Hilton HHonors - Hilton HHonors 10,000-Point and 20,000-Point Reward Discount VIP Certificates

I was doing some office cleaning yesterday and came by some HHonors 10,000 point reward discount coupons that are at least about 4 years ago. There is no expiration date and on the terms & conditions, #4 to receive the discount, member must be a current VIP member. I can use the coupons for up to 20,000 off a 100,000 point or more award. I can't remember why I got these but I have 4 10,000 point discount coupons & 1 20,000 discount coupon. Any one know if these are still good-- Since I am a VIP, don/t know why I should not be able to use them? Right!

I understand the 10k are good for Silver and the 20k (also 2 x 10k) for Gold VIP's when redeeming for a 100k award or above.

HH discontinued issuing them a couple of years ago, but I have seen no mention of existing certificates not being usable, and I have assumed that I will be able to use mine at some stage in the future!

No Good! Send to me! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Seriously, my understanding is that they are good as long as you remain "gold," etc. I've got a couple 10,000 point certificates too and plan on using one or both the next time I use a 100,000 point plus award.

I used a 2 of the 20,000 certs last year and a couple of the 10,000 for Hawaii awards and didn't have a problem at all. Mail them in with your reward request and check your statement to make sure they deducted the appropriate amount of points.

ctmike

I received one of these and a 10,000 point discount cert, a LONG time ago (4 years?).
Both had no exp date on them.

They were good for crediting your account w/the points if you made a hhonors reward reservation over 100,000 points.

Has anybody seen these lately or anything like them????

Those wonderful certificates were discontinued a few years ago. You can still use those you have, but no new ones are being issued.

I have a number of these which I have kept over the years. I know they're not issued any more, but can I still use them?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Markie:
I know they're not issued any more, but can I still use them?</font>

If there's no fine print on them indicating expiry, I don't see why they should not be honoured. A quick call to HHonors customer service should do the trick for official clarification?

What is the exact nature of those certs? (I've only been Diamond the last 2 years)

I haven't seen the 20K ones in awhile, but recently used an old 10K one in Phoenix. I would think the way they are handing out Gold, as well as showering us with points everytime we change our socks, that 10 or 20K off of a 100K and up redemption is a mere drop in the bucket. As long as they have no expiration you should be OK. The one I just used merely stated "as long as you remain VIP..."

HHonors discontinued sending them to VIP's about 4 or 5 years ago.

Yes, they will HHonor the ones out there as there are no expiration dates on them!

Yes I recently used 2 for an award. They will also let you request an award, have the(total amount) points deducted and when you mail the certs in they redeposit the 10k certs to you account, saves time in the overall process.
Also accepted the certs my wife had (with different account numbers) left over from before our account was combined to make a Mutual.

Just used a 20,000 point one.

They also will still accept the silver 10,000 ones as well.

There was never an expiration date printed on them.

MIKESILV, I think you were fortunate, If I remember the print on the cert, they were not to be combined. nice to see you had good luck.

Sweet Willie
You got me worried since we still have about 12 of those 10k certs left (6 each for my wife and I)so I called HHonors and gave them my wife's old account number (as printed on the cert)and it came up as the number of our Mutual account. They confirmed that there still valid, the rule is if you are Silver you can use one against a 100K or higher reward if you are Gold you can use two.
Mike

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MIKESILV:
the rule is if you are Silver you can use one against a 100K or higher reward if you are Gold you can use two. Mike </font>

That's correct. Gold and above can use either one 20K cert or two 10K certs when requesting a reward valued at 100K points or more.

Thanks for the update, I have one 20K and two 10K. One of the conditions is that the cert be applied to HHonors reward of 100K points or more. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I believe the Diamond award was for over 50,000 ... but the Gold and Silver is for over 100,000 points.

Thanks for this thread. Went through my Hilton file and found several 10K and 20K certs from a few years back. I called the Hilton Service Center and found out I could send 20K in to apply to an already reserved SC6 (110,000point) reward for September. FT comes through again!!

Yes, they are still accepted. In February, I used 60,000 points in certs towards 350,000 points in awards.

I'm glad this thread was posted, it made me go check my Hh file and sure enough I found a 20K cert that has no expiration date which is as good as a 20K bonus to me

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by outoftown:
Thanks for this thread. Went through my Hilton file and found several 10K and 20K certs from a few years back. I called the Hilton Service Center and found out I could send 20K in to apply to an already reserved SC6 (110,000point) reward for September. FT comes through again!!</font>

Thanks for giving me an opportunity to ask this question, outoftown.

Can you just redeem a GLON for 100,000 miles and use it for the four nights, forfeiting the other two nights on the certificate?

Charles

No reason you can't check out early, as long as you don't want any part of your award back. Then again, I am sure if you posted the city details, there'd be a few volunteers to take over the final two nights of your stay! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I just redeemed one from 1997 two weeks ago as part of an ALON award, and the certificate has an old Gold VIP number on it that I have since merged with another number. I wish they still distributed these certs! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MIKESILV:
Sweet Willie
You got me worried since we still have about 12 of those 10k certs left (6 each for my wife and I)so I called HHonors and gave them my wife's old account number (as printed on the cert)and it came up as the number of our Mutual account. They confirmed that there still valid, the rule is if you are Silver you can use one against a 100K or higher reward if you are Gold you can use two.
Mike </font>

That will teach me not to read the fine print when I become a higher status in a program !!!

If this is common knowledge my apologies to all.
I recently booked a 100,000 pt reward and I asked the Honors rep if I could use one of the old VIP certificates that gave you a 10,000 point discount on a reward &gt;100,000 points. She said no they don’t do that anymore but if I would send her the certificate she would credit my account for the 10,000 points. I said I had several of these old certificates squirreled away and she said no problem, send them in. To make a long story short, I now have additional 30,000 points in my account from turning these old certificates in. If you have any of these stashed away give Honors a call and get them deposited. Sorry I tossed the mailing address but is was sent to Texas somewhere.

Thank you for posting this. Although it has been discussed here before, the response was that these could still be applied to GLON and other awards over 100K. It appears this was not the case in your situation, but I just called the HHonor centre and asked about this. They told me I should continue to hold onto the certificates, I have one Gold [20K] and one Silver [10K], and can use them when I am read to order my award(s).

I was also checking about extended status, since I did not get an email informing me of the extension of my Gold status as had others here. The same agent informed me everyone's status was extended due to 9.11 events, not just those who received notification by personal email.

[This message has been edited by Shareholder (edited 03-11-2002).]

A few years ago, Hilton sent me a discount certificate every year for a 10,000 point "discount" from an award stay of 100,000 (or more) points. I used some of these for six-night GLON stays over the years. I haven't received these for about 3 years now. Anyone know why Hilton cut these off?

I think it was about 4 years ago, I still have 12 unused ones.
FYI they are still valid all you have to do is claim a 100k or higher award,then mail the certs to HHonors and they will credit the points back your account. Golds/Plats can use up to 20k per award.
Mike

Must have been before my time. Sounds like a good deal though. Wish I had some.

I still have two of these: one each of the 10K Silver and 20K Gold. There was a lengthy discussion about thse among us old guard last year, but I am unable to post the link. As for mine, once I have earned the balance of the latest 50K promo points, I plan to apply the Silver one to that Kenyan Safari award. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I would love to have one. Does anybody have one spare or would like to get it exchanged? If so, please email or let me know.

Thank you very much!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Damian:
I would love to have one. Does anybody have one spare or would like to get it exchanged? If so, please email or let me know.

Thank you very much!</font>

Sorry dont think that would work. They come preprinted with your name and HHonors account # on them and says not transferable.

One thing I never noticed all these years is that they also say if you use them to get an award and you have to redeposit the award you will lose the points discounted by the certificate.

Glad somebody brought this up since I was thinking of requesting an award I am not positive I was going to use. Had thought until now, I could just redeposit it a get all my points back.

Mike

I sent you an email, but just noticed that you have replied here on the board. Sorry for the inconvinience. Too bad they are not transferable. I would love to have one as I'm redeeming an award for a lot of points http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Thanks anyway ..

I have a few of those 20K ones that I'm hoarding since they don't have expiration dates, these are the best coupons. I was so bummed when they stopped giving them out. I can't believe that I used to give them away.

So it seems like some of the coupons were transferable and some of them not. Anybody have one spare that would be transferable?

Please let me know

I appreciate that

I had 2 x 20.000.
I used one and then sent the award back and lost the 20.000 so I am really careful now.
I am about to order an award and once I know I'll be on the plane -then I'll send it in. they credit it after thay take the full award out.
then I am out of them!
I have never seen one without a name and account number.

I still have some old HH Reward Discount VIP Certs from couple years back.. they have no expire date. Can I still use them?

Yes, you can, I believe you can use up to two of them on an award costing 100,000 points or more. I believe they work like a rebate, after you redeem an award of 100,000 points or more you mail one or two of them to HHonors and they redeposit the points back into your account.

This is all based on second hand information gleaned from FT since I've never had or seen one of these certs myself. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

A BIG thank you!
I forgot I had those certificates still on file. That just made my recent ALON stay 20000 points better!

FT forums are the best!!!

------------------
AA..just plain old Platinum
Delta: Lead Medallion
AOL IM# bobcharlap
email:bob2@techie.com

I finally came across the two old VIP certs, 10 years old or so, but with no expiration date on them, that VIPs could use to discount awards of 100,000 or more. I had heard that these could still be used. If anyone has recent knowledge on this topic I would appreciate hearing about it. Thanks!

Redeem an award for 100K or more and you can mail those in and they'll rebate your account for 10,000 points each. You can up to two of them on one award.

Did as Beckles said just last week points are
redeposited in your account pretty quick.
Mike

I wish Hilton would bring these back.

I also used to have some of the gold 20,000 VIP certs.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Sweet Willie:
I wish Hilton would bring these back.

I also used to have some of the gold 20,000 VIP certs.</font>

I still have about 10 of these left and they are like Gold!!!

Mike

MIKESILV, I hear ya, I guard these better than I do my wallet

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MIKESILV:
I still have about 10 of these left and they are like Gold!!!

Mike</font>

I was just cleaning out some old files and came across one of the old HHonors 20,000-Point Reward Discount coupons (from approximately 1996, based on how deep it was buried).

Curiously, I read the Ts & Cs and it doesn't say anything about expiring, etc. Now I'm wondering if I should attempt to use it (and whether or not to force the issue with Hilton).

Here is the wording on the certificate: "This certificate entitles you to a 20,000-point discount on and HHonors reward of 100,000 points or more. It is valid for redemption during the period you remain an HHonors VIP. To receive your 20,000-point discount, simply attach this certificate to your HHonors reward request. For your convenience, reward request forms are included with your HHonors statement. Please see the reverse side for applicable Terms and Conditions."

Here's the reverse side:
1. Certificate is not transferable or exchangeable
2. Certificate may be applied to an HHonors reward of 100,000 points or more, only. All standard HHonors Reward Redemption Rules apply.
3. Certificate must be surrendered with reward request. Certificates presented after a reward is issued will not be accepted.
4. To receive the discount, member must be a current VIP member. Silver VIP members may redeem a maximum of one 10,000-point Certificate for any reward of 100,000 points or more only. Gold VIP members may redeem one 20,000-point Certificate or combine a maximum of two 10,000-point Certificates for a total of a 20,000-point discount against rewards of 100,000 points or more.
5. Certificate has no refund or cash value, and will not be replaced, reissued or credited if lost, stolen or otherwise destroyed.
6. Should an HHonors Reward Certificate(s) be redeposited for the amount of points which have been deducted from the member's account, the VIP Reward Discount Certificate will not be replaced, reissued or credited to the account.

I feel a few pangs of ethical remorse, but I'm curious to get some feedback from the FT community on whether to go for it or not. Thoughts?

I used an old one of mine late last year.
yes they are still good.
just remember though that if you cancel the reward you loose the discount.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by IAHRoadWarrior:
I feel a few pangs of ethical remorse </font>

Absolutely no reason for ethical remorse... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Those certs are perfectly usable, you won't need to "force" anything. There is no expiration date on them, the only requirement is to be Gold and above (for the 20K one), and that the value of the award it's to be applied towards to be no less than 100K points.

I would love to find some of those "old" cert's lying around. There were a really nice extra bump from Hilton. I was able to use three cert's for two TEEN awards at the Hilton in DisneyWorld. I ended up spending 140,000 points from my account(-60,00 for the three certs) and got upgraded to a corner suite (900 Sq. ft, newly remodeled) and a penthouse suite (1500 Sq. ft, not remodeled), but great view of the pool/gardens. The Diamond Desk provided everything for a great vacation stay. The lounge was great and provided the kids with some neat trinkets as souviners.

G

I was able to use my last three certs on three rooms in September 2002 at the Paris Hilton. You mail them in and the points appear in your account in conjunction with the booked award stay. I wish I had more.

I called the HHonors line to redeem a SP-5 award for 100,000 points before the increase. I made my reservation then asked how I should handle the certificate request due to the May 31 deadline and my wanting to use a 20,000-point HHonors VIP Discount Certificate.

To my surprise I was told by the customer service agent and her supervisor that Hilton is no longer honoring the certificates even though there is no expiration date printed on the certificate. The certificate also states "....is valid for redemption during the period you remain an HHonors VIP" which I have been since I received the certificate a couple of years ago.

I asked when this occurred and when was the announcement sent out. The supervisor informed me that she has no way of telling when this happened only that the system will no longer take the certificates. She then quoted me the first paragraph of
the "General Membership" terms and conditions that states Hilton can change/modify "Reward levels, and any other aspect of the Program at its sole discretion, with or without notice."

That’s sad. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Very bad CR too.

I must if this is true ( it was confirmed to me by a HHonor CSR) this may be the final straw that breaks my 16 year loyalty to Hilton.
The CSR I spoke to gave me some hogwash about them being issued in 2001 and now the reward structure has changed they are no longer usable.
She realised I was livid and checked with her
supervisor to confirm such.
She was unable to even tell me when they stopped accepting them (I redeemed two as late Jan 1 2003) but no prior notice really, really pisses me off.
mike

Somebody needs to drop Adam an email or phone call and give Hilton a chance to reconsider before too much stuff hits the fan...

What a load of crap from Hhonors.

Are they saying that tomorrow they are legally entitled to ask for one million points for a redemption room and they need not tell you at all because they can change or modify "Reward levels, and any other aspect of the Program at its sole discretion, with or without notice."

Challenge them.

I have these vouchers too. some have expiry dates and some dont. The ones with expiry dates and have expired need not be honoured, I agree. But the ones without expiry dates should be honoured.

I sincerely hope this isnt a case where Hilton hhonors will be renamed Hilton Dishonor?

I just sent this to hhonors@hilton.com

Affected members may want to follow suit

====================================


Dear Sir

I refer to the point reward discount which were given to many members some time back. I have many of them, some with expiry dates some without.

I recently tried to book a redemption with the discount vouchers but was told they are no longer valid notwithstanding there is no expiry date on them. I was never previously informed of it. I asked the CSR but could not get an answer as to when this happened.

There are many members with these certificates. They are just as concerned as I am that a reward benefit like this can be revoked without any notice at all.

I am sure this is an oversight on your part and trust you will confirm urgently that the vouchers will be honoured.

Many members are trying to book their redemption before the 31 May deadline and I hope you can reply promptly to enable us all to use the vouchers to make the bookings.

Yours faithfully

What? I was planning on claiming my ALON with a 20K discount cert next week. This is total BS from HHonors! If this holds and they don't honor my cert, I may very well drop my business with Hilton and return to Starwood. And this is after 7 years as a Diamond. I've about had it. Adam and Stacy are getting an e-mail.

I sent them a e-mail immediately I heard about it last night.
Two aspects of this really pisses me off
a) i spoke to two different HHonors CSRs since the other increased redemptions were announced and they BOTH assured me that the certs are and will be still valid.
Now we are being told it was "discontimued so months ago" but they cannot say when.

b) The blatant lack of any information even telling us after the fact that they were no longer valid.
Most recent members dont even know that these certs exist so perhaps they thought they could slip this change by us (which they did) and there would not be much of an outcry.
But screwing your LOYAL LONG TIME MEMBERS really sucks.
I was just about to make four reservations for a Denver trip but instead I am going to stay at Starwoods, at least they are giving double stay credits, so I will make SPG gold
with only 5 stays.
This episode will certainly radically affect my view of Hilton since I will make Diamond by fast track with one more stay and will also qualify for gold next year. After that there is very little reason for me stay at Hiltons for the rest of 2003 year (certainly not loyalty)if I dont have to, a 25% ( the difference between Gold and Diamond) increase in points dont make up for triple starpoints.
mike

I was wondering when this would be made widely public. I had a similar experience two weeks ago. The HHonors Service Center said they got a memo that these would nolonger be honored. I moved it up the chain of command. May I suggest you remind them the certificates have no expiration date and are valid as long as you maintain status therefore loyalty. I asked why I was not informed. She stated they did not know who received them and if they had used them. I reminded them my name and HHonors number was on the certificate and somehow, somehow it found its' way to me. Good luck.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by RTWSTARALLIANCE:
and somehow, somehow it found its' way to me. Good luck.</font>

RTW, are you saying they honored the 20K discount for you?

Add me to the list of dumping Hh for good (IF this is indeed true) .. I will stop my hilton stays immediately.. If they want to game us like this; its bye bye time.. I will stay everywhere but a hilton property.. and let them know by faxing quarterly what they have lost b/c they decided to take away something I rightfully earned.. Save a nickel and lose a dollar, thats the Hilton way

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by RTWSTARALLIANCE:
I had a similar experience two weeks ago. The HHonors Service Center said they got a memo that these would nolonger be honored.</font>

Sounds like Hilton just hired someone from Radisson's Goldpoints management. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Since I naively assumed that Hilton would honor its commitments, I sent in my last certificate about three weeks ago without calling first to ask if it was still good. The amount was posted with no problem. My account has the notation "VIP Discount Credit" next to the point amount.

I have no complaints at this time. I received my award confirmation via e-mail. I suggest as stated above you send in the certificate (via Fedex) asking for the award. Make a copy of everything.

Well, it looks like I stirred up a well deserved hornets nest.

I've read all the posts and agree that Hilton is definitely pulling a fast one. In response, I called the HHonors line three more times, once to get the physical street address for the redemption center to send my request in via FedEx. Each time I asked about the certificates. All three times I was told that they were no longer being HHonored. Two times I was told that this was effective April 1, 2003.

I am still going to send in my request via FedEx with the certificate attached and see what happens.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TempeFlyer:
Since I naively assumed that Hilton would honor its commitments, I sent in my last certificate about three weeks ago without calling first to ask if it was still good. The amount was posted with no problem. My account has the notation "VIP Discount Credit" next to the point amount.</font>

good for you TempeFlyer, glad it went through.

I've always sent the 10K and 20K certs in via certified mail after of course making a copy for myself. I did have one time that the 20K did not post, but my back up came in handy.

For those that were at the Freddies last night & those that followed the thread for the winners, I think Hilton only came up in one category & didn't win. Things like this are probably the reason why. BTW - Starwood swept in almost every category it was up for. Given that I haven't gotten basic benefits that you all have & adding this to the mix & the increase in points required, have to admit I'm thinking of moving to Starwood.

------------------
Sharon

This is one of the stupidest moves that I have seen HHonors make.

Granted, the point redemptions for the properties had not been changed for quite some time, so I don't begrudge Hilton changing them, especially since they gave a "grace" period with notice.

Granted, the reward exchange with United threatened to swamp Hilton with red ink, so I don't begrudge them for this, as well, even though there was no notice despite their claim of providing 6 months notice in the HHonors T & C. Nevertheless, you can't really begrudge them for doing this, as it threatened not only their solvency, but also the ability of longstanding HHonors members from redeeming points for their vacations.

However, how many HHonors members even remember these vouchers, aside from many here on FT, and even here too who are relatively new to HHonors, these vouchers were a holdover from when the program only awarded points on business rates!!

Therefore, what has Hilton done? Well, it has alienated its core audience, the very members who have been with the program for years, not those who are new to the program --- within the last couple of years -- or moments -- from the reward exchange.

Pretty stupid IMHO to alienate your core customer base, especially since there can't be all that many certs out there, which even if used, account for less than 10% of the point cost of your redemptions now, and will account for even less in the future.

They could at least transition the use of these certs to end with the expiration of the old point redemptions on 5/31.

Of course, the Hilton people constantly monitor these boards -- I have been told as much by a CSA supervisor from HHonors, but I would not hold my breath for them or the exalted, but absent, Adam Burke, to make themeselves known on this thread, and explain their shortsightedness.

There is only 1 person I know of who seems to have the ear of HHonors managment, and I call upon him to assist us in this matter.

I am requesting that our own FT EUGENE to see if he can reason with HHonors to show them the error of their ways.

I hope he responds to this request for his assistance!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NJUPINTHEAIR:
This is one of the stupidest moves that I have seen HHonors make.</font>

This is the ONLY stupid move I've seen them make except for killing the air awards with almost zero notice last December. Nit-pickers may add the CNTU to the list, but I won't. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Seriously, HHonors management appears to be as consistently intelligent as almost any other loyalty program. Adverse changes without notice are seriously out of character. Since notice will almost certainly be provided as a remedy (even Goldpoints gave a one-month grace period), these actions incur the wrath of customers totally unnecessarily.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SkiAdcock:
For those that were at the Freddies last night & those that followed the thread for the winners, I think Hilton only came up in one category & didn't win. Things like this are probably the reason why. BTW - Starwood swept in almost every category it was up for. Given that I haven't gotten basic benefits that you all have & adding this to the mix & the increase in points required, have to admit I'm thinking of moving to Starwood.

</font>

Starwood gold has been pretty valueless to me.
Hilton gold has been great to me.

I can't compare Diamond to Platinum. I would like to hear from those who have had experience with both.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NJUPINTHEAIR:
[B]This is one of the stupidest moves that I have seen HHonors make...
Granted, the reward exchange with United threatened to swamp Hilton with red ink, so I don't begrudge them for this, as well, even though there was no notice despite their claim of providing 6 months notice in the HHonors T & C. Nevertheless, you can't really begrudge them for doing this, as it threatened not only their solvency, but also the ability of longstanding HHonors members from redeeming points for their vacations.B]</font>

I do begrudge them this one. I am new to this site, so I guess it was just shame on me for not knowing that the United miles program was going to expire - immediately! I don't fly much, but my husband flies some, drives lots and stays at Hilton hotels as much as possible because we use the points for our annual Disney trips: tickets, car rentals, etc. HHonors had the best airline reward exchange going - it would have been even better if they'd been able to add Northwest and USAirways, but I digress...They are not stupid, but they thought we would be. The notice should have and COULD HAVE very easily been sent out in an email to all members. It seems they are able to do that when it works to their advantage. Losing Delta was tough, losing United so quickly was a crock! All that's left is Podunk Airlines!

star

My account has these two new lines in today:

VIP Discount Credit 10,000 0
VIP Discount Credit 10,000 0


So it looks like they are still HHonouring the certs. I mailed them, ordinary first class from LA last weekend and the credit came through 7 days later.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NJUPINTHEAIR:
This is one of the stupidest moves that I have seen HHonors make.</font>

I have to agree. Unless I'm mistaken (and I'll try to find in my files a statement from HH when they discontinued issuing these certs), HH promised to honor these 10K and 20K certs until exhaustion, as long as they are used by a member to whom they were issued, who must be a VIP of an appropriate level at the time of using them, no more than one cert (20K for Gold and above and 10K for Silver) per award of 100K or more.

Revoking their own promise, and for what? A few certs that are out there represent such a miniscule amount, but, as properly noted in the postings above, used by the most loyal of HH members, who for many years stayed loyal to the program, and at a high level in their elite program. For the record, I've used all of mine some time ago.

Adam, Mary Beth, Stacy, et al. -- we know you are reading this. Do the right thing and reverse this not-so-well-thought change. You'll prove one more time that you are listening to your best customers.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NJUPINTHEAIR:
There is only 1 person I know of who seems to have the ear of HHonors managment, and I call upon him to assist us in this matter.

I am requesting that our own FT EUGENE to see if he can reason with HHonors to show them the error of their ways.

I hope he responds to this request for his assistance!</font>

Wow... I appreciate the faith you put in me, but I'm just a regular FT'er and do not work for HH, nor am I associated with them in any other way than being an HHonors member.

Folks

This is the reply I recieved:-

&gt; Thank you for your email.
&gt;
&gt; VIP Discount Certifcates were a previous benefit of VIP Membership and are no longer valid. They were distributed in increments of 10,000 and 20,000 points to be used towards rewards valued at 100,000 points or more. VIP Discount Certificates are no longer valid and we are no longer accepting them. We have not accepted these certificates for at least two years. I apologoize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding regarding our position.
&gt;
&gt; Best regards,
&gt; Elfrieda Joyce


==========================

&gt;

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Asian_Traveller:
Folks

This is the reply I recieved:-

&gt; Thank you for your email.
&gt;
&gt; VIP Discount Certifcates were a previous benefit of VIP Membership and are no longer valid. They were distributed in increments of 10,000 and 20,000 points to be used towards rewards valued at 100,000 points or more. VIP Discount Certificates are no longer valid and we are no longer accepting them. We have not accepted these certificates for at least two years. I apologoize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding regarding our position.
&gt;
&gt; Best regards,
&gt; Elfrieda Joyce


==========================

&gt; </font>

That speaks volumes about the HHonors program
and their on-going internal confusion since I have redeemed 6 of those 10ks the last 2 in Jan 2003 within the last 2 years.
mike

Well, we know they've accepted them w/in the last 2 years since we've all used them. I'm guessing the 4/1/03 date is probably more accurate.

Here's my beef (well, one of them anyway): they make changes yet don't notify their members - do they think that by not doing so no one will notice so less "heat" they have to take?

For example, in the thread on only getting credits if you book their booking engine or expedia, one of their senior managers actually states in that thread that they are NOT going to do a general announcement to their members - on something that impacts all members. In this case, they've not done any announcement as well.

Yet we all get their weekly promotional emails, so obviously communicating with us is easy.

I'd say send them in & hope for the best but have the points in your account if they don't accept them.

And think about all the changes they've been making & decide if it is indeed time to switch to another chain. Perhaps if people do - and write them that they're doing so - and then do so - they'll get the idea. Of course they might not care, or they may decide they do but by that time it might be too late - harder to get clients back than keep them in the first place.

------------------
Sharon

I just redeemed two awards using a VIP coupon on each, so I am a happy camper. I hope this means that Hilton has decided to rescind the earlier memo.

As others have posted, voiding VIP discounts without notice never made sense. It makes less than zero sense to tell some customers that their VIP certificates are worthless while honoring these same certificates from other customers.

Hilton needs to make a firm decision either way and publicize it. If they decide to honor the VIP coupons forever, I suppose that no notice to members is warranted other than a post here by Adam, since members were never notified otherwise and the coupons clearly carry no expiration date. Adam can just say that the memo was somebody's April Fool's joke at the office. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

If Hilton decides that the benefit of imposing an expiration date exceeds the cost in the goodwill of long-term customers, then an announcement of the expiration date (preferably a future date) is warranted.

If Hilton can come clean on this and ask forgiveness, I'm confident that FTers will be grateful and will return loyalty for loyalty. I know I will.

I must say that I am stunned, happy, and disappointed all at the same time.

As was suggested by many I went ahead and sent my request for one SP-5 award (100,000 pts.) to Hilton via FedEx (actually UPS 2nd day air) along with my 20k VIP discount certificate on Friday, May 25. While I was at it I sent in my last two 10K VIP discount certificates and requested a 100,000 pts. ALON award before the points increase. My requests could have arrived yesterday so I just checked my HHonors account online and both award redemptions have posted to my account along with the 20K VIP Discount Credits for each reward. Only 80K pts. were deducted for each reward.

I am not saying that I would have taken the word of multiple agents and not tried the above anyway but it is very disturbing when you receive multiple identical "official" responses, including the actual email response from Hilton that AISIAN_TRAVELLER received and posted, stating that something is no longer valid and then find out that they are continuing to [i]"un-officially"[i/] HHonor the certificates if one takes the initiative to send them in anyway.

This is just plain disHHonest and crosses the line on proper business ethics. Hilton should learn a lesson from Enron and other companies that feel they can cross ethical boundaries without it becoming public knowledge. This definitely has a negative impact on this long time customer's loyalty.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SteveHOU:
This is just plain disHHonest</font>

ROTFL!

Seriously, I think Hilton can salvage this with a direct admission and correction of the mistake. And that's exactly what I expect to happen, at least if anybody there reads this board or is otherwise made aware of the problem.

I'm not going to slam on Hilton. I agree that this could/should be handled differently. As for the rest of FTs who have these certificates I believe you have been given the path. Follow it and get those awards issued asap.

I had some expired hyatt money certs. it says expiry date not valid where contravenes state law including california.
Does this also apply to these certs. if so get a california addrress and they MAY have to accept them.
I think with no valid date they could be in some trouble.I used some last year.
Where is Adam when you need him.
They sure need a Lurker.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by aussielori:
I had some expired hyatt money certs. it says expiry date not valid where contravenes state law including california.
Does this also apply to these certs. if so get a california addrress and they MAY have to accept them.
I think with no valid date they could be in some trouble.I used some last year.
Where is Adam when you need him.
They sure need a Lurker.</font>

You could not use the CA "gift certificate" law for these coupons; the law applies only as to "escrow" type certificates where merchant receives cash or cash equivalents and promises to honor the certificate as cash or cash equivalent in the future.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by RTWSTARALLIANCE:
I'm not going to slam on Hilton. I agree that this could/should be handled differently. As for the rest of FTs who have these certificates I believe you have been given the path. Follow it and get those awards issued asap.</font>

I would second RTWSTARALLIANCE's advice.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by RTWSTARALLIANCE:
I'm not going to slam on Hilton. I agree that this could/should be handled differently. As for the rest of FTs who have these certificates I believe you have been given the path. Follow it and get those awards issued asap.</font>

Thats OK for you to say, but I still got 10 of them left even I had that much points( I suppose I could redeem some useless CO miles) I really dont have the time time to stay on 5 GLONS by next June.
mike

[This message has been edited by MIKESILV (edited 04-29-2003).]

Folks, the later corrrespondence is posted below:-


========================

Dear Madam

Thank you for your prompt reply.

If you have not been accepting them for the last 2 years, may I ask this:-

(1) Exactly when (ie cut off date) was this terminated?
(2) Was there an announcement?
(3) If yes, when and where?
(4) If not, why not?
(5) Are there any members who, after this cut off date, are still allowed
to use the vouchers?
(6) I heard of members who do have their vouchers points credited recently.
Are
you aware of that? Why is there a double standard?

Please go to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/007507.html

I hope you can reconsider the matter and favour me with a fair and prompt
reply.

Thank you.

Regards
============================================

&gt;


Dear Mr. [ ]

I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. The VIP Discount certificates were phased out over a period of time and are no longer accepted. We began enforcing this as of April 10, 2003. Unfortunately, I do not have any further information about this.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Respectfully,
Elfrieda Joyce

Interesting how the "we have not been accepting them for over 2 years" suddenly became a decision not to accept them post 4/10/03.

What I find even more disturbing is the fact that no one from HHonors, despite Eugene's specific request on behalf of all of us to provide some form of grace period, has not even had the courtesy to post a reply on this thread, even though all acknowledge that they read this forum on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, Hilton, that was one of the first on these boards to have an official troubleshooter that was a great benefit to us all -- and I might add, that on occasion, we also helped to provide them with important feedback on a host of issues -- has fallen so low as regards its customer service.

Not only is it a stupid move to alienate their longstanding core audience on such a small number of points considering their recent promotions of the last 2 years, but they are doing so when the lodging industry is experiencing a similar degree of softness of demand, as seen in the airline industry.

Not only would a acknowledged deadline of 5/31 or some such other date help encourage those to trade in their points for vacations and therefore help fill rooms that might otherwise go vacant during this slack time, but they would be able to remove/write down and take out of circulation some of the HHonors points that, I would assume, must be treated as some form of accounting liability on their books. This is in addition to the obvious good will they would engender by agreeing to meet this small request.

Sadly, I think that the chances of their doing this is reflected by their non-responsiveness to this very thread, so I would not get one's hopes up.

The moral of this story seems to be -- as noted in another thread current in this forum -- is to henceforth switch one's loyalty to another program and hotelier, who looks after their clientele with a great deal more consideration.

Just my 2 cents or 8 HHonors points.

I would have been less confrontational and simply asked very humbly for a big favor on the basis that (1) the certs claim to be be good as long as you remain VIP, (2) no announcement was made (if they had, someone here would know it), and (3) others have had their certificates honored as recently as today. Basically, "pretty please do the right thing". You want to make "yes" the easiest choice for the reader. And then add, "In the interest of avoiding future problems for others, you might want to suggest to your management that they re-think their policy".

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NJUPINTHEAIR:
The moral of this story seems to be -- as noted in another thread current in this forum -- is to henceforth switch one's loyalty to another program and hotelier, who looks after their clientele with a great deal more consideration.</font>

Patience, patience. Bureaucracies are slow. Give Hilton a chance to make good. I should note that so far no one who actually sent in the coupons has reported being turned down.

BTW, the points are almost certainly not carried as a significant liability on the books, and Hilton probably would rather that you don't burn them, even during a downturn.

nsx

I didnt realise my email confrontational...

I dont think Asian_travellers e-mail is confrontational at all, this is a situation requiring some sort of prompt response considering the change in reward structure come June 1st.
All that would have been needed for someone from Adam Burke's office to post " we are reviewing that situation"

Look I dont think anyone has been a stronger defender of the Honors program on these boards as I have been, but there comes a point where one feels betrayed when the cancellation of promised perks and THE WAY THY ARE HANDLED is indefensible.

Those 10k certs were hard enough to use in the past since for the first 8 or so years of
my participation in the program one only got 500 points per stay for any stay other than the business or rack rate.
Stays at places like the HHV and HWV you got 500 points PERIOD even you stayed for two weeks.

With the new reward structure, if the 10k discount were still valid for only 100k or higher rewards, they would redeemable with the new GLON2, TEEN2 etc no more SP5, SP6 etc etc. EVEN THAT CONDITION WOULD HAVE BETTER THAN CANCELLING THEM AFTER THE FACT.

Personnally I am pretty pissed about this in light of having redeemed some 360K in rewards last Oct( but only one 100k plus) where I could have modified my vacation only slightly spent less regular points and used more of the 10ks.
Plus the fact that these changes affect long time VIP members, not the recent 4 stay = Gold types, it almost bewildering that some sort of notice about the change was not communicated to us.

By my observation it appears that all the good PR that Adam Burke had garnered on these boards nover the years has been squandered in the last 6 months.
mike

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NJUPINTHEAIR:
What I find even more disturbing is the fact that no one from HHonors, despite Eugene's specific request on behalf of all of us to provide some form of grace period, has not even had the courtesy to post a reply on this thread, even though all acknowledge that they read this forum on a daily basis. </font>

Folks, nsx's advice is solid, IMO: patience, patience. I'd rather not post specifics here yet, but trust me on this: Adam and his crew were made aware of this issue and this thread, and it is being discussed internally even as I post. Hopefully, we'll get a reply within the next few days.

Those of us who were on this board long enough, know that Adam prefers to have the final answer before posting. Let's extend some courtesy to him here, he definitely deserves it.

I wonder whether the policy came about in reaction to feared or actual counterfeiting of the VIP discount coupons. That could provide a rationale for Hilton's stealthy approach and liberal granting of exceptions.

Incidentally, I urge any FTers who learn of any effort to defraud any loyalty program to report it immediately: Fraudsters cause benefit cutbacks for everyone else.

nsx, i doubt it. but you've now given them a reason to say that's why they did it! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

as posted in this thread there aren't millions of them out there; it's not that big a deal for hilton & unless they change the policy, the ill will they're getting over it is definitely not worth what they're saving by not honoring them.

i'm of the 'if it doesn't have a formal cancel date then you honor it, or - if you feel you must stop it, give a reasonable grace period - and most importantly, notice - to those who have it' camp.

i'm still stunned about their response in another thread about a change they're making that will affect ALL Hilton members - they've consciously chosen not to do a general email to their members letting them know of the change. It's the thread on them only providing points if you book through their engines & expedia - the 3 strikes & you're out response. Sorry, don't have the link right here.

------------------
Sharon

The latest exchanges below.

[My remarks:- Note they dont even start off with the customary courtesy "Dear" any more.... :-(]

=============================
Dear Madam

With the utmost respect, my questions are as stated in my email.
Can you check with your superiors and revert.

Please also see the thread :

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/007507.html

Thank you

Regards

====================================


[my name],

I assure you; we are aware of flyertalk and I have been in close contact with my Superiors on this subject.

There was no official notice given with regards to the validity of the VIP Discount certificates. According to our terms and conditions, Hilton reserves the right to add, modify, delete or otherwise change any of the rules, procedures, conditions, benefits, Rewards or Reward levels pertaining to the Program at its sole discretion, with or without notice, even though changes may affect the value of points or Reward Certificates or Confirmations already accumulated. This means that Hilton may make changes that affect, but are not limited to, participating hotels, travel partner affiliations, rules for earning HHonors points, Reward redemption levels, rules and procedures for the use of Rewards, continued availability of awards, Reward inventory, Reward types, and the features of special offers. For more information with regards to our Terms and Conditions, please visit our website: www.hiltonhhonors.com (http://www.hiltonhhonors.com) scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "HHonors Terms & Conditions".

Sincerely,
Elfrieda

When asking for a favor from a FF program, if the phone agent is hesitant to help, just politely say "thanks for looking at it for me" and end the call. Don't make a big deal of it, or the agent may write a note in your record that you have already been denied relief. Just try later with someone else.

I used this strategy yesterday with a UA problem and it worked beautifully. I knew that my request was reasonable and that I therefore had a high probability of success on a second call, so there was no need to waste time when the first call was not immediately successful.

I recommend phone over email because you have more opportunity to impress the agent that you are a real person, a loyal customer, and a nice guy. In other words, you are the kind of person for whom anyone would like to do a favor. You can do some of this in a letter or email, but only if you are a really good writer.

Dear Asian_Traveller: I think Elfrieda forgot to say don't let the door hit you on the way out!!! - geesh. Talk about not customer service-oriented. Starwood is starting to look better after all.

------------------
Sharon

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SkiAdcock:
Dear Asian_Traveller: I think Elfrieda forgot to say don't let the door hit you on the way out!!! - geesh. Talk about not customer service-oriented. Starwood is starting to look better after all.

</font>

Sharon,

Hmmmm can you see any correlation... both United at the Freddies and Hilton's CSR in the e-mail seem to be very UN-customer... and guess what they both got zero Freddies. Think some companies need to wake up coz it's the service (perks help too) that keeps us coming back more than anything else...

Dear nsx

Whilst I appreciate your comment that it is good to be polite etc etc , I honestly do not consider my email as anything but direct and to the point. Strongly worded, yes. Confrontational, no.

I am not asking for a favour. I am simply stating the position and seeking an official reply. I do not see the need to use flowery language in official requests.

Your strategy of trying it with some other CSR later is a short term one and very unacceptable to me. If I am entitled to, give it to me, if not, ok so be it but give me full details. Don't be evasive. Why should I be making daily calls hoping to strike lottery with one CSR who happens to be so ever nice as a result of my sweet talk or one who may have forgotten their own internal instruction to reject the certificates.

You seem to suggest now that all these was brought about by my confrontational email. Perhaps we can in future refer all problems to you and let your polite emails resolve them.

Please, this is not as issue on the manner I wrote to them. This is a issue of whether it is legal, moral and/or ethical for Hhonors to rescind their committment to members without informing them or giving them sufficient or reasonable time to deal with it. I have no problems with the recent change in points - sufficient notice was given. In this case, no notice was given. We only found out after the event. It was a unilateral act. If that is acceptable to you, nsx, then so be it.

I only have 2 certificates of 20,000 points each and it is no big deal to me. I am just taking up the cause that this cannot be a precedent for hhonors to rescind privileges without fair warning. If you feel my approach is wrong, that is your opinion, but please do not distract us from the real issue.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SkiAdcock:

Dear Asian_Traveller: I think Elfrieda forgot to say don't let the door hit you on the way out!!! - geesh. Talk about not customer service-oriented. Starwood is starting to look better after all.

</font>

Actually, although I have stated that I truly believe that HHonors is acting very inappropiately, I would cut Elfreida some slack, as I can only guess that she is caught in the cross-fire. I do not envy her position, and I am sure that she was told by some quite unsympathetic and not to wise HHonors upper management type, who is doing his/her darndest to ruin this once great rewards program.

It is truly a shame what is happening, but the upside is that there are still a good number of choices out there to fit one's profile.

I am not blaming the CSR on this. In fact I think she is parroting the statement made to her by her higher ups. poor luv!

I do not get personal on such things. Lets not get personal and can we focus on the issue - can they legally do this and is it morally and ethical right for them to do this?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Asian_Traveller:
You seem to suggest now that all these was brought about by my confrontational email. </font>

I absolutely support you on the facts, and don't fault you at all. I was merely expressing an opinion on how to maximize the probability of getting what you want (and what is fair) with the least effort on everyone's part. These things usually work out well in the end, and I expect it will for you, too.

I sent in 1 10K Discount cert to the HHonors
service center that was received on 4/29 . They promptly credited my account.

Hello all. First of all, my apologies that I wasn't able to get back to you sooner. Candidly, since we hadn't issued the Reward Discount Certificates in several years, and this benefit had been discontinued, we had informed our Service Center that this program was no longer valid.

Having said that, we appreciate your feedback and, given that a number of you apparently still have some of the old certificates, we will certainly accept those.

Since it's been some time since these certs were issued, let me take a moment to clarify the terms and conditions as well:

&gt; Member must currently be at the applicable VIP tier for the requested VIP Discount Certificate being used.

&gt; A maximum of 20,000 points may be applied per reward.

&gt; There is no limit on the number of VIP Discount Certificates used per year.

&gt; The certificate must be the original document - no faxes or photocopies will be accepted.

&gt; Certificates are non-transferable and cannot be re-issued if lost or stolen.

&gt; Point credit will not be issued for unused certificates.


Again, thank you to all for bringing this to our attention and my apologies for any frustration this may have caused.

Sincerely,

Adam Burke
Vice President, Marketing
Hilton HHonors Worldwide

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Adam Burke:
we appreciate your feedback and, given that a number of you apparently still have some of the old certificates, we will certainly accept those. </font>

Excellent decision! Thanks for listening, Adam!

Thanks Adam and Hilton staff for listening to some of your most loyal customers!

DEAR MR.Burke:

I applaud the decision! However, I have a bit of a problem. First, 2 of my certs are for 10,000 points as I had earned them as a VIP SILVER -- BUT, I am now a VIP GOLD!!

I assume I may still use them for my redemption, nonetheless?

Second, one of the 10,000 VIP CERTS was provided in one of my statements and as such it has no name on it -- one was required to cut it our from the statement! If you were to do a bit of research on this issue, you would see that I am not fabricating this.

Might I still use this cert -- on the Hilton Cardstock Paper from the Statement of Account?

Your reply would be most appreciated so that I may sent in your response with my certs and requests so that I should not encounter any trouble when redeeming these items.

Thank you.

Thanks Adam my somewhat 'slightly bruised' faith in the HHonors has been restored.
Thanks again for listening to us.
mike
P.s. thanks also to Eugene now officaily nominated "Flyertalk ambassador to the Hilton nation"

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NJUPINTHEAIR:
DEAR MR.Burke:

I applaud the decision! However, I have a bit of a problem. First, 2 of my certs are for 10,000 points as I had earned them as a VIP SILVER -- BUT, I am now a VIP GOLD!!

I assume I may still use them for my redemption, nonetheless?

Second, one of the 10,000 VIP CERTS was provided in one of my statements and as such it has no name on it -- one was required to cut it our from the statement! If you were to do a bit of research on this issue, you would see that I am not fabricating this.

Might I still use this cert -- on the Hilton Cardstock Paper from the Statement of Account?

Your reply would be most appreciated so that I may sent in your response with my certs and requests so that I should not encounter any trouble when redeeming these items.

Thank you.</font>

As an answer to your first question.
The use of the certificates ALWAYS depended on your status at the time of redemption.
My remaining certs are all 10k received mostly obtained back when both my wife and I were Silver ( mutual fund account), all my recent redemptions were with 10k certs (times 2) although we are now Gold.

The rules had always stated that Golds can redeem 2-1Oks or 1-20k toward a 100k or higher award, silvers only 1-10k.
mike

When it comes to miles and points, all's well that ends well. Next time somebody gets impatient, just point him to this thread.

nsx

Contrary to what you are implying, I prefer to suggest that it is the firm statement and insistence of the rights of the members that result in this outcome... but we will never know, will we? Hv a good weekend.
:-)

I wish Hilton would consider reviving the HHonors VIP Discount certificates, especially since many awards now require more HHonors points to redeem for them.

I have a bizarre and hypothetical question: What if one has HHonors VIP Discount certificates in the name of a spouse with a different HHonors account number before both accounts were merged? Would they still be good?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Canarsie:

I have a bizarre and hypothetical question: What if one has HHonors VIP Discount certificates in the name of a spouse with a different HHonors account number before both accounts were merged? Would they still be good?</font>

Yes I expect certs in a spouse's name before the merging of the account ARE still valid.
I redeemed one which shows my wife's account # recently and twice in 2002.
mike

Although these comments are not all that gemain given Adam's response, I will make them anyways:

It appears as if some of us were lucky, others not so. I redeemed points for the GLONP award back in January and submitted my Gold 20K certificate by regular mail shortly thereafter. Points posted a week later as two "10K VIP Discount" credits. Then in March, I redeemed a regular GLON award, and mailed in a Silver10K certificate, again by regular mail, and again two week's later, the points posted.

I was sorry to read about those of you who missed the boat. It looks like you will get your credit afterall.

Though I was sorrier to read that Hilton has been following the cavalier route to "announcing" changes that Starwood followed late last year when they changed top level award points requirements and the number of stays and nights required for top tier Plat. Maybe Hilton saw that Starwood was not "punished" in the FREDDIES, though it certainly deserved to be by making these changes with little or no advance notice.

I can accept Adam's explanation. I had these certificates sitting in my desk drawer for many years. I was Gold when I made the first Gold 20K redemption, then was dropped to Silver in March, so figured I could then validly use the 10K Silver certificate. I am now back to Gold, so the dislocation for a few months paid off with a 10K bonus, I guess.

That said, HHonors at least had the decency to give us notice of all its changes last year that would take effect this year. Though, not this one. Still, all's well that ends well....

[This message has been edited by Shareholder (edited 05-15-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Shareholder:
Sorry to read about those of you who missed the boat. Sorrier to read that Hilton has been following the cavalier route to "announcing" changes that Starwood followed late last year when they changed top level award points requirements and the number of stays and nights required for top tier Plat. Maybe Hilton saw that Starwood was not "punished" in the FREDDIES, though it certainly deserved to be by making these changes with little or no advance notice.

HHonors at least had the decency to give us notice of all its changes last year that would take effect this year. Though, not this one.</font>

Did you actually read the rest of this thread? HH realized that they made a mistake and have allowed continued use of these certificates.

as if bumping up the thread would help. I was part of the mad redemption today and ordered a GLON and inquired about the VIP cert I have in my drawer. The most capable agent told me HH is accepting VIP awawrd in conjunction with 100,000 point awards or more. All I do is mail it in after the order and a credit would appear. We decided it was like a rebate. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

Mikesinla,

I hope you have that in writing. I kept copies of the certificates that I sent in earlier and it clearly states in item #3 on the Terms and Conditions:

"Certificate must be surrendered with reward request. Certificates presented after a reward is issued will not be accepted."

It also states on the face of the certificate:

"To receive your 20,000 point discount, be sure to attach this certificate to your HHonors reward request."

It is identical on the 10,000 certificate as well.

Good luck!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SteveHOU:
Mikesinla,


"Certificate must be surrendered with reward request. Certificates presented after a reward is issued will not be accepted."

It also states on the face of the certificate:

"To receive your 20,000 point discount, be sure to attach this certificate to your HHonors reward request."

It is identical on the 10,000 certificate as well.

Good luck!</font>

For quite some time now Hilton has been accepting the certs after the reward has been requested or redeemed for that matter.
I have mailed in about 6 of these and they have always been creditted to my account plus I have been instructed on numerous ocasions by HHonors CSRs to mail them later. I believe the mail-in requirements were in place before awards were redeemable on line etc.
I would further suggest not sending them in until after you actually use the award discounted, because if the award is lost or changed/redeposited, the amount of points replaced will be less the value of the discount certs.
mike


[This message has been edited by MIKESILV (edited 05-28-2003).]

Mike,

Thanks for the update on the certificate redemption variance. I also like your suggestion of not sending them in until you are sure you are going to use the certificate due to the credit not being redeposited to your account once the certificate is surrendered.

I have a couple of HH 10,000 point certs (when cashing in 100,000 HH points). The certs don't have any expiration dates. Am I correct in assuming that they are still valid?

Yes, these can still be used. Just send yours to the Customer Service centre and you will get credit. However, you must get your 100K+ award issued first, but advise the agent you are sending the coupon in -- one per redemption -- and when the coupon arrives in Texas, the points will be credited. [Assumes you have the full 100K to make the redemption.] Just put a note with the certificate, giving the award number, and send by XpressMail is you are worried about it being lost. I have always used regular mail, photocopying the coupon just in case it gets lost. Never has, though. Done this three times now, so you should have no prolbem.

Though Shareholders advice valid in all respects . I would NOT send in the 10k certs in until you have actually used the reward.
Because if for any reason you have to redeposit or change the award you will NOT get the 10k discount back.

I recently sent in 20k ( I still have 8 of the 10ks left) for an award I redeemed in May 2003 but only used in March 2004 and got credit promptly.
mike

Thanks to both of you. Your advice is always welcomed!

How does one get one of these certificates? This is the first I have heard of them. . . . as I sure wouldn't mind getting some myself!! :D

This is the first I have heard of them. . . .

Same here. What are these? It sounds like you get a 10K cert when cashing in 100K? Can someone provide a link to HH site where these are described? Thanks.

I received two 10,000 points HH certs when the Diamond program first came out (many years ago). I was an introductory Diamond member. They are unnumbered but just state that they're good when redeeming 100,000 HH points.

These were 10k ( for Silvers and Golds ) and 20k for Diamonds which were given out annually to HHonors members.
Mutual fund account members got double the number of certs.

These gave a 10k discount for Silvers and a 20k discount for Golds and Diamonds when redeeming awards of 100k or higher.
Back then HH points were much harder to get, since only Hilton and Conrad hotels were in the HHonors program ( they had not acquired Hampton, Homewood, Embassy or Sandic as yet) and stays unless rack or Business rates garnered only 500 points TOTAL ,even worse a stay at resort property got you only 500 points, no matter what the rate was.
Just image you could spend 2 weeks at the HWV and get only 500 points.

The issuing of the certs were discontinued some years ago ( 1999??) but they are still considered valid with no expiration date ( as long as the redeemer is a HHonors elite), though they apparently attempted to invalidate them last year, but mostly due to the uproar from Ftalkers, Adam Burke posted here to say that they still good.
I also have an e-mail HH reconfirming their validity, which I always send a copy of when redeeming.
Have used 6 10ks within the last 3 years but I still have 8 certs left.
Note also, they have the member's HH name and number imprinted and are not transferable.
mike

I mailed 2 10k discount certs a couple weeks back and the 20k points posted to my account this week. So they still work.

I'm not sure if they even pay attention to a reward being issued. I say this because I sent the certs all by themselves, asking only that they apply them to my account but forgot to mention my GLON2P res number.

A little late but Thank you MIKESILV and to you, UAVIRGIN, for the info. I didn't realize that since the certs have my name on them, I could just send them in and get them posted to my account. I have two 10,000 certs and one 20,000 cert; what I hear you saying is that all three certs can be turned in and posted to my HH account, right? Thanks again for your info

A little late but Thank you MIKESILV and to you, UAVIRGIN, for the info. I didn't realize that since the certs have my name on them, I could just send them in and get them posted to my account. I have two 10,000 certs and one 20,000 cert; what I hear you saying is that all three certs can be turned in and posted to my HH account, right? Thanks again for your info

I am not really sure you can do as UAVirgin says regarding sending them in without claiming an award. I know you dont actually have to send them in until after the award is actually redeemed so unless you had redeemed two or three 100k ( or higher ) awards ( depending on your HH status I would be careful about sending them in since HH seems to have a policy of not returning these certs.
It wont hurt if you did redeeem awards, you mentioning the actual award refrenced when sending these in.
mike

I am not really sure you can do as UAVirgin says regarding sending them in without claiming an award. I know you dont actually have to send them in until after the award is actually redeemed so unless you had redeemed two or three 100k ( or higher ) awards ( depending on your HH status I would be careful about sending them in since HH seems to have a policy of not returning these certs.
It wont hurt if you did redeeem awards, you mentioning the actual award refrenced when sending these in.
mike

Thanks Mike. I'll email an inquiry to HH but will hold onto my certs until I need to use them. Richard

Just call Honors and usually they will deposit them. make a copy so you have the originals. They know you can redeem an award send them the certificate then redeposit. So they have decided to just give the points. I did it several times. Why? Did not want to loose them plus that way could use them on smaller awards

Just call Honors and usually they will deposit them. make a copy so you have the originals. They know you can redeem an award send them the certificate then redeposit. So they have decided to just give the points. I did it several times. Why? Did not want to loose them plus that way could use them on smaller awards

How many did you send in? I have got about 10 left I wonder how they would react if I sent them all in.

mike

I recently made two reservations and was told that I had to turn the certificates in @ the time of check in . . . then the hotel would forward 'em on for credit. Is this "just plain wrong"?

I recently made two reservations and was told that I had to turn the certificates in @ the time of check in . . . then the hotel would forward 'em on for credit. Is this "just plain wrong"?

Most FD folks aint too aware of things like this. I would call HH again and confirm this procedure. I prefer to send them to HH CS.

MisterNice

I recently made two reservations and was told that I had to turn the certificates in @ the time of check in . . . then the hotel would forward 'em on for credit. Is this "just plain wrong"?

Hotels have nothing to do with them, most likely the front desk folks won't even know what it is. I am pretty sure that the agent making that suggestion to you confused these "10K off" certs with the regular award certs. Call HH again.

I was tossing a bunch of crap today which included my old Hh stuff. In there was a 20,000 point reward discount on HH reward of 100K or more. No expiration. It is valid for redemption during the period you remain an HHonors VIP (for the record I have been Gold or Diamond 100% of the time since this was issued to me) It has my name and HH number but nothing on here indicates that it isn't valid.

Anyone still have these and have used these recently.. say in the last six months or so.. last 12 months?

Just curious

I was tossing a bunch of crap today which included my old Hh stuff. In there was a 20,000 point reward discount on HH reward of 100K or more. No expiration. It is valid for redemption during the period you remain an HHonors VIP (for the record I have been Gold or Diamond 100% of the time since this was issued to me) It has my name and HH number but nothing on here indicates that it isn't valid.

Anyone still have these and have used these recently.. say in the last six months or so.. last 12 months?

Just curious
Just used one a couple of months ago...no problem at all. Once you book the reward stay, the DD will have you mail in the certificate and credit your account for the points. I still have a bunch of these dating back over ten years.

Where did you get these?

Where did you get these?
HHonors used to send them out snail mail to Silver/Gold/Diamond members every so often.

I mailed in two of the 10k ones in Mid May and they posted to my account two weeks or so I still have 2 left. :)

Had about 16 10k certs when HH stopped giving them out annually.
One advantage of mutual accounts you got two sets per year :)

mike

Edited to add that about 3 or so years ago HH tried to make them invalid but the uproar on these boards caused Adam Burke to post here that all old one were still valid.

thanks guys, I really thought I was SOL as I actually had tossed it in the garbage can, then thought a second and pulled it out and thought that I'd ask here first, I'm glad I did..

Now to see if I have any more (doubt it) lying around. I know that I got a number of these at the time

I wish I still had some make sure u are actually going to use the award that u order as u cant get the points back if u cancel.(that happpened to me :( )

although I never used one I do seem to recall that exact statement on FT years ago, plus they (hh) do make it clear on the form that you won't get your points back... plus 100K doesn't quite get it what it used to LOL

I wish I still had some make sure u are actually going to use the award that u order as u cant get the points back if u cancel.(that happpened to me :( )

I have a 20,000-Point Reward Discount for being a Hilton honors VIP issued in 1997. It does not have an expiration date. It is valid for reward transactions > 100K AND remain a Hhonors VIP. It is a paper award. It is made out in my name with My Hh number on it. On the back bottom right are (in tiny font) the following: A2497 GQLTR 1/97

Some T&C's.

not transferable
Reward must be 100K or more
must be surrendered with reward request
must be a current VIP member (I'm gold and have never been lower than gold in since it was issued)
nor replaced if lost, stolen etc
and if I cancel the award, the cert is not reissued

so far so good, I have no problems with the above

Today I go to redeem a GLON407 for 155K points. I also ask about using the cert (called the gold line) and she had no idea what it was. I was placed on hold while she tracked it down. She comes back and says that they stopped taking these a couple of years ago. (didn't I read on FT where these are still valid? couldn't find the thread though) I said but there isn't an expiration. She said I'd be better off redeeming the points for the award and then to speak with She said that I would have to be transferred over to CSR to further discuss. I agreed. Reservation made, 155K deducted.. so far so good

I talk to CSR, who after looking it up, says that I must mail it in AFTER my reward stay is complete and they will credit me for the 20K. I reiterate, the t&c's say "certificate presented aftere award is issued will not be accepted" She says, well thats how they do it now. I agree and let it go

my question: Do you guys still have any of these? Has anyone used one in the last year or so? Anyone done this after the fact? I know that if I send it in, and they don't credit me, I will never see the cert again.

thanks

I last used one of these in late 2002 or early 2003. I think I have one of the 10K off 100K or more certs still in my files somewhere. If I recall correctly, HHonors announced they were not going to be taking these any longer (even those without an expiration date), but that decision was rescinded after several FlyerTalkers complained. In any event, even 4 or 5 years ago there were very few people at HHonors who knew what these were.

My suggestion is to call HHonors again and have them add a comment to your reservation about use of the certificate and that you were told to send it in after. Or even a simple e-mail from someone at HHonors with the instructions they gave you. That way, if the points are not credited when you send it in, you have some back-up. I don't think it will be an issue.

I missed this when posted originally ( found the post when going back to do as search)

I redeemed about 140k worth of HH points with these certs within the last four or so years, 60k in late 2006 and the most recent 20k in May 2007.
( I still have 4 10k ones)

For all those mentioned above all I have done is mail them into the HH center with a short note referencing the 100k+ rewards redeemed and the points posted to my account pretty promptly.
The ambigous ( or better still quite silly) response given you by the first CSR was probably due to fact that HH stopped giving these out... what?? 8 years ago??

You can actually get the cert points creditted just after you claim the award but I would not do that submit them until after the stay unless you really needed the points, since should you need to redepoisit or change the ceertificate in question they will only return the points of the award minus the value of the discount certs you sent them.

Make a photocopy of the cert(s) in case they get lost in the mail since as you can see they carry no indentifying number and HH will not replace lost certs.

mike

I was still debating whether to actually wait (It would Jan 09 when I mail it in) or send it now...

I'm leaning on waiting just in case I change it. I don't need the points right now anyway

thanks

I missed this when posted originally ( found the post when going back to do as search)

I redeemed about 140k worth of HH points with these certs within the last four or so years, 60k in late 2006 and the most recent 20k in May 2007.
( I still have 4 10k ones)

For all those mentioned above all I have done is mail them into the HH center with a short note referencing the 100k+ rewards redeemed and the points posted to my account pretty promptly.
The ambigous ( or better still quite silly) response given you by the first CSR was probably due to fact that HH stopped giving these out... what?? 8 years ago??

You can actually get the cert points creditted just after you claim the award but I would not do that submit them until after the stay unless you really needed the points, since should you need to redepoisit or change the ceertificate in question they will only return the points of the award minus the value of the discount certs you sent them.

Make a photocopy of the cert(s) in case they get lost in the mail since as you can see they carry no indentifying number and HH will not replace lost certs.

mike

I am sure there are a few out there who have been in this program since it started, or at least back in the early 90s, and who remember each year when we requalified for Silver or Gold (Diamond came in later) we'd also receive a certificate worth 10K (Silver) or 20K (Gold) against an award redemption of 100K or more. Well, I came across a couple of unused Gold ones (I am sure I used a few about 5 or 6 years ago when HH increased its award points requirement by about 30%) and there is no expiry date to be found. Which means, I would assume, they can still be used when I reachieve Gold status.

Has anyone used one of these in the past couple of years? (Unfortunately, the member name and number are printed on them, so these cannot be offered up on CC.) If there's a HH lurker looking at this thread, perhaps s/he could advise if these certs would be accepted under the current award chart T&Cs?

Yes I have used about twelve or so of these 10k/20k certs in the past few years and I still have two left ( One of the really great things about mutual accounts was that each partner got a set of these certs each:))

Basically all you do to redeem these is to make a 100k point (or more) award as normal and mail the certs in to HH Addison and the points are deposited back into your account. I usually write a short note referencing the specific award ( especially if you did more than one in a recent time frame).

Note too that if you have to cancel that specific award the points redeposited into your account will be less the submitted certs ie you lose the
value of the certs.... so its best you mail them in after the stay is completed.

mike

Yep, I still have a few hanging around.
Used one last year, I just let them know I had it, mailed it in and they re-deposited the points. Can't remember how long it took, but not too long.
I always love the little unexpected finds in the bottom of the drawer!:D

Used a 10K pt discount Silver VIP coupon from Mid 90's last December for a 120k point stay in NYC. Mailed it in and 10,000 point discount was posted to my account within 2-3 weeks.