Hilton HHonors - Does Hilton HHonors warn you when points will expire?

I recall a thread about points expiring after 12 months of inactivity, but I have an account where the points are still valid without a hotel stay in the past 12 months.

Do the points just evaporate one day? or will I get a warning first?

I recall a thread about points expiring after 12 months of inactivity, but I have an account where the points are still valid without a hotel stay in the past 12 months.

Do the points just evaporate one day? or will I get a warning first?
My mother's points expired one day and I realized that the e-mail address on the account was one I haven't used in a long time. So here's what the e-mail looks like when your points are about to expire, which was sent sometime mid-last year.
Don't let your Hilton HHonors® membership lapse!

Dear Mrs xxx,
Hilton HHonors Account Number: xxx

As a member of Hilton HHonors, you are very important to us. That's why we want to give you an opportunity to reactivate your HHonors account before it is closed and the HHonors points you've already earned are forfeited. Plus, you can earn an additional 10,000 HHonors bonus points - enough for a free night*!

Get 10,000 HHonors bonus points credited to your account! Apply and get approved for the no annual fee Hilton HHonors Visa® Signature Card and make your first purchase within 60 days. You can receive free Silver VIP status for your first year of cardmembership.

By using the Card, you will reactivate your HHonors account and build upon your current point balance. Earn 2 HHonors bonus points per eligible dollar spent on everyday purchases (less returns) and 3 HHonors bonus points for each eligible dollar charged at over 2,700 Hilton Family hotels worldwide. Apply now or call
1-888-880-8165.

You may also keep your HHonors account open beyond June 01, 2006, by taking advantage of one of the following options:

1. Stay just once before June 01, 2006, at any participating Hilton®, Conrad®, Coral by Hilton, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hilton Grand Vacations Club®, Homewood Suites by Hilton® or Scandic hotel in more than 80 countries worldwide and enjoy all the benefits of the Hilton HHonors program.

2. Earn HHonors points through any number of HHonors partners. For more information about earning points with HHonors partners, click here.

3. Purchase HHonors points at hiltonhhonors.com/purchasepoints. You can purchase up to 40,000 HHonors bonus points online per calendar year (in increments of 1,000 points) and use them toward hotel stays, exciting rewards, and more.

4. Use the Hilton HHonors VISA® Signature Card from Citibank (South
Dakota), N.A. and earn HHonors bonus points every time you make a purchase!
To apply, call 1-888-601-7083 or click here.

If you do not take one of the actions above by June 01, 2006, your HHonors account will be closed and all accumulated points will be forfeited. Prior to your account closing, you may redeem your HHonors points for any eligible reward. After the points are redeemed, your account will be closed by the date above and all remaining points will be forfeited. For a complete listing of HHonors rewards, click here.

If you have earned HHonors points in the last nine months, but did not receive credit for your stay, please submit a missing stay request online now. Simply sign in to your account at hiltonfamily.com, click on the "Member Services" tab, select "Missing Stay Request" and complete the form.

I recieved at least 2 emails prior to the date of my points expiring. One was at least a month out and the other was about a week out. The even offered the solution to spend $12 for 1000 pts to validate my points for another yr. How nice of them to make $12 off of me.

Redeeming an award and redepositing the points from the award isn't sufficient?

That would be free.

Redeeming an award and redepositing the points from the award isn't sufficient?

That would be free.
But then you aren't "earning" any points. Interested as well if this works since the HHonors guide only says that one must "earn" points to keep the account active.

Don't count on being informed at all. A relative's points expired, and he phoned HHonors to ask for mercy. They claimed that they had sent him warning emails, but he received none.

From past experiences posted here, you might or you might well not; see (12) below for the whys. (If you have been removed from the mailing list, you may receive no warning notice.) If you assess any value to your HHonors points, you will perform some kind of action that will keep your account activated; if you do not, do nothing, and the account will take care of itself and lapse.

HHonors Terms and Conditions (http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors/terms.jhtml), in part:

"12. Members who do not earn points in any 6 consecutive month period may be removed from the mailing list of active Members. A Member may reactivate his or her account by accumulating points or by other such means that Hilton HHonors Worldwide, LLC, may establish.

13. Members who do not earn points in any 12 month consecutive month period may be removed from the Program and, if so, are subject to forfeiture of all accumulated points. The account may be reactivated by the member taking one of the following actions:

• stay at an HHonors hotel, thus reactivating membership; or

• earn HHonors points through any third party source of HHonors point accumulation

Failure to take action (a) or (b) or described above within the prescribed 90-day period will result in the closure of the Member's account and the forfeiture of all accumulated points. Members can redeem HHonors points for any HHonors reward for which they are eligible prior to the account being closed. After the points have been redeemed, the HHonors account will be closed and all remaining points in the account will be forfeited."

HHonors is a rewards program for frequent guests. Also, it is clear it is not HHonors' duty to keep us informed, it is our duty to keep aware of the terms and conditions; no suprpise they have protected themselves pretty well.

"14. Each Member is responsible for remaining knowledgeable as to the Program Terms and Conditions and as to the number of points in his or her account. HHonors will attempt to send correspondence to active Members to advise them of matters of interest, including notification of Program changes. However, neither Hilton HHonors Worldwide, LLC, nor companies participating as Partners in the Program will be liable for any failure to do so and will not be responsible for incorrect or inaccurate transcription of entry information, for problems related to any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized by the Member, for any human error, for any interruption, deletion, omission, defect, or line failure of any telephone network or electronic transmission, for problems relating to computer equipment, software, inability to access any Web site or on-line service, for any other technical or non-technical error or malfunction, for lost, late, stolen, illegible, incomplete, garbled, misdirected, mutilated or postage due mail or other mail for whatever reason."

HH stole my wife's balance without any notice.

On being challenged, they said they had sent a message. They hadn't. They refused to reinstate the points. Of course, she had been using Hiltons - with me.

Unsurprisingly, Hilton is no longer our chain of choice.

I didn't know about the 6-month limit for e-mails mentioned by JDiver, though I'm sure that had nothing to do with our case.

Well they do send out SOME e-mails ( now if you are not set up to receive such then thats another story:rolleyes: )

Just a few weeks ago I got a similar e-mail to one posted above for the account of a relative I had enrolled in HH using my e-mail address.

I can only speak for myself but I find it a little difficult to understand why people find it so hard to keep tabs on this if its important to them.
Lets face it just about every FF (except NWA as far as I know) has expiration dates.

mike

My dad's expired and he didn't get any warning that he noticed.

My wife got an email from Hilton in December that her points would expire on Feb. 1, 2007. It suggested that she either use the points for a reward (she has enough for a one-night's stay) or earn more points in the various ways stated.
Since we usually use my HHonors card when traveling, we'll just redeem for an award cert.

I've got to check the T & C's to be sure we can get a reward cert good for up to a year without making a definate hotel reservation at the time we request the reward certificate.

bj-21.

Lets face it just about every FF (except NWA as far as I know) has expiration dates.Well actually, no.

InterContinental Hotels don't, for a start. Nor do BD. And most others have a 3+ year term beyond which points/miles may expire without activity. [LH is the bad boy with miles expiring even with activity.]

HH's was just 12 months IIRC.

As for being 'set up for e-mails', what's that all about? :confused: If HH say they send e-mails about expiry and they don't, what can be done? :(

Well actually, no.

InterContinental Hotels don't, for a start. Nor do BD. And most others have a 3+ year term beyond which points/miles may expire without activity. [LH is the bad boy with miles expiring even with activity.]

HH's was just 12 months IIRC.

As for being 'set up for e-mails', what's that all about? :confused: If HH say they send e-mails about expiry and they don't, what can be done? :(

For fear of beating a dead horse, I expect it means if you do not set your profile to accept e-mails from HH you are unlikely ( or likely as the case may be) to receive one.

mike

For fear of beating a dead horse, I expect it means if you do not set your profile to accept e-mails from HH you are unlikely ( or likely as the case may be) to receive one.Er, yes. We were both set up to receive e-mails. Now only I am (unsurprisingly).

Just found out my account has been closed without any notice, what a waste of 100k points.

The agent did offer me a promotion of 5k points per night for the next year which sounds too good to be true.

Just found out my account has been closed without any notice, what a waste of 100k points.

The agent did offer me a promotion of 5k points per night for the next year which sounds too good to be true.

It's not too good to be true. Stay a couple of nights and see how the points post. Hilton won't usually give back expired miles no matter how much you kick, complain, cajole, plead or politely ask. Hilton will however reward you for returning to the hotel chain with the offer you mentioned. So if you stay 10 nights, it will be 50,000 points.