Unknown person is using my points for a poor value stay
#31
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
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It could be a genuine error. Lots of people on FT, including me, have had other peoples stays post to their account. I also once had a (cash) booking for someone else show up under My Reservations.
#33
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 4,477
Apparently your personal information is also stored on the key cards given to
you at hotels. I was told these cards with the magnetic strip have all of your
personal information on them that you gave "at" the front desk .
Can any Hotel lurker confirm exactly what data is on those cards ?
#34
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Join Date: Nov 2002
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The reservation was NOT made online but through a call to Central Reservations, but I guess they could have hacked my account and then called in. But if my account was hacked, I would think that they would change my pin when they changed my email so it would have taken me longer to catch the fraud/mistake. Couldn't have gotten the info from the trash because I don't receive mailed statements, just online.
#35
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Location: London
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Is 15k for a $99 room really such a bad deal these days? After all, that is $33 per 5k. I would certainly redeem 50k for an IC if the cash alternative was $333, or 35k for a CP if the cash alternative was $231.
Obviously it doesn't make sense buying points using 'cash and points and cancel' at these levels, but they are certainly not appalling redemptions. You could of course argue 'well, if you saved your points for IC Paris then you'd save more than $333' but the reality is that most people do not visit the most premium IC properties in the average year. And as we saw, if you hold and hold your points waiting for a super-value redemption, you are more than likely going to find them devalued instead.
Obviously it doesn't make sense buying points using 'cash and points and cancel' at these levels, but they are certainly not appalling redemptions. You could of course argue 'well, if you saved your points for IC Paris then you'd save more than $333' but the reality is that most people do not visit the most premium IC properties in the average year. And as we saw, if you hold and hold your points waiting for a super-value redemption, you are more than likely going to find them devalued instead.
#36
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I consider it from the stay credit point of view as well, and how many points I have earned on average for my paid stays etc. It all depends.
#37
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: S Cal
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat, United Silver, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,142
You are not alone:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/inter...g-my-acct.html
Your situation is probably different than mine, however. Although PC never gave me a name, I am 99.9% certain that my unauthorized user was my ex-wife. I know that because I noticed that the home address listed in my PC account changed to an address located in the town where she lives after an unauthorized reservation was made. This has taken me quite some time, and many phone calls, to resolve. In the end, I have had to change my PC online password, change the phone number I use for my PC account, and even change my PC account number. Changing my PC account number turned out to be a big hassle because it was difficult to get Chase to change the PC account number that my PC Chase VISA points flow into. But I hope I've got it all straightened out now....
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/inter...g-my-acct.html
Your situation is probably different than mine, however. Although PC never gave me a name, I am 99.9% certain that my unauthorized user was my ex-wife. I know that because I noticed that the home address listed in my PC account changed to an address located in the town where she lives after an unauthorized reservation was made. This has taken me quite some time, and many phone calls, to resolve. In the end, I have had to change my PC online password, change the phone number I use for my PC account, and even change my PC account number. Changing my PC account number turned out to be a big hassle because it was difficult to get Chase to change the PC account number that my PC Chase VISA points flow into. But I hope I've got it all straightened out now....
#38
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Plat Hilton Gold, SPG Gold, Club Carl Gold, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,002
Update
Well, something odd is going on. The hotel guest returned to the hotel last night and was advised of the problem. He stated that "someone else" made the reservation for him and the person making the reservation just told him that the reservation was in my name. He went outside to call someone to straighten the matter out. He then returned a few minutes later and told the front desk that he was unable to reach the person who made the reservation for him, so he just paid for the room. 15K points are back in my account, but now I have to follow up with PC because the points back in the account should be 75K, not 15K. I sure hope he was charged for all 5 nights and NOT just the final night (which was a separate last minute reservation). My "honest mistake" theory seems less likely, since the person who made the reservation had to know that the reservation was made from my account since they advised the guest that the reservation was in my name. Looks like its time to follow up with the hotel and with PC again.
#39
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 4,477
Well, something odd is going on. The hotel guest returned to the hotel last night and was advised of the problem. He stated that "someone else" made the reservation for him and the person making the reservation just told him that the reservation was in my name. He went outside to call someone to straighten the matter out. He then returned a few minutes later and told the front desk that he was unable to reach the person who made the reservation for him, so he just paid for the room. 15K points are back in my account, but now I have to follow up with PC because the points back in the account should be 75K, not 15K. I sure hope he was charged for all 5 nights and NOT just the final night (which was a separate last minute reservation). My "honest mistake" theory seems less likely, since the person who made the reservation had to know that the reservation was made from my account since they advised the guest that the reservation was in my name. Looks like its time to follow up with the hotel and with PC again.
#41
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Plat Hilton Gold, SPG Gold, Club Carl Gold, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,002
#44
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