DaveInLA

How do I check how much Citi will reimburse me for a 4 night stay? I tried checking the rate for just the 4th night, and it turns out different than the rate if I check the rate for 4 consecutive nights.

jsk1973

It reimburses the fourth night, period, assuming the stay is booked through CWT and qualifies, etc.

linglingfool

The T&Cs of the program prohibit you from booking more than one room under the fourth night free at any given time.

dkjb3t4

what happens if the fourth night you decide to order room service, and other nice things? can you tack on some things on the fourth night and get reimbursed?

jsk1973

No.

(And good grief.)

Bttc

And they will call you to ask when they're getting ready to reimburse you.

MellieAZ

I made a reservation 1/13 for a stay in April, was told to expect a confirmation email. Never received anything so today I called Citi concierge to ask for status of confirmation. I was transferred to an agent who promised to send it. What I received was a blank email - no attachment. I responded, repeating that I wanted the confirmation (and repeating the specifics of the reservation) and attaching a copy of the confirmation I received for a totally different reservation I made with them. My note clearly said the attachment was for a different reservation and was just an example of what I was looking for.

As you can probably guess, I quickly received a note with an attachment - for the wrong reservation. I should have known better.

So I replied pointing out that after 3 requests with no progress I would appreciate receiving what I should have received automatically 2 days ago. Fortunately I have the time to wear them down...

Just adding the final resolution - third follow-up request did the trick - they finally sent a note which included the confirmation - the correct one this time. I posted this comment as a caution to others that they can't expect it every reservation to be completed successfully on the first request (or the second, etc.) so plan to look for the confirmation and verify it is correct. OK I also wanted to vent my frustration ...

billybayswater

I just booked a couple of stays today with the concierge. Apparently, today was the first day of the transition from Ten to Aspire. The good news is that the concierge told me that they have all the tools to book to the 4th free night-eligible stays themselves and do not need to loop in CWT agents anymore. In fact, I believe they may no longer be using CWT, but I could be mistaken.

Enclave

I called the concierge tonight for an upcoming trip and unfortunately it is the same setup as with Ten Group. Aspire transferred me to Carlson Wagonlit (CWT) for the fourth night free. I asked the Aspire agent if this would continue and she said it likely would since CWT did such a great job. Fearing my comments would go too negative too fast, I just said OK and asked for the transfer to CWT.

NDN

If you give them your rewards account number for the hotel so they put it on the reservation, then you don't need any confirmation.

billybayswater

Interesting. I was a bit worried about the lack of transfer to CWT and asked them to put the 4th Night Free in writing when they send the confirmation, and he was explicit that he did not need to, but it did seem like this was all a new thing to them.

I actually booked two separate reservations today and both times the concierge did the booking himself and neither transferred me and both said they didn't need to. Now I'm a bit worried about getting credit.

My current reservation on Starwood states: "Rate Description: Radius Agency Iata Required To Book
SET or Corporate Account Number: 99348." Can't tell if this is CWT or not.

mia

The fourth night free benefit is provided by MasterCard, not by Citi, and CWT is MasterCard's designated agency. The terms direct us to contact the concierge. I take this to mean that CWT must be involved:

https://online.citi.com/US/JRS/porta...CTermsBenefits

MellieAZ

I can see the reservation on the hotel website - but it has nothing about the rebate from Mastercard. I wanted confirmation that they would rebate the 4th night. Otherwise, I have little proof of their contract/promise to do so. Call me suspicious but stuff happens and I feel better with a verifiable record - electronic or paper.

And BTW - on the hotel website, it shows the total amount of the stay and my preference for non-smoking room, nothing about the nightly rate, room type reserved. That seems to be only on the confirmation that I finally received.

billybayswater

Well, I just canceled my prior reservation and called to rebook to see if a different concierge gave a different response -- same issue, the Aspire concierge insisted she do it on her end without looping in CWT. After noting to her how all my prior bookings had been before the concierge switch I asked her to please confirm that this was the case. After putting me on hold for a few minutes, she came back and said it was confirmed that she could do it herself. I'm still pretty suspicious, but this is now the third Aspire concierge who insisted CWT was not needed, so if it turns out to be the case that they are needed, a lot of people are going to complain (she had told me she has done many of these bookings in just the last 2 days).

I just have a strong feeling I am going to have to chase down this money in a couple of months.

mia

Aspire could have a different working relationship with CWT than Ten did. It will be interesting to see if all booking are handled this way over the next few weeks, or if some types of properties are still passed to a live CWT agent.