Shortchanged when transferring Hilton Honors points to Qantas

[Lynda2475]

Latest reply via email below. Seems to have misunderstood as is talking about points into my HH account, not Qantas.

"Greetings for the day! My name is Parna and I will assist you regarding your query of points exchange. Hope you find this email in good health.

We appreciate the precious time you have invested in it and understand the situation must be frustrating for you. After reviewing your account we do find your transaction has been completed from our end however points are not fully reflecting in your account. Hence, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your request to our concerned department for posting the missing points to your Honors account. To expedite this process, I have created a case file for you, here is the case file number #xx_xx_X for your reference. Be assured, our team will conduct the further investigations and get back to you with the best possible resolution of your query within 7-10 business days.

I hope you will understand sometimes due to technical error this might happen; further we have highlighted this issue to our team and taking the lead they are trying to provide you with hassle free amenities.

Hope you find this helpful. Please reach us back in case of discrepancy. We appreciate your loyalty to Hilton.

Wishing you a serene day ahead!"

 

[justinbrett]

Latest reply via email below. Seems to have misunderstood as is talking about points into my HH account, not Qantas.

"Greetings for the day! My name is Parna and I will assist you regarding your query of points exchange. Hope you find this email in good health.

We appreciate the precious time you have invested in it and understand the situation must be frustrating for you. After reviewing your account we do find your transaction has been completed from our end however points are not fully reflecting in your account. Hence, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your request to our concerned department for posting the missing points to your Honors account. To expedite this process, I have created a case file for you, here is the case file number #xx_xx_X for your reference. Be assured, our team will conduct the further investigations and get back to you with the best possible resolution of your query within 7-10 business days.

I hope you will understand sometimes due to technical error this might happen; further we have highlighted this issue to our team and taking the lead they are trying to provide you with hassle free amenities.

Hope you find this helpful. Please reach us back in case of discrepancy. We appreciate your loyalty to Hilton.

Wishing you a serene day ahead!"

I wouldn't mind the QF to HH exchange if they're using that exchange rate!

 

[dairyfloss]

I am unsurprised to advise that as a HH Diamond, things went no better for me in "Operation: Accurate QFF Points Transfer". In fact, I'm now even more confused and disgruntled than when I began, and stuck for another while before I am allowed to follow up with them again...

Here's what Ritika said first up, when I chased down my missing 5,400 QFF points (should have received 6,000 QFF for my 40,000 HH points):

Upon checking your account and I can see that the exchange was made on Nov 7, 2023, please note that it takes 60 days for your exchange to be processed. Please allow this timeline, to receive the credit to your respective account. Your understanding and patience will be greatly appreciated.

If you still do not received the miles credit after the given time frame, kindly write us we will create a case file.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are happy to assist you.

As I could already see a HH points credit in my QFF account, though missing 90% of it's value, I felt I should follow up. I indicated that their system appears to be miscalculating the conversions for Qantas at 150 QFF points per 10,000 HH points, instead of 1,500 QFF points, per 10,000 HH points. Next, Rashmi had a go at soothing my frustration:

Hi Matt,

Please know, I have reviewed and found that conversion ratio of your Hilton Honors points into Qantas is 1,500 Qantas Points per 10,000 Hilton Honors Points. That is the reason, you received 6,000 Qantas Points per 40,000 Hilton Honors Points.

I hope my response is helpful and you will give us another chance to restore your faith in our brand.

Ummm... yeah; nah... let's try again... I responded to suggest that her response was not at all helpful, and to help me understand why I had received 600 instead of 6,000 QFF points. Here's Rashmi for round 2:

Hi Matt,

After carefully reviewing your Hilton Honors account and I have found that 40,000 points are already deducted from your account. In the first instance, you received 10% of 6,000 Qantas Points. After completion of 30 days, you will be received remaining points (5,400 Qantas Points).

Please feel free to ask if you have questions and thank you for being a Loyal Guest of Hilton! Good day ahead.

Wait - what? So the points transfers are split 10%/90%, and on purpose? Why? Do they at any point make this known in the process? I had to know, so got back on the keyboard for what would be my final attempt at an acceptable answer. Take it away, Lamkhotinkai!:

Greetings for the day! My name is Lamkhotinkai from the Hilton honors team and I see you were chating with our agents regarding points exchange.

I do understand your concern that you've not received the full number of points to your travel partner Qantas account for transferring/exchanging Hilton honors points, however, as email team we are not able to confirm from our end.

Kindly note that at first instance, the conversion if of 10% percent and the remaining 90% percent usually takes 4-6 weeks from the date of points exchange.

Notes: We do not have any terms and conditions for convenrison of 10% and thereafter, 90% of points.

My brain now fully fried, and with 3 different time frames provided over 4 responses, I'll just put my feet up for a bit and get back to them after the average of these at 41 days, I guess. Anyone want to wager on whether the other 90% show up without intervention before then? Yeah; thought so.

Cheers,
Matt.

p.s. does anyone know what a convenrison is? Does it relate somehow to chating?

 

[Lynda2475]

Disappointing was hoping you would have better luck than me.

Not unlike the offshore QF agents it is clear these guys are just making stuff up rather than properly investigating and raising an IT ticket. This attitude that it's better to delay than resolve is puzzling. It's a pain that it goes to a different agent everytime and there is no clear escalation path.

Very glad I only converted the minimum cause I'm sure I'll never get what is owed. Wonder if posting the mistake on social media might see some action, it is bloody obvious whomever coded the conversion has left off a zero?

Wondering if AFF @Mattg could officially contact Hilton Honors for comment as this is obviously not just a one off issue and they are advertising a redemption they are not honouring.

 

[Cynicor]

Has anyone considered the FT lurker. I thought I posted about them before but I think they are still around

 

[dairyfloss]

Has anyone considered the FT lurker. I thought I posted about them before but I think they are still around

You mean post the issue/question on FT as well? It’s not really a big enough issue for me to open up more lines of enquiry just yet, but if the missing 90% fails to show after 30 days / 4-6 weeks / 60 days, I’ll give it a shot!

 

[Cynicor]

You mean post the issue/question on FT as well? It’s not really a big enough issue for me to open up more lines of enquiry just yet, but if the missing 90% fails to show after 30 days / 4-6 weeks / 60 days, I’ll give it a shot!

More specifically PM the HH rep there, but yes.

 

[Lynda2475]

@dairyfloss issue finally resolved.

Parna it seems did raise a genuine case file number which has finally been actioned by Debbie who I would guess from the email with proper grammar is in the USA and not an Indian/Philippines call centre.

Todays email

"Dear Lynda2475,

I do apologize that all of your miles did not post. If there is a problem such as incorrect posted, incorrect frequent flyer was used, etc. then you can contact us immediately to [email protected] and we can get that corrected for you. I have forwarded your information to Qantas to add the remaining miles. We will email you once we hear back from them.

Thank you for your loyalty. I hope you have a wonderful rest of the day.

Best Regards,

Debbie W.
Member Services"
and sure enough the missing 1,350 points in my QFF account already


So Matt I suggest you email [email protected] to get yours resolved.

 

[dairyfloss]

@dairyfloss issue finally resolved.

Parna it seems did raise a genuine case file number which has finally been actioned by Debbie who I would guess from the email with proper grammar is in the USA and not an Indian/Philippines call centre.

Todays email

"Dear Lynda2475,

I do apologize that all of your miles did not post. If there is a problem such as incorrect posted, incorrect frequent flyer was used, etc. then you can contact us immediately to [email protected] and we can get that corrected for you. I have forwarded your information to Qantas to add the remaining miles. We will email you once we hear back from them.

Thank you for your loyalty. I hope you have a wonderful rest of the day.

Best Regards,

Debbie W.
Member Services"
and sure enough the missing 1,350 points in my QFF account already
View attachment 355596

So Matt I suggest you email [email protected] to get yours resolved.

Very good - thank you!

 

[dairyfloss]

I wrote to HH and their priority e-mail address after your message upthread, @Lynda2475, and they eventually got back to me after 12 days to resolve this. Wasn't as swift as yours from the outset, but once they'd replied, the QFF points transfer was corrected within a day, so all's well that ends well... and will probably just keep the points in the HH account going forwards

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[Lynda2475]

Glad it got sorted Matt.

I haven't been game to transfer anymore since, but given I have no Hilton stays planned at this stage will likely need to before expiry. Just need to remember to do so with enough notice to allow for follow-up.

 

[Mattg]

I transferred 10,000 Hilton Honors points last week to my Qantas Frequent Flyer account. The conversion rate is supposed to be 10,000 Hilton = 1,500 Qantas points.

The transaction appeared yesterday in my Qantas account, except that instead of receiving 1,500 Qantas points like I was supposed to, I only got 150!

Screenshot from my Hilton Honors activity statement:


And on my QFF statement:


Has this happened to anyone else?

I will follow up with Hilton/Qantas and try to get the remaining 90% of the points credited...

 

[SYD]

I have a vague recollection of someone else posting something similar not that long ago but can’t find another thread. Possibly buried amongst the QF threads?

But timely, I think I need to send some points the other way. It’s coming up to 2yrs since my last HH stay and my residual points are about to expire?

Unfortunately, my “Go To” program for transferring points is e-Rewards but they’re not a HH partner…

 

[Princess Fiona]

@Mattg
The discussion around this exact issue is on this thread
Hilton Honors Discussion

From post #141 onwards

 

[Gold Member]

I transferred 10,000 Hilton Honors points last week to my Qantas Frequent Flyer account. The conversion rate is supposed to be 10,000 Hilton = 1,500 Qantas points.

The transaction appeared yesterday in my Qantas account, except that instead of receiving 1,500 Qantas points like I was supposed to, I only got 150!

That’s the Qantas Classic Plus conversion rate you’re paying, Matt. Look for the fabled Classic conversion rates instead.

 

[SYD]

@Mattg
The discussion around this exact issue is on this thread
Hilton Honors Discussion

From post #141 onwards

Ah, I knew I’d seen the same thing before. But did HH ever resolve their stuff up?

 

[serfty]

Ah, I knew I’d seen the same thing before. But did HH ever resolve their stuff up?

Those affected eventually received their missing points but it took some time. A special email address was mentioned in the posts and used.

 

[SYD]

Those affected eventually received their missing points but it took some time. A special email address was mentioned in the posts and used.

Yeah, I saw the bit about the email.

Does seem odd that HH didn’t fixed the underlying problem?

 

[serfty]

Does seem odd that HH didn’t fixed the underlying problem?

it may be rather niche transferring HH to QFF and not many would do it.

Given the poor base transfer rate ($75 value to $23*) I perceive generally most would only do so for a specific points need where the opportunity cost may make it worthwhile.

*My valuing at USD½¢ per HH and 1.65¢ per QFF

 

[Mattg]

I contacted both Hilton and Qantas to try to get this sorted. Both replied and said they would look into it, but didn't actually fix the issue.

In the end, what worked was contacting [email protected] with screenshots etc. The missing 1,350 Qantas points posted today.

Hilton and Qantas really ought to get this problem fixed for good so it doesn't keep happening to other people.