Hyatt Announces Their Spring Promotion

ByEdward Pizzarello

View From The Wing has confirmation of the upcoming Hyatt promotion.  It runs from March 1st to May 31, 2013.  The confirmed details are:

  • 3000 bonus points for every 3 nights stayed during the promotion period.
  • 20% bonus for holders of the Hyatt Visa Card.
  • Registration begins February 15th.

So, how does this stack up against current promos by other chains past Hyatt promos?  Here’s a brief summary of Hyatt’s 2012 Fall Promo:

Fall Hyatt Promo:  Guests earned 5,000 points after 5 nights, and an additional 10,000 points for each additional 5 nights.  That means that if you stayed 15 nights, you earned 25,000 points (as well as a 20% bonus for Hyatt Visa Card holders).  Under the 2013 Spring promo, you would earn 15,000 points for those same 15 nights.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the current promo is weaker than the 2012 Fall promo.

Marriott’s promo is a variable promotion again, but a solid number of registrants are getting 1 free night after every two stays.  This is good for hardcore Marriott folks, but since the nights are only good for category 4 properties and below (and have an expiration date), it’s not something that fits my travel profile.

How about Hilton?  They’re offering double points or miles for all stays through the end of March.  Again, good for Hilton members, but doesn’t fit my travel profile.  I would also argue that there’s more value in the Hyatt promo than this one, whereas the Marriott promo may have more value for those who can use the nights during the redemption period.

Starwood’s promo is called Power Up and offers 2,000 points after 4 nights and a 10,000 point bonus if you hit 20 nights.  I value SPG points a bit more than Hyatt Gold Passport points, so if you were to hit 20 nights I would consider this slightly better than Hyatt unless you used the Hyatt Visa.  With SPG you’re essentially earning 18,000 points for 20 nights, where Hyatt would award you the same 18,000 points for 20 nights without the Visa.  Add in the 20% bonus for using the Hyatt Visa card and you’re now at 21,600 Gold Passport points.  At those numbers I would consider these two promos just about even.  But, if I stayed just one more night with Hyatt (21 nights total) that would earn 25,200 points (with the 20% bonus).  That would clearly be a better value to me than what SPG is offering.

As I noted in my review of the SPG promo, it’s a slightly weaker promo than their last one.  So, there’s a theme here that seems to indicate the hotel chains are more comfortable with occupancy levels and their average daily rate such that they don’t need to influence loyalty as much as in the past.  That’s not surprising since the economy is improving, if only slightly.  Disappointing, but still a decent bonus for the patrons of these respective chains.  And, for the most part, probably not enough incentive with any of these promotions to move business from one chain to another.  I suspect I’ll be sticking with Hyatt, but SPG isn’t a bad choice IMO, either.

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My goal in life is to fill my family’s passports with stamps, creating buckets of memories along the way. You’ll find me writing about realistic ways for normal people to travel the world, whether you’re on a budget or enjoy luxury. I also enjoy taking us on the occasional detour to explore the inner workings of the travel industry.