Ritz Carlton Cancellation Fees for Points' Reservations

[rdg770]

I had a two night stay reservation for 100,000 Marriott points to the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne Miami. I had to cancel the reservation two days before the stay for a medical emergency and received all 100,000 points back into my Marriott account. I didn't know of any cancellation fees applied here with a points reservation. I also didn't know Ritz Carlton has a different cancellation policy than other Marriott chains.

A week a later I get notifications through my Amex app saying that i got charged $1498 and $1598 from Ritz Carlton. Keep in mind 100,000 Marriott points is not worth $3100. I would have gladly lost the points instead of being charged such a large sum. I called up Amex and disputed the charge thinking that I was being charged because Ritz Carlton didn't realize I cancelled the reservations. I sent PDFs of cancellation emails and the charges were put on hold.

A month later the charges went back onto my Amex account and I received mail from Ritz Carlton where they showed that there is a cancellation fee within 7 days of a reservation. It also said that each night had a cost of $250. This was enough proof for Amex to think that these charges were legit.

I called Amex back and they told me there is nothing they can do for me. I called Marriott and they told me that Ritz Carlton will call me back within a week. Ritz Carlton didn't call me back so I called them and they told me to call back in a few days to in-house reservations and that department will see what they can do for me.

I then called Amex back and said I was charged an exorbitant sum for the cancellation fee which is more than even one-night stay without even bringing the pints reservation argument into the conversation. Amex has now put those two charges on-hold again.

Has anyone had an instance like this and what could help me have Ritz Carlton waive the cancellation fees even after I have already been charged?

[ludmila]

Your best bet is to keep trying with Ritz Carlton, Amex put the charges on hold while they investigate again, once RC provides them with the same info the charges will show up again on your card. If you can provide a medical report it will make it much easier to settle this.

[KSMH]

Agreed, talk to hotel and for future booking be careful what CC you use for reservation.

[rdg770]

Thanks for the tips.

I called the front desk today and the receptionist said he'll forward the story to the accounting division and they'll get back to me. I told him that the cancellation was due to a medical emergency.

He right away asked me if I told them this when I originally cancelled reservations. He told me that if I would have told this to them originally they would have probably waived the fee. Just like you guys mentioned.

He said he'll tell the accounting division and we'll go from there.

Thanks again for the tips.

[rdg770]

It worked out in the end. I got a letter from my wife's midwife mentioning that it was in late pregnancy and I then sent the letter off to Ritz Carlton. By the next day I had my money back in my account.

[ludmila]

It worked out in the end. I got a letter from my wife's midwife mentioning that it was in late pregnancy and I then sent the letter off to Ritz Carlton. By the next day I had my money back in my account.

Glad it worked out for you.

[Sig]

I wonder if issuing a single use credit card number with a balance of $1 or maybe the actual room price like $250 in your case to hold your reservation is a good idea (using virtual cards you can generate with citi, bofa, and others)? Then they're the one's who would have to fight to collect an unexpected amount from you rather than the other way around, and you're more likely to end up speaking with a human than dealing with an algorithm. And if they won't take the $250 limit card you know in advance that they're planning to charge you more.