iluvdoco

Thanks for that fun fact about Tony Chi! We also loved the interior furniture selection in the Georgetown Suite; most of it is by Thos Moser if anyone is curious. The tri-level cherry coffee table was gorgeous.

ABG

Unfortunately, the 15% off promo at this specific property isn't matching up with Prive (and then I suppose FHR too based on your posts)
The breakfast and room upgrade would come to you anyways with your HY status so the value is, as you note, barely there
It does have a more aggressive 72hrs cancel policy (vs the normal 24hrs) in exchange for the discount.

Adelphos

Booking junior suite with Amex FHR tomorrow night - how likely is an upgrade to the next category suite?

Adelphos

What about when you have $400 of Amex FHR credits for a $400 night

WasKnown

You can’t stack FHR credits from multiple plats on 1 reservation. Even with the free credit, I wouldn’t burn FHR on Hyatt if the FHR rate is more expensive than the Prive rate. It’s not really a $200 credit if you’re forced to book a rate that’s $50 more expensive 😉

After using FHR extensively post-July (mostly for the 5x MR which is especially OP on Marriott stays), I am still just not a fan. Pricing is equivalent to other preferred agents at best and much more expensive at worst. I also genuinely feel my upgrade experience with FHR is worse (and of course, Prive and even sometimes Virtuoso allow for confirmed upgrades on booking)

Adelphos

I have two $200 credits on the same card - travel credit from last year plus the new $200 hotel credit.

I don’t have a Prive account just yet, but I don’t see the downside of FHR for my stay tomorrow - just need one night, have a Junior Suite booked, don’t even expect an upgrade but if I get one, fine

TravelingChef

I can't speak to current rates on Hyatt or FHR at PH D.C., but pre pandemic I regularly did 1-night weekend stays there and the FHR rate at the time was always identical to the best Hyatt rate, so obviously FHR was a no-brainer because of the $100 credit.

Every time I was upgraded to either Ambassador or Georgetown Suite. Though I imagine that had little to do with FHR or Globalist and more to do with me befriending the front desk folks because I was there so often and my stays were always off-peak times and just for one night.

Adelphos

Yeah - for roughly a 24 hour stay tonight, getting 2,200 MR points, a $100 property credit, free breakfast for two, access to pool/steam room/gym, and at least a junior suite for ~$38 out of pocket net seems like a steal. I could have just booked the nearest Courtyard or whatever next to my destination using a Marriott credit or whatever but want to splurge a but for this particular night

WasKnown

The general $200 travel credit doesn’t have to be used on FHR! You can use it for flights too so I wouldn’t go out of my way to burn that on a FHR stay if it doesn’t otherwise work out.

Not really sure what you mean for a Prive account but you book Prive through a preferred agent that participates in their program. The other plus is that the agent can advocate on your behalf for pre-arrival arrangements, upgrades, etc.

FHR is fine IF the price is the same. The difference in benefits is usually not that big of a deal (especially if you’re not fixated on upgrades) unless you are booking through something like the Centurion Hotel program. It is also elite qualifying for WoH.

With all that being said, I fail to see how there is a reason to actively book with FHR over Prive. Maybe if you value the MR over the WoH points (which is completely reasonable imo)? Otherwise FHR seems the same as Prive at best and just a more expensive and worse Prive at worst. I don’t want to spend time figuring out which it is for each booking I make (especially if I’m trying to get multiple spa credits for 1 stay with a P2).

I tried a bunch of FHR stays in July out of curiosity (and to see if they are elite qualifying for different loyalty programs). Overall, I do feel my upgrades with FHR were worse. I also need to reach out directly to the hotels vs. just having my agent do it for me. Also, I do value the confirmed upgrades on booking highly with Prive.

For Hyatt and Hilton, I just don’t think FHR makes sense. For Marriott, I can see the argument for it given that STARs is not great and 5x MR earning on Marriott stays is insane vs. 6x Bonvoy. However, if there is an option for a Marriott Virtuoso confirmed upgrade upon booking (ie confirming into a massive Grand Suite at the St. Regis New York the moment you pay for the base room), I will still gladly do Virtuoso over FHR.

TL;DR: FHR is at best the same as other preferred agent programs and at worst much worse.

scubadu

Good grief, you are way, way over thinking this particular corner case. The poster has two, not one, but two, $200 credits (that is $400!) that should stack, for a ONE night reservation, plus the $100 property credit. It's hard to envision any pricing scenario where the Prive or member rate on Hyatt.com would beat a $500 head start on a one night stay.

Furthermore, get that FHR may not work for you, but frankly, not everyone likes working with travel agents (yes, even Prive ones). One thing I appreciate about FHR is I don't have to deal with anyone. My needs are often quite simple, I don't necessarily need (or particularly want) a "relationship" with an agent. With FHR, I can book it online, seamlessly, without needing to interact with a human being. I can change my mind quickly. I can cancel and re-book when/if rates drop (again, without the friction of reaching out to a human). I also tend to book the room I want/need, so an upgrade is nice, but not imperative.

I've been using FHR for probably 10-12 yrs, and certainly, I agree it's not as good on the pricing side as it used to be, but there are times, particularly when there are complimentary night promos, where the math can come close to working (not always, for sure, but sometimes). Adding in the new $200 credit sometimes is the lynch pin that does make the math work.

There are also other differences that matter to some, even if they don't matter to you. You seem to be over indexed on upgrades, but as mentioned, some of us simply book the room we want. Often, based on where we are going and the time of our returning flights, a guaranteed late check-out is quite meaningful and important to us. Virtuoso does not included a guaranteed late check out (its "if available") and Hyatt Prive doesn't guarantee a late check out. FHR does. That matters to me on a occasion. In all my years using FHR, I've never had a late check-out request denied (and some have been exceedingly generous, like 6PM).

TL;DR: Your wants/needs/priorities/desires are not, ipso facto, everyone else's wants/needs/priorities/desires.

Regards

WasKnown

Sure. To each their own. Whether FHR > Prive is entirely dependent on their own preference (as I stated) for the benefits difference and even the points preference.

My point is just that you are not getting a $200 credit if you are booking a rate that is actually more expensive than your alternative. I fail to see a reason to book FHR when it’s more expensive.

The Amex travel credit is not a FHR credit (but it can be used for FHR). The FHR credit actually locks you in but that’s only $200 per reservation.

Adelphos

In this particular case, we were considering a three night reservation or a 1 night reservation. My original idea was a Hotel Collection property near Logan Circle that was offering book two nights, get one free (they had the same offer on their website). My travel credits would have worked for that. But a weird thing is that Hotel Collection works only for two or more nights while FHR works for one night bookings. So when we decided just to do one night, FHR made sense

I to tend to use FHR, everything is online and easy to monitor

scubadu

The poster, Adelphos, asked a very simple question. It was:
You largely ignored that question and turned it into a personal debate about the merits of FHR vs. other programs (ok, you touched on upgrades, tangentially at best)

You were making a point that was never actually raised, except by you. Without even confirming, you assumed that the poster was booking a worse rate, but again, you seem to completely disregard that the poster's one night FHR reservation had an ~$500 head start vs. Hyatt.com or Prive (which would require booking the "standard rate" not the member rate). Perhaps the math didn't work, I don't know for sure, but you don't either, unless you actually confirm. But with a $500 head start, I'm betting the math worked ok on a one night stay.

Agreed. But... and its a pretty important but, I think the poster made clear that this reservation was what he wanted to use both of those credits on. Again, you are assuming, without actually asking, that the poster has a "better and higher purpose" for the $200 Amex Travel credit than this reservation, but you never actually asked that. Furthermore, I actually did use the $200 credit on a flight and it turned into a mess when I had to change/cancel the flight etc. It would have been much, much easier to have booked direct with the airline and been able to deal directly with the airline, rather than Amex, in that case. I actually wish I'd used it on an FHR reservation...

Regards

WasKnown

Relax. I don’t know why you’re so worked up over this lol. People are free to make their own decisions AND they will. Very difficult to convince people online to change how they earn their money and how they should spend it. I am just saying that *IME*, FHR CAN be more expensive for negligible benefit (if any at all). Therefore, I personally (not saying you have to copy me lol) do not care about price shopping between preferred agent programs. If you have a $200 FHR credit to burn, of course it makes sense to use FHR (that’s why I did so many FHR stays in July lol). However, I’m just saying that you are not getting a $200 credit if you’re forced to book a rate that is more expensive than your alternative. I don’t think this is disputable at all. Is it better than not using the credit at all? Sure. Would it be better to spend that credit on a FHR stay where the price is the same? Absolutely.

The $200 Amex Travel credit can be used for ANYTHING through Amex’s OTA. Not just FHR hotels (non FHR/HC has price match) and not just flights. Sounds like your experience with Amex Travel on flights was negative. Sure. But per your own advice, you should not apply your own experience and opinion onto… everyone else.

Adelphos

Checking into PH DC in a couple of hours, will write a review after. Haven’t been much of a Hyatt person historically besides on a one off basis, looking forward to staying with them more