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EDIT: CLOSING THIS THREAD FOR NOW AS IT SEEMS THAT I ONLY GET FIVE OF THESE PER CALENDAR YEAR AND PREFER TO KEEP ONE IN RESERVE FOR FAMILY/FRIENDS AND HAVE GIFTED FOUR * with a few very minor conditions that will be explained below, but all that's important is that it costs you nothing. So, as a result of my "Canadian Misadventure" last June/July, I earned Hyatt Globalist status. This isn't a humblebrag, as somewhat recently Hyatt started allowing Globalists to dole out "Guest of Honor" upgrades to Friends & Family. The problem is, as much as I've tried to give them out to friends, family, and even passing goddamned acquaintances, the only one I've used thus far was with my father on a recent trip to NY. What You Get: 1. A room upgrade up to a Standard Suite (provided one is available), or the "Best Room Available" that isn't a Premium or ~Specialty~ Suite. 2. Club Access (if the hotel has one) or free restaurant breakfast (if you're staying at a Hyatt that doesn't offer complimentary continental breakfast), with usually a $35 or more allowance per person in the room. Some hotels allow room service breakfast, but that's relatively rare. 3. (Up to) 4pm checkout privileges. 4. Waived destination/resort fees. 5. Given that it *is* technically an "award stay," you *might* get free parking. Don't rely on this, though. What *I* Get: 1. A single (regardless of how long *you* stay) "Elite Qualifying Night" for each award redeemed. 2. If enough of you use these, I might get within striking distance of earning Globalist for 2025 (my status expires 2/28/25 and I have no plans to stay 60 nights this year). Okay, So What's the Catch? Surprisingly, what few there are are mild inconveniences at best. First and foremost, you'd need to make a World of Hyatt account if you don't have one already. Then, you'd obviously have to let me know you're interested in taking advantage of this - PM or posting here should work (ideally both). I *am* going to be kind of a dick and set a six month account creation gate, because the travel community can be a bunch of vultures and I don't want people signing up for SA accounts simply to take advantage of me. Apparently Hyatt can/will audit accounts that show suspicious levels of award-giving. Also, I'm only going to give out one award at a time to applicants (no multiple requests) - apologies to those of you who have/take big family vacations, but one way to get on Hyatt's radar in a bad way is if I'm the schmuck who made a vacation property have to plan an entire week around four different simultaneous GoH award redemptions, all of whom are clamoring for free standard suite upgrades. What happens then is that (provided I have the awards to give - they replenish, but not promptly as to dissuade assholes from *selling* these upgrades - I can have four maximum at any given time) I will ask you for two things: your World of Hyatt Member ID and your last name (in a PM). I wish there was a way around the latter part to allow people to keep their anonymity, but those are the only two pieces of information I need to offer the award. For what it's worth, I don't need your FULL name. Once you HAVE the award, while logged in and on the room selection page of the hotel you wish to book, you'll see a checkbox above that looks like this:  Make sure that's checked. Your screen won't say anything about "tier status," but I included it here as a kind of "bona fides." Then just complete your reservation like you normally would. For those who don't stay (or haven't stayed) in Hyatts before, make sure when you're making your rate selection that you take note of the rate type. I only book rates that stipulate a "Credit Card Guarantee Required" because that means they're 1) typically able to be canceled anywhere from 24-72h before check-in, and 2) they don't immediately bill your credit card like rates with "Credit Card Deposit Required" do. And, this one's kind of important so I'll bold it: These benefits are only valid on stays up to a maximum of SEVEN days. Lastly, if/when you check in, "remind" the front desk staff that you're checking in under a Guest of Honor award. Some properties aren't fond of giving even Globalists upgrades, so if they think they can sneak you into a crappier room, they might try and do so. You'll still get the other benefits, though. P.S. These should work for everyone, not just people in North America. BIG HEADLINE fucked around with this message at 00:21 on May 5, 2024 |
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May 1, 2024 02:49
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| # ? May 25, 2024 23:54 |
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This is a really kind thing to offer. We've been looking at a Hyatt property for December. It's just me and my service dog trying to do a cool dog sport thing, but we haven't quite qualified for it yet (we are crazy, extremely close and it is legitimately a once-in-forever kind of a thing). Once we do, I'll absolutely pop back into the thread to see if those dates are still available.
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May 1, 2024 11:01
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I'm kind of intrigued by the vaguely alluded to "misadventure". Was there a thread about that? I'm actually trying to plan a trip to Polynesia to meet up with an Australian friend, so while I'm not sure yet whether a) it'll even happen, b) there's a Hyatt where we're going, or c) it'll be within the week length limit, if all that works out I may DM you about this. Thanks!
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May 1, 2024 15:43
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Akratic Method posted:I'm kind of intrigued by the vaguely alluded to "misadventure". Was there a thread about that? I just did a search for "Polynesia" in the app and it came up with no properties, unfortunately. As for the "Misadventure," just find the Eastern Canada thread in the LAN forum and work your way back to early-ish July on the posts. The kinda-sorta TL;DR is that I was taking my first "big" vacation since March 2020. I'd easily spent $5000 on this elaborately-planned "grand tour" (even though all I really wanted to do was go and see my best friend in Seattle like I did once or twice per year pre-COVID) and pretty much everything started going wrong from the very start, which left me a little OFF mentally, and I fell into a shitposting gyre until the reaction of my friends let me know that I was being the rear end in a top hat. I asked Cyrano to coordinate with the mods to give me a voluntary 30d probe and got my head right. I earned my first red text avatar with that shitposting, and when the probe ended I replaced it with what you see now, as a less visible reminder of my stupidity.
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May 1, 2024 16:32
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Huh, yeah, looks like Fiji is the only place in the Pacific islands that they have anything but we're pointed more at French Polynesia since it's got flights in from east and west for us to rendezvous with roughly even travel times. Well, thanks for posting the offer anyway. Maybe if I have a short trip somewhere in the US later this year. The Canadian misadventure sounded more like a fun thing to read about when it was in cute scare quotes and not clearly something genuinely unpleasant that wore you down mentally. Glad to hear you got through it, recovered from all that and got your head on straight again.
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May 1, 2024 18:36
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Akratic Method posted:Huh, yeah, looks like Fiji is the only place in the Pacific islands that they have anything but we're pointed more at French Polynesia since it's got flights in from east and west for us to rendezvous with roughly even travel times. Well, thanks for posting the offer anyway. Maybe if I have a short trip somewhere in the US later this year. Yeah, and three out of the four offerings on Fiji are from the newly-added "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" group, which you have to be wary of because every one of those properties is *loosely affiliated* with Hyatt (Hyatt just bought the name, the hotels that participate do so at their leisure). Each of them have different fare rules - for instance, a place I was considering booking for an international airshow next year has a rather Draconian cancellation policy where if you decide to cancel more than *one hour* after making the initial reservation, you forfeit 30% of your reservation (which is billed automatically *at* the time you make the reservation). So yeah, if you see "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" on the logo (it's a black rectangle, and the only other Hyatt "brand" that uses that color is the Park Hyatt), definitely read the rate rules before booking the stay. That said, if you're fine with all of that, being on a Guest of Honor award should confer benefits and upgrades at these properties - even though it's brand new so there's no telling what they'll be. BIG HEADLINE fucked around with this message at 02:57 on May 2, 2024 |
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May 2, 2024 02:51
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This is quite an offer. I *may* take you up for an early August wedding weekend in NYC, once I’ve finalised what my plans actually are.
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May 3, 2024 09:49
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Jean-Paul Shartre posted:This is quite an offer. I *may* take you up for an early August wedding weekend in NYC, once I’ve finalised what my plans actually are. Sounds good. Another caveat about these awards is that they *do* kinda incentivize you to prioritize more expensive properties so you can enjoy more of the benefits (Hyatt knows what they're doing). The benefits *do* apply at the cheaper properties like Hyatt House and Hyatt Place, but as those already have continental breakfast as part of their schtick, all you really end up with is a slightly better room and 4pm checkout privileges. My only personal experience with NYC Hyatts has been staying at the Hyatt Place Midtown (before getting Globalist) in 2018 and the Centric Times Square this last July. The Centric's standard suite felt palatial compared to the glorified walk-in closet at the Hyatt Place, and was impressively soundproofed against the din of Times Square. Their breakfast benefit was room service delivery, and they had the basic benefit, which is one entree, fruit, and coffee or juice. The only other thing I know about NYC Hyatts and Globalist privileges is that the Park Hyatt there is one of their "Category 8" properties which doesn't grant suites to Globalists (or Guests of Honor), even though their "best non-suite room" feels like a suite at any other hotel. People seem to like the Andaz 5th Avenue, the Thompson, and The Grayson as well. The only NYC properties I know which aren't particularly well-thought-of are the "Dream" properties and the Hyatt Grand Central Station. For anyone else who's interested, far be it from me to tell anyone to ever peruse or post on Reddit, but typically whenever I'm curious about offerings in an area, I ask the community in r/hyatt which ones are worth prioritizing and which should be avoided. They've been unusually helpful for redditors. There are also reviews that can be Googled for most of them as well, usually by travel bloggers with Globalist status. BIG HEADLINE fucked around with this message at 14:19 on May 3, 2024 |
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May 3, 2024 14:12
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Super generous, thank you! If I've already made Hyatt reservations, can this be added? I'm a lowly Explorist.
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May 4, 2024 19:25
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Residency Evil posted:Super generous, thank you! Someone else has asked this and the answer seems to be yes, but you need to call Hyatt and have it added to your existing reservation. Again, the maximum these awards are good for is seven days. And I'll also be a lowly Explorist as well if I can't make 30 extra days magically appear in my account by 12/31/24. 60 nights in a hotel each year is anathema to me.
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May 4, 2024 19:34
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