“I was rudely told 9,000 points is really not much”

By request, here’s a story without a happy ending. But not because you asked for it. Jay Green did — and it’s his story.

So take it away, Jay.

I’m not asking you to do anything, because I’m sure you get a lot of requests from people with much bigger fish to fry. But I am more curious why Hilton would possibly treat customers like they have treated me.

I’ve had a Hilton HHonors account for a number of years, and have stayed at some Hiltons for business and Hampton Inns with my family. I had accumulated over 9,000 points, but when I went to book a business trip for earlier this week, I was told that all of my points had expired becasue I had not added points to my account in the last 12 months.

I was told that I was sent notices about this at the 3-, 6- and 9-month marks, none of which is true. I also received no notice that this had happened. Instead when I called to appeal, I was rudely told 9,000 points is really not much.

To me, the $900 I spent with them is in fact a lot of money, and more logically, if it is not much, I don’t understand why they took it away from me.

As I told them, I’ll be sure not to stay at any of their hotels anymore. I’ve never had any issues with my Hyatt or Marriott accounts. How can they possibly think this is good business?

Before we get to the resolution (such as it is) let’s have a look at Hilton’s form response to his request to reinstate his points.

Thank you for your request to have your previous account balance restored.

HHonors is a loyalty program recognizing those customers who frequently transact with the The Hilton Worldwide Portfolio of Brands. To provide recurrent customers with the richest and most flexible program possible, we close inactive accounts. Qualifying activity consists of either completing an eligible hotel stay, or earning points through our wide variety of partners at least once every 12 months. If this requirement is not met on any HHonors account, all accumulated points are forfeited.

Upon further review of your Hilton HHonors account information we have determined we are unable to reinstate any points that have been removed from your account.

However, we are pleased that you are returning to The Hilton Worldwide Portfolio of Brands and will award you 2,500 bonus points for your first stay with us within the next 60 days.

Should you require further assistance please contact the Hilton Customer Service Center at the telephone number below. Any HHonors Customer Service Representative will be happy to assist you. We appreciate your continued loyalty to the The Hilton Worldwide Portfolio of Brands, and look forward to providing you with excellent service during your next stay.

This response leaves something to be desired. I’m particularly disturbed by, “To provide recurrent customers with the richest and most flexible program possible, we close inactive accounts.” Huh? You mean, they took away my points for my own good? How, exactly, does that work?

I could contact Hilton and appeal its decision. But I remember what happened the last time I did that. No, my friends. You want to see this one get what’s coming to him, don’t you?

Green thought the 2,500 bonus point offer for “returning” to Hilton was on the low end. So what now?

Here’s what he wrote back to Hilton:

I received no warning whatsoever that this was to occur, and no notice at all that this had occurred. I’ve never been treated like this by any hotel group.

If you care so little about your customers to treat them this way, I have no interest in giving you any of my or my family’s business. (And by the way, I was told that I would get 2,500 points with my next stay, which already occurred about a week ago, and you didn’t do that either.)

Please go ahead and cancel my account. If the points can be donated to charity, go ahead and do that.

Hilton didn’t have to lose this customer. All it needed to do was bend a rule and give him a few points.

Update: (3/35) Apparently, 9,000 is a big deal. Here’s the letter Green received late yesterday, and to which he referred in his comment.

Thank you for your message to Hilton Reservations and Customer Care. It is my pleasure to assist you today with your point reinstatement request.

I understand your point of view regarding our deactivation policy. We send notices of a possible lapse in a member’s account 9 and 12 months prior to deactivation. We do make every attempt to send these correspondences, but it is ultimately the responsibility of the member to remain knowledgeable as to the Program Terms and Conditions, keeping up to date contact information, and as to the number of points in his/her account.

Our records indicate that your last stay was April 11, 2007 and your account was deactivated on January 19, 2010. Prior to your deactivation we made an exception and removed your account from our systematic deactivation list through June 30, 2009 per your request.

I would like to remind you that the Hilton HHonors program is a guest awards program designed for frequent travelers and all accounts require point earning activity within a consecutive 12 month period to remain open. Per the Terms & Condition of the HHonors program, accounts which do not have this point activity within a consecutive 12 month period may be removed from the program and are subject to forfeiture of all accumulated points. However, due to your recent stay at the Hilton Newark Gateway at Penn Station from March 15 to March 16, 2010, I have fully reinstated your previous account balance of 9,471 points. Note: we will NOT be able to offer any type of reinstatements or offers in the future. You may view your current account balance online at www.hiltonhhonors.com using your account number and PIN.

To assist you in preventing your account from being deactivated in the future, here are some easy ways to keep your account active:

~ Simply complete an eligible stay at any of more than 3,000 Hilton Family hotels worldwide at least once every 12 months

~ Earn HHonors points with our partners by renting a car, sending flowers, or shopping at a variety of premier retailers.

~ Enroll in a Hilton HHonors sponsored credit card and make purchases to accumulate HHonors points.

~ Purchase points online to keep your account open. HHonors point purchases must be made in increments of 1,000 points and every 1,000 points costs US$12.50 ($.0125 per point). Purchase a minimum of 10,000 HHonors points at one time and the cost is reduced to only $.01 per point!

~ OWN WITH HILTON GRAND VACATIONS CLUB- Hilton Grand Vacations Club Members enjoy a lifetime of unsurpassed vacations and Silver VIP HHonors membership! Call 1-877-246-2832 today.

For more details including participating retailers and partners, please visit us on-line at www.hiltonhhonors.com.

If you have any further questions regarding your HHonors account, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

For immediate assistance, please click on the link below for the contact number of the HHonors Service Center nearest you:

http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/customersupport.do?it=Not,HeadCustomer

(Photo: Ricardo Meza/Flickr Creative Commons)

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  • Jay Green

    Jo — Your comment is assuming that everything in their e-mail is correct, which as I pointed out above, isn’t the case. I don’t want to belabor the point because they did the right thing, but among other issues, I never received any notice regarding expiration, never received any “cue” regarding “deactivation”, and never requested any extension. This was the first I heard about any of this.

  • Jay Green

    And one more thing I forgot — my records clearly indicate that I earned points as recently as 2008. Maybe not 400,000 points, but points nonetheless that contradict that portion of the e-mail.

  • Lisa S

    Points shouldn’t expire. Period. That should be the bottom line.

    I am trying to wean myself from using the same airline in order to gain miles because, quite frankly, they are becoming more difficult to trade in for flights, and as a middle-class-income person who doesn’t travel dozens of flights a year for business, it takes a while to acquire the miles needed to go places. The same is true for hotels and their points. While these gimmicks had value through the 1980s, their value has greatly diminished since then.

  • Steve

    Just an update on my comment from the 25th…I received an email back from Priority Club confirming that no, their points never expire regardless of inactivity. So that clause in the terms and conditions apparently just means that they won’t guarantee that they’ll contact you about program changes if you’re not an active member…but you won’t lose your points. Good to know.

  • M.J. Ellington

    I stayed four nights (April 2-5) at Hampton Inn on 34th St. in St. Petersburg, FL near the law school our child attends. We have stayed here a number of times over the past three years. This hotel is far from luxurious but until this particular visit, as always been clean and quiet.

    During this particular trip, the problems I encountered were multiple and involved not only noise issues (1st night) but also equipment problems, housekeeping problems and to some extent cleanliness problems.

    Night 1: The room was comfortable but on the first floor and I listened to people talking and shutting doors lateinto the night. As a result I asked to be moved as was transferred to a higher floor the next night.

    Night 2: The air conditioner spilled water onto the floor in an arc more than a foot away from the a.c. unit. When I expressed concern, staff said the water would evaporate the next day even though the issue was clearly one of air conditioner maintenance and a threat for mold to which I am highly allergic. The carpet also stank. I asked to either haved the leak repaired or be moved again. That evening when I returned from my day’s activities, My belongings were still in the same room, the bed was still unmade and the a.c. still leaked. I was assigned another toom had to move myself since only 1 staff person was working that night. He was polite but stressed.

    Night 3: The room was comfortable but in the evening I returned again to an unmade bed and no maid service. There were bags of trash from nearby rooms piled in the hallways that evening along with collections of sheets from beds stripped that morning. Most unusual and unsightly. My suspicion is that the hotel has a cleaning staff rebellion but I do not know that.

    The last night, I used HHonors points for a free night at this hotel, something I arranged beforehand, but because of the conditions at this hotel, I do not believe I should have had to burn my HHonors points and I want them back. I also think I should be entitled to olne additional night under your system where I am supposed to be satisfied or stay free.

    In all the years my husband and I have traveled using HHonors, I have never complained or requested a free night, but I do so now.
    Please reply.

  • Iwojimashust

    I ad a similar thing happen to me with Hilton, except I had a wedding at a Hilton resort where my guests had decided to allow their rooms to be put on my account. Did you know that A wedding does not even equal a one-night stay either? They wedding and rooms were not put on the card accidentally and I made repeated requests for it to be taken care of. I used the card for airfare that was never added and other things that never accrued. The final straw came when I booked through expedia and in the same month I was deactivated. Although I gave my card at check-in and chose to stay at a Hilton this 4-night stay and the folio charges did not qualify. So, I have spent thousands of dollars at Hilton and gotten nothing. I asked for something to be done as a courtesy, as this was an obvious error. I was offered the 2500 points after my next stay. What happened to things being simple three nights equal a free night stay? And that $5000 of a wedding should certainly should qualify for at least a couple of nights. I am so upset! I do not understand the point of this program at all, except for the person who lives in a hotel. I feel very disrespected.

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