Tag Archives for hyatt.
Chase has increased the World of Hyatt Credit Card offer by 15,000 points, bringing it to a headline 75,000 points. The card also provides elite-night credits, an annual free-night award and strong rewards on Hyatt spending.
A Hyatt member canceled a two-night “free” award stay, got their points back, and then received a $3,690 cash cancellation bill. Hyatt’s policy can return points while charging an undisclosed cash forfeiture amount when an award stay is canceled too late, creating a hidden risk for anyone booking hotel rooms with points or free night certificates.
Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis delivered exactly what keeps me loyal to Hyatt: strong Globalist value, a river-view suite upgrade, free award-stay parking, and a good breakfast. But the stay also showed the usual friction — slow service, a few room shortcomings, and promised credits that did not actually come off the folio.
Hyatt’s new promotion offers 2,000 bonus points for every two nights, from July 1 through September 7, with registration required by September 1. Award stays count, but there’s an annoying catch: earning only starts with your second stay, and the whole thing is capped at 8,000 bonus points.
Chase Sapphire Preferred is better for most cardmembers after its refresh, with stronger earning categories and a larger hotel credit. But the cut to Hyatt transfers raises doubts about Ultimate Rewards as a reserve currency.
Hyatt says more loyalty changes are coming after its points devaluation, with elite benefits under review and a premium credit card expected next. The program is still stronger than competitors on award transparency and Globalist perks, but a new interview plus surveyed changes suggest both new opportunities and possible cost-cutting.
Hyatt held its investor day on Thursday and they shared that they are “targeting Germany and Spain” for cobrand credit cards and that they’re looking at the UK, Japan, and Mexico markets for cards as well.
Park Hyatt Sydney and Park Hyatt Tokyo are classic city hotels, but Hyatt now lets them classify themselves as resorts — a designation that can let them dodge guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout for Globalists. That turns one of World of Hyatt’s most valuable elite benefits into something properties can sidestep at will.
Hyatt’s big award chart overhaul is now live, and members are already seeing free nights price up to 67% higher at some top hotels. But Hyatt itself warned that this year’s changes are only the setup: the new five-tier pricing structure is in place now, and the broader damage doesn’t hit until next year.
Hyatt told members they could still book free nights before the new award prices kicked in. Then, as members rushed to use points before the deadline, Hyatt’s website and app started failing — turning a devaluation into a rug pull.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
