birdyy

I'm not asking you to convince me. I'm asking someone to show me where it states what any of you are asserting. It's my understanding from others that have used the GLON awards that certificates are no longer issued. Everyone seems to know what's happening with these certificates but can't point to any proof.

birdyy

Yes, what you're saying about ALON awards is the case. They are issuing certificates with 1 year expiration for ALON award. It happened to me, I received the confirmation email and the certificate email with a one year expiration. What I am saying is that for the other awards, specifically the GLON awards, I have heard the opposite. I made two GLON award reservations and did not receive any certificate information/email.

birdyy

I'm looking on my GLON reservation and it shows a confirmation number and that's it. No mention of an expiration date or certificate of any kind.

This whole thing makes no sense. There either is or is not a certificate. I don't see one.

Eujeanie

cjd, that is also what Chapel Hill Guy told me to do, I tried it in 2 different browsers and it does not work for me, but thank you. You are also in the UK. I'm seeing a pattern here.

Happy

Your obsession of finding this is a bit over the top and almost becomes silly because it definitely is not something anyone not a HHonor program employee would have "concrete" info to show you (or convince you). However it is a matter of reasonable guess, and of practical purpose - hotels get paid on the reward redemption. The way they get paid is via the mechanism of an ID that references such a redemption in the system - that ID is unique, and it most likely is NOT to infinity but with a span of life which most likely is one year from the date of issuance, just like an e-ticket of airline.

You can be in your quest trying to find a way to make yourself convinced that you can book way beyond the current one-year period - that is your choice, but you probably should be prepared that such reservation may not be honored at all at the end because the "ID" or the "certificate" attached to such reservation long expired and the hotel would not get paid - if the hotel would not get paid, would you think your reservation would stay?

Yeah, I know one can go argue the contractual obligation / customer's right or whatever fancy names you can attach your argument to, truth be told, it may mean jack and you wound up have not only have no reservation but may need to argue with HHonor to get your points back!

Personally, I think those of us who understand the risks of booking reservations beyond one year as outlined by stifle in his post no.939 and choose not to take the risk, have done enough "friendly reminders" and enough :"community services" already.

Those who still want to go ahead (but not without apprehension, hence all sorts of arguments on whether the certificate exists, or where is the expiration date, etc etc), please go right ahead. By May 2014 we will then start seeing all kinds of $%@! screwed by Hilton type threads spring up every few weeks... Then it would be a very interesting time.

One of the scenarios would be, you go, hotel let you check in but then at the nightly accounting hotel finds out it could not apply the cert - then they just authorize your CC for the rack rate. You have no clue, you check out and then find this out and hotel would not budge. You storm up a scene, but to no avail.

Or, nothing happens or so you think, everything seems smooth and you think those who have talked about the risks being fools. A few weeks later you have a big charge hit your card and because hotel could not process the reward cert for payment therefore turn to charge your card. That can happen in a few weeks to a few months after check out - depends on how good the hotel accounting is. You raise hell with HHonor which tells you to pound sand. You dispute the charge with CC. Hotel then submits to your bank that the cert attached to the reservation has long expired... CC cites with the hotel and you are stuck with a sizable bill that you are now obligated to pay...

Those are Risks that you need to be prepared if you decide to book pass the one year mark. So it depends on how Lucky you feel you would be, and then proceed accordingly.

birdyy

Wow, how incredibly rude. I don't know that anyone in all the years I've been on this list, has ever spoken to me like that.

For your information, I am the one who warned people to begin with about this whole certificate (ALON awards) problem. If you've read the whole thread you will see that more than one person has said that GLON awards are no longer issuing certificates, from their experience.

You are so adamant that this is a problem even though you have no proof. I'd say you're the one being silly. I'm only asking for you to show me T&C that shows this expiration date problem is indeed something we need to worry about. You're guessing at best.

You can be assured I will get to the bottom of this with HH and/or the hotel and I won't be using any guessing games.

BonusLover

As I mentioned in my previous post, the exact language in the GLON/VIP reservation confirmation emailed to me reads as follows:

"Points will be deducted from your balance and a Reward Certificate will be issued at the time of booking confirmation.

Reward value rates quoted apply and are only valid for arrival date and length of stay shown. A printed copy of this confirmation will include the Reward Confirmation ID required for check-in."

So it does look like there is such a thing as Reward Certificate, whatever form it takes.

However, it also says that the rates quoted apply and are valid for arrival date and length of stay shown, and in my case, the arrival date shown is May 22nd, 2014. There is nothing about certificate expiration date.

birdyy

That is what mine says as well and my arrival date is Oct 2014. That is different than the ALON award reservation I tried to make last year.

I'm going to get to the bottom of this, if it kills me. I'm usually successful at these things and I will report back if I get an answer.

birdyy

BTW, did you get that reward certificate? I sure didn't.

BonusLover

I didn't receive any reward certificate. I suspect the certificate will be forwarded to the hotel only.

Anyhow, here is an interesting clause I just found in the HHonors Terms & Conditions (http://hhonors3.hilton.com/en/terms/...otel_rewards):

Travel Rewards are normally valid for one year from date of issuance though Hilton HHonors Worldwide, L.L.C., may, from time to time, offer Rewards with shorter validity periods. Travel Reward validity periods appear on the face of the Reward Certificate.

So it looks like if a reward is issued, it only has a maximum of one-year validity.

whimike

This is pure rubbish. Do you have factual evidence that this has happened in the past?!?

If a hotel charges your CC without your authorization they are in breach of their merchant agreement and it would be reversed immediately upon calling your CC.

whimike

These are not "travel rewards", that is some sort of other reward given out by partners. There are several other type of rewards referenced near that section of the T&C.

I scoured it and there is no wording anywhere in the T&C about reward redemption certificates having an expiration date.

BonusLover

I had the same impression initially but later on managed to convince myself that their term of "travel rewards" actually includes hotel stay rewards. It looks like we need someone with legal background to help us interpret the language here.

Anyway, I decided to cancel my reservation and will go with the new point structure in May.

Happy

You must not stay in hotels especially International hotels very often.

CC would issue a TEMPORARY Credit, pending the response from the Merchant who has 30 days to provide support on such charge, in case you are not familiar with the process. Oh, the bank also REQUIRES you contact the merchant FIRST before file a dispute. It is on the dispute claim form from Chase and I am sure it is on other bank's claim form as well. It is a standard procedure.

Yes, hotels can and would charge you long after you check out. That is when the hotel could not reconcile its books, sometimes Months after you already checked out.

Last year I was charged by an IHG property 5 months after I checked out, on an award night stay using a Chase annual free night cert. It took a month to sort this out - hotel is in Italy, does not know how to process the billing on the reservation because it is not the customary usage of Points. So they have no idea how to bill Priority Club the IHG's loyalty program.

Long story short, it involved a lot of work to get IHG Customer Care Team to follow up on the case while I also disputed the charge with Chase - because the law says one only has 60 days to dispute a charge after it shows on the statement. We were going on a 45 days long trip when I discovered the charge about a week after it hit my Chase card. I waited almost a week and there was still no resolution from IHG because hotel basically did not return any of phone calls / emails from either me and the IHG Customer Care Team. So I disputed this with Chase and then went on our trip.

After the intervention of IHG Customer Care Team, as well as Chase (after all, it is its annual free night cert being used to "pay" for the stay), hotel issued a refund a month later.

It certainly is not a fun experience.

If you read hotel forum and pay enough attention, such charges are nothing unusual - you do leave your CC info at the hotels, dont you? So just like the rental car industry, it is entirely possible AND Legal, to charge the customer long after the service is render. In fact, it may even in the hotel's conditions of providing service in the small prints on the check-in paper you sign... Though I bet no one would ever read such.

whimike

How did you manage to convince yourself of this? How is a "travel" award the same as a "stay" award? As far as I know you travel to get to your hotel, not while you are in your room.

Per the same T&C link you include:

"Members will not earn points or miles for Reward Stays or hotel stays redeemed with a Marketing Partner's discount/free certificate (e.g. frequent flyer award or travel award), unless otherwise stated on the certificate."

and... before you get to the term "Travel Reward" there are several other types of non-stay rewards mentioned:

"9. Marketing Partner Reward usage is subject to capacity controls, which limit the availability of rental cars, cruises, or the products offered by certain rental car companies or other HHonors Marketing Partners, respectively.


10. Travel Rewards are normally valid for one year from date of issuance though Hilton HHonors Worldwide, L.L.C., may, from time to time, offer Rewards with shorter validity periods. Travel Reward validity periods appear on the face of the Reward Certificate.

...


14. Promotional Rewards involving no point deduction will not be extended beyond the validity date, exchanged or re-deposited into Member's account for points or future use."