We recently stayed at a Hilton property in Las Vegas. Since it was part of a road trip already in progress, we used the advance purchase rate. No complaints about our stay, other than I didn't enjoy seeing our room charged a 2nd time from the hotel. I called the manager this morning, who seemed slightly impatient, and told me I was wrong. I waited over an hour on hold with the Advance Purchase department, who agreed that I was charged twice. "These hotels keep doing this, they should see that you've paid in advance." After a brief hold, the help desk was told by the hotel manager, that a refund had already been initiated 2 days ago. "I've got it all documented on my end, in case it doesn't go through."

I almost always pay for Hilton with points, transferred from Amex MR points at a 3:1 ratio. The points at this location would have only been worth 0.3 cpp, so not worth it.

My question, is this common? Has anyone had this issue when paying the refundable rate?