Hilton HHonors - Hilton Special Offers Internet-only?

So a colleague and I stayed at the Trident Hilton in Gurgaon, India. Before arriving I checked out the website <http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=DELTRHI> and saw the tab that says "Special Offers". I clicked on it and it says:

Earn triple Hilton HHonors Base points

Start the New Year in India and earn triple HHonors Base points for stays at the following hotels for weekend or weekday stays, between 20 January and 31 May 2005:

Check in on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and request Plan Code LZ:
Hilton Towers Mumbai
Trident Hilton Chennai
Trident Hilton Gurgaon

Check in on any weekday and request Plan Code LR:
Trident Hilton Agra
Trident Hilton Bhubaneswar
Trident Hilton Cochin
Trident Hilton Jaipur
Trident Hilton Udaipur

Valid Dates:
Jan. 20, 2005 - May. 31, 2005

So when checking in I requested Plan Code LZ.

Now, it took over a month for me to get Hilton to give me points for the stay. I unsuccessfully tried to get the hotel to fax me another copy of my receipt so that I could fax it to HHonors since I'd given mine to my company with my expense report. Finally they contacted the hotel or looked in the computer and gave me points. However they didn't give me the triple points. So I asked them to look into that. They sent me the following answer:


Thank you for emailing Hilton HHOnors.
I have now looked it up and if you don't give the promo code when you make
the reservation you can not have the triple points. This kind of promos is
mostly for internet use. That's why the personnel working at The hotel
didn't knew anything about this code. If you didn't make the reservatyion
over the internet there is no triple points.

I didn't see anything on the website about having to quote it when making the reservation and the reservations were actually made over the internet. The site said to "Check in on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and request Plan Code LZ" and this is exactly what I did.

Is it always this hard to get Hilton to make good on their offers?

Is it always this hard to get Hilton to make good on their offers?

I stayed in NYC, and the ran a double point offer, I got them to change the rate plan when I Checked in. Just maek sure it shows on your bill as that rate plan BEFORE YOU CHECK IN.

This is in fact something that you have to do at the time you make the reservation. You mentioned that you made the reservation online, but did you do so using the "Check availability" link that is on the same page as the promo? You then have to make sure that the "Triple HHonors Base Points" box is checked AND the "Triple Base point rate" actually is available. Even if you meet all the requirements, the rate still may not be available. The website will tell you if it is or not. If you click on "Terms and Conditions" it says:

"All rates were subject to availability; certain length of stay requirements may apply. For reservations, call the Hilton Reservations Worldwide office nearest you and request Plan Code LZ or LR."

For phone reservations, it specifically says to call Hilton and mention the rate code when you make the reservation.

There is nothing in the T&C which says to quote the rate code when you check in. Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where you really have to read the fine print!