Agoda Declined Cashrewards Cashback

x x on 25/09/2023 - 17:22
Last edited 25/09/2023 - 21:23 by 1 other user

I recently booked 3 hotel rooms for 4x nights which cost $2,017 (US$1,369)

Agoda had a 10% Cashrewards promo at the time so I took great care to book through them after activating Cashrewards.

I'm familiar with CR and how it works with over $1,000 in "lifetime rewards" so I made sure I did everything correctly so as not invalidate the cashback. I logged into the CR app and then navigated to Agoda from there. I didn't click away or use another cashback like Honey or Shopback etc. I don't use any ad blocker etc. I paid with credit card, not coupons or vouchers. I made sure to do everything correctly because it was a significant amount.

AFter booking I received the following email saying it had tracked for $196 and would be approved up to 95 days post travel.
https://i.imgur.com/TZhNCQI.png

I recently returned from my trip and logged into CR to see if it was still pending and see it was declined:
https://i.imgur.com/OCWdZ5B.png

So I contact support and they reply with the following:
Hi Mark,
Thanks for contacting us regarding your declined transaction with Agoda. I hope your day is going well.
I have reviewed your transaction in the store's system and confirmed that cashback has been declined as Cashrewards was not attributed to your purchase. Because of this, we have not received funds from the store to pass on to you.
Below are some of the most common causes of sales not being attributed to Cashrewards.
• Having opened other web pages (including search sites, social media, or other store sites) or web browsers whilst visiting the store;
• Clicking through to another page from a banner or ad on the store's web page whilst shopping;
• AdBlock/Antivirus/cleanup application tasks may remove tracking cookies (which are required to track transactions).
• Use of a coupon code not listed on Cashrewards.
Please accept our apologies for not being able to provide you with better news on this occasion.
Your understanding is appreciated. Have a lovely day ahead.
Sincerely,
Feraida
Member Services Team

I replied saying none of the above apply to me and I abided by all the rules etc so please escalate this case to your supervisor.

I haven't heard back and I'm sure they'll weasel out of it. I just want to rant and warn others about this scam 😠

Edit: I have used the word "scam" to get more attention and so it show up in search engines. I acknowledge it's technically not a scam if there are valid reasons why it was declined however I fail to see why it was rejected if they sent an email saying it was pending and was it just a matter of waiting post travel to receive it.

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Comments

  • jv on 25/09/2023 - 17:27
    +4

    I'm sure they'll weasel out of it.

    They always do…

    • deme on 25/09/2023 - 17:52

      Is it in the contract?

  • Almost Banned on 25/09/2023 - 17:33
    -5

    Not sure this counts as a 'scam'.
    The key is whether CR gets the credit for your purchase. If not, they have no money to pass on to you.

    • Neoika on 25/09/2023 - 20:17
      +5

      OP got tracking email immediately, no way attributing to another channel, only possibly other issues. If he had also clicked via Shopback, the last click gets the sale commission. Hence, it is not possible to get both Shopback and Cashrewards tracking emails for one purchase.

      I side with OP here. Unfortunately, it is a similar issue like this.

        • Neoika on 25/09/2023 - 20:32
          -1

          I said "It is not possible to get both Shopback and Cashrewards tracking emails for one purchase."

          "only possibly other issues"

          It is definitely not an "attributing to other channel" issue.

          Anyway, from the posts floating here, I would say cashback sites tend to not deal honestly for large cashback, especially in holiday, accommodation areas.

          • Almost Banned on 25/09/2023 - 20:38
            +1

            @Neoika: I just has a $121 booking.com cashback cleared, so not too sure about that.

  • brendanm on 25/09/2023 - 17:52
    +3

    I just want to rant and warn others about this scam 😠

    Well done, no one, ever, in the history of ozbargain, has ever complained about this in relation to cashback companies before.

  • cheesecactus on 25/09/2023 - 17:59
    +2

    I just had a look back through my travel from May this year.
    I had 3 Agoda/Cashreward purchases
    I also had 6 Viator/Shopback Purchases.

    All six shopback purchases tracked (even one i did very last minute on my phone which i expected to not track). And all were paid out.

    All 3 agoda/cashrewards purchases tracked, however only 2 got paid out. 1 was declined.

    I purchased all 3 in the same manner, so i have no idea why it was declined. I havent bothered trying to escalate, thats just the risk of using these providers.

    However, good to know there may be some issues with agoda/cashrewards for future reference.

    Edit: Oh also 1x Booking.com/Shopback purchase that was paid out.

  • kerfuffle on 25/09/2023 - 18:15

    @tightarse This doesn't sound right; are you able to assist the OP?

    • Store Reptightarse @ Cashrewards on 25/09/2023 - 19:23

      Hi, and thanks for the tag @kerfuffle.

      Our support staff responded to @Hudcon this afternoon stating this would be sent to Agoda for investigation and that we'd get back to him within a day or two with an update. Members tend to forget that declines and approvals are not processed by Cashrewards, but by the merchants themselves. Our support staff can action responses only on the information available to them at the time. In this instance, they looked up the booking which stated a decline reason of "attributed to another channel".

      We'll know more when Agoda responds, as obviously we want this resolved as much as the member (if not more). It's just disappointing that these 'issues' seem to always require a forum post rather than waiting for a suitable investigation and resolution from the team, as there's plenty of reasons this may have happened. A simple PM to me or minita would have sufficed.

      Anyway, let's see how it plays out. Cheers!

      • x x on 25/09/2023 - 21:54

        Ah I had no clue you or minita work for CR

  • Ryanek on 25/09/2023 - 18:49
    +1

    I always view Cashbacks as a nice to have, not an entitlement. I'm sure Cashrewards are subject to audits so I highly doubt they're not passing on the cashback. It's hardly a scam.

    Are you sure you didn't use any Agoda cash towards your payment? That would void the cashback.

    • Guybrush57 on 26/09/2023 - 00:25
      +4

      I view cash backs as an entitlement because that was part of the agreed business transaction. The cash back is effectively a good. Not once have I ever received no goods for payment and shrugged it off as "Oh well it would have been nice to have".

      • Ryanek on 26/09/2023 - 09:44

        Nah I'm not going to jump and down about it. It's like the ice cream man offering me free ice cream but then finding out he's sold out.

        It's in Cashrewards best interest to get the cashback because they'll get a cut.

        • Love a bargain on 26/09/2023 - 14:07

          It's definitely part of the calculation esp when purchasing things like holiday accommodation, where there are lots of competing promotions, or when I stock up on things that rarely get discounted much.

  • madbunny on 25/09/2023 - 23:13

    I've had mostly positive experiences with Cashrewards, but my Agoda cashbacks were also declined after a very very long time sitting in pending. Probably won't bother with them in the future. Same deal with some of the AliExpress ones that track but don't always pay. The visibility is not there, not just for us, but also for Cashrewards.

    • Store Reptightarse @ Cashrewards on 25/09/2023 - 23:21
      +2

      Hi. Are you aware of this term & requirement for AliExpress approvals? Basically you need to confirm in your AliExpress account that your order has been received and you’re happy for the store to be paid.

      https://www.cashrewards.com.au/store/aliexpress

      Confirmation of delivery or goods received must be made on AliExpress within 90 days of placing your order to be eligible for cashback.

  • mouseman99 on 10/10/2023 - 10:51
    +1

    Agoda declined for me also but via Shopback. Same reason as OP. I looked through my click history with CR and there was no click on that day. Its just Agoda trying to get out of the payment.

    What recourse do we have here?

    • x x on 07/11/2023 - 18:46

      They got back to me with some BS excuse like I went to the tripadvisor website halfway through the booking which is total rubbish.

      People need to be aware that Agoda are scamming people through these cashback sites.

      • mouseman99 on 07/11/2023 - 20:17

        I'll never use them again.

  • burningrage on 07/11/2023 - 14:45

    I have also booked hotels via Agoda using Cashrewards on 4/11/23.

    There was a limited time deal from 5pm to 9pm on that day, providing 14% cashback.

    To date I have not received any confirmation of cashback being tracked BUT there are extensive click history within the Click History so I expect it should be fine.

    Will update as it unfolds.

    EDIT: Clicked straight from CR, all hotels paid for (no pay at property), and did not use any coupon or Agoda Cash but Agoda seems to provide discounts automatically

    • Store Reptightarse @ Cashrewards on 07/11/2023 - 14:59

      Hi. All Agoda bookings from the promo on Nov 4 are yet to report to members due to a technical issue at Agoda’s end. We became aware on Sunday and have been working with them to have these rectified. Hopefully will know more in the next couple of days. Thanks for your patience :)

      • burningrage on 08/11/2023 - 12:04

        Hi TA, thanks for the notification.

        Having seen the clicks do register in the Click History does provide some level of comfort and this adds to it.

        For the benefit of the forum, I will report back with blow-to-blow updates lol so we all can see and judge ourselves if CR x Agoda is a worthwhile exercise or not.

    • x x on 07/11/2023 - 18:50

      Agoda will come back with some BS excuse like they did with me in the OP. In my case they said I went to the tripadvisor website halfway through the booking process which is total rubbish.

      It sounds like they mix up their excuses. You are getting the one about a "technical issue and please be patient" but in the end you will receive nothing. It seems like Agoda have been scamming through these cashback sites for awhile now, I wish I'd been aware of it earlier.

      • burningrage on 08/11/2023 - 12:12

        Wow. That sounds desperate.

        For me, it was as vanilla as it could be. Literal search for the hotel and ONLY once I found one, I disabled every single ad blocker and clicked from CR and went straight to the hotel I was looking before and confirmed the rates and made the purchase without going anywhere else. Rinse and repeat for the next hotel after shutting down the browser.

        It was that vanilla. I kid you not.

    • burningrage on 09/11/2023 - 13:31

      TA reached out to me earlier today to see if I can see the purchases being tracked.

      I can confirm the purchases on 4/11/2023 did track and came back roughly at 13.75% which is good enough (allowing FX differences).

      So things are looking encouraging so far and ofc, I don't expect the cashback to firm until the stay/trip are done later on. Will keep you updated.

      This means the CR x Agoda exercise, with extreme caution, would still be worthwhile in my opinion. You can use my experience as reference.

      Thanks to TA for reaching out.

      Regards

      Zz

      • x x on 10/11/2023 - 18:53

        When you say it was tracked, are you saying you got an email like this: https://i.imgur.com/TZhNCQI.png

        I thought this meant it was already tracked and I just have to wait for it to be paid out post travel.

        • burningrage on 10/11/2023 - 21:05

          Yes, I did receive 3 emails from CashRewards (like yours) saying the transactions (3 of them) were tracked with the amounts calculated relatively correct after deducting taxes and times times 0.14. The amounts roughly came back 13.75%.

          Yes, it won't be firmed until up to 95 days after the trip. We'll see how that goes. I am sure this thread would be long forgotten by then lol

          EDIT: I got my initial response wrong. Edited for correction.

          • x x on 10/11/2023 - 21:49

            @burningrage: OK good luck I hope you get it. I thought the tracking email was confirmation you will get paid out assuming you went on the trip. I didn't realise they can deny it after they've sent a tracking email. Was your booking for a hotel?

            • burningrage on 12/11/2023 - 21:24

              @x x: Yes. Multiple hotels. Each hotel = shut down browser = restart browser = CR = Agoda = Purchase then rinse and repeat.

              It is really THAT vanilla.

              • x x on 13/11/2023 - 10:29

                @burningrage: Hope you get it. I did the same vanilla thing but they still denied it

  • burningrage on 11/01/2024 - 16:55
    +2

    Hi everyone,

    Just an update that my Agoda purchases I made on 4/11/2023 have all been approved with most of them approved almost a day or two after I checked out so I got a LOT of cashbacks because it was 13.75% for my 20 days worth stay in Japan.

    So thank you TA and I am impressed with the partnership between Agoda and Cashrewards.

    Use my experience as a reference if anyone feels like it.

    Regards

    Zz

    • x x on 11/01/2024 - 20:40

      Well done, good to hear it went through. Sounds like you got $200-300 back

      • burningrage on 12/01/2024 - 09:09

        Nearly $500 actually so not small. In the past I've got large cashbacks from Dell and Myer (up to $1k) but I admit I was nervous with Agoda being the first time and Agoda itself isn't exactly local so…..

        • x x on 12/01/2024 - 10:12
          +1

          I think you were lucky, I won't be using Agoda again after this monumental fk up of theirs

          • mouseman99 on 12/01/2024 - 10:26

            @x x: Same. Mine was via Shopback. Will never book with Agoda again. I've since booked all my accommodation via booking.com

            • burningrage on 12/01/2024 - 12:39

              @mouseman99: I totally get you. I was nervous myself using Agoda but here is the funny thing about Agoda.

              When I was in Japan, all of my bookings were actually fulfilled by Bookings.Com so yeah, it's almost like all along my purchases were with Bookings.Com instead.

              So in theory, they should both be equally risky.

  • roguej on 06/12/2024 - 17:34

    Just had my agoda cashback via cashrewards rejected as well. It was tracked right after booking so I thought all was fine until I checked recently and noticed it rejected. Same reasons as what OP posted when I queried Cashrewards, which to me is all bs as I make very sure I do not click anywhere else. In fact i even close my browswer and restart the transaction sometimes because I accidentally did click away. This does not happen to me with other cashbacks, only Agoda and I have been using cashrewards for years. I challenged cashrewards and they said Agoda said my transaction has been attributed to another site so cashrewards can't pay me for that transaction. When I queried them which site that is, they can't answer. How is that not a scam. On top of that, I got charged with an international credit card fees charge because Agoda billed and transacted overseas - I booked in Australia for a hotel in Australia.

    So just a warning - use Agoda at your own risk.

    • ol mate on 07/12/2024 - 06:51

      Yeah I never try to get cashback whilst using Agoda.

      Not from lack of trying, but because as soon as you click through CR to Agoda, half the hotels which are available on the "Gen Public" page are now "sold out."

      Out of all the dodgy shit the accom websites try with cashback (different prices, availability, etc.), Agoda is probably responsible for 80% of it IME.

  • Howdydoo on 07/12/2024 - 21:34

    I have had these types of cashbacks rejected previously from cashrewards from other accommodation partners; booking.com and expedia when there have been good bonus cashbacks. I dont bother with these anymore as they always seem to have some excuse as to why they didnt track (i often use cashback for other things so not user error), and they just blame booking.com or expedia. So i just dont bother, got so sick of it. It is anoying as 10% back can be a lot of money and it is false advertising by cashrewards.

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