Just woken up after a bit of a stressful night (with some elements of resolution still pending) - just wanted to see what the brains trust would have done differently! WARNING: Long story ahead
tl;dr I booked accommodation using Platinum Edge credit. Hotel didn't get booking/payment. I had to book another location on the spot. What should I do?
I had redeemed my $200 Platinum Edge travel credit on a one-night stay in Melbourne. At this particular location, on-site reception closes at 8pm, and there was a 'night reception' phone at the front with what appeared to be a key box. On arriving at my accomodation at around 8:45pm, I used this phone to try to check in and was told that my booking could not be found.
After some discussion, I forwarded them my Amex confirmation email (which stated that I didn't need to call to re-confirm). They still couldn't find my booking, but offered to let me stay at one of their other locations which did have staffed reception at night (about a 10 minute walk away - perhaps 15 with luggage). They would honour my rate, BUT as they (said they) didn't receive any payment from American Express travel, I would need to pay them there and seek reimbursement from Amex.
My next step was to contact Amex. Unfortunately the number I had on my booking stated they were only open until 6pm so that didn't work, so I called through the number on the back of the credit card instead. After explaining the situation, the agent offered to talk to the night reception. After being put on hold for a little while (this was about 30-40 mins after I arrived at the accommodation by this stage), the agent came back and explained that the booking I made was processed by a third party processor who didn't have rights to sell rooms at this location?! The agent then suggested I take up the night reception's offer of going to their other location and paying for the room there, and suggested that Amex could refund my travel credit.
Now that wasn't really going to work for me - I am uncertain when I may be able to use my credit in the future, so I asked whether they could apply the credit to the hotel payment when it came through. The agent said "most likely, but no guarantees" as it needed to be approved by another team that was only in during the day. I then asked instead if we could go to another hotel in the area as it was getting quite late and I wasn't keen on going too far. The agent asked which one - I didn't have a computer so I walked around the corner and remembered the Doubletree was about a block away and suggested that one. The room was slightly (~$25) more than the travel credit value, but the agent said they would make notes and follow up with management tomorrow (today now) to get the extra credited to my account. They also said that they would email me some notes of the conversation (which hasn't happened yet...).
Now that I'm a bit more rested and my brain is back into gear, I'm just wondering whether there was any other way to approach this? Would this have been covered by the Platinum Edge insurance (didn't think so)? What are Amex's obligations in this case?
tl;dr I booked accommodation using Platinum Edge credit. Hotel didn't get booking/payment. I had to book another location on the spot. What should I do?
I had redeemed my $200 Platinum Edge travel credit on a one-night stay in Melbourne. At this particular location, on-site reception closes at 8pm, and there was a 'night reception' phone at the front with what appeared to be a key box. On arriving at my accomodation at around 8:45pm, I used this phone to try to check in and was told that my booking could not be found.
After some discussion, I forwarded them my Amex confirmation email (which stated that I didn't need to call to re-confirm). They still couldn't find my booking, but offered to let me stay at one of their other locations which did have staffed reception at night (about a 10 minute walk away - perhaps 15 with luggage). They would honour my rate, BUT as they (said they) didn't receive any payment from American Express travel, I would need to pay them there and seek reimbursement from Amex.
My next step was to contact Amex. Unfortunately the number I had on my booking stated they were only open until 6pm so that didn't work, so I called through the number on the back of the credit card instead. After explaining the situation, the agent offered to talk to the night reception. After being put on hold for a little while (this was about 30-40 mins after I arrived at the accommodation by this stage), the agent came back and explained that the booking I made was processed by a third party processor who didn't have rights to sell rooms at this location?! The agent then suggested I take up the night reception's offer of going to their other location and paying for the room there, and suggested that Amex could refund my travel credit.
Now that wasn't really going to work for me - I am uncertain when I may be able to use my credit in the future, so I asked whether they could apply the credit to the hotel payment when it came through. The agent said "most likely, but no guarantees" as it needed to be approved by another team that was only in during the day. I then asked instead if we could go to another hotel in the area as it was getting quite late and I wasn't keen on going too far. The agent asked which one - I didn't have a computer so I walked around the corner and remembered the Doubletree was about a block away and suggested that one. The room was slightly (~$25) more than the travel credit value, but the agent said they would make notes and follow up with management tomorrow (today now) to get the extra credited to my account. They also said that they would email me some notes of the conversation (which hasn't happened yet...).
Now that I'm a bit more rested and my brain is back into gear, I'm just wondering whether there was any other way to approach this? Would this have been covered by the Platinum Edge insurance (didn't think so)? What are Amex's obligations in this case?
