Of all the major frequent guest programs – Hyatt Gold Passport has always been the one to march to the beat of its own drum. It doesn’t (yet!) have its own credit card affiliation, doesn’t have many partners, earns an off-beat five points per dollar spent and has always seemed reluctant to even have a program of its own.

But with the announced addition of Hawthorn Suites in 2003, a new Diamond Membership and Passport Plus Awards, that drum beat may be slightly more up tempo than in years past. It’s lucrative "Faster Free Nights" promotion, which awards one free night for every two stays when paying with MasterCard has been re-instated.

2008 - Hawthorn Suites - SOLD! Amerisuites rebranded (most of em!) to Hyatt Place - much more expensive rewards. Thing i liked most about Hyatt's program is:

1/ faster free nights (when they run it...)

2/ 3,000 points redemptions for Amerisuites... hardly any left ;-(

Something more recent....The first Hyatt hotels were built to accommodate air travelers and were located near airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose. The Hyatt Hotel Los Angeles opened in 1954 and Hyatt expanded overseas the following decade opening its first international property, the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, in 1969.

Over the last few years, Hyatt has added new brands Andaz (the name means "personal style" in Hindi), Hyatt Summerfield Suites and Hyatt Place to their existing brands, Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency. Hyatt recently jumped into the social networking arena and launched Yatt'it, a new online travel community where members can share travel tips and access expert information from Hyatt concierges around the world.

While Hyatt Gold Passport does not have as many affiliated properties as the larger programs of Hilton, Marriott and Starwood, it does seem to offer members what they want because we hear very few complaints about the program from them. Members like the recurring promotions and you'd be hard pressed to find a Gold Passport member who hasn't heard of Faster Free Nights (FFN), which earned the program a Freddie Award this year for Best Bonus in the Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia region.

Earning...

Basic earning with Gold Passport is five points per dollar spent on eligible room rates and incidental charges or 500 miles per stay with one of Hyatt's numerous airline partners. When staying at AmeriSuites and Hawthorn Suites, members earn three points per dollar spent or 300 miles per stay.

Another good way to earn points is through the Gold Passport Exclusive offers or Gold Passport Bonus offers. For example, right now, with Exclusive offers members can participate in 14 different promotions, including earning bonus points by staying at the newest or newly renovated hotels such as the Hyatt Regency Monterey or the new Grand Hyatt Guangzhou. Hyatt Gold Passport Bonus offers provides members the opportunity to earn bonus points, bonus miles or free nights at over 300 properties on an ongoing basis.

Members look forward to the recurring "Faster Free Nights" promotion where they earn one free night for every two stays paid for with a MasterCard.

Members who are booking for a group or event can earn up to 50,000 bonus points at Hyatt brands including Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt and up to 15,000 bonus points at Hyatt Place or Hyatt Summerfield Suites for an eligible meeting, group incentive or catered event at participating hotels.

When we last reviewed the Gold Passport program two years ago, we mentioned the fact that the program was missing a point-earning co-branded credit card and we have yet to see a credit card from our friends at Hyatt. The only other way to earn points is through car rentals.

Redemption:

Hyatt's basic hotel awards are broken into five categories. A free night at most Hyatts will run between 5,000 and 18,000 points, depending on the category. Bump up to a Regency or Grand Club room, and you're looking at between 7,000 and 22,000 points per night. Nights in a suite run between 8,000 and 27,000 points, but keep in mind a minimum of three consecutive nights is required for suites. Award stays at Hawthorn Suites and AmeriSuites run 3,000 points per night. Compared to other hotel loyalty programs, the cost of an award stay is comparable to Starwood Preferred Guest. Non-elite members in Gold Passport and SPG can earn a free night award after spending $1,000 for hotel stays. Members of Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards and IHG Priority Club Rewards can earn a free night after spending $500 to $750. Gold Passport tier members can redeem a Passport Plus Award for a 60 percent point premium and enjoy a free night even when award inventory is sold out. Gold Passport also allows members to redeem points for a room upgrade. A Regency/Grand Club room can be upgraded for 3,000 points a night, and members can be upgraded to a suite for 6,000 points a night (both for up to four nights).

Hyatt also offers "Passport Escape" awards (for five- or seven-night stays), which combine free nights, some dinners, daily breakfasts for two and a welcome amenity. These are also broken into categories, and run between 60,000 and 125,000 points for five nights to 90,000 to 180,000 for seven nights.

Other free stay options include nights at Hyatt Vacation Club properties, from 12,000 to 30,000 points per night, depending on the number of bedrooms in the condominium.

Members can also redeem their points for Hyatt Gold Passport Exclusives, Gold Passport's online auction. Members can bid on experiential packages including tickets to the World Cup in Germany, Porsche Sport Driving School, Masters of Food and Wine in Argentina, Universal Studios and more.

Car rentals with Avis and Sixt can be redeemed for 6,000 points per day. And if you prefer to convert your points into miles, Gold Passport points can be exchanged for airline miles at a conversion ratio of 2.5 points to one mile. A minimum of 5,000 points is required for each conversion and conversions may be made in 1,250-point increments. And a bonus 5,000 miles will be awarded for any one conversion of 50,000 points or more.

Members can also donate points to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Donations will be used to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses and provide Hyatt hotel stays at locations around the world. The minimum donation is 5,000 points and members can donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, the Make-A-Wish Foundation International or split their donation between the two.

Partnerships

Hyatt partners with Amtrak and 34 airlines worldwide, including all the major U.S. carriers. With most airlines you earn 300-500 miles per Hyatt stay, but a few, like Qantas, Mexicana and Virgin, offer from 600 to 1,000 miles.

As mentioned earlier, Avis and Sixt are the two car rental partners and members can earn 300 points per qualifying car rental and receive discounts of up to 35 percent. Beyond that...well, there isn't anything beyond that. Hyatt has yet to partner up with retail, restaurant, credit card, telephone or other partners.

Elite program

Platinum level is attained after five stays or 15 nights at Hyatt in a calendar year. Platinum benefits include a 15 percent point bonus, an exclusive reservation and account information line, ability to redeem points for award stays (for a 60 percent point premium) even when award inventory is sold out, guaranteed bed type and "Platinum Extras" awards, such as bonus points or in-hotel amenities after every third stay in a calendar year.

Diamond level is attained after 25 stays or 50 nights at Hyatt in a calendar year. Diamond benefits include a 30-percent point bonus, all the Platinum benefits, a 72-hour guaranteed room availability, complimentary Regency Club upgrades, access to Regency Club lounges or complimentary breakfast (when a Regency/Grand Club room is not available), special welcome amenity private reservation and account information line and $500 check-cashing privileges.

Other programs offer higher earning percentages for elites, but most of them also have a higher entry requirement. Compare Hyatt's Platinum level at five stays to Marriott's 10 nights, Priority Club's 15 nights and Starwood's 10 stays for their first elite level.

Rules

IMPORTANT NOTE - seems that Hyatt never expires people's points... contrary to what they write in their program rules.

One of Hyatt's unique perks is the ability of members to pool their points. Members may submit a signed award request form by mail or fax to the customer service center and ask to combine points from one account with those in another account in order to have a sufficient number of points to redeem a particular award. Gold Passport Awards may be issued to anyone, but once an award reservation is made, the booking is not transferable.

Points may also be purchased. Members can buy up to 10 percent of the number of points needed for an award at $10 per 500 points, up to 10,000-points per calendar year.

Gold Passport points have no specific expiration date, as long as the member earns points or miles every 12 months. According to the terms and conditions, "A member's Hyatt Gold Passport membership may be discontinued at Hyatt Gold Passport's discretion if a member does not record Hyatt Gold Passport points or Travel Partner miles activity during any consecutive 12-month period" but we have yet to hear of this happening.

Only published room rates are eligible to earn points. Members will not earn points on Internet wholesale rates, employee rates and other discounted rates (an industry norm but Gold Passport members have to be vigilant about watching the eligible rates, even when booking on the Hyatt Web site). Regardless of whether their room rate is eligible to earn points, however, members who charge point-eligible incidentals such as food and beverages to their room will earn points on those purchases.

Service and support

We hear from members that customer service is excellent and one member writes that Hyatt customer service "seems to always go the extra mile whenever I've had an issue." The service center can be contacted via email, phone, fax or mail.
Hyatt Gold Passport has a comprehensive and well-organized Web site. Once logged on, a summary provides members with account details, including point balance, membership level and account activity. Special offers are also promoted based on a members stay activity. Missing points can be requested online and members can donate, convert and redeem points for awards online. Reserving a car rental award, requesting a suite upgrade or other special awards and purchasing points require a phone call.

Other things...

Gold Passport is a solid program that showers elite members with amenities, bonus points and upgrades at every turn. The program offers benefits competitive with the industry, and even a few unique perks such as allowing members to combine points. The hotel group has expanded to include Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites, adding additional properties where members can earn and redeem points. And Hyatt's "Faster Free Nights" promotion is a favorite recurring promotion among members.
A drawback to Hyatt's program is the lack of partnerships, especially a co-branded credit card. The program is easy to use, but if you want to earn points for online shopping, dining, credit card purchases and using partner services, you won't find an extensive partner list. The program has an abundance of airline partnerships but points can only be earned through hotel stays and car rentals.

Members also complain about rising redemption rates. Two years ago, hotel awards at the highest category hotels were 15,000 points, compared to 18,000 points today.