Am I correct in understanding that currently, Hyatt hotels booked via priceline.com *do* receive diamond amenities if you call and add your HGP number, but do *not* count as stays for status purposes?

Apologies if I overlooked something obvious, I didn't see any definitive clarification on PL and Hyatt.

Yes, that is my understanding. It has been my experience as well, as recently as mid-April.

It's great if you can get a Best Rate Guarantee where Hyatt matches the price (and goes 20% better). In that case, you get the advantage of the lower price _plus_ it earns points and stay credit. There's an entire thread in this forum on Best Rate Guarantee.

Thank you CloudCoder, that's a helpful datapoint.

You get Diamond benefits for any reservation, whatever channel you use. It's the points and stay credit that you won't get through most 3rd parties.

Couldn't find it in the FAQ (or missed it if it's there), but...

I've got a sudden trip coming up and need to grab a room. I've got sufficient points for all but one night; can I mix paid/points in the same reservation, or do I need to do it as two separate reservations?

Yes, you can certainly mix paid nights and award nights in the same reservation. If you wish, you can make separate reservations online, then call to have them combined. You don't really need to combined the reservations. I often handle this when I check in: simply inform the front desk that you have another reservation which starts immediately after the first one ends.

You'd need to call to make it under one reservation or do it online and then ask that the reservations be merged so that the property knows you are in for the whole period and hopefully you won't have to switch rooms.

I've never had to switch rooms when on multiple reservations. (I have had to get my keys re-issued sometimes, not always.)

Also, look into P+C rates, in case those are better than some points nights and some cash.

I haven't found it on a search or FAQ, sorry if it's been asked:
my last 2 stays have not posted to my account; I am missing 3 nights (checkout 10 days ago) and an additional 3 nights (checkout 3 days ago).

I need the stays and points posted to reach diamond and have enough points to book an award stay for this Thursday.

Is there any way to 'speed up' the posting of those stays? I sent an email to the hotel, I requested it to Hyatt online, but nothing happens.

Typically, stays post sometime the day after you checkout - I'm willing to bet that something went wrong with both stays, and the property coded it as ineligible (correctly if it was booked through a third party - or incorrectly) or deleted your GP number. What I would do is to have the folio in hand either to fax or scan and email. However, contact Hyatt customer service or Private Message the Gold Passport Concierge staff here on Flyertalk and expect to submit the folio in either case you can request to either fax or email the scan.

Change of date on award stays
 

On an upcoming trip to China I am not certain which day I will fly in. I have points I will be using and my two free nights from the hyatt credit credit card. If I make a reservation for an award stay with either points or free night certificates am I able to change the date after I make the booking or is it locked in? If I can change the booking date how long can I wait before it is too late to make a change?

If you have enough points, I would make multiple reservations: one for the date you might fly in, one for the days you know you'll be there, one for the day you might be there at the end. Then, when you know your travel plans, you can cancel the ones you don't want. Otherwise, if you try to change dates, the dates you want might no longer be available.

So I will easily be able to get the points back if I change my mind? Is there a cutoff time that I have to cancel by (does it have to be by phone or can I do it from my hyatt account online)? And finally would this also apply to being able to cancel the free stay certificates from the credit card signup if I reserve and then turn around and need to cancel last minute?

Each stay has its own cancellation terms which are clearly indicated in the reservation. Typically you avoid a penalty if you cancel 24 hours in advance. As a rule, if you made the reservation online then you can cancel it online. If you made the rez by phone then IME you must call by phone to cancel it. The previous advice you were given is quite good: Make three reservations: the days you might be there early, the days you'll be there for sure, and the days you might be there late. This gives you maximum flexibility.

Yes, you get the points back. There's a cutoff time, specified in the reservation; typically, something like 6 PM hotel time the day before arrival. But check carefully, because it can vary a lot (depending on whether the hotel thinks the time is interesting, it could be a week or more).

Generally, canceling certificates is the same as canceling points stays. You get the certificate back. If you have another time you already plan to use it, that helps; when you phone in, if they apply it to a new reservation it's easier to avoid it falling into a black hole.