Hyatt Loyalty Program: Dramatic Changes

The Hyatt Gold Passport program as we know it is about to change drastically to the new “World of Hyatt.” The chain will soon change the name of its loyalty program and completely overhaul its elite statuses and benefits.

The new World of Hyatt logo.

Full details about the program are still being confirmed at this point, so stay tuned and we'll post for updated information.

Before breaking down the differences of the future program, let’s take a look at the current Hyatt Gold Passport program:

	Member	Platinum	Diamond
Base Points per Dollar Spent	5	5	5
Point Bonus	0	15%	30%
Internet Access	Paid	Free Premium	Free Premium
Preferred Room Upon Arrival	No	Higher Floors or Preferred Views	Best Room Available
Complimentary Club Access	No	No	Yes
Complimentary Breakfast (If No Club)	No	No	Yes
Stays Required	0	5	25
Minimum Nights to Qualify	0	15	50
Welcome Gift	No	No	Amenity or 500-1,000 Points
Diamond Suite Upgrade	0	0	4

Currently, the Hyatt Gold Passport program has just three levels — and there’s a pretty stark difference between the bottom two levels and the top level. In fact, we value Platinum status at $200 and Diamond status at $3,085. Diamond status is earned after 25 stays or 50 nights, and can be viewed as one of the most rewarding statuses in the hotel loyalty sphere.

With the new changes, however, everything we’ve known about the program will soon be different. Here’s an outline of the new World of Hyatt program, which will feature four tiers of membership:

	Member	Discoverist	Explorist	Globalist
Base Points per Dollar Spent	5	5	5	5
Point Bonus	0	10%	20%	30%
Free Night at a Category 1-4 Award	After Staying at 5 Different Brands	After Staying at 5 Different Brands	After Staying at 5 Different BrandsAfter Completing 30 Eligible Nights (Must Be Consumed Within 120 Days)	After Staying at 5 Different BrandsAfter Completing 60 Eligible Nights (Up to Category 7, but Must Be Consumed Within 120 Days)
No Resort Fee	On Award Nights	On Award Nights	On Award Nights	On Award Nights & Eligible Paid Rates
Guaranteed Room Availability	No	No	72-Hour Guarantee	48-Hour Guarantee
Preferred Room Upon Arrival	No	Higher Floor, Larger Room	Best Room (No Club Rooms, No Suites)	Best Room Including Standard Suites
Free Daily Bottle of Water	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Late Checkout Request	No	2:00pm	2:00pm	4:00pm
Complimentary Club Access	No	No	(4) Awards	Yes
Complimentary Parking on Award Nights	No	No	No	Yes
Access to My Hyatt Concierge	No	No	No	Yes
Priority Access to Available Rooms (Early Check-In)	No	No	No	Yes
Stay Credits Allowed	No	No	No	No
Minimum Nights to Qualify	0	10	30	60
Optional Base Point Qualification	0	25,000	50,000	100,000

As you can see, there are some pretty big changes. Instead of qualifying by solely nights or stays, you will now be able to qualify by nights or points, which are earned by dollars spent (5 points per dollar plus a bonus for elites). For all four new tiers of membership, the stay qualification is going away and will be replaced by points. To qualify for the top tier (Globalist), you’ll have to stay a minimum of 60 nights or earn 100,000 points. Additionally current Diamond members will need to requalify with 60 nights or 100,000 points — a reduced earning of 55,000 points to requalify will apply in 2018.

The valuable Diamond Suite Upgrades will be improving with quantity. Globalist level members will get complimentary upgrades to suites based on availability, as well as four confirmed suite upgrades — they will be the usual seven-night upgrades and can be used on any stay. Globalists will earn a new upgrade added after every 10 nights that a Globalist stays beyond the required 60 nights (maximum of four). Being able to earn a maximum of 10 suite upgrades could be very valuable for Globalist members who are presumably traveling a lot. Another upgrade to the program would be that following 30 nights (or 50,000 points), World of Hyatt members will be given a Free Night certificate for Category 1-4 properties, and you’ll get a Category 1-7 Free Night certificate if you earn 60 nights (or 100,000 base points) in a calendar year. It’s not yet known how these two perks will be dealt with for existing Diamond members who are requalifying.

The Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur.

Since there’s a lot of info to digest, here’s a list highlighting some of the biggest changes, including both the ones addressed above and some additional updates:

• You’ll no longer be able to qualify for status based on stays; you can qualify through nights or through points
• Top-tier Globalist elites will now get complimentary, unlimited suite upgrades on stays in addition to four confirmed suite upgrades
• Hyatt’s rewarding members for trying different brands within its portfolio by giving them a free night at a Category 1-4 property after trying five different brands
• Explorist and Globalist members will also get a free night at a Category 1-4 property after completing 30/60 eligible nights, respectively (must be used within 120 days of being earned).

The Grand Hyatt Bali.

What Does This Mean for Current Members With Status?

As of March 1, 2017, Hyatt Gold Passport members who have status will translate into the following:

• If you requalified for Diamond status for 2017, you’ll get Globalist status
• If you were Diamond but didn’t requalify for 2017, you’ll get Explorist status
• If you requalified for Platinum status for 2017, you’ll get Discoverist status
• If you qualified for any Hyatt Gold Passport status in 2016 and would have requalified, your status will be upgraded (if you met the nights but not points requirement, you’ll still get the status)

All About Hyatt’s New Top Tier Status, Globalist

If you’ve been a Hyatt Diamond member and requalified, you’ll be getting the World of Hyatt’s highest level of status: Globalist. So, what does it mean for you? Well, generally speaking, there are some great perks:

• You won’t pay resort fees, regardless of the type of stay
• You’ll get unlimited suite upgrades on all stays (subject to availability)
• You’ll get free parking on Free Night stays (not cash or Points + Cash stays)
• You’ll still get two complimentary United Club passes annually
• World of Hyatt will still honor Guest of Honor benefits
• You’ll get a Free Night at a Category 1-7 property (a Free Night at a Category 1-4 property when you qualify got Explorist status)
• You’ll still get lounge access at properties where it’s available. When it’s not, you’ll get free breakfast but you won’t get the 2,500 bonus points if a lounge is closed
• You’ll get four confirmed suite upgrades, eligible on all stays
• You’ll get additional benefits when you reach 70, 80, 90 and 100 nights — 10,000 bonus points or an additional confirmed suite upgrade at each tier. You can earn 8 additional upgrades in a calendar year (up to 12 in 2017)
• You’ll have early check-in access to your room (when available)
• Once you qualify for Globalist, you only need 55 nights to requalify in 2018
• You’ll get a late checkout request time of as late as 4:00pm.

One noticeable difference between Diamond benefits and what’s offered with Globalist is the lack of welcome amenity. Whereas Diamond members used to get a welcome amenity upon arrival — either bonus points or a food and beverage — Globalists will no longer have that option. This is an unfortunate change with the new program.

In addition, Globalist members will also get access to the My Hyatt Concierge. The concierge is a dedicated agent who provides personalized and proactive customer service. They’ll help to coordinate the details of stays — scheduling spa and dining reservations, providing notice about promotions and hotel openings and more. This is a nice addition to the top tier status with Hyatt. Stay tuned for posts that further breakdown the new tiers of status with World of Hyatt.

What About the Hyatt Credit Card?

We’re not sure on the specifics of the card as far as the future of its sign-up bonus and earning structure (or if it’ll change at all), but we do know what it’ll mean for elite status with the World of Hyatt. As a Hyatt Credit Card holder, you’ll automatically get Discoverist status and benefits. If you become a cardholder prior to March 1, 2017, you’ll also get an additional 5% bonus points on eligible spend when earning base points at Hyatt or M life properties through February 28, 2018. If, at some point during that period you earn Explorist or Globalist status with World of Hyatt, the bonus will bump up to 20% and 30%, respectively.

In addition, Hyatt Credit Card holders who spend $50,000 each calendar year will get Explorist status through the following calendar year. Although it’d be nicer if this spend would get you Globalist status, it’s a great option to be able to achieve status through spend on a credit card.

How Will M life Reciprocal Status Work?

One of the nice benefits about having status with Hyatt is the recoprocal elite status you’ll get with M life Rewards, especially if you frequent Vegas often. Previously, Hyatt Platinum meant M life Gold, and Hyatt Diamond meant M life Platinum. Here’s how the reciprocal benefits will work with the new World of Hyatt program:

World of Hyatt Status	Reciprocal M life Rewards Status
Membership	Sapphire
Discoverist	Pearl
Explorist	Gold
Globalist	Gold

And here’s how the reciprocal benefits will work the other way:

M life Rewards Status	Reciprocal World of Hyatt Status
Sapphire	Membership
Pearl	Discoverist
Gold	Explorist
Platinum	Explorist
NOIR	Explorist

As you can see, you can no longer earn Gold status with M life Rewards for being a Hyatt Credit Card holder. Instead, you’ll M life Pearl status for being a cardholder, with the chance to earn Gold status if you spend more than $50,000 on the card.

Bottom Line

These changes by Hyatt bridge the gap between what we’re seeing in the airline loyalty industry by switching to a revenue-based system and the hotel loyalty industry. By doing away with the ability to earn status based on stays and instituting a new points qualification option, Hyatt’s new program is switching the balance in favor of those who spend more with the hotel brand. Diamond members who qualify based on stays will definitely lose out with this new program, but members who can spend their way to top-tier Globalist status will enjoy some generous perks.

Hotels Woo Guests To Book Directly Online With Discounts

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In this  photo, floor projection flowers and a waterfall greet guests at... Read more

 (AP) — Hotels are getting more aggressive in their fight to get travelers to book reservations directly with them instead of through online travel agencies such as Expedia and Priceline.
Hyatt Hotels Corp. on Monday became the latest chain to offer guests a discount for booking a room directly on its own website. Members of its Gold Passport loyalty program can save up to 10 percent at hotels in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

The move follows similar campaigns by Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

Hotel companies have a tortured relationship with online travel booking sites. They rely on the sites to bring travelers to their properties and fill rooms. But companies like Expedia and Priceline charge commissions of 15 percent or higher. The hotel chains would rather keep that money themselves.


"It costs them less and it gives them a better chance to create a business relationship," said Henry Harteveldt, of travel consultancy Atmosphere Research Group. "They get our email information and a chance to win our ongoing preference."

Harteveldt noted that fewer than one in four hotel guests belong to a loyalty program.
Expedia said online travel agencies help travelers discover new hotels and offer efficiency.
"The vast majority of travelers coming through our sites are new, brand-agnostic and incremental to the chain's existing loyal customers," said Cyril Ranque, president of lodging partner services for the Expedia Group. "To ask a consumer to search multiple sites for the best price sets the industry back 20 years."
As chains bring hundreds of independent hotels into their booking systems, they are trying to prove their own worth and justify their own management or franchise fees. Part of that process means trying to retrain guests to do less price comparison. The idea is that one hotel company's website should be your only stop when looking for a room, whether in a boxy convention property or a boutique hotel.
Hilton launched a marketing campaign in February called "Stop Clicking Around" promoting its own discount for loyalty members — also up to 10 percent — as well as free Wi-Fi. Starwood offers the same discounts. (Hyatt offers free Wi-Fi to all guests worldwide, regardless of how they book.)
Travelers should note that sometimes a discount for being a senior or AAA member is greater than the hotel's member rate. But not always.

When Marriott launched its member-only rates in March, its global marketing officer, Karin Timpone, said the rates were to reward loyalty.
"We also want to help dispel the myth that other travel websites offer better rates for our hotels. The simple fact is that you will find the lowest rates across our portfolio when you join Marriott Rewards and book direct," Timpone said at the time.

At the time of its campaign launch, Hilton's chief marketing officer, Geraldine Calpin, provided a similar explanation: "Our customers don't need to worry about sorting through a dizzying array of websites, enduring hundreds of clicks and wasting hours of time."

By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ