AJLondon

Based on some recent and some not so recent "negative news" threads, including:

- no more G bonuses
- no more FFN
- platinum extras eliminated
- passport escape awards eliminated

With Hyatt's above policy changes, and credit card focus, I am a tad scared as to what is next for the program? A redemption rates devaluation? A category 7 or 8 !?

So I wanted to ask this question to fellow Hyatt FTers.

What HGP account balance do you feel comfortable holding year on year based on current valuations and redemption rates?

For eg. I know with SPG, if the hotel redemption rates get out of hand with a big devaulation, I can immediately transfer SPG points to an airline FFP at a reasonable rate (1:1 mostly, with a 5k bonus for every 20k) and start from scratch without losing a lot of "saved value".

So are you holding on to this HGP currency and if so, what amount do you feel secure banking it for the future? 100k? 200k? 500k? Or...

ElmhurstNick

I'm pretty liberal about burning anything over 125k. Right now I'm at 190k because I my overseas vacation this year was to Hyatt-empty cities. But depending on which vacation I take in 2013, I'll be reserving anywhere from 44k-142k this January for later in the year.

GUWonder

I used to feel comfortable having a few hundred thousand points squirreled away year-over-year or even up to a million or two for squirreled away for a year or so; but definitely no longer. Now, I wouldn't want to even have around more than a couple hundred thousand Hyatt points around waiting even until the first quarter of 2014.

While a change in my travel patterns are part of the changed inclination, the real driver in my (dis)inclination to squirrel away points has to do with changes at Hyatt/GP and expectations of further changes.

price123

We have a bank of around 400,000. However, we see these almost as a savings account. Soon, our income will drop so we keep these for holidays when we won't be able to afford the amount of travel we are doing now. Having said that, I did just spend 99,000 for 3 nights over New Year.

MikeFromTokyo

With the slashing of benefits, drop in customer service quality, and the possibility of point devaluation HGP is starting to remind me more and more of DL Skymiles, which I have also all but abandoned.

I have burnt all of the points I had been holding on to, and going forward will redeem awards essentially as soon as I earn them. Given my stay patterns there is no reason to bank points.

austin_modern

Hyatt points are far from skypesos....

MikeFromTokyo

This is true- my above post is unclear- on the contrary HGP points can be quite valuable.

I suppose I make a connection between the two programs because both were much bettet in the past than they are now, IMO.

rajuabju

I have to agree with the concerns of most of the above.

I wouldnt keep anything more than about 150k (basically enough for a weeklong vacation at a top category location) banked. I spend everything else.

With the CC being introduced, its simply just a matter of time before some kind of devaluation. I am earning 200k points a year (between my Hyatt CC and the Sapphire Preferred) more than I would have otherwise... There are way more points out there today than ever before, and its only going to get "worse" .... just like real currency, the more money you print, the more inflation will eventually hit, and what you have in your bank account will be worth less.

I dont believe we'll see a new category introduced; Hyatt does not have the sheer # of locations as a Marriott or Hilton to warrant more levels. Instead I just see # of points per category going up.... its a very logical step to see cat6 go to 25k/night, cat5 to 20k, etc...

austin_modern

I suppose that can be said about just about every frequent flyer program over the past 10 years. I'm more interested in the rate of change... skypesos devalued quickly; hyatt points are still quite valuable and (in my humble opinion) havent devalued significantly over the past 4-5 years. We all need to move past FFNs where hotels were literally begging to get business travelers to stay when the economy was in a severe crapper. Staying 2 nights and getting 1 free is not going to happen again at any hotel chain.

MikeFromTokyo

I suspect that either redemption rates will go up or a seventh category will be created to accommodate PH New York.

AJLondon

That in itself may be reasonable, as long as it is kept as an exception JUST for the PH New York. However if a 7th category is created, and besides PH NY, we see PH Maldives, Milan, Zurich, Paris etc all getting bumped up, then there may be a legitimate gripe here.

Jeeves

I really didn't have any concerns prior to reading this post. I have about 350k in the bank and have some planned uses in the next 6 months. I have a similar amount of Hilton points and about 50k at SPG. I like to have 50k at the ready at SPG for those 48K 5-night awards.

updawg

For reference last time Hyatt GP devalued was 6-4-2010 http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyalt...s-june-4-2010/

Regardless, 22,000 GP points for the category 6 hotels can still be of great value.

AJLondon

Interesting. So last time it was 5 weeks notice and a 90 day modification period post booking. Hmmmmm.

pshuang

Passport Escape awards were used extremely rarely (fewer than 100 a year, said Jeff), so not apparently much of a real benefit as measured by actual redemptions.

I would say that much of what has practically changed has been around the earning side... fewer promotional ways of earning free nights and bonus points, new house credit card and Chase Ultimate Rewards point streams.

I'm holding about 200,000 points, with the intention of that number being enough to redeem for a suite for a week if some required family travel should come up. That's a useful notion anyway, keep enough miles/points for the largest reasonable redemption that you might expect to have in the future.