Hilton HHonors - Righteous (or self-righteous) indignation?

Earlier this year I was offered fast track to gold by Hilton. I was unaware of it, and called customer care on February 20th and they extended it. The representative was very nice, and I was impressed by the service.

As you might have guessed from the title, I am happy no more. In my notes from the call, I have that the fast track requires four stays before the end of May. I have three stays and six nights. I went online to book my final stay and the fast track offer was no longer available. I know the website has changed, so I thought it was just a glitch.

I called customer care and I was told that the offer had expired on 5/20, and that it was for 90 days, not until 5/31 as my notes reflected. 90 days would have expired on 5/21, so I am just 2 days beyond the window. They refused to extend it to even allow me to complete an immediate stay stating the representative notes indicate it was for 90 days and the fast track offer is a "special circumstance."

I believe that given my notes conflicted with the representatives, Hilton should have allowed me to complete the offer particularly since my notes correspond to the way the VIP Tier calculator lists the number of qualifying stays needed "before the end of" whatever month is applicable. Here, until I checked it this week it said before the end of May.

I know many HHonors members feel the benefits are being diluted by such offers. However, I think if they are going to make such an offer, they should have resolved this discrepancy in favor of me - the customer.

It's no wonder Hilton did so poorly in the Freddies. Back to Marriott and SPG for me! Now, what to do with the 125,000 Hilton points?

I do understand your bitterness - they were not clear in their information, and they should have stipulated "90 days." I might put it in a well-crafted, articulate snail mail and try one more time, or try "flyertalk@hilton.com" for e-mail. A couple of snailmail addies below.

(And if I had the HH AMEX card, I'd spend 125,000 points on an AXON award, 4 nights at a Cat 5 or 6 property.)

Maybe attn: to the office of

Adam Burke, senior vice president and managing director of Hilton HHonors Worldwide
Hilton Hotels Corporation World Headquarters
9336 Civic Center Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210


HHonors Customer Care
P.O. Box 9003
Addison, TX 75001-9003

I think that your "bitterness" might also be directed back at your assumption that HH's challenge fit into your schedule. I admit when someone says "90 days" to me I think "3 months".
But,most every thread here that mentions the gold challenge says "90 days". And since it starts on a specific date (not the beginning of a month) that means "90 days".
While the HH CSR might have been clearer, you probably needed to make sure that you had the facts correct. I'm not saying this as a form of attack on you, but as a note for others to make sure that they know the "rules".

I would keep calling the CS number until I got a sympatheic person. I wouldn't be surprised if they offered another short challenge.

You can convert your 125000 HHonors points to Airline miles.

I think they looked at your file and see that your fast track offer has already been extended once already. Since you said you were unaware of the initial offer, I think it was nice of Hilton to extend the offer. I don't know the terms of your original fast track offer but assuming that it was the same as the present one which is 4 stays within 90 days, it would indicate to them that you will not be giving them a lot of potential business in any case. If you had no stays for your original offer and only 3 stays on this extended offer, it would only add up to 3 stays within half a year. Even if you had 2 or 3 stays during the initial offer period, it still does not add up to a lot of stays. Hilton is a business and if you can show them that you are a good potential source of business, they will accomodate you. Good luck.

I did my diamond status with no promos or challenges. If you stay enough you get it.

I did my diamond status with no promos or challenges. If you stay enough you get it.

Agreed. if you really are loyal, or thinking about becoming elite. Work for it, regardless of whether the "challenge" is available or not.

IMO, there are two ways to look at this; either you want to spend your money at Hilton or not. Make a decision and move on.

I did my diamond status with no promos or challenges. If you stay enough you get it.


That's what I was going to say. And, I did it when Diamond qualification was tough!

I received the Fast Track to Gold offer last year also. I wasn't notified, no letter, email, etc. I happened to log into my HHonors account online (while I was booking more stays), and noticed it in the tiers. I didn't ask for an extention, and I had already done 2 stays in the time period. I easily fulfilled the remainder of the offer, and got gold status.

I applaud Hilton for giving you an extention on your initial offer. However, if you aren't going to stay with them enough to fulfill a fast track offer, I don't see what benefit you would get from being gold anyway.

Now, what to do with the 125,000 Hilton points?
Are you serious? :eek: 120,000 of those points will get you three free nights in a very nice (and normally expensive, if paid for in dollars -- think $300-$400/night) hotel in NYC -- such as the Times Square Hilton!

(Or, if you happen to have an HHonors Amex, the 125,000 points will get you a free stay of FOUR consecutive nights in the same nice hotel.)

You're sitting on something valuable, but you want to throw it away just out of spite and bitterness? :confused:

I think Hilton is right on this one..If you just qualified as you are supposed to you wouldnt need a "Fast Track"..sorry to be blunt..but there are allready to many VIP`s without giving it away to everyone who has special needs.

I think Hilton is right on this one..If you just qualified as you are supposed to you wouldnt need a "Fast Track"..sorry to be blunt..but there are allready to many VIP`s without giving it away to everyone who has special needs.

Agree. If the matter was that important to OP, why trust it to your memory, why not verify the end date between then and now? :confused:

I am ill at ease with comments such as "no wonder HH did so poorly..." as it makes it seem the whole company is somehow to blame for them not getting the benefit of the doubt they thought they were entitled to. In the larger sense is it any wonder there's so much fine print and such decisions made when we switch loyalties at the drop of a hat over some perceived slight only to come back demanding something else next promo?

I hear your frustration and can empathize as I'm sure we've all had things not go our way but the sense of entitlement is unwarranted, at least IMHO.

That's what I was going to say. And, I did it when Diamond qualification was tough!Yeah, me too.

Back in those days we had to walk to the hotel. And it was always snowing. And it was uphill both ways.

These kids nowadays ...

Yeah, me too.

Back in those days we had to walk to the hotel. And it was always snowing. And it was uphill both ways.

These kids nowadays ...:D :D ^

I agree with wilp888 that it was nice of HHonors to extend the offer initially. That is why my title asked whether it was righteous, or simply self-righteous, indignation.

Jabez was on to something about the source of my "bitterness" but didn't get it quite right. The HH challenge did not fit into my schedule, but I never assumed that it did. Instead, I worked hard to accomodate the challenge schedule. I successfully completed three stays for a total of six nights (more nights total than necessary). No, it does not add up to a lot of stays during the time frame (which was less than six months - the full term of my initial offer had not expired when I first saw it on the web tracker). However, my husband cannot take time off from work from Jan. 1 to the end of the first week of May, so most of our travel does not occur during that time frame. It happens in the fall.

My notes (made during the phone call) clearly indicate "end of May." I repeated it to the cs rep before writing it down. During the time of the offer, I thought I did verify the terms by going to the HH website and continually checking the VIP tracker. I didn't print it, but I am sure I would have noticed if it had an earlier date. Since like aztimm I only found out about the offer by going to the website, there was nothing in writing for me to review or to use to verify my notes.

Granted, as most of my travel is for personal reasons, I travel far less than most here on FT. But that also means it is coming out of my pocket, which makes the possibility of upgrades and more points very valuable for me.

After reading all comments, and given the above, I've decided to take Jdiver's advice and write to Mr. Burke and Customer Care. I wouldn't say I feel a sense of entitlement, but I do think I acted in good faith and it would have been reasonable to allow me to complete that one last stay which I offered to do immediately.

And no KathyWdrf, I am neither spiteful nor bitter and have no intention of throwing anything away. I meant exactly what I said - what to do with - my points i.e, how to use them.

Thank again to everyone for your thoughts.

Yeah, me too.

Back in those days we had to walk to the hotel. And it was always snowing. And it was uphill both ways.

These kids nowadays ...

Luxury. In my day we did it barefoot.

http://tinyurl.com/cdhw

Call Paris Hilton - I hear she has found religion these days. I'm sure she'll give you a deal....

:)

Call Paris Hilton - I hear she has found religion these days. I'm sure she'll give you a deal....

:)

I do know where I can find her after the 5th....

tfpma, thanks for the more detailed thoughtful response. Good luck w/ writing, and have fun picking a place to use your 125K points! Cheers.

I write flyertalk@hilton the following e-mail:


I am writing you this to make you aware of a problem I have encountered with your Customer Care Department in the hope that you can provide me some assistance with this issue. Earlier this year I was offered a fast track to gold status by Hilton. As Hilton did not communicate the offer to me I was unaware of it until I noticed it while making a reservation online. By the time I was aware of the offer the time to participate had almost expired. I called Customer Care on February 20th and explained the situation to the customer care representative and she agreed to extended the time to complete the offer so that I could participate. The representative was very nice, and I was impressed by the service.

My notes (made during the phone call) clearly indicate the fast track required four stays before “the end of May.” I repeated it to the customer service representative before writing it down. By May 20th I had three stays and six nights. I went online to book my final stay for the Memorial Day weekend and the fast track offer was no longer available. I know the Hilton website has changed, so I thought it was just a glitch.

I called Customer Care and I was told the offer had expired on May 20th, and that it was only valid for 90 days beginning February 20th, not until May 31st as my notes reflect. This 90 day period would have expired on May 21st, so I was just 2 days beyond that window. Realizing there was some miscommunication between us, I offered to book an immediate stay in order to complete the offer, however, the customer care representative refused to work with me to resolve the confusion stating the representative notes indicate the offer was for 90 days and the fast track offer is a "special circumstance." As my notes conflicted with the representatives, I believe Hilton should have allowed me to complete the offer particularly since my notes correspond to the way the VIP Tier calculator lists the number of qualifying stays needed "before the end of" whatever month is applicable. The Hilton web-site indicated the offer was open through the end of May until I checked on May 23rd.

I believe that I acted in good faith and it would have been reasonable to allow me to complete that one last stay which I offered to do immediately which would have resolved this discrepancy in favor of me - the customer. My husband and I have always enjoyed staying with Hilton while traveling and I hope that you can assist me with this issue or in the alternative review your program to avoid this sort of confusion for customers in the future.


and received the following reply:

Thank you for your email.

I show that you have completed 3 stays this year:
We are willing to extend the fast track offer to 90 days from the date
of your first stay [deleted stay info] to
complete the 4th qualifying stay towards this offer.

If you are not able to complete this offer, I would be happy to contact
the Hilton Paris on your behalf to make special accommodations for your
upcoming stay.


Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding this.

Best regards,
customer service rep


I already had a reservation which qualified, so I'll be gold shortly.

Thanks again for suggestions!

Glad it worked out! Cheers.

I hope that you can assist me with this issue or in the alternative review your program to avoid this sort of confusion for customers in the future.

:confused: Now I'm confused as I understood from your OP it was your oversight regarding start/end dates that led to this "situation". What else could HH have done to prevent you or anyone else from taking incorrect notes?

At any rate it is good to see that a company you thought so lowly of came through for you in the end.

That's a better result than I got - mind you I was asking for status based on the fact that I was thinking about staying Hilton (and had 1 three week confirmed booking) ....

Its interesting how people comment here and other places on how easy it is to get status nowadays due to challenges and comps but so far I dont seem to have benefitted - prehaps the loyalty programs are starting to clamp down on this...

But at least I will be Diamond based on base points by August :)