Hyatt

January 20, 2015

Point & Center: $400 Flights to Italy, American Express Transfer Bonus to Virgin America, Last Call for Hyatt Reservations & More!

Sorry for the lack of post the past few days – I was down in Aruba for the long weekend and my schedule didn’t allow me to post any of the news going on from the past week or so. Here is quick roundup of some of the more notable news and developments that I missed.

1. 35% American Express Transfer Bonus to Virgin America – American Express is offering a 35% transfer bonus for all transfers of American Express Membership Rewards points to Virgin America. The normal transfer ratio is 2 Membership Rewards points to 1 Virgin America Elevate point (2:1) so with this promotion, it becomes 2:1.35. Virgin America points are worth ~2.2 cents each since that is the approximate rate they can be redeemed for travel on Virgin America. As in most cases when there is a transfer bonus (with perhaps the exception of the current 40% British Airways transfer bonus), I would not make any speculative transfers unless you needed to top off your account for an award you about to book. In general, I don’t recommend taking advantage of this offer for most people.

VATransfer

2. ~$400 flights New York to Milan on Emirates & United – Emirates is running a promotion in which you can snag a non-stop flight from JFK to Milan for only ~$400 a person roundtrip. United quickly matched the fare for Newark to Milan though availability seems to be more limited than Emirates. The catch for this promotion is this is valid for only groups of exactly of 2 people (Emirates) or 2+ people (United). A single traveler will price out at ~$660. You can travel from February to May though you will need to search to see what dates are eligible for the $400 fares. Here is more information from The Flight Deal.

 

3. No Foreign Transaction Fees on Barclays US Airways MasterCard – I recently received an email from Barclays informing me that they will no longer charge a foreign transaction fee on purchases made outside of the United States. Previously they would charge 3% for this but in what I’m guessing is an attempt to lure more customers to acquire the US Airways MasterCard before they are unable to offer it anymore, they have removed this fee completely. I’m glad to see another credit card offer no foreign transaction fee but there are much better cards to use for foreign purchases already so this announcement doesn’t make a big difference to me.

4. Last Call for Hyatt Reservations for Affected Hotels Before Award Category Changes on 1/22 – I posted last month a list of some of the key hotels that are changing categories (Park Hyatt Maldives, Andaz Amsterdam, Park Hyatt Seoul, Baha Mar and more) in the Hyatt Gold Passport Program as a result of Hyatt’s annual evaluation of category levels. The change in award category will occur on 1/22 so if you are targeting a reservation at one of the affected hotels, I recommend booking them now even if you don’t exactly have firm dates. There is no cost to cancel award bookings (as long as you do it before the hotel’s cancellation deadline) and generally, Hyatt has allowed you to change dates to a reservation made before the category change without charging you the increased amount of points (though this is a YMMV situation). Basically, I see no downside to making a speculative reservation now to save points.

Here is the complete list of affected hotels.

January 9, 2015

PSA: Don’t Apply for the Chase Hyatt Visa Credit Card Unless You Are Getting a $50 Statement Credit

Last night, while helping a client map out a personalized credit card application strategy, I was recommending the Chase Hyatt Visa credit card but I couldn’t remember if the $50 statement credit “hack” was still around. After pretending to make a reservation on hyatt.com, sure enough there was an offer for a $50 statement credit on the card in addition to the 2 Free Nights with the annual fee waived for the first year. Basically Chase is paying you$50 to acquire 2 Free Hotel nights  – sounds good to me!

Here is how to get the Chase Hyatt Visa credit card with a $50 statement credit which is better than the standard, public offer that does not have this $50 statement credit:

  • Log in to your Hyatt Gold Passport Account (you need to do this at some point in the process, I recommending doing it first).
  • Pretend to make a reservation at a United States Hyatt hotel. I chose my favorite Hyatt hotel, the Andaz Maui.
  • Select any room type and click through to the next page which brings you to the “Complete New Reservation” page
  • Scroll all the way down to where it asks for your credit card information. Right next to that should be a box to click with the offer for a $50 statement credit on the Chase Hyatt Visa credit card (see picture below).
  • Click that box and then on the next page, click the apply button which will take you to the Chase website with some of your information pre-filled from your Hyatt account. If you didn’t log into your Hyatt account before, it will ask you to do so here.
  • You DO NOT need to complete the reservation – feel free to close the reservation page once you apply for the card.
The offer next to where it asks for your credit card information

The offer next to where it asks for your credit card information

The following page confirming the signup bonus

The following page confirming the signup bonus

This isn’t groundbreaking news as this offer has been around for a while now but I want to make sure no one is applying for an inferior offer for this card. I don’t see this offer or hack mentioned too often on the blogs, so hopefully this will bring some attention to it.

December 29, 2014

Travel Hacking Year End Checklist: Here is What You Need to Do Before January 1st

Year end is here and as such, there are several calendar year opportunities that you want to make sure you’ve taken advantage of before Thursday. Additionally, there are some limited time opportunities that may not be around much longer, so I’ve included those items below as well.

The clock is ticking...

The clock is ticking…

Here is a list of items you want to make sure you’ve taken care of before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st.

1. Spend the $200 American Express Platinum Airline Credit – Each calendar year, Amex Platinum cardholders (both personal and business) get a $200 airline credit to spend toward fees on a specified airline. You must first select the airline here and if you made a selection last year, it is automatically carried forward for 2014 (you can change this selection once a year in January). Even though the official language regarding this credit is meant to cover baggage fees, lounge passes etc., I always buy gift cards to make sure I fulfill this $200 credit, since I wouldn’t complete it on fees alone. Buying $50 Delta e-gift cards or $100 American Airlines gift cards does the trick. 

2. Spend the $300 Ritz Carlton Credit Card Travel Credit – Similar to the Amex Platinum above, the Ritz Carlton credit card offers $300 annually in travel credit for baggage fees, lounge passes, seat upgrades and other fees, but with two key differences: 1) The $300 credit can cover multiple charges from different airlines and 2) You have to call in to request reimbursement. This second part makes it a little trickier to use this credit for gift cards since they aren’t technically eligible for reimbursement and by having a person manually review every charge (as compared to the Amex Platinum where the credit is automatically generated) it is harder to get reimbursed for gift cards. There are two good threads that have some reports on people getting reimbursed for gift cards here and here. It seems buying gift cards in denominations of stated fees, such as pet fees and checked baggage fees have been working if you are willing to fudge the truth on what the charge is actually for if the agent asks. This is a YMMV scenario.

3. Book Hyatt My Elite Rate & Book via Hyatt Mobile App- I’ve covered this before but Hyatt is ending the My Elite Rate in 2015. If you have any known paid stays upcoming in 2015, you might want to lock in the My Elite Rate now and if you see it go cheaper or your plans change, you could always cancel as most My Elite Rates are cancelable up until a few days before the stay. In addition, the ability to earn 1,000 bonus points if you book a stay via the Hyatt mobile app is ending on 12/31.

4. Maximize Chase Freedom 4th Quarter 5% Bonus – The Chase Freedom Q4 5% Bonus is Amazon.com, Zappos.com and select Department stores. In these categories you will earn 5% cash back up to $1,500 in spend in these categories.  I’m a big Amazon shopper so I will always stock up on Amazon gift cards when the 5% bonus is active on the Freedom card to make sure I hit the $1,500 in spend. You could take a similar approach for department stores or Zappos by buying gift cards for future purchases.

5. Apply for the US Airways MasterCard  – I’m technically cheating on this one since I believe this offer will be around after 12/31 but now is a great time to apply for the US Airways MasterCard. This card is going away at some point in early 2015 (maybe January 18th?) and this is the final call to earn a signup bonus on this card. The current offers are 50,000 miles after first purchase that is valid for everyone and an offer targeted for Preferred Members that offers the same 50,000 miles + 10,000 miles upon renewal. I’ve heard several reports that if you apply for the offer meant for Preferred members but you aren’t a Preferred member and you do not get automatically approved, Barclays will no longer approve you for this offer if you call the reconsideration line. In that case, I recommend going for the standard 50,000 offer and remember there is a refer a friend offer ongoing.

6. Earn 500 Free Points from Virgin America – This is a pretty easy 500 points for a minute of work but this offer expires on 12/31. Here is the link to the offer as well as my write-up on the offer.

7. Check Your American Express Offers – Many good deals expire on 12/31/14 including $10 off Uber, $15 off Toys R Us, and others. If you didn’t register for some of these offers earlier, they may not appear in your account now and others were more targeted. However, for the ones you do have, check to see if any expiring 12/31 offers are worth taking advantage of.

8. Try to Earn 1,000 Free Hilton HHonors Points – Hilton HHonors is running a targeted promotion that gives users 1,000 free HHonors points for updating your email address. I wasn’t targeted as I got a message indicating they had my email address on file. This offer expires on 12/31 so I think its worth a minute of your time to see if your account is eligible for a free 1,000 points.

9. Take 10% off Hyatt Stays with Hyatt Gift Cards – I’ve discussed this deal previously and while the expiration date for this promotion isn’t known, it is widely assumed to be 12/31/14.

I’m sure I missed something here. What else are you doing before year end? Thanks to PointChaser for inspiration of this post.

December 24, 2014

Point & Center: Hyatt & Starwood Hotels Now Offer Free Internet, Bonus $50 for Buying Hyatt Gift Cards, & The Hyatt Diamond Challenge Returns!

This Point & Center update is heavy on Hyatt news from the past week, so let’s get to it!

1) Free Internet at Hyatt & Starwood Hotels – Following the lead of Marriott, Hyatt and Starwood hotels both separately announced they will begin to offer free internet to all guests! For Hyatt, free internet will begin in February 2015 for all guests while elite guests (Platinum & higher) will be entitled to a faster, premium internet for free.

Starwood will work a little differently and more resemble the Marriott model in which in order to receive the free internet, you must book through Starwood directly via their website, the individual hotel’s website or their mobile app. Any stay booked on travel agency websites (Hotels.com, Orbitz, Priceline etc.) will not entitle the guest to free internet. Elite members will receive a faster internet for free, similar to Hyatt.

2) Bonus $50 Gift Card for Buying Hyatt E-Gift Cards – Similar to the promotion earlier this month, Hyatt is running a special promotion that expires TODAY (12/24) that by using code SANTA14, you can earn an extra, free $50 bonus gift card when purchasing $500 or more of e-gift cards ONLY. If you order a $500 e-gift card exactly, this $50 bonus gift card represents a 10% bonus. If you rather take 10% off the purchase of gift cards, you can use promo code GPGIFT14. Since these are Hyatt E-Gift cards, there is no waiting time involved to receive these certificates. Remember to use an American Express Business Open Card to save an additional 5% (in the form of a statement credit).

Use PromoCode SANTA14

Use PromoCode SANTA14

3) The Hyatt Diamond Challenge is Returning! – This is possibly the most exciting news to me as per One Mile at a Time, the Hyatt Diamond Challenge will be returning sometime in early 2015! For those who don’t know the Hyatt Diamond Challenge allowed you to status match to top tier Diamond status at Hyatt if you had at least mid-tier status at competing hotel chains, such as Hilton, Starwood etc., Hyatt would give you temporary Diamond status for 60 days, along with 4 suite upgrade certificates, and if you stayed 12 nights in that 60 day period, you could keep Diamond status for the next year. While nothing has officially been announced from Hyatt, this time for the challenge it appears anyone could be eligible and no prior status at other hotels will be required!

Hyatt Diamond status provides you with free breakfast, free upgrades (when available), guaranteed 4pm late checkout, free internet and 30% bonus points so what a lot of people did (including myself) was enroll in a Diamond Challenge right before a long stay at Hyatt hotels. I did my challenge last year for a 6 night stay at the Andaz Maui and for a 4 night stay at the Park Hyatt Paris. With breakfast costing $44 a person at the Andaz Maui and 49 EUR (~$61 USD) a person at the Park Hyatt Paris, doing the Diamond Challenge saved me over $1,000 in breakfast costs!  I definitely maximized my Diamond Challenge even though I did not complete the challenge since some of those nights were award nights. Here is to hoping I can re-register for the Diamond Challenge this year for stays at the Andaz Maui (yes again as this is my new favorite hotel) and the Park Hyatt Maldives.

Lastly, posts might be less frequent over the next few days with the holidays. Happy Holidays to all!

December 15, 2014

And Now Lots of Hyatt News to Catchup On

I just caught up on the American Express news update but there is also lots going on with Hyatt right now. Here is a quick rundown of what is going on as I’m slowly catching up.

1. Hyatt Gold Passport 2015 Category Changes – Every year, Hyatt (and most other hotel chains) make some changes to their award program, mostly involving re-categorizing some hotels to either a higher or lower category. This year, Hyatt is the first chain to announce their changes and depending on how you redeem your Hyatt points, these changes are a mixed bag. In total, there are 48 hotels moving down a category (or more) and 22 hotels increasing a category. You have until January 22nd to make a reservation, even if it is for a future travel date, to lock in the lower points amount.

Click here to see the complete list of ALL Hyatt Gold Passport Category changes and as a reminder, here is what the Hyatt Award Chart looks like below.

HyattAwardChart

I won’t go over every hotel change but I’ll start with some of the key hotels decreasing by a category:

  • Park Hyatt Washington DC – Category 6 to Category 5
  • Gran Hyatt Washington DC – Category 5 to Category 4 (can now use annual free Hyatt night here)
  • Hyatt French Quarter – Category 5 to Category 4 (can now use annual free Hyatt night here)
  • Park Hyatt Chennani – Category 3 to Category 2

And here are some of the key hotels increasing by a category:

  • Park Hyatt Maldives – Category 6 to Category 7
  • Andaz Amsterdam – Category 5 to Category 6
  • Park Hyatt Seoul – Category 4 to Category 5 (can longer use annual free Hyatt night here)
  • Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo – Category 3 to Category 4
  • Hyatt Regency Nice – Category 5 to Category 6
  • Grand Hyatt at Bar Mar – Category 4 to Category 5 (this hotel hasn’t even opened yet!)

In short, even if the increases are only a few thousand points in some cases, if you have travel plans next year that involved one of these hotels, book the reservation now. Awards stays are cancelable up to a defined timeframe that varies per hotel (anywhere from a month to a few days before) so there is no downside to lock something in now. I am doing this with the Park Hyatt Maldives (stayed tuned for a future Award Trip Breakdown post on my Maldives trip next year).

2. Hyatt Eliminates My Elite Rate – If you were an elite member with Hyatt (and remember having the Hyatt Visa Card gives you Platinum elite status), you had access to hotel rates that were sometimes 20% lower than the daily rate via the My Elite Rate. Unfortunately, Hyatt is discontinuing this benefit in 2015. This was a new benefit rolled out in 2014 so the Hyatt corporate offices must have not deemed this worthy to repeat in 2015. If you booked a fair amount of paid stays with Hyatt, this could be a significant loss.

3. Points & Cash Awards Will Continue in 2015 – The other benefit Hyatt rolled out last year was allowing customers to book hotel rooms using fewer points with a set co-pay that varied based on the category level of the hotel. The good news is Hyatt is continuing this in 2015 and not making any adjustments to the Points & Cash award chart. I have taken advantage of this benefit several times at the Andaz Maui where a room only costs 12,500 points + $150 which is fantastic for a hotel that can average $600 a night, if not more. This is a great perk and I’m glad it is here to stay. As a reminder, here is what the Points & Cash Award Chart looks like below.

HyattP&C

4. Hyatt Guarantees Bed Type to All Customers – Previously, Hyatt only guaranteed the reserved bed type to elite customers so if you reserved a King bed, you would be guaranteed that upon arrival. However, per Hyatt, only 0.1% of all customers didn’t receive their reserved bed type so they are now guaranteeing the reserved bed type for all customers now, not just elite customers. This isn’t especially newsworthy since the odds are so small of it happening but it is a positive (albeit small impacting) change.