GUWonder

The credit card benefit of 2 award nights at any property in the world is not going to help with award availability at higher end properties at peak time.

TravelGuy1965

Based on the past mutual gift ratios on CC I think this isn't true for most people. SPGs usually are at 1.5-2.0 per mile whereas GPs are usually ~1.0 - 2.2 per mile. And now that Hyatt GPs will be even more plentiful the value will go down to many people. So I put 1GP/$ quite a bit below 1SPG/$. And the deval this year was - IMO - most likely to anticipate the higher number of GPs floating around with a CC. So net, I think the CC is a big bummer.

Wish they either made it more appealing for diamonds or didn't do it at all.

mnmag

No program can only 'cater' to their top tier members -- there has to be incentive for lower tier members to increase their business! Obviously each customer needs to assess what their 'needs' are and what works for them! Fortunately there are choices out there! ^

Clearly no one is 'forced' to apply for the cc & if anyone feels that the Hyatt GP program is 'diminished' by same -- there's nothing stopping anyone from moving their patronage! As we all know -- nothing is 'static' -- so when things change -- one always has choices at their disposal!

I think it's so unfortunate that this card is only available to US residents -- since there are clearly many non-US Hyatt GP members! However Hyatt chose to only offer the card through Chase, at this point in time.

sy7

Overall, I think that this is a pretty good Visa card, and I will definitely be applying for one. The SPG AMEX still gives richer rewards (not surprising given that AMEX has higher fees in general) but there are merchants that don't take AMEX.

I actually don't think there will be a similar free night renewal bonus like the PC Chase card. PC still has capacity controlled award room redemptions, so they can somewhat limit the cost of that free night. Maybe Hyatt can say that if you have x# of stays per year paid for on the card, or if you spend above a certain amount, you will get a free night upon renewal? This rewards both loyalty to Hyatt and spend on the credit card.

peteropny

There needs to be some "renewal"/"retention" bonus though - the signup bonus is decent - ongoing points are ok but not that great. Without some sort of an annual "bonus", many people will just signup and cancel the card before 1 year.

At least they didn't allow Diamond status based on spend that was a concern in the forum in earlier discussion.

mnmag

+1!^

londonienne

Big thumbs down to Hyatt as this card is tantamount to a second dilution of Diamond benefits!

Others may call me disloyal, but I don't appreciate the concurrent assault on our point balances through redemption level increases and the mass printing of Hyatt currency with this credit card without ANY sort of enhancements. And award availability during peak season? Not counting on it. Perhaps they could (at the very least) increase the total percentage of bonus points per stay from 30% to 50% or 70% (30% has always struck me as being extremely low) for having the highest level of elite status to counteract the dilution. (Though Hilton had no problems screwing over its elites with striking alacrity, I really did expect something better from Hyatt.) Yes, this would further increase the number of points, but at least Diamonds would retain the same piece of the pie. Or alternatively, they could create Diamond-only award availability à la United 1K.

In sum, I'm now canceling my future reservations with Hyatt and reevaluating my hotel spend. The dozen or so stays I gave the chain post-BWB earning were, frankly, a mistake.

GUWonder

If Hyatt wants to protect award availability for Diamond members, then one way for Hyatt to do that would be to allow Diamond award bookings to be made into higher category room type(s) at the standard award price -- I'm not counting on this happening.

The primary concern for me has been what this credit card means for the value of points earned from stays at the hotel -- the name of that game is devaluation risk, and that's only been realized in part so far.

bwerber

Does anyone have any thoughts or additional color on if the points earned through spending on the credit card will be counted as base or bonus points? (The impact this would have on achieving Lifetime Diamond status)

nnn

Can someone please explain what makes SPG points generally worth so much more than Hyatt points? SPG category 6 is 20K a night, while Hyatt category 6 is 22K a night. Aren't these more or less a wash? Or does SPG's 5th night free make it a clear winner?

LIH Prem

GP credits 5 points per $ for eligible spend at properties. (plus tier bonuses)
SPG credits 2 points per $ for eligible spend at properties. (plus tier bonuses)

I guess if you are just going by redemption value, they seem to be getting closer these days. Yes, the 5th night free is great value, but I don't think it's offered on Cat 6, your example.

(plus the stuff ctownflyer mentions in the next post.)

-David

ctownflyer

-SPG has great cash and points awards.

-20,000 SPG converts to 25,000 miles
20,000 Hyatt coverts to 8,000 miles.

LIH Prem

Yep, good point, ctownflyer.

-David

notquiteaff

I don't think I got anything for keeping my HHonors and SPG Amex after one year. And my UA VISA didn't offer me anything (other than a worthless zone fare cert) either. Not saying there aren't other cards that do offer a retention bonus, but I don't think it's a must-have. Certainly would be nice from a future customer's perspective, though

LIH Prem

Yeah, we get the 50% off thing for the SPG Amex. Don't have the HHonors card, so can't comment there. I guess the 50 off rack rate thing isn't great, but it's something, and some people have used it. Anyway, the fee is like half for the SPG card, isn't it? I think my Marriott Visa also from Chase gives me a free night per year.

Peteropny's point is that without the 2 free nights, there really isn't a lot of benefit in keeping the card after the 1 year, unless they offer some sort of retention bonus. I agree with Peteropny.

They seem to be hinting at something. (gleff's blog post: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfr...er-promotions/)

I'm just hoping that future FFN or other promos are not tied to the card, otherwise anybody forced to use corp cards will not be able to participate. This is a real concern based on past practices by GP/Hyatt.

-David