Hyatt used to be quite stingy with suite upgrades. Their top tier elites weren’t entitled to suites, even when suites were going empty, and getting into one usually took some cajoling and paying a higher than normal room rate.

But now that Hyatt has upped the ante in the elite status game and provided new confirmed upgrade instruments to their top tier elites.

Still, the current situation can be confusing because at present there are 3 different types of suite upgrades available through Hyatt.

The points upgrade. Spend 6000 Hyatt Gold Passport points to confirm an upgrade to a suite, but you must pay the ‘prevailing rate’ for your room. And this is frequently argued to be rack rate, even though that hardly prevails with most other bookings…

Diamond Upgrade Certificate. Historically each diamond member was sent a paper upgrade voucher with their membership card each year. Many of these are still out there and valid even though Hyatt has introduced new Diamond upgrades, which are electronic. This is a space available upgrade, based on availability at check-in, and any paid rate bookable at Hyatt.com qualifies.

Confirmed Electronic Suite Upgrades. Diamond members receive four of these a year, and a Diamond member just calls Hyatt and uses one to get a suite. Any standard (ie bookable at Hyatt.com) paid rate is eligible.

Things will get cleaner next year, once the old paper space available Diamond Upgrade Certificates go away. Even some Hyatt customer service reps are confused, believing that a Diamond has to pay rack rate in order to use their confirmed suite upgrades. Small transition pains, and it pays to be informed, but at the moment the ability to confirm a suite for a Hyatt Diamond makes the program really attractive at the top tier…