Originally Posted by
VacationTravel
That post seemed to imply they already received the credit, which did surprise me. I have a points and cash ($50) booking for late April at a Hampton and my Surpass was not charged, so no credit could be triggered. The points do come out (they get restored on cancellation). It's a good way to get that statement credit in quarters you stay at Hiltons. I would only go the gift card route in quarters where we aren't staying at Hilton brands.
My fear with this credit is that Hilton will put an end to the use of gift cards for it. As it stands now, this card is better than free, since the use of the quarterly credits drives a $200 credit on a card with an annual fee of only $150.
I worry about that too, but in all honesty where else can we use the gift cards at? If anything, I'd argue it incentivizes cardholders, or whoever they may give the gift card to, to choose Hilton since now there is money on the table. If the gift card is forgotten about or never used, then Hilton is just collecting additional revenue without having to reimburse property owners.