Marykatesmom

I joined the RC rewards program immediately upon it being established and then got the CC without hesitation when it was opened by JP Morgan. I earned the RC lifetime Platinum level and still have the card I was issued like a memento of much better times. Of course, it was folded into the Marriott program but they let me keep my status. The CC was acquired by Chase and things pretty much continued forward with the CC but RC was always very, very good to me in all its properties while I was a RC Platinum but unimpressed to almost disdainful of my Marriott Lifetime Titanium. Such is life.

There had always been a dedicated concierge or club level phone number to use to attach the upgrade Certificate to a standard rack rate hotel room or the RC $100 property credit room. That number slowly melted away and is now discontinued. It became quite a hassle to get the certificates because no one knew how to attach them and it was a lengthy process as I got bounced around and up the chain until I found an agent that could do it. It was often confused with the RC Property credit or I was just upgraded to a paid CL room. I had a lengthy phone call with Chase while an agent tried to get me the dedicated number (maybe I missed a change?). After forever on hold he gave me this number 1-877-231-7916. Discontinued. A Googled number 1-800-542-8680 while gets an automated "Welcome to Ritz Carlton", is actually central reservations.

During Covid the CL upgrades were useless as the lounges were closed everywhere and coupled with the closing of the Battery Park location there was limited availability. As they slowly opened up, on the weekends, I had some stays but the lounges were not nearly what they were preCovid. While they did extend the dates of all of the Upgrade Certificates, there simply wasn't enough open lounges to use the certificates. Such is life.

The most recent disastrous change is Marriott has reconfigured its Club Upgrades and no longer uses the "certificate" approach but now I am forced to use a "code" that is entered at the time of booking. This drastic change now means I can no longer get a "Club Upgrade" but rather approximately $100 or $200 off a night for a club room. Instead of a regular rack rate for a standard room with an attached Club upgrade I am paying much, much more. You can no longer book a room, and then when you receive your CL certificates, add them to your room. This is a serious downgrade in the value of the club upgrades. RC does not honor SNA, which I believe was wise since they are less than useless, but this downgrade in benefits is a slap in the face to some of Ritz's most loyal customers and is really part of the pile on like the useless Ambassador Elite status I have.

BillBurn

I agree that having to attach the certificates at the time of reservation vs. being able to apply them later is a big downgrade. Especially because you can't make the reservation now without calling in and to your point it can take forever to get a human being. Ideally the Ambassador's should do this for you but in my experience the Ambassador's are often clueless about the certificates and unwilling to book the reservation for you.

What rate code are you entering? Z34/Z38 don't seem to work for me anymore. They only way I get the credit card rates is if I have the card added to my profile as a payment option. I will say that in most cases the credit card rate is the same or very close to therack rate however it seems as though when you call in to apply the certificate it's hit or miss as to whether they will honor the rate the website quoted.

MePlatPremier

Care to share that rate code?

As unfortunate as it is, hotel loyalty programs won’t be improving any time soon. Bonvoy’s initial stages were actually great with tremendous redemption opportunities in the first couple of years. But Marriott has a huge hold in its distribution channels and clearly is a pricemaker in the hospitality business. They have no need to pamper a base of loyal, dedicated guests—they’re getting enough high-paying guests already through their Expedia distribution agreement without any of Bonvoy’s customer acquisition and retention costs. If it weren’t for the extremely lucrative credit card deals, I would bet that the loyalty program would have been dissolved by now.

applesauce

If anything, the approach to the 'benefits' of the Ritz card have directly caused me to avoid RC's.

Obviously it's not affecting Marriott's bottom line or they'd change it, but time is money and the effort Marriott requires to use these 'benefits' coupled with the high cost of rack rate is a strong incentive to elsewhere for more attractive/convenient booking options. With limited elite benefits at RC, all the more reason to entertain alternate premium properties.

Marykatesmom

MePlatPremier - they won’t tell you the code. You have to call them

applesauce - what other premium properties would you recommend? Specifically, I am looking for Miami. I love a Club Lounge.

Not all RC Club lounges are created equally.

svo242

FYI, this is the number I was given/use and I am always connected to a "Marriott Luxury Associate" who can look up/book the club upgrade rate. It's not just central reservations. Did you speak with someone after dialing that number?

I totally agree that it's unfortunate we cannot even look up these rates online, that properties can be very selective in which rooms (if any) they open up for the club upgrades, that the upgrade rates often vary from the member flexible rate, AND that the Ambassador service cannot quote us these rates via phone or email. I've also had issues after booking, where my reservation reverted to one night (instead of four) two weeks before arrival - that was a mess!

That said, I have still found some great value with the certificates, most recently in October, when the club upgrade rate ended up somehow being lower than the regular rate. Quite a crapshoot, however. :/

MD/DC Flyer

Hopefully those are not the dying whimpers of this card.

It’s one of the best around (I hardly use the certificate - only once in almost a decade), especially with the grandfathered annual fee and the upgrade to the 85K annual night certificate.

Marykatesmom

Yes, I spoke to a very helpful agent named Teresa who worked previously for Starwoods. I specifically asked her was she central reservations, because I had an older number that was specifically for the "Marriott Luxury" but after the "Ritz Carlton" greeting I got the generic Marriott greeting which is why I asked her if she was central reservations. However, that number may get some better experienced agents as she has worked in Starwood/Marriott for 19 years and absolutely knew what she was doing. We had a nice chat on how awful the SNA program is and the many problems surrounding it. Her one bit of advice is call M-F during business hours if you want a decent agent.

JerseyCityS

I haven't had the RC card yet for a full year, and I was able to use the club upgrade at South Beach Ritz with a simple phone call. I have a reservation for Marina Del Rey upcoming in April which wasn't difficult to book the club upgrade with the Ambassador line. I am traveling to the Orlando Ritz this coming week, and called to upgrade a current reservation, and the rate I had wasn't able to have the certificate applied. The new rate was almost 300 higher, and wasn't worth it to me since I"m alone. I couldn't possibly comsume 300 worth of food/drink per day to make it worth the club upgrade. Mixed feelings about keeping the card.

As far as elite status/ ambassador, etc. when does this years new status show? I haven't seen a change in 2023 status in my account verses 2022.

Explore

I wasn't able to get the $100 on-property benefit when applying a club upgrade cert at the Ritz Pentagon City. You used to be able to get both, no?

bigdave10000

Yes, as long as the stay is 2+ nights.

Marykatesmom

Yes, same here.

Explore

And my stay was 2 nights.....

svo242

It's a shame how inconsistent this program is.

Also, how far in advance are you guys booking stays with the upgrade certs? I've been trying to book for October, and the agent said she found the club upgrade rates (at 2 separate properties), but then every time she gave me the rate, it was the exact same as if I were to book the club room outright. Hoping she was just confused, but not sure if I am looking too early?

Marykatesmom

When did you book the SB Ritz? I didn't start having serious trouble until 2023, not very long. The Orlando Ritz, what rate did you have Member Rate or $100 property credit rate or something else entirely. Those first two rates I could add my upgrade at any time without changes. Since 2023, I have to take the current rate which has been higher. It seems like you can't attach a certificate to a current reservation which I used to do for years. You have to make a whole new booking at a higher rate so the "free upgrade" is no longer free.

I think the changes in status take place in February. I would have like the extended Ambassadors to go have gone down at least two levels. It doesn't seem fair to the Ambassadors or the ones that earned Titanium because there isn't much difference between the two.