That's why I said the offer has grey area. The blogger who posted the link changed the URL to put Santa Claus in there. The name and point total are just plain text encoded in the URL. They aren't part of the offer. It's just a mechanism to populate the web page with your name from the email, but the fine print and the landing page don't refer to it being targeted.

So, grey area.

No, that's not the case. While it's true that the URL did have pre-populated, targeted name and point values, the link worked for everyone and the offer said nothing about being limited to only those who received the email, which is the fine print that usually accompanies targeted offers.

One could reasonably assume, as I did, that this was just a programmer's clunky attempt at personalizing a landing page, but NOT necessarily making a targeted offer. At no point is the information from the URL actually used for anything other than display in the HTML interface.

Anyway, this is some serious grey area here. Probably something where there is no correct legal answer. Again, I'm only talking about the legality of it, not what's "deserved" or other philosophy.

By searching on Google and clicking on a resulting link.

You hit the nail on the head. I thought this thread has been rather silly, but decided to chime in and see what the fuss was all about.

This was a targeted offer. Someone decided to post the private link on a forum and everyone thought they could take advantage of it.

My argument is this, if Hyatt decided to offer Santa Claus lifetime diamond status because he is a frequent traveler, (especially on Christmas) and Santa Claus decides to share this benefit to his elves by forwarding the email & link. Does that mean all of his elves deserve to be diamond members as well because they got the link?

I think Hyatt has every right to target Santa Claus. If SC decides to share the link to all of his elves, it's not Hyatt or Chase's fault and they are not obligated to honor the benefit, that was originally for SC. If you do not like the way Hyatt does business, by treating SC better than his elves, then don't give Hyatt your business.

It's funny how this largely seems to be a gray area to the people hoping to get something they weren't entitled to. It seems pretty black & white to me that the targeted offer was the email from Chase/Hyatt, not a hacked link.

I still think the easiest solution for Chase/Hyatt is issue the cards with diamond status, the immediately cancel the card (and along with it diamond status) which is entirely within their rights.

Sorry... but unless you received an email from Hyatt or clicked on the link on Hyatt.com, it's not legit. Finding a link on a forum does not constitute legitimate offer from Hyatt. The original offer was for someone else, not you.

True that.

I don't agree with your suggestion, since that will mean bad PR. They are doing the right thing by ignoring these people and denying their request.

^ Exactly!

That's not how reasoning works. There was no way to know we "weren't entitled to it" ahead of time. I fully agree that in hindsight that's the reality. But at the moment when it happened, this was pretty straightforward. It appeared to be an unpublished landing page (which is something we here at FT use often) that offered better terms than the regular landing page.

This landing page also had a pre-populated name that got there as a URL parameter in plain text. That's not the mechanism by which I've ever seen a targeted offer done. I'm a programmer, and if you were too you might realize how the term "hack" doesn't really apply here.

This is getting repetitive. The reality is, it was a legit offer with grey area due to this strange landing page, which redirects to a legit page at Chase. They didn't honor their terms. The end.

I'm stuck with that, and that's all. I am merely reporting facts. I'm not whining.

But the offer was not meant for you. It was meant for someone else, who decided to share it with the public. As someone who saw this link, you thought you could take advantage of it. I get that... because if I saw it, I would have also applied for the credit card if I got lifetime Diamond status. But Hyatt did not send it to you, nor did they intended to. You clicked on a link that was on a forum, not Hyatt or Chase's website. Someone else made this public without Hyatt/Chase's consent. Nothing illegal about that, but H/C does not have to honor something that was not directed to you. They did nothing wrong.

That's my argument. I'm not going to post anymore because we both have our opinions on this.

When you run out of arguments, always dig back in to your personal beliefs.

fishy21's post sounded like a very clear argument/line of reasoning to me. Like I said, this issue seems a lot more black & white when you don't have a horse in the race.

Well, good luck to your endeavor. Maybe if you push hard and long enough, Hyatt or Chase will give in.

Your implication is not appreciated. None of my arguments have been tainted by "having a horse in the race." I've been making logical arguments from the beginning. The issue grows tiresome to reiterate.

For anyone reading the thread, you've got the facts. This was certainly an interesting case.

Exactly. Anyone who thinks a Santa Claus offer should be taken seriously.. Well, its self explanatory.

Its disappointing that the deal isn't honoured upon successful application. There were those targeted who's having the deal honoured. Sure would have liked to be one of those targeted. But to click on a link with Santa Claus on it, is grabbing for straws. Sure its worth a try, but hyatt is quite clear that they will not honor the Santa Claus offer.