Cancelled flight – reclaiming points for booked hotel

[Wivnail]

Afternoon

Whilst in Dublin last summer Aer Lingus cancelled whilst I was waiting to board at the gate. They offered no help and my CC bounced on trying to book a room that night. I used points. Now Aer Lingus are saying they cannot refund anything and I have to have an invoice from the Hotel in a cash value. I know they cannot just give me a points refund but is there a cash value anywhere for them to follow? So far the hotel has not responded for my request for a cash invoice either 🙁

Many thanks

[NorthernLass]

Which hotel was it? You can get a price for buying points on most websites. e.g. Hilton, IHG.

[Wivnail]

It was a Marriot hotel. That’s a good idea, I will try that with Aer Lingus and see what they say. Many thanks

[WaynedP]

I have learned to always request a paper copy of my hotel bill on check-out. If I know there won’t be any additional charges, I’ll ask the team on duty the night before check-out to print it out in readiness for the following morning.

I once learned the hard way not to rely on the “your hotel bill will appear / be emailed shortly” promises on apps, when in actual fact electronically recorded bookings can very often disappear entirely as if they never happened while something is presumably passed between hotel reception and Marriott HQ (God forbid that the process falls down for any reason during that blackout period). I also now take screenshots of app booking confirmations, just in case.

This has saved me several times, including once receiving a parking penalty notice from the company that operates Bristol Marriott underground car park, which was quickly resolved when I was able to email a copy of a check-out invoice showing parking paid for entire stay duration.

Marriott is my primary hotel chain, but I do the same wherever I stay, because I suspect that the innocuous period between check-out and points posting which relies crucially on the competence of a low wage earning hotel employee passing the right information in the right way within the right timescale to HQ is a definite Achilles heel of all hotel loyalty programs.

[Rob]

I agree. I have also stopped taking ‘we’ll email you a bill’ as an answer. They often don’t arrive and it is the hotels whose IT is too rubbish to send an email which are the ones whose IT is too rubbish to post your points properly.

[NorthernLass]

Well my last Marriott stay (in October) never appeared on my account but I’ve not had this happen with Hilton or IHG, who I stay with much more often.