FlyerTalker7654

Morning all,

I was checking my Amex app for special offers and came past this offer: Get a 1X $75 USD statement credit by using your enrolled Card to spend $500 + USD on room rate and room charges for your stay at Hilton properties in Australia from 2/1/18 to 6/25/18. Book direct with Hilton.

As I am going to Austraila in April I went onto Hilton.com and made a booking for two rooms at the Curio in Sydney. The total for the two rooms was $635. I booked a flexable rate but called the hotel and asked them to charge the card for the room now as I didn't want to miss out on the promotion. The problem is that Amex is now saying I will not get the credit for the reservation as the payment was processed for each room, rather than as one transaction. What is even more annoying is that I will now get a foreign transaction fee. Should have just used my Chase!!

Frustrated!

GentleGiant

Here in the UK it is a collective amount for Amex and never for one booking. I've had it split over several stays.

So you might still get it.

FlyerTalker7654

Unfortunately, I do not have a way to cut and paste the T&C's into here from my phone. So annoyed. The agent on the chat via the app was adamant that it must be one transaction over $500 so doubt I will get it.

Dovster

It is my understanding that there no longer are forex charges on any HHonors Amex card.

Maxwell Smart

If the promotion runs till June 25 and you are going in April, why was there a rush to charge it now as opposed to waiting till April when you are there and can request and ensure it's all charged as a single transaction?

FlyerTalker7654

Oh really? Well, thats good. Wasnt aware that was changed. Always got charged forex previously.

Good question; So a few years ago the wife and I were delayed leaving London and didn't get to this one property till just before midnight. I didn't think anything of it until we got the lobby and saw it was all kicking off. The hotel had oversold by around 12 rooms and the people were slowly filtering in. At the time we booked a flexible rate direct on hilton.com. I think I had silver status at the time. Anyhow, there were some people who were gold and diamond that were told that the hotel had oversold and there were no more rooms. The city had a huge convention going on so there were no rooms anywhere. People were seriously pissed off as you can imagine. The manager on duty explained that although some people had a "reservation", they had not "paid" for their rooms so priority was given to those who had prepaid on the advanced purchase rate. Right or wrong, thats what happened. The wife and I, along with others, spent the rest of the night on the sofas in the lobby. So because this is a big trip for us I don't want any issues when we arrive. Just easier to pay now and even more so to take advantage of that Amex offer...or so I thought.

Points Scrounger

I don't think that it must be a single charge either. However, I agree that it was strange that you insisted upon doing advanced payment for a stay that falls within the time period.

FlyerTalker7654

According to Amex Customer service through the app it needs to be one single charge.

Did you read my response to the question about why I paid for the room now?

Maxwell Smart

Understood.
Have you considered contacting the hotel and seeing if they might reverse/cancel the existing charges, and re-charge as a single transaction?

ChinaShrek

Pre-paid reservations can also be bumped in an oversold situation.

pauleeepaul

If it is a flexible rate cancel and rebook, calling to prepay (if you really think it is necessary.)

krazykanuck

Take anything an Amex Chat rep tells you with a grain of salt. They're far less empowered and IMO knowledgeable than the phone reps.

Me neither. I mean these are the terms and there is nothing about it needing to be a single charge.

DETAILS
Get a 1X $75 USD statement credit by using your enrolled Card to spend $500+ USD on room rate and room charges for your stay at Hilton properties in Australia from 2/1/18 to 6/25/18. Book direct with Hilton. See terms for exclusions.

OFFER TERMS
Enrollment limited. Offer only valid for eligible US Card Members for purchases made at hotels and resorts within the Hilton Portfolio in Australia. An “eligible US Card Member” is an American Express Card Member who has a US-issued American Express® Card and who receives this offer directly from American Express. Must first enroll Card prior to booking and then use same Card to redeem. Offer only valid for reservations made online at hilton.com, via the Hilton Honors App or by calling 1-800-HILTONS (445-8667). Excludes gift card purchases. Offer does not apply to advance purchase rates, including Advance Purchase, Save Now & Pay and Non-refundable rates. Corporate Cards are not eligible for this offer. Offer only valid on room rate and room charges. Offer not valid for stays that are paid for before or after the promotion start and end dates. When you make a qualifying purchase in a foreign currency, the applicable statement credit will be credited in your local currency using the exchange rate at the date the statement credit is applied. Offer is non-transferable. Limit 1 statement credit per American Express® online account. Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 6/25/2018, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. Statement credit may be reversed if qualifying purchase is cancelled. If American Express does not receive information that identifies your transaction as qualifying for the offer, you will not receive the statement credit. For example, your transaction will not qualify if it is not made directly with the merchant. In addition, in most cases, you may not receive the statement credit if your transaction is made with an electronic wallet or through a third party or if the merchant uses a mobile or wireless card reader to process it. By adding an offer to a Card, you agree that American Express may send you communications about the offer. POID: GA9D:0001

I read it, I just think that it's unfounded worry based off an event at another Hilton years ago that doesn't have bearing here. If you were walked from this Curio I'd get your worry, but not in this case.

rog92

Amex offers only care about the total amount, I have completed tons of offers and I have never heard of the requirement of "one single transaction". I think whoever you talked to had no knowledge of how the system actually works.

FlyerTalker7654

Hi all,

Just a quick update, I did call Amex yesterday and got through to some helpful women at the call center in India. She looked into the situation and said that she cant do anything till the charges post. Yesterday they were pending.The lady said she would call me on Monday and figure this out.

Also, I did get a foreign charge of $8 and change per reservation. Not bothered about that, but just thought I would mention it as there was a suggestion that the Amex card shouldn't have a foreign charge.

Cheers

Dovster

The following is from the Amex website and while it refers only to the basic HHonors (no fee) card is also true for Ascend and Aspire:

NO FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE

Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.