Long stay a benefit?
 

So, I'm working overseas for a while (~2 years) and will be staying in a hotel for the entire time. I've already spend ~ 3 months at Kempinksi, a week at Four Seasons (not a fan), and now at the Fairmont for 2 months and counting. It seems to me they penalize long stay customers by their 'stay' vs 'nights' reward policies. I settle my bill once a month, so if I understand correctly that 30 days is only one 'stay'. So for my one stay (~30 days) I get 1000 miles, but a person that might stay for two nights (separated) will get 2000 miles (assuming both are Platinum Club). Does this make any sense? Which customer is a greater asset to the hotel? Shouldn't a reward program provide the greatest rewards to their most loyal customers? Anyone familiar with Cairo, Egypt and which hotel in downtown would be the best option for a long stay traveller?

Welcome to Flyertalk!:)

You´re right that long-term guests are somewhat at a disvantage when it comes to earning miles. However, earning miles probably is the least most valuable benefits considering how restrictive earning opportunities are.

With 60 nights at a Fairmont hotel you´ll earn:

- Platinum status (1 free night, 2 suite upgrade certs, 2 room upgrade certs among other benefits)
- three additional free nights for crossing the 40/50/60 nights threshold in one calendar year

Sorry, haven´t been to Cairo, so can´t comment much on hotels there. You may find some helpful responses in the Middle East forum (under "destionations", very right column at the top)

Air Miles
 

I had a stay at Fairmont Orchid in November. I think I booked rate as book now and save. I was surprised to see it was listed as qualified stay (for Fairmont) but did not receive any AA miles. I called and said my stay did not qualify according to AA rules which are: "Miles are eligible on Corporate, Package and Sell Rate of the Day and exclude some discounted packages."
Seems confusing to me. I have no idea what "sell rate of day" means and how does one know which "discounted packages"? When I checked in at the Presidents desk clerk noted my AA account and I thought I would get the miles.

Rule of thumb is: Pretty much any rate qualifies for stay credit, but many rates don´t earn miles. (for a detailed list of rates please see the first page of the FAQ)

Presumably your rate was non-refundable / required a deposit / was listed as a promo rate and therefore did not earn miles. Never heard of "sell rate of day", but it´s probably just a different term for "best available rate" (fully refundable / flexible) which does earn miles.

Air Miles
 

FAQ :
Unfortunately there is no definite answer to this question, so it is recommended to ask when making a reservation.

Rates that do earn miles include:
- Best available rate (BAR) / rack rate booked on fairmont.com
- Corporate rates
- Spring/summer/winter sale rate

Rates that do not earn miles include:
- some prepaid/discounted rates
- some package rates
- Family & Friends rate
- all rates not available to the general public (e.g. travel industry rates, flight crew rates etc.)
Above does not really clarify much. My rate was a discounted rate but was not non-refundable. Seems like there should be clearer guidelines. No one said rate would not qualify for miles when I made the reservation or checked in, but I did not ask as suggested in FAQ.

Sorry, the above list is the best I´ve been able to come up with, and as you have noticed the Fairmont website isn´t particularly helpful in this regard.

My conclusion so far has been that one shouldn´t expect to earn any miles unless when booking a rate that has proven to earn miles.

Has anyone had any luck redeeming 2013 certs before March 1st? I have a stay I'd like to use a suite upgrade for in late April.

:confused: Sorry, don't quite get your question. Do you mean end of February?

My FPC certs are gone, and I'm waiting for the new certs to arrive in my account for 2013/2014. It sounds like they won't be in my account until March 1st. I'd like to use my 2013/2014 certs to secure an upgrade for a booking later in the year, has anyone had any luck using the certs before they arrive in your account? Or am I stuck waiting till March 1st? One wonders with ecerts why there's a 3 month wait to get your certs for the next year.

Yes, you can indeed call FPC and apply an upgrade cert towards a booking after March 1 as they will be able to see that you have qualified for 2013.

In any case certs are only pulled from your account after the stay.

Thanks!

Just wondering about the free night / upgrade certs, do they have to be physically presented at check in or can the hotel redeem it from your account electronically during the stay?

Having those certs redeemed electronically is no problem at all. I´d say it´s actually the norm rather than the exception.

Thanks Jasper you've been invaluable =)

Just wondering if its possible to redeem any sort of fairmont certificates (free night, suite upgrade, etc.) at raffles properties as well? Any experiences ;)?