Need Help with HHonors Account - no relief in sight
May 6, 2018, 1:50 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 65
Need Help with HHonors Account - no relief in sight
My wife opened an Amex Ascend card about 6 months ago. She did not have an HHonors account previously, so one was created for her by Amex. She subsequently amassed 150k points via the bonus and spending on the card.
The problem is that she has never been able to sign on to her account HHonors online and no one At Hilton customer service or tech support can help her resolve the issue. Each time she tries to reset her password, she gets the infamous "It's not you, it's us" screen. She spent roughly 15-20 hours (no exaggeration) on the phone abut 10 different times with various levels of Hilton support to no avail. They kept trying to get her to clear cookies, change browsers, etc... Suffice it to say, this issue has nothing to do with the PC she is logging in from as various platforms, mobile, etc produce the exact same result.
We finally resigned ourselves to spend down her points all at once via a telephone reservation only to realize that the agents could not get the reservation to generate a confirmation even though they confirm the points are in her account. Today, she was put on hold 4 different times wasting 3 hours of our weekend and told they would need help from another department only to be stranded on hold with no resolution. She tried to get them to transfer her points to my account and they told her that she could do that online. Not much help when you can't sign into your account!
I'm assuming this will only be resolved if we can get this escalated to a higher level in the Hilton management structure. I'm hoping someone on here has a suggestion how to escalate this effectively. Thanks!
The problem is that she has never been able to sign on to her account HHonors online and no one At Hilton customer service or tech support can help her resolve the issue. Each time she tries to reset her password, she gets the infamous "It's not you, it's us" screen. She spent roughly 15-20 hours (no exaggeration) on the phone abut 10 different times with various levels of Hilton support to no avail. They kept trying to get her to clear cookies, change browsers, etc... Suffice it to say, this issue has nothing to do with the PC she is logging in from as various platforms, mobile, etc produce the exact same result.
We finally resigned ourselves to spend down her points all at once via a telephone reservation only to realize that the agents could not get the reservation to generate a confirmation even though they confirm the points are in her account. Today, she was put on hold 4 different times wasting 3 hours of our weekend and told they would need help from another department only to be stranded on hold with no resolution. She tried to get them to transfer her points to my account and they told her that she could do that online. Not much help when you can't sign into your account!
I'm assuming this will only be resolved if we can get this escalated to a higher level in the Hilton management structure. I'm hoping someone on here has a suggestion how to escalate this effectively. Thanks!
May 6, 2018, 3:08 pm
#3
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Snohomish, WA
Programs: AS MVP Gold, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 2,793
Paging @HonorsRepresentative!
May 7, 2018, 12:53 pm
#5
Company Representative - Honors by Hilton
Join Date: Aug 2009
Programs: Hilton Honors
Posts: 1,516
My wife opened an Amex Ascend card about 6 months ago. She did not have an HHonors account previously, so one was created for her by Amex. She subsequently amassed 150k points via the bonus and spending on the card.
The problem is that she has never been able to sign on to her account HHonors online and no one At Hilton customer service or tech support can help her resolve the issue. Each time she tries to reset her password, she gets the infamous "It's not you, it's us" screen. She spent roughly 15-20 hours (no exaggeration) on the phone abut 10 different times with various levels of Hilton support to no avail. They kept trying to get her to clear cookies, change browsers, etc... Suffice it to say, this issue has nothing to do with the PC she is logging in from as various platforms, mobile, etc produce the exact same result.
We finally resigned ourselves to spend down her points all at once via a telephone reservation only to realize that the agents could not get the reservation to generate a confirmation even though they confirm the points are in her account. Today, she was put on hold 4 different times wasting 3 hours of our weekend and told they would need help from another department only to be stranded on hold with no resolution. She tried to get them to transfer her points to my account and they told her that she could do that online. Not much help when you can't sign into your account!
I'm assuming this will only be resolved if we can get this escalated to a higher level in the Hilton management structure. I'm hoping someone on here has a suggestion how to escalate this effectively. Thanks!
The problem is that she has never been able to sign on to her account HHonors online and no one At Hilton customer service or tech support can help her resolve the issue. Each time she tries to reset her password, she gets the infamous "It's not you, it's us" screen. She spent roughly 15-20 hours (no exaggeration) on the phone abut 10 different times with various levels of Hilton support to no avail. They kept trying to get her to clear cookies, change browsers, etc... Suffice it to say, this issue has nothing to do with the PC she is logging in from as various platforms, mobile, etc produce the exact same result.
We finally resigned ourselves to spend down her points all at once via a telephone reservation only to realize that the agents could not get the reservation to generate a confirmation even though they confirm the points are in her account. Today, she was put on hold 4 different times wasting 3 hours of our weekend and told they would need help from another department only to be stranded on hold with no resolution. She tried to get them to transfer her points to my account and they told her that she could do that online. Not much help when you can't sign into your account!
I'm assuming this will only be resolved if we can get this escalated to a higher level in the Hilton management structure. I'm hoping someone on here has a suggestion how to escalate this effectively. Thanks!
Sent you a PM to get more info from you.
Thanks!
Lauren
May 7, 2018, 2:34 pm
#6
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Huntsville, AL
Programs: DL DM 1.929MM, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, IHG Platinum, Avis CHM, Marriott Titanium (lifetime gold)
Posts: 7,858
May 9, 2018, 12:56 am
#7
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SW London
Programs: BAEC Silver; Hilton Diamond;a miscellany of other hotel non-statuses
Posts: 3,607
Sounds like HonorsRepresentative has this in hand, but as a general tip I've found the chat window to be an efficient way to sort problems out.
May 9, 2018, 11:51 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: DCA
Programs: UA 1K; *G and *A Top 1000; HHonors Diamond; *$ Gold; Global Entry
Posts: 2,272
May 9, 2018, 4:44 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 65
Thanks. I did create a new account for her but I don't know if it's possible to transact anything out of the corrupted account. They couldn't evne book a reservation for a hotel stay using the points on the phone. Something in her account won't let anything be done (logging in, password reset, telephone redemption, etc...)
I did just reply to the HHonors Rep on here with her details so hopefully something can be done.
I did just reply to the HHonors Rep on here with her details so hopefully something can be done.
May 9, 2018, 4:53 pm
#10
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,403
Could it be that the account is being investigated for potential fraud/misuse? Lots of points from credit cards in a new account could raise red flags in some circumstances, for instance if there are returns after meeting minimum spend requirements for bonus points.
May 9, 2018, 5:18 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 65
I suppose but we never got any communication on it. Also, when she tried to book the reward stay on the phone, the rep did not see anything like that and they would progress all the way to the final confirmation stage before they ran into some unidentifiable glitch and were unable to complete the booking.
May 11, 2018, 8:22 am
#12
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 246
The situation sounds straightforward though there is no way for the OP to know this.
When you get a co-branded card from Amex, Amex opens a new Honors account for you. When they do this they very often do not add your email address to your account. (Neither do they add your phone number, but that is less important when it comes to getting online access to your account.)
There are two ways to fix the issue: 1) Call Amex and ask them to add your email and your phone number to the account. Once that is in place, go to the log in page for Honors, use your Honors account number as your user Id and use the 'forgot' password feature. The system will send a password reset email to the account Amex entered and you can set up a password.
2) Call Honors customer care and ask them to add your email address. When they see an account without an email address or phone number newer reps may throw their hands up and say they can not help you. (The standard ID procedure requires the caller to quote their name exactly as it appears on the Honors account and then two of the Honors account number, the email address on the Honors account or the phone number on the account.) In fact agents can also verify your identity and add your email address by verifying the name of the company that opened the account for you and the exact number of points in the account. (Amex can tell you how many points they transferred and that info maybe on a statement from Amex.) . If the Honors rep says they can not verify your identity, ask them to transfer you to the Verification Desk. Another option is not to call Honors but to chat with them. The chat reps are more experienced (and generally brighter and more willing to be creative) than phone reps.
Final note: if you opened new accounts on your own thinking that that might be a way to get access to the points Amex deposited, the email addresses you used on those accounts can not be used on the account Amex opened. (Two Honors accounts can not generally share one email address.) . If you are in this situation and there are no points in the accounts you opened, have the rep close them so that they can use the email address. If there are points on any account you opened that is using the email address you want to use on the account that Amex opened, ask the rep to merge the account you opened into the account Amex opened and then to add the merged account's email address to the account Amex opened.
When you get a co-branded card from Amex, Amex opens a new Honors account for you. When they do this they very often do not add your email address to your account. (Neither do they add your phone number, but that is less important when it comes to getting online access to your account.)
There are two ways to fix the issue: 1) Call Amex and ask them to add your email and your phone number to the account. Once that is in place, go to the log in page for Honors, use your Honors account number as your user Id and use the 'forgot' password feature. The system will send a password reset email to the account Amex entered and you can set up a password.
2) Call Honors customer care and ask them to add your email address. When they see an account without an email address or phone number newer reps may throw their hands up and say they can not help you. (The standard ID procedure requires the caller to quote their name exactly as it appears on the Honors account and then two of the Honors account number, the email address on the Honors account or the phone number on the account.) In fact agents can also verify your identity and add your email address by verifying the name of the company that opened the account for you and the exact number of points in the account. (Amex can tell you how many points they transferred and that info maybe on a statement from Amex.) . If the Honors rep says they can not verify your identity, ask them to transfer you to the Verification Desk. Another option is not to call Honors but to chat with them. The chat reps are more experienced (and generally brighter and more willing to be creative) than phone reps.
Final note: if you opened new accounts on your own thinking that that might be a way to get access to the points Amex deposited, the email addresses you used on those accounts can not be used on the account Amex opened. (Two Honors accounts can not generally share one email address.) . If you are in this situation and there are no points in the accounts you opened, have the rep close them so that they can use the email address. If there are points on any account you opened that is using the email address you want to use on the account that Amex opened, ask the rep to merge the account you opened into the account Amex opened and then to add the merged account's email address to the account Amex opened.
May 11, 2018, 11:48 am
#13
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SW London
Programs: BAEC Silver; Hilton Diamond;a miscellany of other hotel non-statuses
Posts: 3,607
May 11, 2018, 6:39 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 65
The situation sounds straightforward though there is no way for the OP to know this.
When you get a co-branded card from Amex, Amex opens a new Honors account for you. When they do this they very often do not add your email address to your account. (Neither do they add your phone number, but that is less important when it comes to getting online access to your account.)
There are two ways to fix the issue: 1) Call Amex and ask them to add your email and your phone number to the account. Once that is in place, go to the log in page for Honors, use your Honors account number as your user Id and use the 'forgot' password feature. The system will send a password reset email to the account Amex entered and you can set up a password.
2) Call Honors customer care and ask them to add your email address. When they see an account without an email address or phone number newer reps may throw their hands up and say they can not help you. (The standard ID procedure requires the caller to quote their name exactly as it appears on the Honors account and then two of the Honors account number, the email address on the Honors account or the phone number on the account.) In fact agents can also verify your identity and add your email address by verifying the name of the company that opened the account for you and the exact number of points in the account. (Amex can tell you how many points they transferred and that info maybe on a statement from Amex.) . If the Honors rep says they can not verify your identity, ask them to transfer you to the Verification Desk. Another option is not to call Honors but to chat with them. The chat reps are more experienced (and generally brighter and more willing to be creative) than phone reps.
Final note: if you opened new accounts on your own thinking that that might be a way to get access to the points Amex deposited, the email addresses you used on those accounts can not be used on the account Amex opened. (Two Honors accounts can not generally share one email address.) . If you are in this situation and there are no points in the accounts you opened, have the rep close them so that they can use the email address. If there are points on any account you opened that is using the email address you want to use on the account that Amex opened, ask the rep to merge the account you opened into the account Amex opened and then to add the merged account's email address to the account Amex opened.
When you get a co-branded card from Amex, Amex opens a new Honors account for you. When they do this they very often do not add your email address to your account. (Neither do they add your phone number, but that is less important when it comes to getting online access to your account.)
There are two ways to fix the issue: 1) Call Amex and ask them to add your email and your phone number to the account. Once that is in place, go to the log in page for Honors, use your Honors account number as your user Id and use the 'forgot' password feature. The system will send a password reset email to the account Amex entered and you can set up a password.
2) Call Honors customer care and ask them to add your email address. When they see an account without an email address or phone number newer reps may throw their hands up and say they can not help you. (The standard ID procedure requires the caller to quote their name exactly as it appears on the Honors account and then two of the Honors account number, the email address on the Honors account or the phone number on the account.) In fact agents can also verify your identity and add your email address by verifying the name of the company that opened the account for you and the exact number of points in the account. (Amex can tell you how many points they transferred and that info maybe on a statement from Amex.) . If the Honors rep says they can not verify your identity, ask them to transfer you to the Verification Desk. Another option is not to call Honors but to chat with them. The chat reps are more experienced (and generally brighter and more willing to be creative) than phone reps.
Final note: if you opened new accounts on your own thinking that that might be a way to get access to the points Amex deposited, the email addresses you used on those accounts can not be used on the account Amex opened. (Two Honors accounts can not generally share one email address.) . If you are in this situation and there are no points in the accounts you opened, have the rep close them so that they can use the email address. If there are points on any account you opened that is using the email address you want to use on the account that Amex opened, ask the rep to merge the account you opened into the account Amex opened and then to add the merged account's email address to the account Amex opened.