Real-Life Comparison of Hyatt Platinum and Hyatt Diamond

• Achieve rewards faster with a 15% point bonus when choosing points

• Enjoy a preferred room including rooms on higher floors or larger rooms, based on availability upon arrival

• Receive the confirmed bed type at check-in

• Stay connected with complimentary in-room Internet access

• Expedite check-in at a dedicated area for elite members

• Ensure a room is always available with our 72-hour guarantee

• Extend your stay until 2:00 p.m. with a late check out request

• Book reservations through an exclusive Platinum line

• And, enjoy 20% off the daily rate with My Elite Rate on any standard room in 2014 (subject to availability).

Achieving Hyatt Platinum status

As I mentioned above, the easiest way to achieve Hyatt Platinum status is by holding the Chase Hyatt credit card. This is a solid card anyway given it’s sign-up bonus of 2 free nights at any Hyatt with the annual fee ($75) waived for the first year. In addition, there is a very nice anniversary bonus of 1 free night at any Hyatt category 1 – 4. I have routinely used this certificate at Hyatts that are pricing out for $180 – $300 per night on the night of my stay so it has been totally worth it for me to hold the card.

All of that is without really mentioning the added perk/bonus of holding that Platinum status. While it may not provide a ton of benefits to the casual hotel guest, free internet and the My Elite Rate can be very useful.

The other way of achieving Platinum status is by actually staying at Hyatt hotels. It takes 5 qualifying stays or 15 nights to qualify for Platinum. That means that you can stay 5 separate nights at Hyatts and that can count as your qualifying “stays.” In and of itself, Platinum is not that hard to earn by staying (remembering that award stays do not count for status but Points+Cash does count).

Probably the cheapest way to earn Platinum status on staying at Hyatts is to use their partnership with MLife and book nights at MLife hotels in Las Vegas. One of the cheapest is Excalibur which, even counting the resort fee for each night, comes out to around $58 on some nights. Multiply that by 5 separate night stays and you have yourself Platinum status on stays!

Hyatt Diamond Status

I have stayed in dozens of hotels as a Hyatt Platinum and several hotels as a Hyatt Diamond, so my experiences as a Platinum have a greater sampling than that as a Diamond, but I can still speak to my experiences as both.

Hyatt Platinum

One of the big things of note in staying at hotels as a Platinum is to remember that every single Hyatt credit card owner is a Platinum. That means that there is the potential for a high percentage of guests at major Hyatts to be at the Platinum level. Because of that, the extra, unwritten perks that can be extended to Platinum members may not be extended at larger hotels.

Upgrades

That is not to say that you cannot still get perks such as upgrades to suites or much larger rooms than offered in the benefits. You just need to be staying at the right hotels. When my wife and I stayed at the Andaz 5th Avenue in NYC, we were upgraded (both) times to suites – as Platinums. Another time my wife stayed there without me, she did not have a suite, but did have the type of room that is mentioned as an upgrade in the benefits.

Another way that you can experience better upgrades is to stay at hotels outside of the US. It is not as common in foreign Hyatts in smaller markets to get some great upgrades. In one of our stays at the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki (as a Platinum), we were upgraded into a suite and given two free breakfast certificates. The times that we have received upgrades to suites as Platinums happened in foreign Hyatts. Remember – the number of Platinums that they see is quite a bit lower than the US-based Hyatts because of the Hyatt credit card.

Check-out

As a Hyatt Platinum, you receive a perk of a late check-out of 2PM (based on availability). Almost every time I requested that late check-out (which is just about every visit), I received some push back on the time. Most of them extended my check-out to noon with some allowing it to be 1PM. I understand it is about space, but I was always a bit surprised that it was so hard to get the later check-out.

Customer Service

When checking in, I was rarely recognized as a Platinum member. I also know that the lines always seemed long for Platinum/Diamond members. When I did speak to customer service representatives (on the phone or in person), I always had a pleasant experience but it was nothing notable.

Hyatt Diamond

My very first time as a Diamond was definitely a step-up! It was something different in several incremental ways. Do not assume that this will happen to you, but it is a fair reflection on my experiences as a Diamond over 15 nights.

Upgrades

So far, I have only used one of my (4) suite upgrades and that was to book a suite at the Park Hyatt Seoul. I know I could have waited to see what type of room they gave me (and any room at a Park Hyatt would have been great!), but I wanted to make sure that I confirmed the suite.

Other than that one stay, I did not use suite upgrades. In spite of that, I received excellent upgrades to much nicer rooms (where a suite was not an option) and complimentary suite upgrades at other Hyatts. Again, a suite upgrade is not a mentioned benefit but is something that hotels can offer to guests. The upgrades were all mentioned by hotel staff to make sure that I knew I had a much nicer room.

Breakfast

The breakfast benefit is for up to 4 registered guests. At each of the hotels I have stayed at, I was told that the breakfast was for 4 people, even though there were only 2 people registered to the room. In a couple of instances, I had my family with me (5 people) and they just waived us in the dining area and said that we were all free. I had expected to pay for at least one but it was a nice gesture to give us free dining for all 5.

Check-out

The Hyatt Diamond receives a complimentary 4PM late check-out (as opposed to the 2PM that Platinums get). Every time I have asked for it and never once been turned down. In fact, they always make it a point to tell me that it is one of my offered benefits so of course I can have it. It really nice to be able to get that one with such regularity.

Customer service

For me, this is where the Diamond experience really began to shine. The Diamond phone line (which is a must-call when booking Points + Cash reservations) has excellent agents. They have been very kind and helpful (reminding me of some of the better staffed Delta Diamond call centers).

As far as treatment at the hotels, the representatives have been very kind and have gone out of their way to help me and recognize me for my Diamond status. They always thank me for my business and apologize if I have any wait at check-in at all (which never happened as a Platinum, the apology that is). Further, I always have a handwritten card welcoming me to the hotel and a small amenity package even though I always select the points. The amenity package is normally given to me at foreign Hyatts over the domestic ones.

Summary

Hyatt Platinum is certainly nothing to sneeze at. The benefits (especially the free internet) are great and the expedited check-in is nice. But, when it comes to Hyatt Diamond, there really is a gulf between the two. I am sure it has something to do with the ease that guests can get Hyatt Platinum (through the credit card) vs Hyatt Diamond being their highest tier, but it is still nice to experience such pleasant hosting.

If you are staying at Hyatts on a somewhat regular basis, going for Hyatt Diamond should definitely be something that you consider. I realize that everyone may have different experiences, but on the whole, I think you will have somewhat regular complimentary suite upgrades at the Hyatts in the smaller markets. In addition, your treatment across the board by Hyatt personnel should be quite a bit better than as a Platinum.

Have you found my experiences to be similar to your own? What are some of your real-life comparisons?