TPG reader Garrett writes:
“I’m about to get Hyatt Diamond and was wondering what their amenity policy is on award stays. Based on what I’ve read from your posts over the last year, it seems like the amenities are usually given on award stays like room upgrades (not always a suite) and club access or breakfast. On their chart I noticed they have different redemption levels for standard rooms, club rooms, and suites. So as a Diamond, would I just book the standard award (ex: 15K for cat 4) and expect the diamond amenities to get an upgraded room and club access, or do I need to book the club rate to guarantee those upgrades?”
As a Diamond member, you receive club access (or breakfast at the restaurant if there is no club) and an upgraded room (including on the club floor, if available) so you can book the cheapest award room and expect those benefits. Sometimes you can still snag a suite upgrade, though those have been few and far between for me. Generally they will just pre-block you into a nice room with a view and code your key for club access – whether you pay cash or with points.
As for the breakfast benefit in hotels with no club lounges, that benefit can vary wildly. Generally you can order whatever you want from the hotel restaurant, though some hotels will let you get room service. Some hotels (like the Andaz Wall Street) will give you a certain dollar amount per stay (like $50) and some are really generous, like the Andaz West Hollywood where my entire bill is always comped up to four people. Note: usually the benefit is only good for the number of people registered to your room, so if you are using points, always put 2 people since it won’t change the rate.
Congrats on achieving Diamond status – I remember when I first became a Hyatt Diamond, I used points to stay at the Park Hyatt Paris and was blown away by the breakfast benefit, which came to almost $100 a day. I will be interested to see how Starwood’s new Platinum continental breakfast perk plays out and whether hotels will be overly generous or bare bones with their offering.
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