hope u r visiting to see FIFA
btw from which are this points is it Marriott Bonvoy?

I am quite flabbergasted at the idea of points' bookings being non-ref. I am rigorous in checking cancellation policies of anything I book these days, but would not have thought it necessary for a points booking. HH has always been very helpful to me as a Diamond in the past, but I don't like to ask for favors very often. THANKS to all who added to this thread, it is incredibly helpful. I would be beside myself to lose 100K of my hard-earned HH points!

I believe it's Marriott, just as you are about to book a non-refundable rate, puts up a prominent banner with the warning "the time for cancellation has past, if you book this it will be non-refundable" - or something of that nature.

My recent reservation with Hilton just had the cancellation policy down below where it always is, and as I said before, my fault for not checking. And I did look at the e-mail confirmation that came - the cancellation policy, when you wade through all the pictures and ads in the e-mail, was about 5-6 pages down.

It really, really stinks that they are sneaking this in. Hidden in plain sight.

I wasn't aware. I was made aware in the confirmation email that said I could cancel until 31st October and I should check entry requirements

No I didn't. I would not have booked. I realised that the most challenging aspects would be flights and a ticket to a game. I didn't for one moment think a points booking would have this restriction. However, I was on the phone the moment the confirmation email landed when I learned it wasn't flexible and also, I probably wouldn't get in the country.

My moan isn't necessarily about the flexibility of points, or other bookings for that matter. It's the non adherence to a cooling off period, which just about every other industry has (apart from last minute bookings). That said, I understood one benefit of points bookings was their flexibility. Another stealth devaluation?

I'm not visiting at all. I can't get a flight, ticket or get into the country!

Has Hilton ever had a policy of offering a 'cooling off period' to adhere to? I don't think it is a thing when it comes to hotels. Not even all airlines offer it.
My first redemption with Hilton was back in 2007 and the reservation had a 30 days' cancelation deadline due to the stay being during the high season. Restrictive cancelation rules are not something new.

I've had my attempts at redress denied via the guest.correspondence@hilton email address. Is this a different team and should I pursue it here?

FWIW I wasn't trying to be holier than thou in my post, just trying to ascertain what the cancellation policy is so we can help provide useful angles OP can use to get his points back.

Good luck to both of you!

Thank you, and I don't recall who it was I was referring to, just the in general "ya shoulda read the cancellation policy" - which is true, but as has become close to being beaten to death, if there has never, ever been such a restriction on points bookings if there is not a special circumstance or event, we just have never been taught to look.

And I believe most airlines do have a "cooling off period" - either you can hold the fare for 24 hours or so, or in my case we fly Alaska most of the time, and they have a full cancel within 24 hour policy. And other airlines (and I can only speak to the ones I fly, in this case Southwest), lets you cancel even their most restrictive fares and keep the value in your account for future travel. You don't just lose it all if you cancel, like this policy with Hilton.

In my experience, when a guest makes a mistake and the hotel has done nothing wrong, the only thing to do is to plead one's case with the hotel. I once negotiated with a London Hilton to pay half of the cancelation charge (which was a one-night rate) when I made a mistake. If the hotel insists on adhering to the rules, then there is really not much else to do.

Yes, most (if not all) airlines in Noth America do but not elsewhere in the world. The same applies to issuing vouchers/credits for non-refundable tickets or stand-by rules etc. Policies vary across different markets around the world. Major European airlines started offering a cooling off period (some only on N.A. routes) a few years ago, but I have not heard that any hotel chains did.

Afraid to say that there have been similar restrictions for points bookings when available for major events for many years now. I don't always expect them, but I'm certainly always sure to double check them before committing just because of having that prior knowledge.

For the OP, completely understand why you didn't know to double check this first. That said, if the property refuses to move, they are within their rights to do so. Hopefully it doesn't come to that and you can get this resolved.

The 24 hour rule for flights booked more than 7 days in advance is US law for all flights originating, terminating, or transiting through the United States.

I'm delighted to be back reporting good news. The standard email address that confirms a case was on no use. Every time I followed up, a new case number was created and I had to explain the whole sorry story again.

So I took advice from William and emailed [email protected] and got the right reply within a couple of hours, both cancelling and crediting back the full value of the points.

This is a reminder to all that points bookings are not always fully flexible, or, as in my case and with the potential to confuse, they may have a cancellation date that is actually before you make the booking!

Thanks so much for that. I'm still giving my Hotel person a chance to get back in the groove after Thanksgiving, so I at this point don't know what the hotel will do, but I'll write to that HiltonComments if they say no.

My sympathy to the OP for the stress.

Wouldn’t a same day points booking also be non refundable, if the cancellation deadline was 6pm night prior?

I have seen non cancellable points reservations for periods line NYE over at Hyatt. Also very long penalty deadlines, such as 60 days out, making close in bookings non refundable.