There has been a surge in members purchasing Hilton gift cards, so the company has temporarily stopped selling them.
The main reason behind this is that too many members in the US have Hilton-affiliated cobranded cards. These cards come with quarterly or semiannual credits that many try to convert into gift cards to use later (why have these cards if you don’t stay at hotels?).
You can access Hilton here.
READ MORE: Hilton Honors Rate & Bonus Points Offers
Hilton has temporarily stopped selling these cards to end the loophole that codes them as Hilton property purchases for those semiannual/quarterly credit purposes that Hilton and Amex likely rely on to have significant breakages.
There is an issue when it comes to using these that reminds me of issues with Marriott gift cards.
Hilton Amex Gift Cards
These are essentially Amex-branded debit cards that can only be used at Hilton-affiliated hotels.
Not all hotels take Amex cards, and not all Hilton-affiliated hotels are correctly identified as Hilton at Amex’s end, which processes these (this same issue persists with all these hotel companies and their cobranded cards).
But the main point is that the front desk should NOT swipe and authorize these but instead post them as a payment towards your folio expenses.
This likely requires them to type the card number into the property’s payment system.
Conclusion
I cannot see any other reason why someone would buy these gift cards than to burn some credits or perhaps reach a credit card spending bonus.
Hilton, however, should do a better job of communicating to their properties how front desk agents, who rarely see these, should process them, as they are completely lost right now most of the time.
Have you had trouble using these Hilton Amex branded gift cards? Please comment below on your workaround.
