Yesterday, I wrote about a new Hyatt offer that had popped up that is back to giving nights instead of points. I had a lot of readers contact me to see for sure if it was only for Category 1 – 7 hotels and not the new hotel category 8 (which only has SLH properties in it). So, I contacted Hyatt to find out.
Confirmed: New Hyatt Credit Card Offer Excludes Category 8 Properties
Hyatt confirmed that the new Hyatt offer is good for any Category 1 – 7 Hyatt property in the world and that includes all Small Luxury Hotel properties that fall in the Category 1 – 7 group. Due to the interest and those who had contacted me, I decided a separate post (as well as an update) would be the best way to let everyone know.
A Category 8 Inclusion Would Make this a Killer Offer!
That means that the new Category 8 properties are left out of this new Hyatt offer, which is a disappointment. I wrote yesterday how the free nights are really only desirable for customers that want top tier property redemptions since the point offer would give the same amount of points as one would need for 2 nights at a Category 6 (but this offer also includes $50 credit). If this Hyatt offer included Category 8 properties, it would be an awesome, must-have deal for many!
Still, the terms do not say that so I wonder if at some point in the next year Hyatt would expand free nights to include all categories again, especially if they move an actual Hyatt property into the Category 8 column. So, it could be worth holding on to if you want a high category stay but don’t need it right now. I have no way of knowing if that would happen but just wanted to throw that out there…
Value Is Still There for Category 7 Hotels
This is not to say you cannot get some great value out of this offer! There are new Category 7 properties that are part of the Small Luxury Hotels additions that can be quite expensive and the free nights work for them! In fact, there are now 43 Category 7 properties worldwide!
This Offer is Actually a Reservation Offer – Could Hyatt Be Thinking of Changing the Award on the Offers?
One more thing Hyatt said was that this offer actually is through the reservation path. That means it would normally pop up for people that are making a reservation. It is quite common to get better offers this way, especially ones that give statement credits (since it cuts out the affiliate payout that they would normally have to pay to a blogger/website).
But, it is not that common to give a totally different award offer this way (nights instead of points). I wonder if they are trialing this offer to see about bringing back free night offers instead of points. I hope they don’t because the point offer gives way more flexibility to customers.
Did they mention whether the 2 free night offer would be good for 2 adults and 2 kids at one of their Ziva properties (without paying the additional points/fees)?