If you don't recognize those merchants, you could dispute those charges as unauthorized. Maybe if every guest did that, they would stop playing those games
I literally just minutes ago sent a message to Chase about a Courtyard in Iceland that posted at 2X instead of 6X. And I had a "wonderful" experience with Amex when a Hilton in Portugal wasn't recognized. Terrible customer service, but you should still reach out to Amex as well as they issue the card, promise the points, and are subject to CFPB regulation.