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Hilton Hotels Complaint - Hilton Honors Guest Program - Beware!!!! - Hilton Honors Guest Program
Complaint
I was a Hilton Honours silver tier member, having spent a few thousand USD with Hilton in a particular calendar year. Subsequently, I did not stay with Hilton for slightly more than a year, and when I wanted to, I discovered my account was inactive. I called customer service and they reactivated my account, but all my points were wiped out. They explained that once the account becomes inactive, all the points will be forfeited. I found that to be totally ridiculous as none of their general marketing literature tells you that the points have an expiry date and my last account statement from Hilton still states I am a silver tier member with all my points intact!
What a way to treat their clients. Will certainly not stay with them again. Very disappointing of a chain hotel like Hilton.
What a way to treat their clients. Will certainly not stay with them again. Very disappointing of a chain hotel like Hilton.
Comments:
Posted by jktshff1 on 2008-12-18:
They send me updates which include stuff about expiring points
Posted by Ben There on 2008-12-18:
Wow, a frequent guests rewards program requires guests to stay frequently?
Posted by Stew on 2008-12-18:
That sucks. Points earned shouldn't be erased merely because of a year of inactivity.
Forget Hilton. Switch to Marriott. Their reward program is far better and also their window of inactivity is 24 months which they will forgo upon request. It's been my experience with the Marriott rewards program that they'll bend over backwards to make you happy. Good review!
Forget Hilton. Switch to Marriott. Their reward program is far better and also their window of inactivity is 24 months which they will forgo upon request. It's been my experience with the Marriott rewards program that they'll bend over backwards to make you happy. Good review!
Posted by whatarip-off on 2009-02-11:
Dear Tess08,
Same thing happened to me. Wiped out 10 years of Hilton points, without notifying me - although they have no problem emailing me about offers and opportunity to have a Hilton VISA! And then the cheek to "buy Back" what was already mine. Not happy.
Below is what they emailed me:
Please be advised that in an effort to effectively manage program costs and point liability, Hilton HHonors members are required to stay at least once within every 12 month period. In the event that there is a period of 12 months or more where stay activity is not registered to a Hilton HHonors account, the account is automatically deactivated and all accumulated points are forfeited. For future reference, please note that HHonors points will not expire as long as stay activity is recorded on your account at least once within a twelve month period. Further information about the validity of HHonors points is available in the Terms and Conditions of the program, which are listed in the HHonors Member Guide and on our web page www.hiltonhhonors.com. Although we attempt to notify all members prior to their account being deactivated, this is not always possible. Furthermore, this notification is only a gesture and under no circumstances is Hilton HHonors obliged to individually advise members each time their account is affected by a programme policy. For that reason, we encourage all members to ensure they are familiar with the programme Terms & Conditions prior to enrolling, to avoid such disappointments. Having reviewed the details of this particular case, I am happy to offer you the option to earn back your previous point balance. With every eligible nights stay you have at a Hilton HHonors affiliated property, in the next 12 month period, we will reinstate 5000 of your 'lost' points. This will of course be in addition to the normal earnings you are entitled to receive under the HHonors programme policies.
Same thing happened to me. Wiped out 10 years of Hilton points, without notifying me - although they have no problem emailing me about offers and opportunity to have a Hilton VISA! And then the cheek to "buy Back" what was already mine. Not happy.
Below is what they emailed me:
Please be advised that in an effort to effectively manage program costs and point liability, Hilton HHonors members are required to stay at least once within every 12 month period. In the event that there is a period of 12 months or more where stay activity is not registered to a Hilton HHonors account, the account is automatically deactivated and all accumulated points are forfeited. For future reference, please note that HHonors points will not expire as long as stay activity is recorded on your account at least once within a twelve month period. Further information about the validity of HHonors points is available in the Terms and Conditions of the program, which are listed in the HHonors Member Guide and on our web page www.hiltonhhonors.com. Although we attempt to notify all members prior to their account being deactivated, this is not always possible. Furthermore, this notification is only a gesture and under no circumstances is Hilton HHonors obliged to individually advise members each time their account is affected by a programme policy. For that reason, we encourage all members to ensure they are familiar with the programme Terms & Conditions prior to enrolling, to avoid such disappointments. Having reviewed the details of this particular case, I am happy to offer you the option to earn back your previous point balance. With every eligible nights stay you have at a Hilton HHonors affiliated property, in the next 12 month period, we will reinstate 5000 of your 'lost' points. This will of course be in addition to the normal earnings you are entitled to receive under the HHonors programme policies.
Posted by pacifico on 2009-08-07:
I totally agree they provide the poorest customer service and loyalty program not par with any other programs out there!
Posted by jeff on 2011-12-29:
i stayed 122 nights at one hotel, only to find that the points i accumulated were only enough to get 4 lousy nights at a similiar hotel. that isnt even a 4 percent return, what a lousy program..all hype
Posted by joh on 2012-02-29:
same thing happened to me. F'd 2 times. I lost my whole account due to inactivity. They told me to reapply and my stay would count.. $2500 hotel stay. Guess what. THEY NOW SAY SINCE I BOOKED WITH HOTELS.COM I GET NOT POINTS FOR $3000 hotel bill. FU Hilton Honors
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