- Bangladesh commandos shoot purported hijacker of Biman Bangladesh plane by Reuters.
- Marriott’s Sneaky Award Hold Fees by One Mile At A Time. If you’re going to require a hold fee like this, at least be transparent about it.
- Rather than fixing issues with the SPG merger, Marriott decided to instead launch an expensive ad for the Oscars. Marriott management has one of the biggest disconnects with reality I’ve seen as of late.
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- M&T Bank $100-$250 Checking Bonus – Available Online [CT, DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV]
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- New IHG PointsBreak List To Be Revealed On Monday (2/25/19)
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- Buy 10,000+ Hilton Honors Points, Get a 100% Bonus (0.5¢ Per Point)
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We are trying something new where we also post some of the most popular posts from Friday and the weekend:
I don’t think the hold fee is new. It’s also not a fee so much as a hold on your card until the end of your stay. I’ve had this done with multiple hotel stays for varying amounts, but you only ever notice it with reward stays since there wouldn’t usually be a payment involved for those.
Basically it’s to verify that your CC is legitimate and can bear the expenses on the off chance that they need to charge you for something.
They don’t actually charge you the fee, though. It shows up as pending on your CC and will temporarily lower your credit limit by that amount, but once your stay is over it should go away within a few days.
This isn’t any different from places “charging” your card $1 when you first add it but then removing it while it’s still pending, which is common for subscription fees.
Seems like a non-issue to me and something that they noticed suddenly and didn’t actually look into outside of overreacting.
That’s not what some of the comments at the OMAAT link are saying. Many have said they have actually had the charges go through, not just listed as pending. Marriott must be making a bundle on the float of their customers’ money.
“Sir, I regret to inform you that your personal data has been stolen from our files and is now in the hands of criminals. Bonvoy!”
I’m sure Marriott took money from their IT and integration budget to do the Oscar promotion. I doubt a company that size has a separate advertising budget. /s
Should they just put all advertising on hold until all the distraught SPG elite whiners quiet down? That ain’t gonna happen in out lifetime.
Yes, it’s almost like I’m saying that the amount they have allocated to integration isn’t enough. I love how your comment implies people are whiney about small issues when there are still massive integration issues that are unresolved and in a lot of cases not even acknowledged.
But Will is $18 and a free sandwich enough to run the IT department for the whole year? They don’t need to pay data storage costs because some hacker has it all saved anyway.
That credit hold happens for every point reservation, whether Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, etc. That’s why they always ask for the credit card even if it’s paid with points.
From the hotel’s perspective, I think they may only be able to get reimbursement from corporate after you check in. So they want to protect themselves and charge you the first night rate, just like other refundable rates.
From the corporate, your points are gone once past the cancellation date.
Consumers are left in the middle. That to me, is the big risk of booking expensive place in a far away place with points. You will get double tapped, even if it’s not your fault, say a weather delay. That’s something that points pumping TPG will never tell you about.
I’m surprised that it hasn’t been challenged in court though, since the terms can certainly be considered unreasonable.
Marriott the new disruptors for that “Motel 6” experience.
My parents booked a Motel 6 for me once years ago when I was younger. I still remember the blood splatter on the ceiling and wondering if I should report it to police or what the heck it was. Never again.
Who is dumb enough to “buy” hilton points?
The same people who pay for our rewards through interest.
If you have a specific need for HHonors points, you’re better off buying points with a 2% back card than putting spend on Hilton cards and getting 3 points per dollar.