E1A

Just like the SPG thread where the confusion seemed extremely deep rooted till the highest level. Hyatt too has absolutely no idea till when Elite status actually lasts. I started interacting with Hyatt about this months ago and then tried to escalate it to higher levels at the same time as the SPG thread but till date I have about two dozen conflicting responses.

This is a potentially more serious issue since Hyatt GP T&C make absolutely no mention of this at all. Nowhere does it cover the validity of your status. Also the reps have all unanimously been unwilling to reveal any regulation or let me see the terms, often giving me advise on my particular case or simply saying this is handled internally but not stating the rule clearly.

GP reps from Global Contact Center are all over the place with this with fanciful imaginative rules but even upon knocking on other channels. [email protected], Hyatt Service Desk and Gold Passport Concierge account on FT are all at odds with each other in what they are saying.

As you know, unlike Lurker accounts, GP Concierge is a account handled by many people and I actually received different replies from there too, from the same account.

So far Danny from the GP Concierge account is trying to work it out on our behalf and get confirmation for the consumer favourable version where we get status in the year we earn it and the whole of the next year as well. Unfortunately for us, Danny is our lone warrior for this. Every other Hyatt rep has given me a less favourable regulation

Specifically, I've been told by Service Desk, Consumer Affairs and Global Contact Center that status is only for one year and that no matter how many nights I do, it won't be extended.

It is getting absurd because the consensus seems to be that if you complete in the second half of the year, say 2014 (and the definition of second half itself is under dispute. I've been told April, June and July) then you get status for rest of 2014 AND whole of 2015 and expires in Feb 2016.

However now when you begin 2015, if you complete 25 stays and 50 nights between January and "second half" (lets say July).....then nothing happens. Its like you did not stay at all because expiry is still Feb 2016. So an entire traditional Diamond worth of stays gets wiped off. I confirmed and reconfirmed this with various channels. They insisted they checked with Management and management is the one that outlined this.

Initially I was being told status always expires in Feb of next year irrespective of when you earn it. I had to outline the absurdity of taking away someone's status in 2 months if they earn it at end of December to make them backtrack.

As of now, every rep and channel except Danny confirms and refuses to budge that any status earned in first half of year does nothing to extend the expiry date past next Feb. You could be triple diamond with 75 stays and nothing would change. In my experience when I became double plat at 10 stays, the validity was extended by a year on top of the existing one.

Cross our fingers and hope Danny from GP Concierge is right or prevails above the other voices. So far each channel has 'confirmed' that the others Hyatt channels are wrong...

Can members with access to Hyatt phone support call and keep escalating to the highest level? We have no Gold Passport phone support in most regions. (Escalating to the highest levels is what had worked with SPG)

skunker

You know the VP of GP is a FT member and does respond to PMs. I'm sure if anyone could answer your questions, he could.

Gunner14

I'm not entirely sure that I follow what you're saying. If I'm new to Hyatt for 2015 and complete the diamond requirements during calendar year 2015 then I will be diamond through February 2017. Are you saying that it's not actually clear anywhere that this is the true policy? Even if it's not, practically this is what happens so does it really matter?

Are you getting responses that in the above scenario the diamond status would only be valid until February 2016? Because that honestly makes no sense.

exmike

I don't understand what you're saying either.

E1A

@Gunner14,

I'm very sorry. There was a lot of rambling. I tried to give as much info as possible in one go. To summarize: They don't really know how long elite status lasts. They all say different things and keep confirming the others are all wrong

@Skunker,

I don't mind dropping him a PM if you can provide his handle

E1A

That is exactly what I'm getting at.

I've heard a million different things but the overwhelming majority say if you complete it in first half of 2015, you are only valid till Feb 2016 NOT Feb 2017. I emailed consumer affairs and they confirmed

But that's not the absurd bit, it gets absurd when you complete it in second half of 2015, then you are diamond till Feb 2017.
Now in 2016, if you again stay 25 times or 50 times in first half, you expect it to be extended correct? Nope, nothing happens, all of them count for nothing and you still stay at Feb 2017

I've had pretty much everyone from Global Contact Center confirm this as well as Service Desk and Consumer Affairs. One single member of GP Concierge account is at odds with them and is trying to figure it out now but others are confirming he is wrong (though he seems to know what he is talking about, he tends to go into more detail than others and actually comprehends questions)

Also yes, they have no written policy on this visible to guests/customers. It isn't touched in T&C shockingly
Also they don't tell me exactly what the internal policy is, just that it is internal
Also they are conflicted about what second half means. I was quoted April, June and July.

Gunner14

Well as a practical matter your concerns are unfounded. Also, from a logic perspective it would make no sense for Hyatt to penalize those super-elites who are able to qualify for diamond in the first six months of a calendar year. This would simply never happen.

The only situation where timing should/does come into play is when one is doing a trial. If one is to complete the trial in the first half of a year, they get status through February of the following calendar year. If one completes a challenge in the second half of the year, they get status through February of the following calendar year plus one year.

E1A

Yes that is my argument, that logically it makes no sense.

However without T&C to bank on unlike SPG and when pretty much every channel on Hyatt is confirming a certain thing to me, does it make any sense for me to focus on Hyatt for rest of year or even spread my stays. I see you are a Hyatt member primarily, so it wouldn't affect you as much. But for me I have to make a decision between chains based on it. Hyatt is pretty clearly telling me its not how we interpret it as, and there are no T&C for us to bank on otherwise.

The sane and rational thing to do would be to ask them to confirm and recheck a little because its an absurd policy but ultimately just believe them right?

Also reasoning and logic in such cases doesn't apply. Only data points do. The program is what it is, sometimes such programs can be very counter intuitive. If you have a data point where you earned Diamond early in the year and it resulted in validity extending then that would be valuable and we can take it to them and be like 'hey you are wrong about your own policy'.

But otherwise telling them their policy is stupid and wrong will only result in one winner, them :P. End of the day its their program, we can implore them to change it or be clearer, but the only thing I can do is make my decision based on it. Which is what I intend on doing.

For an example see the recent SPG thread I created, everyone till the top levels of SPG was confused about their own program and had been for years. I had to escalate it to very high levels for them to begin seeing that there was a wide gap in what they were writing in the T&C and what they were saying. SPG has T&C for this, Hyatt doesn't. So customers have no basis on which to argue...

austin_modern

... this is how you get coded as a V8.

E1A

Anything constructive to add or just here to troll?

Nothing in my post is dramatic. I'm not looking for any compensation.
A similar thread that I created in SPG forum managed to reveal systemic confusion within SPG about their own policy regarding elite status which could then be corrected.

Piece of advise: Just leave, no point baiting people

Gold Passport Concierge

Dear Flyertalkers,
No matter when a member achieves their 25 stays or 50 nights to earn Diamond in 2015, they will maintain status through February 2017. This ensures that the member has at least one full year at the tier. To maintain beyond February 2017, the member will have to complete the eligible stays or nights in 2016.
For those participating with the current Elite Tier Offer, it is built so that any member that qualifies for tiered status will have that status through February 2016, regardless of when during the offer they complete the 12 eligible nights.

austin_modern

I'm not baiting you, but contacting the VP at Hyatt pointing to your rant above and your general demeanor in the post along with articulating prior harassment at SPG is PRECISELY how people get coded V8 or like status at hotels or airlines.

Piece of advice: chill out a bit and articulate your concerns more concisely and rationally. Avoid bringing the world+dog into the discussion (which you've apparently already done.)

Anyhow. Good luck. I hope you don't get the v8.

E1A

Harassment at SPG? Are you serious??
You saw the thread which produced excellent results and left everyone satisfied in less than 3 pages as harassment?

I'm sorry but you're making baseless allegations here. Nothing in the post above is dramatic. It is detailed but on point. GP concierge is well aware of the conflicting info I was provided. It is nice he spoke here, it doesn't change I still have Consumer Affairs telling me he is wrong and they will follow up with Concierge team on FT to ensure they are passing on the right info. How do I discern who is right?

I don't see the dog+world here, I see an on topic discussion. The only person stirring trouble here is you.

Gunner14

Oh well I learned something, I assumed it was the same as the old diamond trial.

austin_modern

btw - this is the VP's handle on here.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...-passport.html