Originally Posted by
fluffymitten
I think you may be right. We took a BAH to Seattle and on check out it was a bit odd in that the hotel settled the room and taxes charge on an Amex card that wasn't the one we provided to cover incidentals. The email address on the booking wasn't mine. They printed off the invoice for us so I could just double check that the last four digits weren't mine.
I'd love to know how many MR points BA earns! Maybe it's a BA Amex card and someone is raking in the Avios
Almost certainly a virtual credit card. Hotels are old fashioned and love charging things to credit cards. Being as BA is taking payment they need a way for the hotel to then get the money.
This is how Booking.com sends money to a hotel when b.com takes payment. At least in the past I would hope that it's advanced a bit by now. But Hotels don't tend to be modern is this regard.
As for not getting points, its the same as booking through booking.com. You generally don't get loyalty points when booking through b.com. You'll also generally be bottom of any upgrade lists.
This is generally due to the large commissions, from 15-20% potentially more that online travel agents get paid. As a result hotels like to disincentivise people from using b.com etc. Hence they offer discounts if you book through their platform. 5/10% discount is cheaper for then than a booking through b.com. Plus the customer gets a cheaper rate, win win!
You do have the preferred travel agent programs like Accor STEP, which I usually book through Propeller Travel. I'm assuming they negotiate a nicer commission in exchange for more appealing benefits. Basically anything to move bookings away from b.com/Expedia etc.
BAH is almost definitely in that OTA evil bucket that hotels hate. With high commission, no loyalty benefits etc etc. Not necessarily special rates, just high commission.
Fwiw I worked at b.com for many years.