This year I have top tier status with several hotel chains but re-qualifying for next year will place an emphasis on Hilton going forward over Hyatt, my focus program.
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.
If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.
On the Precipice of Re-Qualification
I am currently a single night away from re-qualification with Hyatt and have ceased my stays with the brand for the year. Why? Because my favorite benefit, the Category 1-7 free night certificate expires six months after I re-qualify. If I can’t use the benefit it holds no value to me, but in this instance, I can delay my re-qualification until later in the year when I near the use of the certificate.
Hyatt Still My Top Choice
I couldn’t quit Hyatt despite a previous attempt earlier this year, in fact, I doubled down with the chain. Its loyalty program is industry-leading, its partnership with SLH properties improves its footprint and returns focus to high-end properties, and my family looks forward to staying in Park Hyatts and its other premium brands on vacation.
I have also been fortunate to have business travel that has a conveniently located, and bargain basement-priced Hyatt Place that is suitable for my needs. My family has enjoyed many other brands but Hyatt is consistently worth the payoff when it’s time to reap the rewards of business stays all year long.
Hyatt Disincentivizes Early Re-Qualification
Some people love Hyatt Globalist status for the confirmed suite upgrades – I did too and still do. However, the Category 1-7 certificate is far more valuable to me. We have used it the Park Hyatt New York when the going rate was north of $900/night.
Hyatt has a very early expiry on the benefit, however, just six months after qualification. If I re-qualify now, I would have to use the night before the end of this year and I am unsure if I can do so. While I have been able to convert that certificate to points in the past, Hyatt has stated they will not do so as a rule going forward. Therefore, it is better for me to re-qualify within six months of available use of the certificate.
Hyatt offers incentives above the 55/60 night Globalist qualification, I just don’t rate them highly. At 70, 80, 90 and 100 nights they will award a bonus of 10,000 points or one additional suite upgrade. Consider this, however, they issue a standard Category 1-4 night at 30 nights. Staying 90 nights would earn enough bonus points to cover another category 7 hotel, yet I’m not striving to give them all the business I can. Therefore, to get me to stretch my loyalty to the brand, if the carrot was bigger, like additional certificates over their current bland incentives I might push all of my business to Hyatt.
This also means I won’t be spending on the Hyatt credit card in my wallet either because every $5,000 I spend triggers two elite-qualifying nights. Prior to re-qualification, this is an outstanding perk, but for my situation, I want to wait to re-qualify so they won’t get any more of my credit card spend for the rest of 2019 either.
Hilton Gets My Business
Hilton has stepped up their game in recent years. Many former Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty employees scattered to other chains and Hilton came out ahead with some key wins. There are three reasons I am moving my business to Hilton above other chains despite having the status secured through 2020 already.
First, they have nice enough hotels. What is nice enough? It’s a Garden Inn in a convenient location or a Homewood Suites with a decent dinner offering and plenty of space. It’s a Hampton across from the out-of-the-way office I am there on business to visit. IHG properties are perhaps just as ubiquitous if not more so, but given the choice, I choose Hilton brands every time.
Second, when we stay at high-end Hiltons outside the United States we have been treated like absolute royalty. One of our favorite hotels in the world is the Conrad Hong Kong for its Old Money Luxury charm and the new Waldorf-Astoria Bangkok is unreal.
Lastly, but most importantly, Rollover nights help me build toward next year to ensure my status level is never in doubt. If I were to stay at a Hyatt 100 nights this year, the counter still resets at 0. With Hilton, if I stayed 100 nights the counter would reset to 40 for the next year and that makes re-qualification even easier.
What About The Others?
I have Spire Elite status with IHG but despite having a similar rollover feature, they hate their elites and aside from the Kimptons have little of interest (also they continue to inflate prices.)
I have tried SPG and loved them before Marriott but now can’t send them my business. And Marriott properties? Not until the bonvoying ends. I have one stay as a Titanium in the last year and it will remain that way; it was an award stay.
I would love to match with Le Accor because some of their hotels are amazing but despite having free-for-all top tier status years ago, they are completely uninterested in my business. Fair enough.
Conclusion
As long as Hyatt continues to expire the most valuable (to me) aspect of the program after six months I will delay my re-qualification with them until the last possible moment before I need the certificate. Hilton is a fine place to put my business for the rest of the year and will pay off in the year following as I continue to roll my Diamond membership toward lifetime status.
What do you think? Have you already re-qualified for status and have switched to another brand for diversification? Do you utilize Hilton’s rollover feature? What do you think of Hyatt’s approach to over-qualifying for status?
Why not just get the Aspire card and not bother with Hitlon qualification? Me thinks you are putting too much effort into this.
I think he answered that in the last line: he is looking forward to lifetime Diamond, and the credit card only includes current-year status, and contributes little toward lifetime status.
I love to stay at Hilton properties outside of the US. They do treat you like loyalty when you’re diamond, even gold I think. I always look at Hilton and then Hyatt for any overseas stay. Just finished my SE asia tour and can’t believe Hilton does not have a single property in Ho Chi Minh City. Anyway for me, it’s Hilton and Hyatt, then IHG, I won’t even look at Marriott property anymore after they bought out Starwood
Agree about superb Asian properties with Hilton. The Doubletree Sanya is fantastic! Upgraded to an enormous one bedroom suite. The property in next to the Conrad which we visited but the Doubletree was simply great at a much cheaper price.
Agree with Gene. Aspire means you don’t have to play these silly games. So you take the effort to qualify for top level Hyatt status, presumably because you think the product is the best, but then once you get the top status you purposely don’t take advantage of the benefits? That seems counterproductive.
Echo the above. I don’t see any reason why a US resident with halfway decent credit would worry about qualifying for any kind of Hilton status. It’s silly.
To address the Aspire question, I have a couple of responses though all the commenter’s points are certainly valid. First, I have been in the process of buying a house and replacing vehicles, unnecessary credit hits are not ideal for the time being. Second, I have to place those stays throughout the rest of the year somewhere and more Hyatt doesn’t make sense for additional stays. Third, Marriott and IHG aren’t worthy of anyone’s business if they are interested in loyalty right now. Fourth, I have had rollover nights for the last three years so the card just hasn’t been of interest but that’s foolish and I should give it a look. I know it pays for itself.
@Kyle, it looks like you have a decent strategy, and I can’t say I disagree with your points. I think that IHG has the potential to grab a lot of Bonvoyed ex-SPG people, if only their rewards and elite programs were better. To me, they’re a nice backup option, but the lack of breakfast and upgrades, plus the lack of elite benefits (at least officially) on reward stays makes them uncompetitive. And don’t get me started on their horrible IT and account security. Hilton has mass appeal and seems to get the basics right, so I’m not surprised with your choice.
As for Hyatt, they should rethink their free night expiration policy if they’re driving incremental business away. I get that they’re counting on breakage, but 6 months is ridiculously short. At the very least, they should increase the expiration to 12 months, or even better, have them last at least a full membership year.
First world problems..
I love Hyatt.
Unfortunately, Hyatt has marked up the prices for SLH hotels so it is often much cheaper to book them directly with SLH instead of Hyatt. This eliminates any World of Hyatt benefit.