Learned a lesson the hard way
 

I booked a reservation for May using the Points + Cash option. Two nights at 10K points plus $30 cash per night. My plans changed and I cancelled the reservation. I never got a credit on my Choice Visa for the $60. I called and found out that the $60 was non-refundable. They directed me to the rules and regulations or whatever it is and sure enough it is buried in there.

I went back to the main page and went through the steps to re-book it, just to see what was on the final page. On that page, on the right side, it states that the cancellation policy is that I can cancel up to the date of the reservation free of charge. HOWEVER, under the "Make Reservation" button, is the notice that if you cancel the points will be refunded but the monetary payment will not be.

So yes, it was there, but to me this is deceptive, even if unintentional. Why can't they put this under the Cancellation Policy instead of burying it under the "Make Reservation" button?

So heads up to anyone choosing the Points + Cash option that if you cancel, the money is gone. I never knew that. I do now.

Sneaky. I'd be annoyed, too. Thanks for the warning.

I thought that you were purchasing points using this method. Are the full amount of points refunded?

The points were refunded. The $30 per night was not.

No, you don't understand. The $30 was not a hotel charge. It was a charge for buying points.

So did you not get the extra points back that you bought for $30? :confused:

This is not a true cash+points program. It just a disguised way of buying points at the same time you make a reservation. Once you say "ok" to the $30, the $30 doesn't exist anymore, and the hotel is booked will points the full points.

Ie, if it says the hotel XXXXX points per night, or 10k + $30 points per night, the $30 is simply buying the difference between XXXXX and 10kl, and then reserving the hotel for the full XXXXX points per night.

So what we're asking is how many points you got back. You should have gotten way more than 20k points back (in exchange for not getting 2x$30 back).

OH, got it. You are correct. I went back and checked my account and you are right, it is in fact just like buying points and not paying an extra fee for the reservation. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Adding a note to this, when we did a Cash + Points reservation in February, Chase Sapphire Reserve didn't even code the transaction as Travel.