RTW1

That was 2 years ago.....

MSPeconomist

My guess is that OP got an email (which I hope he/she saved) saying that the account would expire on May 31, but Hyatt's actual IT expires the account two years after the last checkout or last account activity date, which would have been approximately May 12 rather than waiting for the end of the month.

I suspect that Hyatt T&C state the policy as two years, so that the error was in the email, not what was done.

OP would then need to appeal to Hyatt along the lines of asking for the account to be restored, including the credit for this year's nights as well as all points and lifetime spend (base points), given that OP relied on the information that was received from Hyatt.

Melodsal

To provide an update: the concierge here on Flyertalk was unable to satisfactorily resolve this for me (although asked me to get back to them if I was short of night or stay credit for qualification at year end to achieve lifetime status which while a nice touch does not inspire confidence).

I will be emptying my (new) Hyatt account and avoiding stays with the chain in the future.

zombietooth

Best course of action, I'm afraid.
And Starriott has been treating me fantastic over the last year, so I think that you lose nothing, really.

Good Luck.

JackE

Really, it's nonsense that travel companies even expire points and accounts this quickly. I can see 10 years of inactivity, maybe five, but that's it.

In the old days, an inactive account still got expensive mailers. Now there is ZERO cost involved. It's an entry in a data base. And the irony is that the bits are on that server whether it is an active account or not.

I used to occasionally stay at Hilton. Then I had a spell of two years when I didn't. When I returned to book a room, my account was closed. So they turned a two-year absence into a life-long absence.

notquiteaff

Indeed. By expiring miles or points they may be removing a small liability from their books. But they probably in many cases also reduce the chances of future business from that now former customer.

Interesting that the program often called "Skypesos" knows that.

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...s-program.html

JackE

There is something called the "Accountant's Equation":

Assets = Liabilities + Stockholder Equity

So guess what happens when liabilities go down? Yup, stockholder equity goes up. The companies look at it as stockholder equity going up, more so than liabilities going down.

The smallest state

This is the problem when bean-counters "reduce" liabilities, they are also reducing the pool of future customers.

The whole World of Hyatt has been a real disaster in my opinion. My stays have gone from25-30 a year to 8 a year. I think the OP should get the lifetime miles back, as Hyatt can't/won't then I'd walk to Marriott as well.

martinplas

Hyatt customer service for top tier elites used to be well managed. I always found them to be more than willing to correct any issues with stays,point postings,and service problems. In the past they made me feel like my loyalty and membership was important to them, and continually went out of their way to please. Not so with today's team at WOH. Poorly trained representatives answer the phone, then your hear "let me check with a supervisor", have a long wait and still wind up frustrated.
Sadly, the days of good customer service, and top tier appreciation seem to be history. My last stay at the HR Austin Texas began with my receiving texts from someone who was their loyalty program rep telling me they only had queen beds and no suites. I called her on it and when I got to the front desk for checkin ( luckily I didn't let the loyalty rep check me in) they somehow came up with a king bed river view balcony. These games should never be happening.
Keep escalating and get your lifetime points reinstated..

JackE

Since, with the original issue coming to an unsuccessful end (well, successful for Hyatt's competitors), this has turned into a general rant, I'll add a data point.

When checking into a Hyatt recently, I notice the FDA had a little upgrade chart. There were all the various bed and room charges with the associated up-charges.

Now maybe they had this little chart under GP, maybe they didn't. If they didn't, then that's emblematic of the new Millennial Hyatt. If they did, then that never registered for me in GP days because there was customer good will back then.

RTW1

Why shouldn't they have such a chart... there are more guests than just Globs.

JackE

What I was curious about is whether the chart is a new thing. They also previously had more guests than just Diamonds. I've just never noticed it before.

notquiteaff

Do the use the chart to actively push upgrades for tens of dollars at checkin? (face to face NOR1)

JackE

I'm currently top tier, so they obviously don't dare ask.

The room I was assigned had something I didn't like; when I went back to the FD to request a different room I ended up with an upgrade from my original. It was a room with a balcony and view, not a suite. I don't know if my original room was an upgrade.

martinplas

I quit buying into that dog and pony show-Watching the FD furiously type looking for upgrades after I show them my I phone. I suspect that's part of their new WOH training :
1) when confronted by a Globalist for a suite begin typing furiously on the keyboard.
2) Then tell them they have the best room available ( as you continue to type furiously) and all standard suites are taken
3) Thank them for being a loyal Hyatt Globalist and ask them if they would like a glass of infused water , hand them two additional bottles of water and smile
Sad really