Hyatt Gold Passport – Getting Started As A Newbie

Having recently been lucky enough to get a status match to Hyatt’s Diamond status level I’ve been doing my best to learn as much as I can about the Hyatt Gold Passport program. Up until now my only exposure to Hyatt’s loyalty program has been when I’ve been booking awards using points I’ve transferred in from my Chase Ultimate Rewards account – and that really hasn’t taught me much at all.

It occurred to me that, as Hyatt got over 10,000 requests for the recent status match, I’m possibly not the only one relatively new to the Hyatt Gold Passport program – so I thought I’d share where I found the more useful information and the answers to the questions I still had after I’d finished reading what I could find on the web.

The obvious place to start for anyone looking for information on Hyatt’s Gold Passport program is Hyatt webpage itself.

• The Gold Passport membership overview page details out the criteria required to reach the various status levels (useful if you need to know what your targets are if you’re to maintain any status you’ve been gifted)
• The Diamond membership page was of particular interest to me as I sought to find out what benefits I should be maximising (Hyatt Diamond Status – Exactly What Do You Get?) and is probably a good starting point for anyone fortunate enough to have been gifted Diamond status in the past few weeks.
• The Hyatt terms & conditions page has the most comprehensive list of everything you should probably know about Hyatt Gold Passport and is surprisingly readable for a T&C page.
• The Hyatt Gold Passport FAQ page is where you’ll find most of your remaining questions answered.

Outside of Hyatt’s own webpages there are a couple of other places you’ll find some useful information:

• Travel Is Free has a very useful 3-part series on Hyatt Gold Passport and
• The FlyerTalk Hyatt forum is a pretty good place to keep up with the latest information on the Hyatt Gold Passport program and information on a lot of the Hyatt hotels you’ll probably be interested in visiting.

After reading through all the information I could find I still had a few questions, most of which revolved around the Diamond Suite Upgrade (DSU) benefit. Admittedly I had found answers to some of these questions online but not from official sources, and these questions were important enough (to me) to warrant asking Hyatt directly – just to make sure the information I’d read was correct.

An email to Hyatt Gold Passport customer services has, so far, gone unanswered so I picked up the phone and called them to get the information I wanted.

Hyatt Diamond Suite Upgrade Questions

How do I find out which suite at a hotel I can upgrade into?

As a general rule DSUs upgrade in to the lowest level suite at any given property (you may find the occasional exception). To find out which suite that is follow these steps:

• On the hotel’s website click on “Rooms” – found in the menu bar at the top of the page (I’m using the Park Hyatt New York for my example)

• On the subsequent page click on “Suites” under the “Rooms” heading:

• The first suite you see in the list is the lowest level suite and is the one the DSUs book into:

How do I search for Diamond upgrade availability?

DSUs book into the lowest level suite at any given property but, because suite upgrades are inventory controlled, just because a suite is available to book with cash doesn’t mean that an upgrade will clear automatically.

The steps to take:

• Find out which is the lowest level suite at the property you plan to book.
• Check if the hotel is showing any of these suites as being available for your stay (if they’re not available for cash bookings they won’t be available for DSUs)
• Call Hyatt Gold Passport and ask them to check if the suites are available for DSUs.

Can I book Diamond upgrades online?

No. You need to put a call in to Hyatt, this cannot be done online.

Can I use Diamond upgrades on rooms booked with Cash & Points?

Yes

Can I use Diamond upgrades on rooms with a AAA/AARP discount?

Yes

Is there a maximum number of nights, in one stay, that can be upgraded using Diamond upgrades?

A single Diamond Suite Upgrade can be used for a stay of up to 7 nights

Can I use Diamond upgrades at all Hyatt properties? (it turns out I missed the answer to this on the Diamond Membership page)

No. Exclusions are:

• Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort
• Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
• Park Hyatt Sydney
• Andaz Tokyo
• Hyatt Regency Kyoto
• Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort
• Hyatt Regency Tulsa
• Hyatt Regency Wichita
• Hyatt Paris Madeleine
• Hyatt Herald Square
• Hyatt Key West Resort and Spa
• Hyatt Manila City of Dreams
• Hyatt Santa Barbara
• Hyatt Residence Club resorts
• Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels
• Hyatt Residence Club properties
• M life resorts

How does the Diamond upgrade expiry date affect the use of Diamond upgrades?

Upgrades need to be booked before they expire but the stay can be in the future, past the expiry date.

Note: I was told by the Hyatt Gold Passport agent that I spoke to that there are plans to change the rules regarding the use of DSU. He suggested that upgrades expiring in February 2017 will need to have been booked and the stays will have to have been completed by the end of February 2017. This is just a report from one agent and Hyatt has denied that changes are in the works to at least one other blog…so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Other Hyatt Gold Passport Questions

How many people does the Diamond status breakfast benefit cover?

The breakfast benefit covers everyone sharing a room with the Diamond status holder.

How many people can I guest into a Club Lounge with my Diamond status?

Anyone sharing a room with the Diamond status holder can be guested into the Club Lounge

Featured image: Andaz San Diego courtesy of Hyatt