FlyerTalk Forums - FFN - earn 9/1 to 12/30/2008 - Now Official

I was just making an adjustment to a award reservation. I just thought I would ask. With complete confidence the agent quoted the earn dates above. Spend 9/15 to 2/28/2009. Use Mastercard. I hope it is all correct. Here we go!

Edit by peteropny:

FFNs is now official: http://goldpassport.hyatt.com/gp/en/ffn/index.jsp - also be sure to register for it.

The promotion

Now More Ways to Earn Faster Free Nights

Every Two Stays = One Free Night
Plus earn 2,000 bonus points after every two eligible stays
When you pay with your MasterCard® card

September 1 - December 30, 2008

Earn Unlimited Free Nights
Not a Hyatt Gold Passport member? Join today to get started. Current members must register to participate.
Earn a free night award after every two eligible stays at Hyatt between September 1 and December 30, 2008.
Provide your Hyatt Gold Passport account number at reservation and check-in.
Free Nights Come Fast
As you earn your Faster Free Nights Award, your Hyatt Gold Passport account will be automatically updated.*
Visit My Promotional Awards on goldpassport.com to track your stays and awards.
Redeem your award between September 15, 2008 and February 28, 2009** by visiting goldpassport.com or by phoning your nearest Hyatt Worldwide Reservation Centre and asking for Offer Code FFNF08.
Earn 2,000 Bonus Points with MasterCard
In addition to earning free nights, earn 2,000 bonus points after every two eligible Hyatt stays when you pay with your MasterCard® card.
To become a MasterCard cardholder, visit mastercard.com.
The number of free nights and bonus points you can earn is unlimited.

*,** See Promotional Terms & Conditions

The revised Promotional T&Cs

FASTER FREE NIGHTS™ TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
* Stays at AmeriSuites™ hotels are not valid towards earning or redeeming Faster Free Nights Award(s).

** Please allow ten (10) days after your second qualifying Hyatt stay for Faster Free Nights Award(s) to be posted to your Hyatt Gold Passport™ account (allow 2-3 weeks for awards from stays outside the U.S.). Faster Free Nights Award(s) must be posted to your account prior to redemption.

To qualify for a free night award you must be a Hyatt Gold Passport member, register for the promotion, provide your Hyatt Gold Passport account number at reservation/check-in, be a registered guest physically occupying the room to which you are registered, pay an Eligible rate. "Eligible Rate" is any hotel published room rate, including, but not limited to rates found on hyatt.com, hyattplace.com, hyattsummerfiedsuites.com, prevailing rack rate, BAR, volume, AAA and senior citizen rates, etc. "Ineligible Rates" are discounted rates, including, but not limited to, any free night stays, Internet wholesale rates (such as priceline.com, hotels.com, etc.), traditional wholesale rates (such as GOGO Worldwide Vacations, Pleasant Holidays, etc.), airline crew rates, airline employee rates, travel agency employee rates, Club at the Hyatt discount certificate stays, Hyatt Vacation Club stays, Hyatt employee or employee family discount rates, airline interrupted-trip vouchers or contracted rooms (a contract room is a room that has been reserved pursuant to a written and executed agreement between a hotel and a corporation, government agency or individual for a negotiated room rate in exchange for an agreed upon number of rooms to be rented for an extended period of time). One free night will be awarded for every two (2) qualifying stays between September 1, 2008 and December 30, 2008 at participating Hyatt Hotels & Resorts™, Hyatt Place™ and Hyatt Summerfield Suites™ worldwide. Only one credit will be given per member, per stay, regardless of the number of rooms. A qualifying stay means one or more consecutive nights at any participating hotel or resort when paying an eligible rate, whether or not the guest checks out and back in during such period; award stays do not qualify. Reservations for Faster Free Nights Award(s) redemption are subject to limited availability and must be made in advance by visiting goldpassport.com or by phoning 1 800 228 3360 or your nearest Hyatt Worldwide Reservation Centre. Faster Free Nights Award(s) can only be redeemed for stays between September 15, 2008 and February 28, 2009 and are not transferable. Faster Free Nights Award(s) are valid with standard room accommodations only. Faster Free Nights Award(s) are for room charges only and do not include incidental expenses, gratuities, service charges or other hotel-specific charges. Faster Free Nights Award(s) are valid for single or double occupancy. Additional guests are subject to additional hotel charges.

2,000 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points will be issued for every two (2) eligible stays paid for with any MasterCard® card between September 1, 2008 and December 30, 2008. To qualify for the 2,000 bonus points, you must be a Hyatt Gold Passport member, register for the promotion, provide your Hyatt Gold Passport account number at reservation/check-in, pay an Eligible rate and pay for your stay with any MasterCard card. Only bonus will be given per member, per stay, regardless of the number of rooms.

Stays at hotels outside the U.S. may be subject to government approvals, regulations, restrictions and taxes. Other restrictions may apply. Hyatt Gold Passport reserves the right to alter or withdraw this promotion at any time without notice. This promotion is subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Hyatt Gold Passport program. For complete program terms and conditions visit goldpassport.com. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts™ encompasses hotels managed, franchised or leased by subsidiaries and affiliates of Global Hyatt Corporation. The trademarks Hyatt™, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts™, Park Hyatt™, Andaz™, Grand Hyatt™, Hyatt Regency™, Hyatt Place™, Hyatt Summerfield Suites™, Hyatt Gold Passport™, and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation. © 2008 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.

My apologies to RTWSTARALLIANCE for hijacking this post but since this is the most comprehensive thread so far for FFN, I will use it to add the FAQs as originally written by LIH Prem , thank you for your efforts. I will be editing these FAQs for a while to incorporate new information etc.

This post is intended to be the FFN FAQ. It will contain information about FFN and links to other threads about FFN. This post is based on all FT members posts. I'm sorry we're not able to name all the members that contributed, but we can thank everybody for all the information here. Also, we're just trying to aggregate what we've learned from all the other FT members here in this one post. I'm not the expert, I'm just trying to repeat what I've learned on FT.

Please do not post off-topic questions in this thread. Start another thread for that. Keep this thread focused on keeping this post up to date.

Please do post suggested additions/corrections/links to this thread as member assistance in keeping this first post in the thread up to date. Suggested additions/changes are always welcome.

You will be able to tell when this post is updated by looking at the "last edited" date at the bottom of the post. You can also "subscribe" to changes in this thread by selecting "Thread Tools"/"Subscribe" at the top of the thread. "Subscribe" will notify you when the thread changes.

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FFN FAQs

What is FFN? FFN is Hyatt's promotion called Faster Free Nights. In the typical FFN promotion, 2 eligible stays earns you one free FFN night.

What is the earning and redemption period? The FFN promotion has an earning period and a redemption period. For the current promotion, the earning period is September 1, 2008 – December 30, 2008. The redemption period for this version is September 15, 2008 - February 28, 2009.

What if my stay overlaps a date prior or after the promotion earning period? A member has asked the Diamond Desk this question and the answer was that the stay must include a NIGHT within the promotion period to be eligible. However, you may need to request a manual adjustment from CS if this happens.

Is registration required for the promotion? Yes, registration is required, and is available at http://goldpassport.hyatt.com/gp/en/ffn/index.jsp . In the past, you may already be pre-registered if you were registered for the last FFN promotion, but I recommend re-registering anyway.

Do AAA, Government, and Coporate rate stays count towards FFN? In the past they have not been a problem. Generally any stay that generates a stay credit will generate a FFN credit.

Do other "promotional" rate (eg Travelzoo) rate stays count towards FFN? Generally no since those rates do not generate a stay credit. YMMV though - in the last round of FFNs "travelzoo" rates booked directly on www.hyatt.com qualified.

Do "phantom stays" (check-in via 800-checkin or web checkin but never actually go to the property) count towards FFN? Hyatt has revised its T&Cs so that "phantom stays" no longer count for stay credit (therefore also FFN credit). However, there has been no reports one way or the other. YMMV.

Do Priceline, award, and Stay Certificate stays count towards FFN? Officially, these are excluded from FFN. Occasionally, members have reported that they've earned stay credit (and therefore FFN credit) if they've had an eligible charge but don't count on it.

What is an eligible charge? A phone call (even a local call if they charge you for it) or room service. Sometimes the restaurant if it's hotel-owned. Parking charges, taxes, third party charges are generally not considered an eligible charge. Your mileage may vary on this.

How many FFN nights can I earn? As many as you can during the earning period. There is no limit on the number that can be earned.

Are any properties exempt from redemption? According to the new T&Cs, all properties now participate in redemption including (the Manchester Hyatt in San Diego, CA USA and the Hyatt Regency Madeleine in Paris, France).

Are there capacity controls on FFN awards? FFN awards are capacity controlled awards. In general, if you know you want to use one, make an award booking now, and later you can switch your award from points to an FFN award. Elite members especially can usually book an award stay even if they don't have the required number of points in their account.

Are there day of week restrictions on FFN awards? This round has no restrictions - all properties can be reserved for stays as short as one night on any day of the week.

How do I book an FFN award? If you have the award in your account, you can book it online at www.goldpassport.com Simply log in to your account and if you have any available, you will see it on the log in page. If you follow the link there, there's usually a pull-down box that will show you how many you have earned so far. You can also book them by calling Hyatt or GP customer service. You will need to call to book if your FFN (or any award) stay is less than one week prior to date of arrival.

How long does it take for a stay (and FFN credit) to post? For stays at US domestic properties, they usually post within a week or so. For stays at international properties, it can take up to four weeks or longer for a stay to post. The FFNs are usually posted in sweeps, so it can take several days or even up to a week longer for your FFN night to post after your even numbered stays.

Can FFN nights be extended? Elite members (including me) have been able to get a one month extension on the use of their FFN nights in the past, this was strictly enforced this last round. YMMV

Do the "suite" products (Summerfield Suites and Hyatt Place) earn FFN credit? Yes you should earn you stay credit and therefore FFN credit either - pretty much assured if the property is on this list - http://goldpassport.hyatt.com/gp/en/...ist_Properties - if the property is not, please confirm eligibility with Hyatt if FFN qualification is important to you. Amerisuites are not eligible.

Where can I get more information? - Well, the usual place is www.goldpassport.com and follow the link to the t&c for FFN, if there is one.