Hyatt: 10,000 Honors points per stay
 

I'm probably not telling many of you anything you don't already know, but one of the best ways to earn HHonors points right now is to log five or six stays at a Hyatt.

Hyatt just started a promotion where you can earn 3,000 American Airlines miles for each stay. After your fifth stay you get an additional 10,000 miles. These miles can be transferred into the HHonors program at 2-1, yielding 50,000 HHonors points.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt...-7-5-10-a.html

Also, Hyatt currently has the most generous free-night offer, although you have to use the free nights by Aug. 31. You get one free night for every two paid nights.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt...k-2-stays.html

Also, Hyatt is offering instant and fast-track platinum and diamond status

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt...2-31-10-a.html

Finally, you can buy two $50 Hyatt certificates at many Costco stores for $80. So a typical night at a Hyatt Place with some food and bar charges which would normally cost $150 only costs $120.

So, six nights with certificates at $120 per night makes for a total cost of $720. In return you get three Hyatt nights plus 25,000 AA miles which convert to 50,000 HHonors miles, plus status through Feb. 2012. Seems to me to be a great deal.

The only downside is that I barely requalified for HHonors Gold last year and am off to a slow start this year. There simply aren't enough Hyatts out there for it to be a rational long-term choice for me. Moving six nights over to Hyatt might make it difficult to get my 16 Hilton stays, but I don't see how I can take a pass on this one.

nice way to experience another hotel chain and if it is not your cup of tea, being able to credit back to Hilton.

--

What vehicle would you recommend for the transfer? Points.com?

You are allowed to transfer directly into the HHonors program, 1 AA mile equals 2 HHonors points. There is a link on the HHonors page that will tell you how. AA is the only airline you can do this with. Although I rarely fly AA (can't, really), I use them as my HHonors partner and for rental car points just so at some point I will be able to make a big transfer.

Since I don't fly AA, I didn't know about this program. Thanks. One question, I see there is a $30 charge to make an exchange. This isn't a dealbreaker, but is there a way around this? (possessing a certain CC, etc...)

Unfortunately no. No fee exemptions even for AA top-tier elites - I did a transfer ast year and had to pay the fee.

this was pretty good thinking to come up with this idea on someones part ^

You can do this cheaper

Hyatt Pace Phoenix North is $55.10 a weekend nite in June.

Get cert = $45 a nite

Cool! Thanks!

For future reference Hawaiian is a partner in the same manner:

http://www.hawaiianair.com/HawaiianM...ghtAwards.aspx

Don't get burned on Hawaiian, though: only flown miles can be transferred to HHonors. E.g., if you have transferred Amex points into HA, they cannot be again transferred to HHonors.

"Flown" or "earned"?

I have had no problem transferring miles to/from other family members as long as they've been "earned" and not transfered from another source.

Haven't tried the HH xfer yet, so just wondering if partner "earnings" are okay to xfer or does HA only allow flight miles to go to HH?

Talk about having your cake and eating it!

Earn precious Hilton points without having to deal with pitiful Hilton product!

Can't be beat....

HHonors points are far from being considered "precious," especially after the devaluation.

The only value in having the points is for redeeming them on the product, right? If the product is that pitiful then how would the points have value worth earning?

Qualitative issues aside, for the moment, with nearly all Hampton Inns that I'd want to stay at requiring 30,000 HHonors points - the realistic base for an HHonors free night - although I seldom fly AA, I'll take the flights.

I couldn't agree more. Although I must say I havent even looked at a Hyatt since ACA.

wow....this is great....may have to look at a few hyatt properties now....

I had never stayed at a Hyatt Place before, and since that's what these promotions are designed to do, it succeeded in getting me to try the product.

I would rate it a notch below a Hilton Garden Inn in some ways, better in others. The bathroom was too small, but the room had a divider and a nice sofa and a good desk, wetbar and fridge.

HGIs often tries to have a nice restaurant. Sometimes it falls woefully short. Most HGI bars have as their main goal to be completely closed by 10 p.m. It really makes me question management when I see a bartender chase away 15 or so eager customers so he can be sure to have the last drink poured and the cabinets locked at 10 p.m.

HP is set up so that the front desk staff also serves as bartenders and if need be food preparers. The menu is quite simple, mainly sandwiches, nachos, quesidillas and so forth, along with some nice deserts, ordered from a touch-screen kiosk. Most important, the bar and food service is open until midnight. For breakfast HP offered a free continental breakfast, although one could put in an order for a cooked breakfast.

Given a choice between the two, I'd be inclined to pick HP based almost totally on the bar service. While the HP service is far less "formal," it actually works better, and its there until midnight. Since I rarely check in until late, that's important to me. I wish HGI would take notice.

Following the devaluation, I am cashing out all my points at top-of-the-line properties (think Venice, Dubrovnik, Prague, Moorea). Then I am done with Hilton--adios!

Has it been confirmed that you can add all 3 promos together?

Kind of OT, but is there a way to see multiple days prices on Hyatt's site (similar to Hilton)? I can't seem to find it.

The fact that Hilton has properties in Venice, Dubrovnik and Prague, while also having Hamptons in virtually every Podunk town in America is part of what makes the program valuable to me. I just drove almost 500 miles and would have loved to have spent the night at a Hyatt because of the promotion. I simply couldn't because there wasn't one available anywhere. I probably passed by 15 or 20 Hampton Inns.

I'm not saying that Hilton doesn't have some problems which need to be addressed, but I think the hostility towards the program os a bit overblown.

OP this is a great post/thread.
Even assuming one wants only AA miles, I looked at properties around me and they cost 59$ + tax = 70$
with the Costco coupons, I get them for 60$ total x 5 = 300$. For 25k AA miles, this is not bad! Thanks

Lifetime AA Platinum status for $24,000 :)

Also the one great feature that all Hyatt Place properties has is a 42" HD TV. I would rate the best common feature at HGI as the Great American breakfast. It's not spectacular, but it's reasonably consistent and it beats HP's free breakfast (continental only, even for Diamonds).

The strangest feature at HP (either good or bad depending on personal opinion I guess), is how completely, uniformly alike the rooms are all the properties, no matter where they are. Starwood's Aloft by W is kind of like that too.

Be careful y'all... it's easy to get hooked on Hyatt! :D

Rebelyell
I think you address it well. I travel to the Houston are often and usually prefer Hobby as my airport. I can stay at more HH properties close to Hobby than Hyatt has in all of Houston. The fourth largesrt US city has a total of 4 Hyatt's!
Hyatt has to have a better program because they are second (or third) tier players. I think the Omni Hotel program is great, but only for those who can fit them into their schedules.
So this Hyatt program looks interesting, but IMHO the "little guys" have to try harder.

Too late! I am hooked when they start the promo.

If bar service is the most important criteria for you, then I understand your choice.

While I have stayed at quite a few HP's simply because they are affiliated with Hyatt Gold Passport, I really dislike them for many reasons:

1) Terrible breakfast (even if you buy the stuff they sell);
2) Bad bathrooms (even in new build properties);
3) Inability to watch tv from desk in most HP rooms (Some new build properties have a handful of rooms you can turn and see the TV from the desk. The HP concept photos I saw when they were first announced showed a small (13" or so) LCD tv on the desk to address this, so they obviously recognized it was an issue, but this part of the concept did not become reality in any of the HP's I've ever been in.);
4) General incompetence of HP staff in crediting miles and/or Diamond amenities to Gold Passport account properly;
5) Crappy HVAC systems in many of the properties I've stayed at (HGI's have wall mounted thermostats, HP's have them on the unit and they don't seem to work worth a crap in many of the HP's I've been in);
6) Nice 42" HD TV that more often than not has a terrible picture;
7) Lotion is not provided as a bathroom amenity (even Hampton Inn provides this on the Hilton side); and
8) To get down to brass tacks, the small closet door most properties have is inconvenient.

HP is a good concept but poorly implemented in my opinion. While HP is aimed at the same market as HGI, they are miles apart in my opinion.

^

And, unlike Intercontinental, you can earn for the higher properties (W-A, properties in expensive cities with a bad USD exchange rate like London) through stays in Podunk.

I like SPG, but they have maybe a dozen properties in my entire state. Hilton has over 100. That's a pretty impressive differential.

Also, I get a lot of points through CC spend - as a Gold Hilton member with MyWay set to Points & Points, and a Surpass cardholder, I earn a mindboggling 26:1 on spend at Hilton properties (and this is before promos, like the 500 points for booking online, 2500 for 1st 8 stays with Surpass, Q2 promo stay-4-get-one-free, etc.) With SPG, the point spread I earn from spend is going to top out at 2:1 - period, amen. There are no point multipliers on gas/grocery and no online spending mall, both of which Hilton has.

Can't believe how many people look only at the redemption chart without exploring the disparity in point-earn availability. I understand people feel the need to always compare their programs to see if there's something better out there, but I confess I often don't bother to read the constant Hilton-bashing posts or threads with groaning about the devaluation.

Huh? You can earn points at HIExpress and other PC properties for a stay at an IC.

For me the problem is not earning points but rather that the your elite status earned at anything but IC does not count at IC. One of the great benefits of the other hotel programs is that I earn my elite status mostly at mid-tier properties and then I get the benefits at top-tier properties when I'm on vacation.

I'd really hang onto the AA miles if you use this promo. I'd value 27.5k (what you will get for doing 5 stays) at $550. Worth a lot more than 55000 Hilton points (plus $30 to exchange).

They Hyatt Places are okay, I'd rate them between a Hampton and a HGI. However, since I can pay $50 all in for a night, and get a free night every two, plus these AA miles, it's a no brainer.

I traded 75k AA to 150k Hilton a couple of years ago, and really wish I could do a reverse trade. With the Hilton devaluation, I'd much rather have the AA miles.

Whatchutalkingaboutwillis?
 

Huh? Of course your status from stays at other PC hotels counts towards ICs.

If you're an RA, you can have 50 stays to earn it at HIX, and have three different IC stays (some of which can even be an award) and you'll have that status to use at IC. You certainly don't need all stays at an IC for the status to count.

Also, many hotels will give you upgrades based on your Ambassador/RA status. I regularly get suites at Crowne Plaza and a 1 level upgrade at Holiday Inn locations internationally. Domestically, you might not get much.

Hopefully you'll understand if I misunderstood the rules since they're not published, I just went back and boned up and see what you're saying, the consensus is that you would receive RA with 50 nights at any IHG hotel as long as those nights include stays at at least 3 IC chain hotels.

It's not as bad as I was thinking, but still a fairly steep requirement compared to other chains if you get a lot of one night stays (which I do, even without resorting to hotel-hopping for the sake of generating stays).

Well you can pay $150 and get Ambassador, and get a BOGO and 5k point cert. This will get you a one level upgrade plus some amenities and other spiffs.

There is quite a lot of evidence that free stays and even BOGO usage that counts towards your RA status too. And it's not stays that are counted, but total nights. No need to switch every night, unless you just want to maximize points.

As someone who was a Hilton Diamond for 4 years or so, I find that Hyatt and PC are much more rewarding than Hilton ever was. I had 20 nights at PC properties in April. With all the promotions going on, I earned almost 200k in points. That's enough for 20 free nights at lower end properties, or 5 nights at top end places. Or 40 free nights at Pointbreak hotels.

I use at least 20 free nights a year at PC properties. Often at high end properties. Including suites, and free minibars, even on award stays.

If you stayed at Hyatt properties and switched every night, you'd get 10 free nights, plus enough points for 2-5 nights depending on bonus miles. Hilton just doesn't measure up.

+1

Just being Plat with IHG doesn't get squat at IC's in my experience.

Being bestowed RA status is a hell of a lot of $/stays to get, I fully agree with beckles that it is not worth it (I think that is what she was trying to state) as I too do most of my stays at low/mid tier then redeem for high end, which IHG doesn't have a lot of.

For the past few years I decided to buy ambassador, really didn't see much of a benefit at IC properties IMO.

The fact that the BOGO now has to be booked through a special URL that IHG only allows best flex to be booked & controled capacity to me means that ambassador has just lost any appeal to me.

On that we can agree:) However they did suck me back into Diamond with the latest 7 stays promo, when I swore that I'd never become more than lowest tier with Hilton ever again after the good ole days in the 90's/early 2000's. Plus I guess it is better to burn the 400k HHonors I've got being a Diamond than a nothing.

This is clearly incorrect...........


Likewise, I too get a lot of points through CC spend - as a Gold SPG member and an SPG Amex cardholder, I earn a mindboggling 5:1 on spend at SPG properties. With HH, the point spread I earn from spend is going to top out at 10:1 - period, amen. (since I also like my Points & Miles)

And we all know 5 SPG pts are worth much more than 10 HH pts.

Not if you get a Surpass card, which gives you 9 points per dollar spent at Hilton all by itself.

As a Diamond spending at Hilton on the Surpass card, with some of the promos going, I'm getting a ton of Hilton points and free nights besides.