DHalltheway

I think Kuantan is closer than singapore and at 100+ USD a night it is not that bad. of course you can't compare it to the sub 100 USD a night hyatt in the US

price123

Travelling mostly in the UK and Germany, it is almost impossible to get enough stays. The Churchill is usually around 360 dollars/night even at weekends, the Andaz and Birmingham maybe 200 dollars/night. I am lucky to have got a status match and had some great times with Hyatt but I can't maintain it. The cheapest 25 1 night stays would cost 5000 dollars - not money I have to throw on mattress runs. I spend much more than this on hotels and in Hyatts annually but I don't want to have all my trips in one hotel. If only HGP was like Hilton and would let you requalify on base points I may be able to (depending on the number needed). I do feel it is somewhat unfair that someone in the US can attain diamond status on about a 1500 dollar spend.

DHalltheway

+1

not to mention the costco promo!

CanuckinKL

+++^^

taipeiflyer

i say tough luck. US members have more difficulty maintaining status with certain programs like Accor. With frequent flyer programs, UK members have access to the BD credit card which US members do not have access to. There are pluses and minuses with respect to location for every loyalty program. I maintain hyatt diamond, spg plat and IC RA 100% on my own dime. if it is important, you figure out a way. if you would rather spend your money on other things, that is your choice, but dont complain about how much easier US-based members have it. An EU-based member whose company pays for his stays has it easier than a US-based member who funds their travels out of their own program. Everything is relative.

rfrost

I'd have phrased it differently, but I agree with the theme. It's a lot easier for EU-based members, for example, to be BA Gold than US members (800 TPs versus 1500!).
As has been discussed previously on this board and elsewhere on FT, if Hyatt-- or any other program--doesn't work well for you, you should probably find one that does. The fact remains that Hyatt has precious few props in Europe--and the ones it has tend to be preciously priced. (FWIW, I've been finding weekend rates at the Andaz under 100 GBP--admittedly higher than those DFW or WAS weekend rates, particularly when the soon-to-be-20% VAT gets added on, but I'd need a plane/train to get to them and then a car to drive to the WAS ones, at least--you can get to the Andaz by tube.)

price123

Yeah obviously when something is important you do your best to maintain it. I only travel for leisure, yet will spend up to £10,000 on a summer holiday plus around £1000 on numerous weekends. Yet this may only be 12-15 stays and maybe 20-30 nights. I don't stay in Hiltons because the ones I have been to have been crap and the lounges are cheap. It is easier in general for US members (and probably other nationalities) to earn status because prices are lower (I have never found a rate below £100 excluding let alone including 20% tax at a Hyatt or Intercontinental). I really appreciate the perks of having status thus have to switch from one brand to another taking advantage of status matching or double stay credits. I would rather stay in one brand only (Hyatt or IC) but could never earn more than mid-tier.

Also, with regards to airlines it's swings and roundabouts. US members could get 100k BA miles for the credit card. When I applied I think I got 1000 though OH just got 18k. Time and time again, credit card sign up bonuses are more generous to US members, just as they tend to be more generous to UK members than DE members of a scheme.

I don't think status should be made harder to get in some countries. I just think there should be more options for earning status.

VWE

no more double-stays promos please
The lobbies are already littered with NERDs (Not Even Real Diamonds)

notquiteaff

No more FFN promos please. The lobbies of PHs are already littered with CHPRs (Cheap Hyatt Place Runners).

Actually that's not my opinion, but I think it's just as valid of a concern as your NERD concern. After all those NERDs can't possibly litter the lobbies all that much if they don't have a lot of stays.

Oh, and (looking at your FT profile) no more UA 90-day challenges, please... our aircraft are already littered with lightweight elites

amgt123

Has a tiered FFN ever occurred? Example, if you have two stays, you get a free reward based on the average of the two categories-- staying at a cat 6 and a cat 1 would get a free night in a cat 3 or lower, staying at a cat 5 and cat 4 would get a free night in a cat 4 or lower.

notquiteaff

I think that would make redemption a bit of a nightmare when you have a bunch of free nights that are eligible at different categories. Might be easier to give bonus points based on the category of the properties you stayed at. But from a pure marketing perspective the simplicity of the standard FFN can't be beat. Two stays anywhere give you a free night anywhere.

SkiUtah

If Hyatt were to do a restriction it would be like redeem at any category 1-4 hotel for example. This principal is EXACTLY what marriott does to its Credit card people so they cant flood the best properties! It also leaves much more availability for people who have saved up the points to have a chance of redemption without huge far in advance bookings against a sea of FFN and CC people. I really think that Hyatt should have put a cat 1-4 restriction on the CC people at least the ones who arn't platinum or diamond.

Mary2e

I'm going to guess that there's not going to be an FFN promotion that starts Jan 1, as has in the past.

Usually by now, we would have some indication that something was coming - and perhaps even a leak or two that FFN would be starting up again soon. No detail - but just a hint.

This year there isn't even a whisper..

oc2005

There has never been tier restrictions as long as I've been participating in FFNs. There have been restrictions of other varieties though; the restrictions I remember are:
-there were a couple of properties that didn't allow FFN redemptions (Madeleine and at least one other).
-they used to restrict mid week non-resort FFN redemptions to a minimum of three nights
-there used to always be a restriction on the type of credit card used for FFN earning (Usually Mastercard but also AMEX at least once).
-there used to be more capacity controls on FFNs (and award nights).

Given the new Hyatt credit card is a Visa, that would be a logical restriction for a future FFN earning period: require either the Hyatt Card or a Visa card in general.

klakhav

Would love to see a FFN promo kicking off the new year on Jan 1st.

Hope someone at Hyatt is listening as this can be a great way to generate revenue in the slow months of the year!