During the holidays, I attempted to log into my Wyndham Rewards account to book a hotel stay and discovered my account had been closed and I had lost 5,500 points, 500 points short of a one-night stay.
I contacted Wyndham Rewards and was told that my account had been closed because there had been no activity for 18 months. I was surprised, not at the policy, but because I had never received written or electronic statements or notification of my expiration date.
Furthermore, the expiration date was not displayed within the online account itself. So I wrote them and asked how I was supposed to know my expiration date. I received instead a form letter reply about their 18-month account expiration policy, which I already knew.
My question concerned how customers like me were supposed to know their account expiration date. A flurry of e-mails ensued, until I received a reply that said,
I also understand your frustration of not receiving notice that your account was going to close, instead we feel it is in the best interest of our members to alert them of our many promotions that are up and coming so they may keep their accounts active. Your online account only shows activity within the last 6 months. We do, however, in our quarterly statements indicate when points are set to expire. A statement is sent as long as there has been activity within that quarter.
OK, so let me understand. It’s more important that they notify customers about promotions than it is to keep us informed about our account expiration date. Furthermore, we are only notified of account expiration in quarterly statements during which there’s activity. And in my case, I received none of the above.
I asked Wyndham Rewards if they would consider reinstating my points, given the fact that I had received no communication and because they do not adequately notify customers of their account expiration dates. The offer they made was for me to stay an additional four stays to recoup my points. So in other words, I have to pay to stay four more times to earn back the points I had already earned in previous stays.
Well, no thank you. And I offer this advice to my fellow travelers: make sure you understand the policies surrounding your traveler loyalty points and remember that not all companies are clear about communicating point or account expiration. In fact, Wyndham Rewards appears to intentionally keep customers in the dark.
And to Wyndham Rewards, I say shame on you for not providing adequate communication regarding account expiration dates.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
“So I wrote them and asked how I was supposed to know my expiration date.” How about adding 18 months to your last stay? How about keeping a journal? How about adding a reminder in your calendar software program (e.g. Microsoft Outlook)?
Yes, it will be more consumer friendly if the expiration date is listed on your account, they will send you a reminder notice and etc. but it is NOT their responsibility. These miles, points and etc. represent liabilities on their books and they are not going to go out of their way to keep them on their books.
If you value your loyalty program (i.e. airline, hotel, rental car, etc) like ‘currency’ then it is your responsibility to keep up with them.
I have a few airlines FF accounts that do not list the expiration dates for the miles on the electronic statements; therefore, I take it upon myself to monitor my accounts by keeping a journal, putting in reminders in my calendar and etc.
Most if not all loyalty program clearly states that they can change the rules; therefore, I make sure that my e-mail address is correct; I read all communications (e-mail and snail mail) from them) as well as checking out forums.
Again, if you value your loyalty program like ‘currency’ then it is your responsibility to keep up with them.
It does seem like bad business to actively alienate – by treating them so shabbily – travelers that you have already spent so much time and money wooing into your establishment. Way to turn a sometime-customer into a never-again!
I’m not a novice. As a travel manager for two small businesses and frequent traveler for 13 years, I know the rules better than most and I have never had an issue with any of my other accounts. I, too, have a current e-mail address and snail mail address on file with all of my loyalty programs and I read everything that I receive. I also log into all of my accounts frequently to check balances and expiration dates, including this one, until they closed it without notification. Wyndham Rewards is by far, the most restrictive and non-communicative loyalty program with which I have ever done business. The problem is that Wyndham Rewards never sent me a single correspondence during my entire membership. So if it’s OK with you, I will stick with the programs that are customer friendly and keep their loyal customers in the loop. I don’t need the hassle of doing business with a company that is unwilling to communicate periodically with their loyal customers.
@Peter – “Way to turn a sometime-customer into a never-again!”
Some companies don’t have a clue and some companies are short-sighted. I believe that the market will take care of these companies in time. That is why I only have spent one night at a Wyndham hotel in the past 15 years.
I agree, this particular program is very short-sighted and you are right, the market will take care of this eventually. And the last time I stayed at a Wyndham or a Wyndham Rewards property (such as Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Travelodge, etc.) was apparently 18 months ago or more, otherwise my account would still be active!
FYI, HIlton has the same policy.
The issue here is not about policy, but about how a company communicates with their customers. Most hotel chains and airlines have expiration dates on their points or miles and most of them communicate this date, either in one’s online account or by electronic and/or written communication. The reason I didn’t know my expiration date for Wyndham Rewards is that they never communicated to me at all during the course of my membership. Hilton, on the other hand, as do others, do communicate and are more clear about the expiration dates.
That’s nothing! I just found out that I lost 0ver 250,000 Hilton Honors points! I no longer travel for work and haven’t stayed with Hilton in the last 18 months because they didn’t have properties where I vacationed! Believe me, I looked and would love to have used my points to book stays!
The ONLY thing I’ve received from the HH program in the last 18 months is a new card with my status expiration listed as March 2010. NOTHING about points expiring. NOTHING!
So I called…. and their response was, to be kind, idiotic! No offer to restore all of my points in appreciation of my EXTREME loyalty. Rather, they insisted that I would have to have at least two “qualifying stays” in the next 6 months to get ANY of my points restored. In other words, they are holding my hard earned points hostage!
I’ll be traveling a great deal for work over the next year and am allowed to choose my lodging. I will be choosing Marriott as they have not expired my points and certainly seem to appreciate my business more than Hilton.
Thanks, Hilton DIS-Honors. And Good-bye!
Dawn
Wow, Dawn, that’s awful. And that’s another example of a hotel loyalty program “punishing” an obviously loyal customer by making you buy more stays to “earn back” what you had already paid for and earned previously.
After this happened, I received an e-mail from American Airlines reminding me of my last activity with them and reminding me of their expiration policy. Now that’s the kind of loyalty program with which I like to do business.
I joined Wyndham rewards 2 years ago, I have never received any statement or info. from them, i find it impossible to log onto my account,I have no idea how many points i have as nobody in any Ramada hotel seems to know what to do to find them. I must have lost numerous points as i frequently stay in the Ramada and thought i was collecting them.