Originally Posted by
Mountain Trader
Thanks for all the responses. I was curious about who would chime in since doing nothing in my fact setting would be (in my view) far less egregious than actions freely admitted to on a daily basis on FT, Fat Wallet and many other places. Note that I was not curious about what I should do (see below) but about what mix of folks would respond.
It turned out that just about everyone responding took the high road, advising to report the error. Yet there's people who buy on one credit card to earn miles, then return the item on another to avoid returning the miles. There's folks who repeatedly sign-up for bonuses available only once to new customers using multiple email accounts. I wonder why those folks didn't respond to my question. Maybe the word "Ethics" in the title scared them off. It seems to me that some of this stuff is a fine line, some is a matter of personal opinion but some of it is just wrong. Why is it that people who wouldn't dream of shoplifting don't think twice about other, equally wrong behavior?
....
You posted a question/scenario and sought advice, and many of us gave you suggestions. There was never any question that you should inform the hotel management about the error. However, you then proceeded to pontificate and compare miles-seeking activities to stealing. Unless you can name specific person and activities, please refrain from making your assumptions about miles enthusiasts. Sure, I don't approve some activities, but I also think the companies that repeatedly issue bonus codes without strict limits are also willingly encouraging sign-ups.