morning star i have not had the same experience that you have had at hrh.
in my stays at hrh, i have had 4 upgrades now. the last one was oct 05.
i still get my loews welcome gift even with using
AAA.
you need to request it when you book in the beginning.
last year i was told there were black out dates on 3 of the nights i was staying there. no black out date on 1 night. i did get my welcome gift on that open night.
you need to check with the hotel or universal to find out if there are black out nights for loews gift. at first i was told i was not eligible for the welcome gift, not because of AAA, but because of black outs on loews.
after talking to the reservationist, she said i had one night of the stay with no black out and requested my gift for that night.
if the first night of your stay is a black out, they assume you don't want it at a later point. be sure to ask for each night stay if all are black out dates.
if one person told you AAA disqualifies you for the gift, ask to speak to a supervisor or call back and talk to someone else and have the request put on your ressie.