NotSoFrequentTraveler

I do my award reservations and cancellations online and the points get taken out or in the case of cancellations, redeposited almost almost right the way.

choptliva

Right. And no cancellation fees either.

todd-r

Most reward stays can be cancelled outside of 72 hours. No penalty and can be done on-line with points auto-redeposited to your account within 30 minutes.

hauteboy

What happens if you do a late cancel on an award stay? Do you forfeit the points?
I was supposed to fly MXP-LCA-ATH today (part of the infamous Alitalia fares), with a 3+ hr layover in Larnaca before flying to Athens on Aegean. The inbound LCA-MXP went mechanical this morning, and was showing a 2 hr delay. I figured we could still make the connection, but by the time we departed, it was over 3 hrs late, almost guaranteeing we'd miss our connection in Larnaca. It was also past the cancellation time in Athens, although I called to cancel & received a cancel code it does show Late Cancel on my online reservation. We arrived in LCA to see the Aegean flight boarding, too late to make the flight. To top it off, Alitalia lost our bags. We decided to skip our Athens part of the trip and fly straight through to Mykonos on Monday. Hopefully our bags find us by then. (I bet they ended up in LGA not LCA )
I do have travel insurance for the trip, that should cover our missed Aegean flight, but what can I do about the Hilton stay? Do I get the points back? 50,000pts (2 nts) is a lot to lose otherwise. I'd even be willing to pay for a night (again, insurance should cover that but doubt they'd cover an award.)

cjd

I might be wrong, but I think they'll charge your credit card for the first night and your cancellation number will cover you for the second night which hopefully will not be charged. As you have not used your Award certificate, I would think you should be able to get the points returned to your account or use the certificate for another future Hilton hotel stay. This is the way I think it works and that would let you reclaim the nights charge on your insurance. Good Luck!

travelinfoo

CJD is corect. You will most likely be charged for the first night. An award reservation is treated like any other reservation, i.e., no show or late cancel incurs 1 night charge or whatever other penalty is listed in the hotel's T&C. However, you should be able to get this charge back with your travel insurance.
Because the certificate was not used, it should still be valid for any other 50,000 point stay or redeposited.

HiltonGuy

and request that the points be credited back to your account.

MIKESILV

I hope you called the property directly and not the HH line.
This is one situation where the property has more power than the Diamond desk.
The two ocasions something like this happened to me I was able to get the hotel reservations desk make the cancellation ( the first one after the Diamond desk told me it was too late)
A simple explanation as in your case, missing af flight did suffice.

Perhaps I have been lucky But I even got the London Hilton to reverse a charge for a booked stay I completely forgot to cancel and did even remember about until my CC statement arrived.
It might have helped that I was staying at the Conrad at the time in question

mike

hauteboy

I did call the hotel directly. Haven't noticed a charge yet on my account, but it can take a few days.

CalFlyer

Hello,
have searched for it but have not found a conclusive answer: Is it possible to redeposit a reward certificate if my travel plans change and I need to cancel my stay? Is there a charge for it?
Brief reply appreciated.
Regards,
CalFlyer.

Flying Lawyer

Easy answer: You can redeposit it, there is no charge. If you have booked online, it can be done online and the points are recredited within minutes. If you have booked by phone, I would send an email.

BLI-Flyer

I've had to cancel several award stays that I booked online. As mentioned above, the points reappeared in my account almost immediately.

xooz

I have had success in theory with redepositing certificates, but I cannot find clear evidence that the points were in all cases put back into my account. I see nothing in my account information on the web site that clearly shows the cert/points being re-deposited for a cancelled stay last May. As I am an e-statements person, I discarded statements previously and now can't get access to previous statements where the data might exist.

Does anyone know how to verify that the points were in fact added back? Or how tio get access to a statement from June or July 06? I called HH and they said the points were put back into my account, but it would be conforting to be able to see the transaction in the "All Activity" tab (at least).. but it's not there.

BLI-Flyer

As I recall, the way it happened in my account is that the original "charge" just disappeared, and that readjusted the points. For example, if I booked an award for 50,000 points, my account would show an entry of "-50,000" points. When I've cancelled an award reservation, I have never seen a "+50,000" point deposit, what happens is that the original "-50,000" just disappears.

myfrogger

I've never used one of these VIP awards. Can you cancel the reservations at nearly the last minute like any other reservation? If so, I see no reason not to make the reservation. It can be changed or canceled later if needed.

I like to always make my reservations only and then pull the certificates to "pay" for the stay a few days before I leave home. Not sure why I do this but it makes me feel better keeping control of my points until I'm sure I'll use them.

I have no idea if this applies to the VIP awards...I've never used one.