Consumer complaint received 2017-07-18
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with rewards from credit card

Complaint:
I have been misinformed at least 4-5 times about the travel rewards program, the mileage need to get various awards, and the cost of the reward, in miles, when I use the two separate ways of redeeming miles : either as a statement credit or through the HSBC Travel Rewards department. Addressing the latter, I was told that the cost would be the same if I used either method, but that is not the case. I specifically called the travels reward and asked about this twice before purchasing my ticket. Each time I was given what I would learn was erroneous information. I now know, learning the hard way, that if I would have used the travel rewards department, it would cost only 24,000 miles for a ticket of up to {$400.00} ; however, if I got a statement credit, it would cost 30,000 miles for a reimbursement of {$400.00} for a ticket that costs AT LEAST {$400.00}. So if I tried to get a reimbursement at the ticket did not cost {$400.00}, I would only be eligible for the {$200.00} credit. Why HSBC could not explain this two me on either of the two calls I placed is beyond me. I had the reservation on hold and could have had them purchase it, but since they supposedly cost the same I decided that I would prefer just getting the statement credit.
I purchased the ticket that cost less than {$400.00}, so when I called to get the statement credit a couple of days after I purchased the ticket, I was told that I could only get a {$200.00} credit for 15k miles. I complained and told them I was misinformed and they said they would review the call, but I was also told that if I made other purchases related to the same ticket and they totaled over {$400.00}, I could then use the 30k miles to get a {$400.00} statement credit. While I was upset that I would lose 6k miles, I accepted this and planned to upgrade my seat on the flight to surpass the {$400.00} plateau. Before I made the upgrade, I called again to ask if I could aggregate the purchases to get the credit and I was told I could. In fact I had called a week earlier to ask the same thing and, again, I was told that as long as the purchases totaled over {$400.00}, I could get a {$400.00} credit for 30k miles. I made the purchase and called in yesterday to get my credit when I was told that I could not aggregate the purchases and that all I could get was a {$200.00} credit. I then complained again. I was furious that I had been misinformed again. I was promised that I would get a call back at   XXXX   XXXX   after the supervisor, who refused to give me any sort of identification other than her first name. I was called at  XXXX  and after I inquired why they did not call me at   XXXX   XXXX   as promised, the representative told me She was on another call, though I have trouble believing she was on a 55 minute call.
I am now waiting for a call back, supposedly by  XXXX , but I have little faith that this will be resolved unless I file this complaint. This is not a new issue with HSBC. There is a reason why I called to confirm so many times. I have been misinformed several times over the years about several different topics and the only thing I get is apologies, but it seems they feel as they have no accountability.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief