepay bookings? how does one go about it?

or i guess an email to hotel requesting specific prepaid rate, and providing ecard details?

would like to use for upcoming stays in this year.

d

CanadaDH

You cannot use a gift card to prepay a booking. The hotel should refund your prepayment upon checkout when you go to use the gift card. Admittedly, I can only think of 2 stays where I have ever booked a prepaid rate, but in each case, the hotel had no issue processing a refund. Just be aware that if the hotel is in a different currency than your credit card, you may lose a few percentage points on the spread that your bank applies on charges vs. refunds.

allbrosca

I have done this a few time and never had a problem. I have always prepaid Fairmont though. You may have difficulty if you prepay an online travel agency such as Expedia or Hotels.com.

habshabs444

CanadaDH

I would suggest bringing more than just $1,000 worth of LE certs to Banff. In my past stays, I've been able to go well over that limit. At BSH and CLL in particular, I try to apply $1,000 per day, and then use Fairmont certs for the balance upon checkout.

habshabs444

Ok - thanks for the heads up. I will just have to try and make sure to not hit up the same employee on consecutive days at the Gold front desk.

CanadaDH

If you're that worried, go to the Gold desk one day, and down to main check-in the next. I also like to go at a time when it's not busy, because it does take some time for them to redeem each certificate. So, don't try to redeem them at 4PM check-in time, or they might be inclined to enforce the limit!

I think the most I've applied on a single stay was $8,000 at the Chateau Lake Louise, and I then used the regular Fairmont certificates from the 20% bonus promo to pay the balance on checkout. I normally write my name, room number and the date on each certificate in the batch, and just leave them with the agent to apply, and get them to send up a statement to the room showing the certs applied. That way I don't have to wait around while they process them.

nock

escape4

In the recent past, this promo has been running every 6 months : May and November. Has anybody heard word about whether it will be active this month?

nock

Usually Black Friday for a few hours. Haven't heard anything yet.

CanadaDH

Not every May and November. The fall promotion is most predictable on Black Friday in November, and would normally be announced on the Monday of that week. The spring promotion seems to move around, and while mostly in May, I've seen it in April and June some years. The only thing that is consistent is the announcement at the beginning of the week, to happen for 3 hours on the coming Friday. Exact timing shifts around. Hopefully they will both continue.

escape4

Oh yes you are right, it was on Black Friday indeed. I guess we'll know in a few weeks if the sale continues or not.