I received an email from a former Diamond Gold Passport guest last week saying she left Gold Passport with the end of G bonuses, frequent airline mileage promotions and what appears to be the elimination of lucrative promotions like “Faster Free Nights” and a decline in point room redemption value.
Basically she misses some aspects of staying with Hyatt and wanted to know if they were going to bring back the excitement to the program or replace it with something else.
Of course I couldn’t answer those questions.

Oddly she asked why I bothered to stay at Hyatt with the decline of a once great program something I clearly don’t agree with.
She also went onto say that she left for Starwood Preferred Guest where she feels Lifetime Platinum is within easy reach compared to the limited and very expensive reach of Diamond lifetime where even eligible spending is eliminated when choosing miles for ones stay.
The now SPG Platinum member likes also that the lifetime Platinum is based on nights/stay count as opposed to 200k in spend or 1 million base points
She also felt that it was more important to be able to confirm her suite upgrades on revenue or award.

I still remain a reasonably satisfied customer of Hyatt Gold Passport as I do Starwood Preferred Guest.
Unlike this guest who wants one or the other program.
I like particpating in both.If Hyatt has a dull quarter with nothing interesting on the table I am happy to do the business elsewhere
And if the hotel is really special I might overlook the promotion entirely and stay where they care about the guest experience

I do agree with a number of her spot on observations however I shared the guest experience has improved in many properties as a result of program improvements despite the loss of powerhouse promotions to encourage more frequency.

Having considered that conversation with regard to my own business I am also spending more in Hyatt’s as I decided frequency and price for me was less important than stay quality and overall experience .
In a nut shell I am willing to pay more today (as I have more disposable income now) to be happy where just a few years ago it was all about price and program promotion ROI. If the GP changes came 5 years ago I too likely would have walked away from the program. So I understand fully this members reasoning and decision making.Not all of us can aford particpation in more than one program based on need of travel or costs.

Back on topic. I do know that the Hyatt folks are hard at work reviewing the and evaluating the Hyatt Chase Visa and are anxious to make/enhance it a more compelling and rewarding card that cardholders will want to pull from their wallets more frequently when spending and those considering a wide array of other credit card offers to choose the Hyatt Visa instead.