A few months ago, I booked four rooms at a promotional rate that offered double points. After each stay, I did not get credited with any of the points. I have called Hilton to try to fix this problem.

The answer has always been the same: They don't know why I'm not getting my points. They've opened up various trouble tickets and said that my account would be credited within a few days. I have never received any credits so far.

I finally talked with a supervisor yesterday, who informed me that the only thing he could offer me was 5,000 Hilton points for my troubles. By my calculation, I am out 39,291 Hilton points and 3,927 United Airlines miles for my first three stays in January. Please help.

- Nicholas Czapor, Philadelphia

A: Hilton should credit you the double points - on the double. Dragging this out for weeks and then offering only a fraction of the award points is completely unacceptable.

It would be bad enough if Hilton was doing this to a tourist. But for someone like you, who spends more nights in a Hilton hotel than at home, it shouldn't even be necessary to ask twice.

Is Hilton required to credit you for your stay within a certain time? As far as I can tell, no.

The terms and conditions for HHonors, Hilton's loyalty program, are silent on this issue. (You can read it online at links.sfgate.com/ZIA.) It says a lot about what your obligation is to the company. For example, if you don't earn points in any 12 consecutive months, you could lose everything. But it doesn't really mention Hilton's responsibility to you. Specifically, there are no assurances that Hilton will credit you with a hotel stay within a specific period.

So by failing to put the points in your account, Hilton wasn't violating its own terms. But how about reneging on the double points deal and offering just 5,000 points? Again, Hilton gives itself a broad license in its terms to "add, modify, delete or otherwise change any of the rules, procedures, conditions, benefits, Rewards or Reward levels pertaining to the Program at its sole discretion, with or without notice."

In other words, Hilton did nothing wrong. And it did everything wrong.

I think this might have gone smoother if you'd taken a moment to compose a short, cordial note and sent it to Hilton. A written request is far more difficult for a travel company to ignore.

I contacted Hilton on your behalf. You've been credited with all of your points.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. You can e-mail him at celliott@ngs.org.

This article appeared on page N - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle