SPG: Congrats! You (DO NOT) have a FRN! :(
 

The other day I received an email informing me that I "currently have 1 Free Resort Night Awards available to redeem."

All excited (thinking I must have miscounted), I jump to the phone to book it for a weekend getaway to Whistler; only to be told by the agent that I was one of 2,003 SPG customers to be wrongly told they have a FRN to redeem. In fact, I do NOT have a said night.

So, I was transferred to a supervisor (with whom I'm on hold now), but am basically being told that they made the mistake, acknowledge it, but are making no good of the "false" offer and are not offering compensation.

Am I crazy to think they should offer it since they're the ones that made the mistake? Or at the very least, offer some form of compensation??

What should I do??

In my opinion, yes on both counts.

Wait until you legitimately earn your FRN?

Unfortunately, there is no Emoticon to adequately express my feeling for this thread

Well said!

I guess OP is also the type who thinks they should get to keep the money if a bank error happens in their favor.

Hahah, I understand. Oh well... at least I've earned a few already and will be earning (at least) one more before the promo's up.

Guess I got my answer loud and clear here.

Thanks!

:( OK, I get it.

And no, I would not be the type to think that. LOL.

Guess once I started the thread there's no going back now. Alright everyone, it's poop on the OP time now.....!!! (Not too bad though, please).

^^^

A lesser man/woman would have gone and erased their initial post and deprived all Flyertalkers of the enjoyment of the ensuing banter - you're to be commended for allowing your foolishness to remain for posterity ;)

That just happens to be one of the cards in Monopoly. I wonder if anyone ever decides not to take the money...

This kind of happens to most people once or twice when you get too much change when buying something (has happened to me several times, each time I paid with a ten and got change for a twenty). The first time I remember it happening, I told the 7-11 clerk he gave me too much change and gave him back $10 -- at which point the clerk started arguing with me about it (thinking it was a scam?). When he figured out I was trying to return his overpayment, he was much nicer.

I think actually most people would refuse the overpayment face to face. In a faceless bank statement, maybe not so much

Curious - what does the SPG web site say under "My Account -> My Earned Awards"? Is the accounting problem just with the e-mails they're sending out, or on your profile as well?

I also got an incorrect email yesterday. Mine said "You're just one night away from a FRN!" when really I had already completed the third stay four days prior and earned the FRN the day before. I just overlooked the email as another one of their pointless emails like the six "Register for the promotion!" reminders when I have already registered 5 weeks ago.

I think an automatic addition of Starpoints (say anywhere from 100 to 1,000) to the affected accounts is reasonable. That is a lot of customers that have a negative outcome because some website programmer is not doing the proper testing and calculations. I think giving out free points will get the attention of the project manager involved with the web site. Who knows... maybe the web site will even improve over time?

Yesterday I got an e-mail at 3:48AM PST reminding me to register (I registered the 1st day the promo came out), and then at 10:00AM an e-mail saying I have earned 1 FRN (where in fact I already had 2 from my last stay a few days before that, which the web site already reflects).

This is not acceptable
 

I disagree with a number of the other posts on this chain.

The OP spent time trying to make a reservation based on the false information, and changed his planning and expectations, for which he should be compensated.

Frankly, the main thing a rewards program does is to provide marketing and program participation messages to their members. Loyalty to and participation in a program is dependent upon honest and accurate communications.

If SPG or any other rewards program wants to make sure it members continue to make choices that benefit it financially, it needs to compensate them for significant mistakes and miscommunication that cost time and money.