This morning I wrote about leaked changes to Hyatt’s new elite program that starts in March.
Most of the information was accurate but there’s a lot more here than previously reported. I spoke with Hyatt about the changes this morning and there’s more benefits and also information on the transition. (And another way to qualify for status, too.)
There’s even the long awaited opportunity for confirmed suite upgrades to be valid on award stays, as well as more free nights for all members.
Bottom-line is that there are real benefit improvements for folks staying 60 nights but that people who were qualifying on stays alone, or who aren’t able to get from 50 up to 60 nights with Hyatt — will see fewer benefits starting in 2018.
And with Hyatt’s foot print of around 600 hotels, versus 4000 or more for the global chains, it can be tough for many members to stay with Hyatt 60 nights. I don’t think I’d want to be a Diamond member based outside the U.S. for instance.
Roof top infinity pool at the Park Hyatt Chennai
Qualifying for Elite Status
As previously reported, Hyatt is introducing 3 elite tiers in place of the current 2 (and giving them rather silly names):
- Discoverist: 10 nights, 25k base points ($5000 spend), or 3 meetings
- Explorist: 30 nights, 50k base points ($10,000 spend), or 10 meetings
- Globalist: 60 nights (but only 55 nights to requalify), 100k base points ($20,000 spend), or 20 meetings
Hyatt’s Jeff Zidell explains that they chose ‘active verb names for their tier status, reflecting the adventure of travel’ and ‘the reason why [their members] travel’. They wanted to “speak to the aspirations of members.”
In my view these names are un-serious as IHG’s new top tier ‘Spire Elite’ although certainly not worse than American’s new 75,000 mile tier ‘Platinum Pro’.
It seems that signing contracts for meeting rooms at a Hyatt Place in a developing country could be the new way to top tier now that qualifying on stays alone is out. Note that meetings, and not catered events, are what count here for status.
Sky lobby of the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
How Your Current Status Maps to the New Program
When the program launches in March, everyone that qualified as a Diamond in 2016 for the 2017 calendar year (anyone with Diamond through February 2018) gets full ‘Globalist’ benefits. So if you stayed 25 times or 50 nights in 2016, even though that wouldn’t be enough for the top tier in the new program you’ll still get top tier through February 2018.
Anyone who stays 50 nights in January and February 2017 becomes a Diamond under the old program and therefore is given Globalist status.
Anyone who was a Diamond in 2016 but didn’t requalify will be given Explorer status regardless of whether their activity qualified them for it.
Anyone who has Platinum status for 2017 gets at least Discoverist status.
However if your qualifying activity is enough for a higher tier, you’ll get that — so if you were a Platinum with 30 nights you’d receive Explorer status in the new program.
In other words, no one gets hurt in the transition year, your status will only fall in February 2018 which is more than a year away. That’s exactly how I wish all programs handled elite benefits changes.
What’s more, anyone with Globalist status in the new program will be given a free night on March 1 upon launch of the new program with no category cap (up to category 7). That’s a great way to get top tier elites excited about the new offerings.
Park Hyatt Dubai
More Suite Upgrades, Now Valid on Award Stays
The big change for top elites is that they aren’t just entitled to four confirmed suite upgrades each year.
- They are entitled to suite upgrades if they do not use a confirmed upgrade instrument but there’s a suite available at check-in.
- They can earn additional confirmed suite upgrades beyond the four they receive qualifying for status. At each of 70, 80, 90, and 100 nights they will receive a choice benefit of an additional confirmed suite upgrade or 10,000 points.
- Confirmed suite upgrades will be valid on award nights and not just paid stays. (Everyone earning top tier, please let out a collective “Woo hoo!”)
At the beginning of 2016 Hyatt changed the way they awarded suite upgrades to Diamonds. They gave them at the start of the new elite year, but began requiring that they be used for stays only through the end of the elite year.
They will again award suite upgrades in March 2017. However going forward they will award suite upgrades when a member re-qualifies instead of making them wait until the new program year. Unfortunately suite upgrades, once awarded, will expire after 12 months.
Some ‘Globalists’ will want to put off requalification, booking away from Hyatt, as a result if they have a vacation they’re planning more than 12 months into the future. This may be mitigated somewhat though by the ability to earn extra suite upgrades for each additional 10 nights.
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
Upgrade benefits in the new program are:
- Discoverist: upgrade to best available room within type booked, which may mean a better view or higher floor.
- Explorist: best available room excluding club floor and suites
- Globalist: best available room up to standard suites
60 Nights Gets You an Ambassador
Hyatt is introducing My Hyatt Concierge as a Globalist benefit. A member will be assigned to a dedicated reservations agent to take care of Hyatt needs.
Here’s how Hyatt described the program when trialing it in 2014:
I’ve been a member of Hyatt’s Private Line program since around 2010, back when any Diamond member could be added to it if they knew to ask. (You could simply ping Hyatt’s social media representative on an online forum and they’d get you added.)
They closed that option several years ago. Fortunately they didn’t kick out those that were already in it.
I’ve been through several dedicated agents since I was added to the program. I’ve found some to be excellent and others to be awful (when I had an awful agent, I asked to switch and the request was always granted, I had heard through the grapevine of other frequent flyers which agents were good and made specific requests).
In general I’ve found the program to be useful:
- I love being able to e-mail an agent for reservation requests (combining different rate types into a single reservation, querying whether cash and points rates are available) and confirmed suite upgrade requests instead of having to call for things that cannot be accomplished on the website.
- The better agents have done followup work for me — perhaps award nights weren’t available when I asked but they kept checking and made bookings for me without further prompting when the space did open up. The same goes for suite uppgrades. I wouldn’t have to place new calls constantly, they would check and even reach out to hotels about non-standard room types.
- I’ve even had agents proactively check for lower room rates, and re-book reservations for me.
- I have someone to query when I have questions like an email address for a reservations manager at a property.
Some were less proactive than others. Some have consistently made mistakes with my reservations. And one – my first one – was simply non-responsive.
So we’ll see how the program works in practice.
Breakfast Benefit is Changing
Explorists – mid-tier elites – will get club lounge access 4 times a year up to 7 nights each stay. This will be valid on paid or award nights. It’s sort of the return of the ‘Platinum Extras’ certificate program.
View from the Club Lounge, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
Top tier Globalist members will receive club access, and where there’s no club lounge available will receive restaurant breakfast for up to 2 adults and 2 children. This is a change from the previous ‘up to 4 registered guests’ in the room.
Unfortunately they are eliminating the 2500 point bonus given to Diamonds staying at a hotel with a club lounge where that lounge is closed.
Diamond Room Service Breakfast at the Park Hyatt Vendome, Paris
Annual Free Nights for Elites
Explorists and Globalists will receive a free night upon reaching the tier.
In 2017, a member hitting 30 nights (or qualifying based on spend or meetings) will receive a free night valid up to category 4. That night must be for stays within 120 days.
Then upon reaching Globalist status they’ll receive another free night, this time without a category limit, although again it must be consumed (not reserved) within 120 days.
The four month timeframe to actually stay on the free night will, I predict, limit Hyatt’s costs through breakage.
View from the Park Hyatt Sydney
Early Check-in, Late Check-out
Discoverists and Explorists keep the current 2pm guaranteed late checkout benefit (that doesn’t apply at resorts or casinos).
Globalists keep the current Diamond 4pm late check-out benefit.
Globalists also receive priority for early check-in. This is a new published benefit, but it’s not actually a change in practice. I learned in spring 2012 that hotels actually receive guidance to accommodate Diamond early check-in requests when possible, and that continues.
This isn’t like Intercontinental Royal Ambassador’s “guaranteed 8am check-in” or even Starwood’s “Your24” which confirms whether off-hours checkin will be possible in advance, unfortunately.
Parking, Resort Fees, and Water Oh My!
Hyatt already does not collect resort fees on reward nights. They’re extending that to paid nights for Globalist members as well.
Globalists will also receive free hotel parking on award stays (whenever parking can be put on the member’s folio) but not on cash and points or paid stays.
All elites will receive a bottle of water daily in all hotels, though properties may fulfill that in different ways — it may be available for pickup, for instance, rather than offered in-room.
Hyatt’s Guest of Honor benefit to gift elite status to friends or family when giving them an award stay continues, as does Hyatt’s sending out 2 United club passes each year to top tier elites.
MGM M life Rewards Benefits are Being Downgraded
M life’s resorts are mostly casino focused and mostly in Las Vegas. Until now Platinum status received M life Gold which is good for room upgrades, free self parking, priority check-in and restaurant reservations, and VIP Line Access for nightclubs and pool day clubs. Hyatt’s Diamond got M life Platinum which let you skip the valet and taxi queues.
It was somewhat awkward that Hyatt Platinum came with Hyatt’s credit card, and got M life Gold while M life’s new credit card came with lesser status.
I asked for and was given a chart that shows how the new elite tiers will map with MGM M life elite tiers.
| World of Hyatt Membership Tier | Reciprocal M life Rewards Membership Tier |
| Globalist | Gold Membership |
| Explorist | Gold Membership |
| Discoverist | Pearl Membership |
| Membership | Sapphire Membership |
| M life Rewards Membership Tier | Reciprocal World of Hyatt Membership Tier |
| NOIR Membership | Explorist |
| Platinum Membership | Explorist |
| Gold Membership | Explorist |
| Pearl Membership | Discoverist |
| Sapphire Membership | Membership |
Hyatt’s Credit Card Will No Longer Help Towards Top Tier Elite Status
I was sort of counting on spending $40,000 on my credit card for 10 elite nights now that it’s going to take 10 more nights to earn top tier status. That benefit is going away.
Instead, I’m told that:
- The card will come with Discoverist status (the ‘lower’ Platinum tier).
- $50,000 in spend on the card each calendar year will earn Explorist status through the following year.
- There’s a benefit for existing cardmembers and those who sign up before March 1, though: those who become cardmembers by March 1 will receive an additional 5% bonus on base points earned for in-hotel spend with Hyatt and MGM M life Resorts through February 28, 2018 — but this benefit goes away for Explorist and Globalist members whose in-hotel earn bonus is higher already.
No More Check-in Amenity and No More Guaranteed Turndown Service
The program will no longer offer a food and beverage amenity or 1000 points for top tier elites.
And the nightly turndown service that Hyatt introduced 5 years ago for Diamonds, even in hotels that don’t otherwise offer it, is being ended.
So Globalists will have a real answer to the question, “Turn down for what?”
Lifetime Elite Status Qualification is Changing
Hyatt will announce changes to lifetime elite status qualification on March 1. Existing Lifetime Diamond members will receive Lifetime Globalist status.
Currently it takes $200,000 in spend (1 million base points) and 10 years in the program to earn lifetime Diamond. They aren’t telling us what the changes are, but I expect some form of lifetime status to be easier to achieve, though since Globalist is harder to achieve I wonder whether lifetime Globalist will be as well.
Sadly I won’t hit lifetime Diamond before then. If you’re close, you might want to push on the accelerator. And if you just miss it, and they do move the goal posts, I’d make a personal appeal.
An Updated Benefits Chart
| Qualification | MEMBER | DISCOVERIST | EXPLORIST | GLOBALIST |
| Nights Required, or | 0 | 10 | 30 | 60 (55 to re-qualify) |
| Based Points Required, or | 0 | 25000 | 50000 | 100000 |
| Meetings | 0 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
| Benefits | ||||
| Point Bonus | 0 | 10% | 20% | 30% |
| No Resort Fee | On Award Nights | On Award Nights | On Award Nights | On Award Nights & Eligible Paid Rates |
| Upgrade at Check-in | N/A | Best Room in Category Reserved (higher floor, better view) | Best Room Excluding Club, Suites | Best Room Including Standard Suites |
| Confirmed Suite Upgrades | N/A | N/A | N/A | Up to 8: 4 on qualifying + choice of 1 or 10k points at 70/80/90/100 nights |
| Free Night on Qualifying | N/A | N/A | Cat 1-4, Travel Within 120 Days | Cat 1-7, Travel Within 120 Days |
| Lounge Access | N/A | N/A | Confirmed 4 Times Annually, Up to 7 Nights Each | Yes |
| Breakfast | N/A | N/A | N/A | When no club lounge, up to 2 adults and 2 children |
| Complimentary Parking on Award Nights (Not Cash/Points) | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Dedicated My Hyatt Concierge Reservation Agent | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Guest of Honor Benefit Gifting Award Stays | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Two annual United Club passes | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Late check-out | N/A | 2pm | 2pm | 4pm |
| Priority Early Check-in | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Guaranteed Room Availability | N/A | N/A | 72 hours | 48 hours |
| Free Daily Bottle of Water | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes |
A New Opportunity for Everyone to Earn Free Nights
Hyatt will give a free night (category 1 through 4, valid for a year) after trying 5 different brands.
They’ll give a second free night when you hit your 10th brand. There’s no time limit for reaching these milestones. As long as the benefit remains you’ll receive a free night even if it takes you several years to hit the goal. Historical stays don’t count, though, they’ll track your activity March 1 onward.
What it All Means
Hyatt shared a video promoting the launch of their new program, which is sort of just people doing things and I guess Hyatt wants to be a part of that.
Hyatt’s new top tier elite tier great with more suite upgrades, upgrades without using confirmed instruments, more free nights, and a dedicated concierge.
It’s those marginal Diamonds making just 25 stays or who given Hyatt’s limited footprint can’t stretch beyond 50 nights that lose out.
Unlike airlines, who have been revamping their programs supposedly with their best customers in mind but who are really just devaluing for those customers less than everyone else, Hyatt is genuinely doing more for their most frequent customers here.
The loss is wallet share from leisure travelers who went out of their way to stay with Hyatt because of the Gold Passport program, and elites ‘on the bubble’. And I don’t love their taking away the 2500 point bonus for closed club lounges and getting a bit chintzier on breakfast (no more inviting all your friends at the Hyatt Olive 8).
So it’s a net positive for the road warrior with the option to focus on Hyatt. I’ve long said that they need to continually up their game to woo these customers. It takes work to stay loyal to Hyatt, while everyone can merely stumble into a Marriott or a Hilton if they wish.
And with Marriott Rewards getting better and Hilton considering a new top tier this is a pretty aggressive move to satisfy top members even at the expense of some in the middle.
Great info here, Gary.
It seems odd that Hyatt will be the only “big three” hotel chain that doesn’t offer free breakfast to their mid-tier status level. I assume there has to be a club level available to use one of your “annual free club level access passes.”
Hyatt needs to join SPG in offering elite credit for award night stays. Otherwise this is just more of the same, hotels picking and choosing which benefits they feel like offering, which rooms are “standard” rooms, which are “available suites” under the suite upgrade rules, etc.
Thanks for this overview, Gary. The category names do sound ridiculous. But among the many improvements, it sounds like a good deal for those who fall into the Explorist mid-tier category, what with the best non-suite/non-club rooms and 4x/year club access.
Am I correct in assuming that where breakfasts are served in the clubs, the 4x/year club access policy thus includes free breakfasts? And that the same applies to drinks and snacks in the clubs?
Gary
So as a globalist if you have 3 adults in your party, but only 2 adults get breakfast, what about the 3rd? Do you know if the 3rd adult counts as 2 children? I would assume that there would be a dollar cap at breakfast?
So is there any benefit to keeping the Chase Hyatt card? Does it give you any free rooms on your yearly anniversary? If not, it’s a waste of $75 /year.
@Steve yes, of course.
@Donald you still get the free cat 1-4 room on cardmember anniversary. I’ll presumably stop spending on the card though since it won’t help me earn top tier status.
This karma is so delicious it’s got to be fattening.
i still recall how when the Marriott+Starwood merger was announced, all the elitists were proclaiming how amazingly wonderful Hyatt Diamond is compared to “a bunch of Fairfield inns”.
and now Hyatt shoots themselves in the foot with a massive loyalty program devaluation without any improvements in footprint to back up the qualification requirements.
MAR+SPG is simply the one to beat now – they have the footprint, the vast range of price points, the top end luxury (Ritz, St Regis, LuxCollection), and the fun lifestyle ones (W, Le Meridien, Renaissance etc).
according to your post, current diamond who doesn’t requalify will be explorist in 2017, will that explorist receive cat 1-4 free night as well or is free night only for those who met night requirement?
Diamond now by fingernails, will not be in 2018 obviously.
Guess I can always pay to add lounge access at front desk?
“those who become cardmembers by March 1 will receive an additional 5% bonus on base points earned for in-hotel spend with Hyatt and MGM M life Resorts through February 28, 2018”
Is that spend on your Hyatt CC at Mlife properties or spend on any CC as long as you have the Hyatt CC?
From my perspective – all a net positive. Glad to see continued innovation. Rewarding high spend is a good trend for business travelers.
Thanks Gary. I’ll just keep it for the free night too.
@ Henry LAX: you sound like a jerk. But you have a point.
I’m a 100 night a year Elite so this doesn’t impact me too much – aside from losing 100,000 pts a year now (!?!?) through the loss of the check-in amenity ! Don’t think for a second that I’m not re-assessing my former blind loyalty now due to this loss – bc I definitely am.
Furthermore, I don’t understand how this helps Hyatt given their place in the footprint hierarchy ? Elites like me may/will stay – but they will lose far more guests below Globalist now. For such a tenuous industry position – fighting larger groups in an era or mergers etc – this seems counter-intuitive. If anyone can hypothesize the logic behind these moves by all means please do.
@thomas each year you will get a free night when you qualify for explorist and then globalist. so you don’t get the cat 1-4 night automatically at the start of 2017.
however globalists for 2017 will get an uncapped free night.
@Eric breakfast has a definition in the Hyatt terms and conditions, so it isn’t a dollar cap per se (although some hotels may let you use the dollar amount of the items that equal that definition ordering other things).
If you have 3 adults in your party you’d under the rules have to pay for the 3rd person though that may not always happen in practice
Whats a rough cost on a “meeting” at a developing country hyatt place?
This is a great breakdown Gary – thank you!
I would like to hear your thoughts on the scenario of someone who, up until this change, could qualify on stays for both SPG and Hyatt top tier status (roughly 55 stays / 80 nights per year). No reason I shouldn’t keep the SPG side going, but where should I park those other 25-30 stays? Hilton? IHG? Club Carlson? Wyndham?? Go for SPG75? Or is Explorist status better than any of those?
Even with the details confirmed, my initial take remains. Having bitten more than they could chew with their last botched status match and getting a terrible indigestion as a result, World of Hyatt (WOH!) appears to be designed to undo some of the damage, by dramatically thinning the rank of top elites. HGP Diamond had reached the point where anyone and their dog who wanted it got it, without even trying. With WOH!, they are trying to restore some shine to the top elite level — first thin it and then make it tougher to achieve. I bet we won’t be seeing status match offers to that level. The just-created second level will be for that.
The second thing that came to mind and seems confirmed was that WOH! is a hybrid system or model, likely on the way to transitioning to the more mature model used by HH and MR when WOH! — yet another WIP — proves to be cumbersome
I’ve had three ambassadors now. They were poor, exceptional, and pretty good. Hyatt needs more quality control on that program.
I’m excited about the changes. However, disappointed in “Unfortunately they are eliminating the 2500 point bonus given to Diamonds staying at a hotel with a club lounge where that lounge is closed.” I always felt that was the most generous of benefits. Closed lounge but you still get free breakfast in the restaurant plus 2500 point bonus. I thought too good to be true – and that turned out to be correct.
Gary, so will the Hyatt Visa give status to card holders under the new program? If so, which status level will we receive if we keep the card?
Did a quick Google – do not see many Hyatt’s with lounges — saw maybe 10 –hope I am wrong – know of anyway to get a list???? -Iwas diamond – now will be EXPLORIST and lounge
will help with breakfast
I was just starting to enjoy my Hyatt time but there’s no way I can qualify for Globalist. Time to review Marriott/SPG offerings to see what I status level I can reach. Too bad that Hyatt isn’t valuing the lower end Diamonds more…and not just not valuing but pushing us away.
Wow. I was planning to get the Hyatt credit card this year, but now it really looks like a bust. Would have been still worth considering had it come with the Explorist tier, but with it providing just the bottom (pretty meager) Discoverist tier… meh 😐
I’m officially renaming the tiers because they are annoying, over-syllabic, and not real words.
Tier 1: Discover
Tier 2: Explore
Tier 3: Globe
Looking at current Platinum (which I get via Chase card), it appears that:
– bonus points drop from 15% to 10%
– 72 hour room guarantee is gone
What about free premium wifi?
I’m likely to keep the Chase card b/c I use the free room (at Category 1-4 hotel) each year, but I don’t see myself switching a great deal of travel or spend to Hyatt.
@HenryIsAdik : for all your asinine name calling, please tell me the wonderful Hyatt footprint there is at Rome, Florence, and Venice.
@craig, i read on another site that the premium wifi is also gone for Chase card members… thus I think my spouse and I will likely drop our cards when they are up for renewal next year… even with the category 1-4 hotel certificate it is becoming harder to justify it (especially when they change the categories of some of their hotels this year).
@Craig, you have it about right. And according to OMAAT, you also lose premium wifi. Both the lower end Diamond and all the platinums get screwed by this. It appears that my next free night cert from Chase will probably be my last. I can’t see spending $95 for a cat 1-4 cert that I may or may not be able to use and probably only represents a 50% discount off the normal price of the room I might book with it. Pretty much every other hotel card is better. IHG gives a free night anywhere for half the price plus a slightly better status, Hilton gives a free night anywhere for $10,000 spend plus way better status, Club Carlson(!) gives 40,000 points that won’t expire plus a slightly better status for a lower price, Marriott cards give a fairly equivalent night for a slightly lower price plus the ability to earn credits toward top tier status. About the only chain with a worse card for benefits is the personal SPG card (business card gives lounge access) and it has the advantage of superior points earning for everyday spend, as long as it lasts.
I would have to imagine that the Hyatt card is going to wither and die if left in this state.
One more reason for not even bother with Hyatt. I could get 25 stays with them but never 60 nights based on their small footprint. Now they will lose my 25 nights since I will stay at other brands.
I, too, will lose my Globalist status after 2/18, since the thought of spending 55-60 nights a year in the Sacramento Hyatt and the Hyatt Regency LAX or the Mission Bay (plus similars) in the California markets is just a dreadful thought. Crappy pools and gyms, lack of restaurants, tired rooms, poor service people, high parking, nothing much to recommend them. No Downtown LA hotel, poor LA Basin coverage, the hotels in SF are nothing to write home about, Monterey is tired, and the Hyatt Houses and Places are Hamptonesque. Most of my stays are 1-nighters, and this program just makes requalifying a nightmare, even though I prefer to stay at Hyatt hotels in some destinations (NYC, HKG, Paris, Tokyo etc.) I can’t see banishing myself to 40+ of the nights in so many of Hyatt’s tired properties, and the per-night rate at their better ones (or even the fake “better ones”) is now astronomical ($400 for the Andaz West Hollywood? $350 for Huntington Beach? $375 for the Andaz 5th Avenue? $800 for the Park Hyatt NYC? Hard to bill this back to clients without blowback.)
Back to SPG, I guess, even though I hit lifetime SPG platinum in about three months. Too bad for me, but too bad for Hyatt, too, since I reliably threw 25-30 stays their way, including most of my vacation multi-night stays. Those will all turn to freebies on points, I guess.
Wow – rewarding stays as opposed to shiny bits of plastic. Imagine that?
Just to clarify, already re-qualified as Diamond for next year so when I become some bizarre term-of-eliteness on March 17, I need 55 nights to re-qualify for the said bizarre term-of-eliteness in 2018? Or 60?
Also in your chart you have the 2d highest tier getting 72 hour rez guarantee and top level with only 48 hour guarantee? Typo?
Will miss the Diamond amenity but the 2 freeeeeeeeeee nite certs soften the blow.
GringoLoco, for the record, I think it’s sensible for hotels and airlines to reward their frequent customers more than they reward ardent, er, credit-carders. I just happen to be in the latter category, so I’m bummed but such is life. It does mean that Hyatt will likely lose all of my business, but lately that’s not been all that much anyway, so really not all that much of a loss for Hyatt.
It’s definitely a very limited subset of high end road warriors who could benefit from this loyalty program. I’m fairly loyal to Hyatt because I think their USA Hyatt Place and Hyatt House properties are comfortable hotels and are good value redemptions when using Chase UR points. But I don’t really need any status to enjoy these stays. Given how limited their full-service footprint is, it’s hard to imagine most of your readers even bothering with the program (except to redeem awards).
“Hyatt’s Jeff Zidell explains that they chose ‘active verb names for their tier status, reflecting the adventure of travel’ and ‘the reason why [their members] travel’. They wanted to “speak to the aspirations of members.””
None of those names are active verbs. They’re nouns. And “Globalist” doesn’t even imply an action.
@Gary – great summary. When does the credit card spend cease to count toward status? Could I spen $40K in Jan/Feb and have the 10 nights count toward 2017 qualification – for 2018 status?
@VirtuosoEric – no, unfortunately the changeover is the beginning of calendar 2017.
It’s like WOH!, man!
The CSR solved my “problem” with the Chase Hyatt visa. It (the CSR) earns as many UR points (3/$) as I would earn HGP or WOH! points with the Hyatt visa, which is, therefore, now obsolete other than for the free anniversary night that I have used every year.
Schadenfreude! WOH!
G’day!
What’s the logic behind building a beautiful golden wall around US based Globalists? This approach makes the brand even more Americans.
Hi Gary,
The piece of the puzzle I don’t understand: Hyatt’s growth is in the Place and House properties, where status makes little difference to guests. Those are the travelers who have the most choice- Hyatt Places and Houses are going into locations saturated with hotels.
Upping the stay requirement to 60 most disincentives the traveler in the 25-50 night range. That’s the business traveler who’s out one night a week and goes out of his way to choose Hyatt both for his weekly stays and for the family vacation.
I’m thinking of this more as a Hyatt shareholder than a Diamond member and don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to reward such a reliable slice of market share. If the growth is Mid-range, wouldn’t they want to be more instead of less competitive in that space? A month a year in Hyatts is still a chunk of change, right?
Hi Gary, if I make 25 stays in January and February 2017, I’ll be Diamond until February 2019 under the Hyatt Gold Passport program. Will I get Globalist benefits through February 2019 when the new program is introduced?
@Dia: could not agree more with you. I am an example that may stay 30-40 nights max in hotels per year and I would do all I could to stay at Hyatt Place and Hyatt House not only because they are great value but I would get 25 nights. Now there is no incentive for me to make an extra effort to stay at those properties anymore.
Whatever changes go through, not tough to see that at 60 nights it still blows the pants off of HH. As does pretty much any program.
“Hilton – the rewards program for fools who want zero benefits in writing”
@Dia — To ask why Hyatt is doing this is to completely fail to grasp how badly they botched their last status match that was designed to capture SPG elites but ended up capturing second tier elites from pretty much every other programs, to whom they gave full HGP Diamond privileges, including DSUs, up front. Occupancy might have been high but quite likely with newly minted Diamonds cashing in their 4 or, in many cases, 8 DSUs. It would explain the lack of HGP promos for a whole year ( September to September) and their abbreviate global Q4 promo…
WOH! is designed to flush the program of the flood of top elites and their DSUs — a clean slate — to enable a new beginning with a thinner and meaner group of “high-value” globalists!
Vive La Renaissance!
@DCS this has nothing whatsoever to do with a status match offer.
@Dia I’m not sure I’m convinced this package is a good idea, considering how small Hyatt is in the marketplace and how easy other chains are making it to earn status such as via their credit cards.
@Gary — LOL. You mean like the latest flurry activity at AMEX has nothing to do with being spooked by Chase? Read my comment again and see if what I actually wrote will resonate…
Used to be nearly exclusively a Hyatt loyalist some years back, as I thought it was the most rewarding elite program. Switched primarily to SPG about 4 years ago, I think, and then, as of last year, Marriott.
So, despite the new Tier Reboot Unveiled My Preference will remain with Marriott / SPG