Pullman Phuket Panwa refused points payment at check-in on the Mastercard "Breakfast on Us" rate. Am I missing something?
Looking for a sanity check from anyone who knows ALL Accor well.
I booked the Pullman Phuket Panwa directly on ALL.com, on the Asia "Mastercard Breakfast on Us" rate, guaranteed with my Mastercard. At check-in, the front desk took most of the payment in ALL points and charged the rest to my Mastercard. Their own system accepted it without any issue, and it showed up in my ALL activity straight away.
Then the front desk came back and said that because it was the Mastercard offer, points could only be used in the app, not at the hotel, and asked me to reverse it. When I asked where this rule was written, nobody could show me. It isn't in the offer terms, in my booking's rate conditions or anywhere else I can find. If points weren't allowed at the desk on this rate, their system wouldn't have accepted the payment in the first place.
What bothered me most was the attitude. There was no attempt to check the terms, no apology and no interest in the fact that their own system had already processed the payment. We weren't given access to a confirmed and already assigned room until I gave in, which took about an hour and a half after arriving. In the end they cancelled my original booking and rebooked me. The new booking costs about ฿680 more, used 1,000 more points, and will almost certainly kill the Avios I was tracking through the Avios Shop on the original booking.
My understanding of the offer terms:
Clause d says members can book and pay "either partially or fully" with ALL points, in line with the membership terms.
Clauses e and f say the booking must be guaranteed with a Mastercard, you show the Mastercard and your ALL card at check-in, and payments must be made with the Mastercard.
I did all of that. Nothing says points are app-only for this rate. I've stayed at Accor hotels in six countries, and this is the worst check-in experience I've had.
Questions:
Has anyone used points at the desk on this Mastercard rate, successfully or not?
Is there an unpublished rule that points on this rate have to be applied in the app before arrival, or did this hotel make it up?
What's the best escalation route with ALL? I've emailed customer care and the hotel.
Has anyone had luck getting Avios Shop to honour a booking the hotel cancelled and rebooked?