northshorepa

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.

Newport1987

Did you call the Ritz Carlton reservation line provided by JPMorgan (1-800-542-8680)? My experience has been that there are only a handful of representatives who understand how these certificates work and you need to go through this dedicated number. Agents at the elite desks won't be able to help. In general, these certificates should be able to be applied to the standard, non-discounted rate for a base room. Some properties require you to book into a slightly higher room category to apply the certificate but you should NOT be required to book into a club level room (that defeats the purpose of the upgrade certificate). The Z34/38 code is a good proxy but it's not always reliable.

northshorepa

I called both 800-542-8680 and 888-696-0394...both numbers got me nowhere. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which number the hotel called when the certificate was finally applied. Regardless, the cert, five nights of my reservation, and 78,500 points disappeared from my account shortly after their phone call so I'm just going to wait until I try to check in tomorrow to solve this mystery.

nexusCFX

From your post it sounds like you made a booking and then called in to use the certificate. You should not do this, you should call in and tell them you want to make a reservation using your club upgrade certificate and they will contact the luxury services team to complete the booking and attach the certificate. I haven't had many issues with this when I call 1-800-542-8680. Some agents will insist that you cannot combine the $100 credit with the club upgrade even though the rate exists, but that's the only issue I've hit.

If you're asking them to do the booking and this is the response you're getting I'm not sure what to tell you as this hasn't been my experience at all and I booked with one of these in the last couple of months.

northshorepa

Thanks for your reply. And yes, one entire hour was spent trying to book a room directly with the phone rep. Unfortunately, the only rate they were willing to give me was more expensive than if I had just booked a club room outright. This rate did not correspond to any member or Z34/38 rate online or on the Bonvoy app so I'm not sure where they were even pulling it from. While I am generous and charitable in most respects, this was not going to be one of those times. Which is exactly why I then booked a reservation myself using the member rate that Chase requires in their T&C.

I was just hoping there were some magic words in addition to "please" and "can I use one of my Chase Ritz Carlton upgrade certificates" that would actually work or if I should have found some more patience to call long distance for a fifth hour. I don't check in until tomorrow so I'll see if they're able to resurrect the other five nights of my original reservation and redeposit the points that disappeared.

RedSun

Those RC club certificates are handy if you pay cash rates in some of its overseas properties. Some of the the rates are very very attractive.

TerryK

Do you need Z38 inventory for overseas RC Club Upgrades?

GarudaSoars

Yes, you do. Search online using Z34. Though its possible there is no Z34 inventory but Z38 inventory exists. I have never experienced such a scenario.