Dad to GO

With the new Mlife relationship starting tomorrow and the ability to presumably get stays for as cheap as the $20-30 per night range my question is fairly simple. What do you value the Hyatt Diamond Status? The upgrades are amazing, the free breakfast is nice... but how much are you willing to pay for it? $1000? $2000?? Just curious what everyone's opinions are. Personally I think paying between $800-1000 is definitely reasonable with the perks you'll receive for the next year.

Thoughts, opinions?

SMK77

How much the status is worth is highly depended on how much you value the perks.

You don't use points? Too bad you get 15%. You don't eat breakfast? Too bad it's free. Suites don't mean anything to you? 4 vouchers down the drain.

The more you stay and the more you appreciate certain flexibilities, the more the status is worth.

tom911

There's no way in the world I can match that. My lowest rates tend to average $80-100 on weekends in the Bay Area, Sacramento, or Washington, D.C., with occasional higher priced stays between $125-160 (this year in Hong Kong, Seattle, Chicago and Indianapolis). I'm a leisure traveler and have lots of flexibility.

As Hyatt points are based on dollar spend, and I understand no Diamond amenity points in Las Vegas, you're really not going to have a lot to work with in terms of award redemptions on a $1,000 total spend. Are you planning any paid stays outside of Las Vegas to take advantage of Diamond perks?

Boraxo

+1 I have some business stays but not enough to qualify for Diamond. There is no way to do cheap mileage runs here in SF area. But maybe I should look for opportunities in SoCal which is not too far. Or just take a week off and take a vacation at a cheapo suburban property in flyover country.

mattsteg

If your stay patterns are such that you need to mattress run the full qualifying...then it's not worth much unless you're sitting on a whole boatload of points.

Value is fully dependent on where, when, and jow frequently you stay in hyatts, and also how you pay for those stays.

Dad to GO

I am merely talking about using Las Vegas as a way to put you over the top with those extra stays needed to hit Diamond. I don't travel for work but mostly leisure. I can get about 12-15 stays a year on my own at Hyatt locations. But... since I can get to Vegas for cheap (less than $150 round trip) is it worth it for those extra 10 stays needed to hit Diamond? We do plan on more international travel next year where there are Hyatt locations and really enjoy the breakfast and room upgrade perks (among others). Having said that I think that over a year span we would get way more value from the perks than the $800-1000 it would cost to get those extra stays needed in Vegas to qualify for Diamond.

DougDons

If you're able to get a room that cheap and airfare that cheap, I'd say go for it especially since you are planning international travel. Plus, its not like you are doing a mattress run to the middle of nowhere, Vegas has a couple things to do and see...

My problem wouldn't be the travel expenses doing mattress runs to Vegas, it would be the blackjack tables...

Radiant Flyer

Hyatt seriously needs to add a revenue component in order to qualify for an elite level.

$750 for platinum
$5,000 for Diamond

As a Diamond who spends on average $8,000 to $15,000 (my room only) a year at Hyatt it cheapens the elite level when you have someone who is a Diamond that only generated $1,000 in revenue to achieve that status.

But in the end.... they know how much you spend, not all Diamonds are treated the same.

mreplus

I spent just shy of 10k last year at Hyatts on my own dime as a leisure traveler, and I am not even close to being a Diamond. It remains the most irritating aspect of my otherwise very fruitful relationship with the company.

iflyjetz

You're suggesting that someone can hit Diamond by staying $1000/25 = $40/night? Find me $40/night rooms on a regular basis. I think that the cheapest room I ever got was more than $60 in an out of the way location.

Now let's think about what you're saying. Someone who's staying at Hyatt Place all of the time is NOT going to have any negative impact on your Hyatt Regency/Park Hyatt stays because you live in a different world than them; they will never visit those 'fancy' hotels.

Your $10K annual spend is an average of $400/night if you make 25 one night stays. Or $200/night for 50 nights. You should be able to hit Diamond if you strategically plan your stays.

I squeaked by with 25 nights/stays to make Diamond last year, including two mattress run nights at the local Hyatt Place for $80/night plus tax. I think I spent ~$5000 - all out of my own pocket. But there was some hotel hopping in order to achieve those 25 stays.
I won't make Diamond this year; I only have 3 nights/stays so far this year plus a couple of free nights from the Hyatt card.

I think the cheapest you could reasonably achieve Diamond is with ~$2500 spend if you don't travel to Vegas during certain weeknights and book a room at the Excalibur. Of course if you've got to travel to Vegas in order to get those discounts, the true cost is much higher for a semi-mattress run.

But to answer the OP's question - I'd value Diamond status at around $500/yr; $20/night.


Edit: Wow; I just took a look at some rates in Vegas. You could string together a few weeknight stays hotel hopping to earn stay credits. I'll be moving to Vegas late next year so I can see where my mattress runs will be getting VERY cheap.

antonius66

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people need to stop worrying about constantly requiring validation through supposedly elite statuses. Who cares what other people have, don't worry about it. it doesn't make you less "special". also, as stated the people who spend 1200 dollars a year to be diamond are not staying in a $500/night hotel and aren't diminishing your benefits so get over it.

Dad to GO

Haha... exactly. But I agree you can't do it too cheap. I don't plan on spending less than $1000 for my stays. I was just curious what people valued the status at. Considering I'll probably be 10 or so stays short of Diamond is it worth it for me to plan a few trips to Vegas where you can get rooms in the $30 range in order to get those extra 10 stays by alternating hotels night to night.

iflyjetz

Don't forget to add in the resort fees! That makes the $30/night room go to $50/night.

mariobey

Here's our well-timed diamond challenge at about $875 all in.

Sun-Fri (5 nights) at Excalibur = $272.xx (includes resort fee/taxes)

Fri-Sun: Staying at a friend's house in Vegas and meeting his new baby.

Sun-Fri: (5 nights) at Excalibur = $283.xx (includes resort fee/taxes)

Fri-Sun: (2 nights) Splurging two nights when wife visits on a decent rate at Vdara at $320.xx (includes resort fee/taxes)

Total all-in for Diamond challenge/status through Feb 2015: $875.xx

We could do it for $100 cheaper if we stayed at Excalibur those last two nights, but she's only coming for a getaway and I think Vdara will be better.

Only play poker and usually win there though not guaranteed, but stay away from the house edge games, so this is part mattress run diamond challenge, part visit friends, and part leisure for poker.

Radiant Flyer

You have a lot to learn.... Yes they know what you SPEND... The hotels have access to your account, they see the revenue points you earn and the bonus points.. in the end it's all about REVENUE....
Get a clue why they have a revenue manager, they keep track on how much their frequent guest SPEND and reward them....

I know this first hand...as there are certain hotels I direct a lot of $$$ to... and I get well taken care of. I get a phone calls from the revenue manager before I arrive!!!, not the GM but a revenue, or rooms manager to make sure I'm taken care of. HAHA!