I think there are two totally different issues here.

If the bank gave you an extra $200 when they balanced they would be off $200 and somebody would possibly lose their job for being off that much (at least at the bank I was at depending on how long they had been there). The $200 is a real thing, it can't be in two places at once. And yes, I would report that to the bank, and have in the past when they credited me something I shouldn't have had.

Points are totally different. They are not real. The person probably called and said "hey, I stayed here and I didn't get my points" and they said "gee, no you didn't, so here you go sir" and they credit his account. There's no bucket of points on the other side that won't balance, points are not backed up by anything.

I'm assuming you already mentioned the first time you contacted them that they were not your points, so I think you have already contacted them and pointed out the error. I think you have done what would be expected of you.

I would not pick up a wallet I found in most situtations anymore. Places like New York set them out as traps and if you don't happen to see the cop hiding behind the column, as soon as you move with the wallet they come and arrest you for not turning it into the cop you didn't see (really they have done that to people). If I was home most certainly I would contact the person and turn in the wallet or drop it off at the police station.

I have also handed over somebody's paycheck money in the money envelope on the floor of a deli I frequent, $800 or so two weeks before Christmas, so you know it was somebody's bonus money, the guy came back looking for it (free sandwich for me next time!)

I just don't see points the same as money, since you have already informed them they were not yours.

And yet, stealing the medicine almost certainly is not the only option available to you. :-:

I think the obvious thing to do is report the mistake to the hotel and let them straighten it out.
Chances(as previous posters have mentioned) are the person missing the points has already complained about not recieving them or doesn't even notice he missing them. Believe it or not there are an awful lot of people out there that don't pay a whole lot of attention to points/miles. I know some of the sales guys at work who spend upwards of 200 nights a year in hotels don't have a clue how many points they have or even how many are earned per stay.

As for comparing it to finding 200.00 in your checking account thats just silly.

Why is it silly? I think that there are many, many people who manage their money even worth then points and don't have a clue how much money, or debt, they really have. So, lets say a bank by mistake deposits their $200 in your account...

You posted a question/scenario and sought advice, and many of us gave you suggestions. There was never any question that you should inform the hotel management about the error. However, you then proceeded to pontificate and compare miles-seeking activities to stealing. Unless you can name specific person and activities, please refrain from making your assumptions about miles enthusiasts. Sure, I don't approve some activities, but I also think the companies that repeatedly issue bonus codes without strict limits are also willingly encouraging sign-ups.

+1. Today, everybody is so busy...how diligent are you really at looking at every one of your financial statements?

I try to - we attempt to focus all credit card spending on two cards, which helps. But still, sometimes I'll find an error or questionable charge in there - 2-3 months after it happens. I'm sure I have missed something before.

If a bank dumped two hundred bucks into my account by mistake, I would like to think I'd eventually find it and wonder what that line item was, but I might just assume that somebody wrote us a paper check for something...I don't know.

Just this morning, I found a Cat 3 1 night award redemption from my HHonors account. The transaction posted on October 15th and I have no idea why. I didn't redeem an award - but there it is, minus 25,000 points. I've emailed them now - hopefully it's a simple error that can be corrected. (Or maybe it's this situation, and one of you people got a free Cat 3 night!! ;))

Well said!

Well I guess I failed the test. The same thing happened to me earlier this year triggering a free night promo, which I then used (the actual points were pretty minimal). I feel even better about using the room after seeing what happened to OP when he went out of his way to report the situation. Though I am appreciative of the explanation (my name is somewhat common) as I was puzzled by the mistake.

Coincidentally, we found a wallet with over $1,200 in cash. We actually drove to the address listed on the driver's license (3 miles from where the wallet was found), knocked on the door, and was informed that the person moved over a year ago.

I then proceeded to Google the individual, and based on the information in the wallet (it did not contain his own business card), determined a possible email address that would be of the person in question.

I emailed the individual, confirming his identity and indeed he lost his wallet, and arranged for him to pick it up.

While part of me wonders how many MR's that wallet would have paid for, the majority of me knows I did the right thing... even above and beyond by tracking the individual down.

Anyway, back to the original question... as long as you made a good faith effort in informing the hotel, the rest is up to them to retract or leave alone the points.

Now, in regards to churning credit cards and such, I believe they are completely unrelated in practice and ethics. While it may not be the way the program was intended, it is completely within a company's control to prevent abuse.

I have found 3 wallets over time. The first one I found when at college at Penn State. The wallet had a student id and maybe $8 in it. I called the guy who lost the wallet and told him to meet me at a certian corner at 4pm..he showed up 15 minutes late and just said thanks dude...I was a little annoyed that the guy showed up late and didn't really seem to care but I knew it was the right thing to do.

The second wallet I found was in NYC had maybe $80 in it and just a business card. I called the business card and it was the guys son who lost it. He asked me to call his son directly which I really felt the father should have given me the sons address and I would have been done with it. When I finally called the kid he was like ok yeah I lost it and he seemed very ungrateful. I was heading back to Jersey that night so at my expense mailed the contents of the wallet....2 weeks later I get a huge thank you basket with cookies and cheese which blew my mind. So I guess you never know.


The 3rd wallet I found was on the street near a car. It had a license in it and some credit cards. I called the lady and she came to my home to pick it up. I think she was drunk when she came to my house or at least on something..thankful someone else drove her there...anyhoo :rolleyes:

Your stories were getting progressively better. First one nothing, second one gift basket, third one girl coming over to your house.....I thought it was going be something else as I read it :D

It seems we have several new data points for this discussion:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/inter...quiz-game.html