Hilton property not accepting AMEX
Mar 27, 2018, 8:36 am
#31
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Since the OP prepaid, wasn't it prepaid with AMEX? If so then the OP should be able to get the 50K HHhonors points since that's going to show up on your bill for the Hilton AMEX card.
With respect to American Express card acceptability in Belize. Last I checked Belize was on a 2 hour flight from Miami or 2.5 hours from Houston. Plus if you want to be ethno-correct, Belize is located in Central AMERICA.
Regardless, if a card isn't accepted at the moment that you want to use it then there isn't much you can do except pull out your back up. It happens even in the US sometimes.
With respect to American Express card acceptability in Belize. Last I checked Belize was on a 2 hour flight from Miami or 2.5 hours from Houston. Plus if you want to be ethno-correct, Belize is located in Central AMERICA.
Regardless, if a card isn't accepted at the moment that you want to use it then there isn't much you can do except pull out your back up. It happens even in the US sometimes.
Mar 27, 2018, 10:01 am
#32
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Great post, your exactly right! Sad sad sad Hilton, I think what is happening to the OP is so poor!
Mar 27, 2018, 10:21 am
#33
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Atlanta, GA
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This property, like most is likely franchised, thus under franchising laws it is unlikely Hilton has a requirement for forms of payment. Like any other franchise the franchisor is limited in terms of what they can require.
Mar 27, 2018, 12:57 pm
#34
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 50
Having traveled around the world a few times since we retired, I can definitely say that AMEX cards are not accepted as readily as MC or Visa. I have also experienced this in the USA, even our own city. The merchants say it is because AMEX charges them 3 % or so to use their card and that is money lost.
The OP said that he was planning on using his AMEX Aspire card and getting the $250 resort credit. None of the Curio hotels qualify for this credit. The hotels that do count are quite limited and are named on a list. The “resorts” outside the USA that qualify are: Doubletree Fuengirola Spain, Hilton Tokyo Bay, Hilton Los Cabos, Conrad Bora Bora, Hilton Puerto Vallarta, Hilton Moorea Lagoon, Conrad Algarve Portugal. In the USA, the “resorts” are in Hawaii, San Diego and Miami.
The OP said that he was planning on using his AMEX Aspire card and getting the $250 resort credit. None of the Curio hotels qualify for this credit. The hotels that do count are quite limited and are named on a list. The “resorts” outside the USA that qualify are: Doubletree Fuengirola Spain, Hilton Tokyo Bay, Hilton Los Cabos, Conrad Bora Bora, Hilton Puerto Vallarta, Hilton Moorea Lagoon, Conrad Algarve Portugal. In the USA, the “resorts” are in Hawaii, San Diego and Miami.
Mar 27, 2018, 4:13 pm
#36
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Mar 27, 2018, 4:49 pm
#37
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I strongly feel that Hilton hotels that do not accept any of the traditional forms of payment that one would expect should make strongly proactive efforts to inform future guests about the deficiency at the time of the booking, so that if that deficiency makes a material difference, s/he will know about the issue in plenty of time to make arrangements to mitigate it. Perhaps there are two hotels in a city that a person is considering staying at and they are pretty equal in terms of price, quality, and convenience. What forms of payment are (and are not) accepted might be the factor that makes the difference in deciding which to stay at. In such a scenario, time is of the issue. It would not be acceptable to find out about the issue after a booking is made because there could be penalties for changing the reservation to the other hotel, or the price at the other hotel could have significantly increased in the meantime.
Mar 27, 2018, 8:11 pm
#38
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Mar 28, 2018, 1:30 am
#39
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Two points:
1) For those taking the position that "Hilton hotels should take Hilton cards", you may want to rethink how closely (or in this case, not) those 2 things are related. Many companies are happy to slap their brand on a card and just rake in the money, having little to care about how it actually gets implemented. To Hilton, this is probably just a selling-of-points kind of revenue, and I'm guessing they put little to no weight on making the credit card worth much aside from that.
Go read the card benefits: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...hilton-honors/ This card, aside from the comp Silver status, promises little to nothing in terms of actual loyalty benefits. Everything else is just standard Amex / Visa-style warranty, insurance benefits.
To claim that the branding of the card entitles you to pay with it at a certain hotel, after they've denied you, is to stretch reasonable argument, motivated solely by the issue that you want the points for the stay. Would you be insisting on the principle otherwise?
2) As to whether they should compensate you for not taking Amex, or indeed, even if they need to take Amex off their webpage, there you can claim all you want, but you have not actually been harmed. Again, aside from the loss of benefits of points accrued, having to pay with a different form of payment is not a harm. Loss of a benefit != harm.
Good luck with the dispute though.
1) For those taking the position that "Hilton hotels should take Hilton cards", you may want to rethink how closely (or in this case, not) those 2 things are related. Many companies are happy to slap their brand on a card and just rake in the money, having little to care about how it actually gets implemented. To Hilton, this is probably just a selling-of-points kind of revenue, and I'm guessing they put little to no weight on making the credit card worth much aside from that.
Go read the card benefits: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...hilton-honors/ This card, aside from the comp Silver status, promises little to nothing in terms of actual loyalty benefits. Everything else is just standard Amex / Visa-style warranty, insurance benefits.
To claim that the branding of the card entitles you to pay with it at a certain hotel, after they've denied you, is to stretch reasonable argument, motivated solely by the issue that you want the points for the stay. Would you be insisting on the principle otherwise?
2) As to whether they should compensate you for not taking Amex, or indeed, even if they need to take Amex off their webpage, there you can claim all you want, but you have not actually been harmed. Again, aside from the loss of benefits of points accrued, having to pay with a different form of payment is not a harm. Loss of a benefit != harm.
Good luck with the dispute though.
Mar 28, 2018, 2:18 am
#40
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From the AMEX press release announcing the new cards:
American Express and Hilton Announce New Hilton Honors Co-Branded Credit Cards
I'm presuming that this won't be enough to satisfy everyone here, but it sure sounds like AMEX wants these cards to be taken at Hilton's hotels; not sure why else the EVP for the co-brand would care to mention the exact number of properties in the press release.
American Express and Hilton Announce New Hilton Honors Co-Branded Credit Cards
I'm presuming that this won't be enough to satisfy everyone here, but it sure sounds like AMEX wants these cards to be taken at Hilton's hotels; not sure why else the EVP for the co-brand would care to mention the exact number of properties in the press release.
Mar 28, 2018, 2:23 am
#41
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And I think you missed the point -- the OP did not get notified by the hotel about the issue. He found out later on on his own from social media.
I strongly feel that Hilton hotels that do not accept any of the traditional forms of payment that one would expect should make strongly proactive efforts to inform future guests about the deficiency at the time of the booking, so that if that deficiency makes a material difference, s/he will know about the issue in plenty of time to make arrangements to mitigate it. Perhaps there are two hotels in a city that a person is considering staying at and they are pretty equal in terms of price, quality, and convenience. What forms of payment are (and are not) accepted might be the factor that makes the difference in deciding which to stay at. In such a scenario, time is of the issue. It would not be acceptable to find out about the issue after a booking is made because there could be penalties for changing the reservation to the other hotel, or the price at the other hotel could have significantly increased in the meantime.
I strongly feel that Hilton hotels that do not accept any of the traditional forms of payment that one would expect should make strongly proactive efforts to inform future guests about the deficiency at the time of the booking, so that if that deficiency makes a material difference, s/he will know about the issue in plenty of time to make arrangements to mitigate it. Perhaps there are two hotels in a city that a person is considering staying at and they are pretty equal in terms of price, quality, and convenience. What forms of payment are (and are not) accepted might be the factor that makes the difference in deciding which to stay at. In such a scenario, time is of the issue. It would not be acceptable to find out about the issue after a booking is made because there could be penalties for changing the reservation to the other hotel, or the price at the other hotel could have significantly increased in the meantime.
I don't understand your point about 'traditional form of payment'. In this case the hotel takes V and MC. We don't know what the issue is with Amex at the moment. Would you like them to include Diners Club, JCB, Maestro as well?
Mar 28, 2018, 11:11 am
#42
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What about Hilton Gift Cards? For those who don't know, Hilton Gift Cards are essentially prepaid American Express Cards that are Hilton-Branded and can only be used at Hilton properties.
This is copied from the Hilton Gift Card Web Page:
The Hilton Gift Card is accepted at all hotels within the Hilton Portfolio. This card can be used at on-property restaurants, retail shops, golf courses and spas, and cover any charge to the room. Plus, funds never expire.*
This is copied from the Hilton Gift Card Web Page:
The Hilton Gift Card is accepted at all hotels within the Hilton Portfolio. This card can be used at on-property restaurants, retail shops, golf courses and spas, and cover any charge to the room. Plus, funds never expire.*
Mar 28, 2018, 11:17 am
#43
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What about Hilton Gift Cards? For those who don't know, Hilton Gift Cards are essentially prepaid American Express Cards that are Hilton-Branded and can only be used at Hilton properties.
This is copied from the Hilton Gift Card Web Page:
The Hilton Gift Card is accepted at all hotels within the Hilton Portfolio. This card can be used at on-property restaurants, retail shops, golf courses and spas, and cover any charge to the room. Plus, funds never expire.*
This is copied from the Hilton Gift Card Web Page:
The Hilton Gift Card is accepted at all hotels within the Hilton Portfolio. This card can be used at on-property restaurants, retail shops, golf courses and spas, and cover any charge to the room. Plus, funds never expire.*
The Hilton Gift Card may be used only at Hilton hotels and properties worldwide that accept American Express® Cards. Funds do not expire.
I pulled up a few other sites that had the less restrictive terms, but looking down at the fine print it also stated must be a merchant that accepts AMEX.
Mar 28, 2018, 11:31 am
#44
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"The Hilton Gift Card is accepted at all hotels within the Hilton Portfolio."
To me, that states ALL hotels within the Hilton Portfolio are supposed to accept it for hotel charges. The part about merchants I interpret as other possibly 3rd party merchants such as gift shops restaurants, etc.
To me, that states ALL hotels within the Hilton Portfolio are supposed to accept it for hotel charges. The part about merchants I interpret as other possibly 3rd party merchants such as gift shops restaurants, etc.
Mar 28, 2018, 11:51 am
#45
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At one point, AmEx took it very seriously if an establishment claimed in any way to accept the AmEx card (advertising, logo on door, etc.) but did not or even encouraged customers to use another means of payment. A couple times I reported restaurants that had an AmEx logo on the door but claimed to no longer accept AmEx or begged me to pay with Visa because the fees were lower.
I'd suggest that the OP raise this issue with AmEx, stressing that the hotel's website claims that AmEx is accepted but many clients have been told otherwise. Escalation within AmEx will probably be necessary and it might help to call using your top AmEx card such as Platinum or Centurion rather than the Hilton Honors branded AmEx credit card.
I'd suggest that the OP raise this issue with AmEx, stressing that the hotel's website claims that AmEx is accepted but many clients have been told otherwise. Escalation within AmEx will probably be necessary and it might help to call using your top AmEx card such as Platinum or Centurion rather than the Hilton Honors branded AmEx credit card.
