When Using Hilton Gift Cards Goes Wrong

Hilton Gift Cards

Last year, my wife and I got caught up in a points and travel hobby angle we didn’t expect.  We started purchasing Hilton gift cards online to consume new-at-the-time, quarterly Hilton credits offered on Business Platinum, Hilton Surpass, and Hilton Business cards.  We’ve subsequently tweaked our strategy for using these credits, but we’ve consistently considered Hilton gift cards as another option.  While they’ve been unavailable for an extended period, we’ve focused more on getting rid of the stack we currently have.  We knew we were potentially in for a wild ride with Hilton gift cards.  Today, I’m getting into such an experience.

Hilton Anatole Checkout

My family and I recently finished a delightful stay at the Hilton Anatole near downtown Dallas – more on that in a future article.  We arrived earlier than usual for checkout, knowing that it may take a bit longer than usual.  That’s because I had multiple $50 Hilton gift cards to apply to our folio charges.  I’m confident many of you have dealt with this denomination recently.

I arrived at the front desk with no other travelers in sight.  I requested a copy of the folio to review charges prior to checkout.  It was accurate, but before mentioning that to the front desk rep, I conveyed that I’d like to pay for the folio balance with Hilton gift cards.  I requested to use multiple cards in $50 increments.  It appeared we were set to move forward.

Cancel!  Cancel!

At the beginning of this process, I noticed the rep hesitate.  Another agent arrived, looked at the screen, and whisper-screamed, “Cancel!  Cancel!”  But soon after, the POS terminal lit up, ready for a $50 transaction.  I shrugged, and after the agent instructed, I swiped.  We were off and running.  We ran a few more $50 transactions with additional Hilton gift cards, followed by the last one for the remaining amount under $50.

The agent printed the folio with zero balance, and I noticed a familiar-last-four of a credit card being charged $50.  It was the one I gave at check-in as required for authorization.  I noted this erroneous card charge to the reps.  Several minutes and tons of keystrokes later, the more senior agent said he had reversed that part of the transaction.  He assured me this pending transaction would fall off in 7-10 days.  (We’ll see.)

Still Not Done

But, as expected, this created a new balance on the room to pay with a gift card.  The more knowledgeable rep gave the other one instructions on next steps, which he seemed to understand.  This senior rep departed, and my original agent continued working.  He moved to a different workstation, made phone calls, requested the card number for the cancelled part of the transaction (something I thought we’d already confirmed), etc.  Apparently, he had to check us back into the room to enable the final payment, then check us out.

Resolution, I Think

In the meantime, I crunched numbers on my side to ensure that his math matched mine.  I expected it to but didn’t want to assume anything during this convoluted encounter.  Indeed, the numbers aligned, and the rep was finally ready for my payment.  The POS terminal lit up with the accurate total, and I swiped a Hilton gift card.

He stepped through everything on the final printed folio and ensured that he’d communicate and resolve everything with accounting that day.  I thanked him and sheepishly returned to my family in the lobby.  “Don’t ask,” I said.  I looked at my watch.  It had been almost an hour.

My Take

Despite this time suck, I don’t overly fault the Hilton Anatole front desk staff.  I introduced a variable – Hilton gift cards – into this checkout process which they may not often encounter.  And splitting the folio payment across multiple Hilton gift cards certainly didn’t make things any simpler.  While it took more time than I’d like, the staff was helpful throughout, sincerely working the problem toward a resolution.

Sadly, I’m confident I’ll run into similar experiences using Hilton gift cards on other stays.  If a front desk staff at a large, full-service Hilton encounters these challenges, I’d probably face similar or worse at an understaffed Hampton Inn.

Bigger picture, though, Hilton should take steps to better train their employees on gift cards they widely sell.  Unfortunately, travelers using them will be more the anomaly than anything else, so I indefinitely expect bumps in the road.

Hilton Gift Cards – Conclusion

This naturally points back to travelers more directly using these Hilton credits with their related cards – room incidentals, on-site charges, points and cash rates, etc.  But those ends of quarters come up quickly, and some looking to use rather than lose the credits will inevitably turn to Hilton gift cards (when available).  Pack your patience along the way.  Just like most other benefits, maximizing them takes time.  Thoughtfully determine if the former is worth the latter.

How have your experiences been using Hilton gift cards?