OsakaWino

"and Beyond" refers to lifetime (and maybe possible to Courtesy Card), those who already have tier expiration beyond Feb. 2018.

RTW1

From the FAQ.....

When will I receive the four suite upgrade awards?

Current Hyatt Gold Passport members who are awarded Globalist status on March 1, 2017, will receive the four suite upgrade awards in their account in early March 2017. All other members will receive the awards at the time of achieving or re-achieving Globalist status by completing 60 Tier-Qualifying Nights or earning 100,000 Base Points within each calendar year. The four suite upgrade awards are valid for reservations with a checkout date no later than one year from the date of award issuance. These are electronic awards automatically deposited into a member’s account.

So yes, and next year you will receive them as soon as you re-qualify for the 60 nights. But still limited for use within a year, but at least the load will be spread somewhat. Just like we always expected when they implemented the current expiration rules for the DSU's. Just a year early .

shorthauldad

I'm sure the "stays Diamonds" will be happy to step up, all Hyatt needs to do is open a couple of thousand new properties to fill in the geographic gaps, before 1 March.

dchrist475

Long time lurker, had to create an account just to say this:

I have hopped from program to program trying to find the best deal.

And I am starting to think... maybe it does not exist anymore. From airlines and now to hotel chains, loyalty is not rewarded. It is all about $$$.

So I figure that I will take my $$$ and stay at the best hotel available for that time. No more planning trips around Delta airports and Hyatt locations. No more spending extra money at the end of the year just to re-qualify for Delta Platinum and Hyatt Diamond. I will take that money and book the best I can afford.

If I want a suite, I'll pay for it. If I want first class, I'll pay for it. I just can't justify the hassle for little to no value.

My husband and I are staying at the Park Hyatt in Chicago and having Thanksgiving dinner there. Im using FHR to get my upgrade, free breakfast, 4PM late checkout, and $100 off dinner. Middle finger to Hyatt status - and Delta status for that matter. I am officially DONE!!!

westlaker

For current diamond members, regardless how many nights you stay, there is only 4 months left to earn 1W bonus and lounge closed 2.5k bonus. Buried under all the bad news, this is a significant devaluation. Even for Diamond who can achieve 60 nights, you earn a lot less points. Hyatt wants you to stay more but giving you less points.

jpdx

We're talking about Hyatt here. Right now it's all about thinning the herds of bottom-feeding 25-stay Diamonds, but come January, the focus may well shift back to attracting those coveted Choice Privileges or Best Western elite members, and naturally they'd have to be status matched to Golbalist until February 2019.

ZBigFam

Love this post!! You sum up my feelings EXACTLY!

Welcome to FT btw!

RTW1

I don't :-). Loyalty with a company is just business, for both parties....

Most people will look at the benefits vs expenses. It's just the marketing that makes us believe we are special, and it's a rude wake up call when it becomes clear we are not :-).

dchrist475

Im just having a hard time seeing the "benefits". And I guess I finally woke up.

ZBigFam

I agree it's business, but when the marketing says "we designed this for you!" it feels disingenuous and condescending.

If this was a pure business move (which i know it is), i would much rather have them say:

"because of the competitive landscape we are adjusting our offerings to be consistent with our competitors. While we tried to minimize the impact to all, we realize that a large portion of you will be impacted negatively. While we apologize for this, we have a responsibility to maximize shareholder value."

We are all (most of us) business travellers and can understand and appreciate this. It's when we are treated like idiots that I take exception.

josephstern

Loyalty is all about $$$. You say loyalty isn't rewarded, just dollars. But it's the spending of dollars that incentivizes the program to reward your loyalty. I don't see the difference.

Next, you are comparing Delta and Hyatt, and while I see the comparison in many ways, I think you might be doing the wrong thing to give up on Delta if your reasoning is the same as for giving up on Hyatt.

Delta is part of an oligopoly. Hyatt is not.

If you want to fly across an ocean, especially from the US, there are a limited number of options. If you want to fly within the US, there are even fewer - pretty much always fewer than 10, and between any two cities, more likely 3-5. You have to choose one of them.

If you want to stay in a bed anywhere, there are just tons of options - chains, independents, AirBnB, VRBO, etc. They can all be bare-bones or luxury or any level you desire in between.

But if you're getting there on a plane, you're very limited in your choices.

LASUA1K

Exactly! How can they go to 60 nights a year with 1/8 the amount of hotels as it's competitors. I would be ok, if they left it at 50 nights a year and did without the 25 stays. 50 Nights is still a bit hard to do with Hyatt in certain markets.

This year, I will have 80 Marriott Nights and 42 Hyatt nights with a few Omni hotels thrown in.

dchrist475

I think you may have missed my point. I am giving up on the loyalty programs of Hyatt and Delta. The next time I need a flight, I will comparison shop and choose the best option at that time. Previously, I would ONLY look at Delta and Hyatt and choose destinations that were convenient just so I can be loyal to those programs to reap their "rewards". I'm not doing that anymore.

For example, I booked a business class flight to Dubai on Delta/KLM with a 5 hour layover in Paris just so I wouldn't "waste" the $4000 rewards dollars and the MQMs to qualify for next years status. But I could have taken a non-stop flight from Chicago to Dubai on Emirates for a few hundred dollars less. Pretty foolish of me.

From now on, I will choose the best airline/flight combination without thinking about rewards programs.

ZBigFam

Again, this is exactly what i have done in the past, and still find myself doing now. I will do this much less for Hyatt for sure!

Miesque

There have been a waves of Anti-Globalism sentiment sweeping elections and Hyatt decides to call its top level Globalist. Might have as well called it Imperalist. Actually this whole thing is so tone dead (including the failed link) that it makes me question who the hell is running things at this company (or more accurately not running things).