Hyatt Globalist Suite Upgrade Certificates: Enhancement or Devaluation?

Here’s another guest post by my friend Ben.  He enjoyed sharing his Hyatt Miraval Resort review with you, that he wanted to continue with this bit of news for (and those aspiring to be) Hyatt Globalist members about the Hyatt Globalist Suite Upgrade certificates and when they’re issued… and when they expire.

I must admit that as a business traveler, I have lots of chances to stay at Marriotts and Hiltons since there are so many throughout the country. In 2013, I was introduced to Hyatt by my friend, Bill. He was a Hyatt Globalist (Diamond at the time) who took me to the Grand Hyatt San Francisco top floor lounge. It was incredible and I have been a fan ever since.

Due to the limited footprint of Hyatt, about 690 hotels worldwide, I would categorize Hyatt as the smaller of the large hotel chains. However, their attention to detail, focus on service, and maintaining a very consistent and high level of service across their 12 brands have made me a loyal customer.

 

World of Hyatt & How to reach Globalist Status

To reach the top-tier status of Hyatt Globalist requires 60 nights a year. Globalist benefits are widely considered the best of the elite levels offered by the major hotel chains that one can achieve as a business traveler.

Hyatt may not have the cool secret password or the other amenities of Kimpton’s Inner Circle. However, Hyatt does a great job taking care of its elite.

 

Let’s take a look at Hyatt Globalist Benefits:

• Early Check in
• Late Check out guaranteed at 4 pm
• Access to the Hyatt Executive Lounges with high-quality breakfast/evening hors d’oeuvres/dessert
• If Lounge is closed, complimentary breakfast in restaurant for 2 adults and 2 children
• Complimentary standard suite upgrade if available, at check in
• 4 Complimentary upgrade certificates confirming a standard suite at booking for award night and paid revenue nights
• Waived Resort Fees (up to 23% of bill at Miraval) on all stays
• Free Parking on Award Stays
• Guest of Honor benefit – Globalist can book room using points for another guest
• Guest receive all the above benefits of Globalist, making them Globalist for their stay
• Status match to M Life Hotels (i.e Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Hotels, VDARA,etc.)

The great thing about these Suite Upgrade Certificates is each of them are good for 7 nights. So if 4 upgrade certificates are used fully, that would be up to 28 days in a nice hotel suite!

 

Hyatt Globalist Suite Upgrade Certificates – Benefit or Devaluation?

Under the Hyatt Gold Passport program, you needed to wait until March of the following year, when the Hyatt calendar renews, until you could use those Suite Upgrades Certificates.

Here is the challenge: Let’s say last year you qualified for Globalist, and you used all your confirmed suite upgrades by October 2016. You made a reservation in October 2016 for an April 2017 stay at the Park Hyatt Paris. But you find out that you can’t apply your upgrade certificate to confirm a suite until March 2017. That is a very long 5 months to wait and there’s a high chance that that suite may be booked while you are waiting to apply the upgrade.

Good news coming to Hyatt Globalist members! Starting this year, you will be able to apply your following year’s complimentary Suite Upgrade as soon as you reach Globalist status.

I just completed my 60 nights this week and all 4 Confirmed Suite Upgrades are in the account.

This is a nice enhancement for those special nights that you want or need a suite for your family trips or your romantic getaway!

Sounds great right?  However, loyalty programs don’t give without taking something away.

 

Hyatt Globalist Suite Upgrade Certificates – The Devaluation

In many ways, having early access to Hyatt Globalist Suite Upgrade certificates is pretty awesome. However, Hyatt didn’t just grant extra benefits by allowing you to use them early. The suite upgrades certificates are still only good for one year from date of issuance.

This means that, because I hit the 60 nights requirement to renew Hyatt Globalist status, my certificates were issued in August 2017 instead of March 2018.

And now I’ve lost 7 months worth of time to use them during the upcoming renewal year!

So, if I have hopes for complimentary upgrades over Thanksgiving 2018, Christmas 2018, or the ski season in early 2019, I’m out of luck unless I renew Hyatt Globalist status early in the year again.

Although I’m lucky enough to travel for work and should attain Hyatt Globalist status again next year pretty easily, not everyone is so lucky.

My advice: consider next year’s vacation and suite upgrade plans when planning out your 2017 Hyatt stays. You don’t want to earn your Hyatt Globalist suite upgrades too soon in the year which might prohibit you from using them the following year.

 

A Lose-Lose Scenario for Hyatt and Globalists

Because of this timing, some of my Hyatt Globalist friends are considering holding off on hitting their 60th night until December through March. That’s a lose-lose scenario for everyone involved.

Hyatt will lose out on stays by some of their most loyal members because they don’t want to hit their 60th night until later. This crack in the program will lead to Globalists trying out other brands, which may eventually cause them to favor another brand over Hyatt.

And when Globalists stay at other hotel brands because they’re strategically planning their 60th night towards the end of the program year, they lose out on some of the perks of being so loyal – upgrades, lounge access, late check out, etc.

Can’t we all just get along?

There has to be a way to fix this so that this becomes a win-win vs. a lose-lose situation. The easiest change would be allowing the Hyatt Globalist Suite Upgrade certificates to be earned once a Globalist stays 60 nights, but allow them to maintain the end of February expiration date.

 

The Bald Thoughts

Because World of Hyatt is so new, we’re still uncovering all of its pro and cons. It is a nice benefit that your Hyatt Globalist suite upgrade certificates post as soon as you achieve 60 nights. However, the negative is that the certificates are still only good for 1 year from the date they’re issued, not through the end of the program year. So, plan your vacations wisely!

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