Good morning to all and my apologies for the tardy reply. The last month has been very interesting in terms of my Royal Ambassador status. Let me begin...
Oct. 12th:
Received a reply email from IC Cancun acknowledging my Royal Ambassador status and all the perks that come along with it.
Oct. 14th:
Called Intercontinental Ambassador program to inform them of my pending Mexico trip and Intercontinental Resort stays. They kindly took note but said that I still did not qualify to maintain my Royal Ambassador status. Since our trip had dates of 10/25-11/1 and my Royal Ambassador status was good until the end of the month, I figured I would still be able to enjoy all the perks for this trip and hopefully when I got back, ICG Ambassador would have changed their minds about my status
Oct. 24th
Did not receive a reply email from IC Cozumel.
Oct. 25th:
Arrived in Cancun and checked-in. Check-in was very quick, all I had to do was provide a CC for incidentals. They gave us a suite on the top floor. Free breakfast buffet voucher (unlimited champagne included). Happy hour invite (free drinks and snacks). Unlimited access to mini-bar.
Oct. 26th:
Arrived in Cozumel and check-in was difficult, to say the least. First their was no Ambassador check-in, just a sign at the front desk stating Priority Club check-in. We planned to stay 5 nights. 4 nights were reserved on points and I purchased the last night to help bolster my chances of retaining my Royal Ambassador status. The check-in clerk asked to see ID, my Royal Ambassador card and CC. Additionally, he asked to see my AAA card, since the last night was purchased on the AAA rate. The first thing that happens is that the clerk states that my Royal Ambassador status has expired but I point out to him that the card states "Exp. OCT 2009", which to me means 10/31/2009. He shrugs, reviews my credentials and again requests my AAA card. Now, I'm in Mexico, why would I have my AAA card??? He states that he will have to charge me the regular rate, which was about $150 more. I rtell him that I will get him the number once I establish an internet connection and can log onto the AAA website. Finally, he says that he is putting us in a ocean view room. We get to the room and, its not a suite but my wife and I are just happy to be checked in. Five minutes later, the head of reservations for the resort calls our room and wishes to speak to me. I go back down and he states that my Royal Ambassador status expired on 10/24/2009. I say that is impossible because my card states "Exp. OCT 2009". I ask him to call ICG Ambassador because I wish to speak to this person that gave him this information. He calls but gets someone else. He again asks to confirm my status and this person states that my royal Ambassador status is valid thru Oct. 2009 but this clerk is almost arguing with her that he spoke to someone else and they said it expired Oct. 24. He again was told that I still had Royal Ambassador status. At this point I ask him why we were not upgraded to a suite and he pulls out a booklet with IC Ambassabor rules and restrictions and speaks to this lady on the phone to confirm that the resort is not required to upgrade me to a suite if I reserve the room with points. Now, I just came from IC Cancun where everything ran smoothly, yet here in IC Cozumel, I got the feeling that the staff was doing everything in their power to downgrade us and not provide the RA perks. In the end, my wife and ,I after spending a night in the first hotel room, decided to request a change because the light above the bathtub started to leak water. We went to the front desk and we upgraded to a better room and got charged an additional $55 a night. Besides the hassle of checking-in and the questions about my RA status, I have to say that the resort itself is very beautiful.
Oct. 31th
Arrive at IC Cancun at 9am and again check-in was a breeze. We also received the same perks as our first night.
Nov. 1st
Back in NYC
Nov. 6th
I receive my new Platinum Ambassador packet. This includes a free weekend certificate and a 5,000pts bonus voucher.
Nov. 7th
I log into ICG.com to check on my account and notice the following entries on the points summary page
4 Nov 2009 Royal Ambassador Status 0 pts. 0 pts.
24 Oct 2009 Royal Ambassador Renewal 0 pts. 0 pts.
I am assuming that the 10/24 entry was the expiration and 11/4 is when I was upgraded again. I call ICG and they confirm that I indeed was upgraded to RA status.
Nov. 12th
I receive my new Platinum Royal Ambassador packet. This includes a free weekend certificate, a 5,000pts bonus voucher and a referral certificate.
My apologies for being long-winded but I feel I had to present the entire timeline so it made sense to anyone that read this. I have a few parting thoughts...
There is an obvious disconnect between a status ending at the end of the month (as the card states) versus ending on a particular day of the month. It should be one or the other. The card should state EXP. OCT. 2009 or EXP 10-24-2009.
Regardless of whterh the room was paid for with pts or money, if you are a RA, shouldn't you just be upgraded to a suite? The resort was at proably 20-25% capacity and I know there were suites available. Why not the upgrade? Should I log a complaint with IC Ambassador about this.
Thanks,
Alex
