New World of Hyatt vs. Marriott Premier Plus

[simplynoir]

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@Anonymous wrote:
You all have gave great input. I looked on Hyatt and their redemptions are pretty good value. It’s basically down to the World Hyatt, MR Plus, CSR, and TY Premier for me.

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To me if those are the cards you're deciding on I would go for either CSR or Premier if you're not chasing status with either Marriott or Hyatt. And the Premier is already shaky only because we don't know the future of the card if they'll put limitations on it or if it will be revamped altogether.

[iced]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Another observation I have had when staying at hotels for work is that the Hyatt app price typically is on point with cheap last minute booking places. Meaning I can book through Hyatt and receive the points and small benefits. I have not had that experience with other programs.

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My observations for last-minute bookings have been the opposite. Marriott has the advantage in this area because they're so widespread and they have a large brand base. If one only compares a standard Hyatt to a standard Marriott, things are roughly equal depending on city, but once one factors in Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, Courtyard, SpringHill Suites, and so on, one is much, much more likely to find a Marriott property last-minute and a very reasonable price for no other reason than Marriott has a property to compete with other chains from the low-end (TownePlace) all the way up to the top (Ritz-Carlton/Four Seasons). This also plays well to the business traveler because they can accrue points on those low/mid properties en masse and redeem them for nights at places at the top of the spectrum.

To reiterate a point made earlier in the thread, Marriott has a huge advantage from just the sheer numbers of properties they have, spread all over the spectrum. They're just going to have more rooms for various prices, due to number advantage. Referencing an article on the web (for whatever that's worth), here's a quick breakdown as of 2015:

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL INC.-STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS WORLDWIDE INC.

Brands: The Ritz-Carlton, BVlgari, EDITION, JW Marriott, Autograph Collection Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Delta Hotels and Resorts, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Vacation Club, Gaylord Hotels, AC Hotels by Marriott, Courtyard, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites, TownePlace Suites, Protea Hotels, and Moxy Hotels, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft, and Element.

Properties: 5,397. 

Rooms: 1,068,990.

HYATT HOTELS CORP.

Brands: Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Residence Club, Hyatt Gold Passport, and Hyatt Resorts.

Properties: 587.

Rooms: 155,265.

Advantage: Marriott, by an order of magnitude.

(Reference: https://skift.com/2015/11/16/who-owns-what-making-sense-of-the-hotel-chains-and-their-brands/)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
2nd post - I think this post got removed for spam, can a mod please PM me if there is something wrong with it?

Just clarifying that the Marriott card is not a 2% card, but a 2 Marriott point per $1, which in most valuations are worth less than a 1c.

Also double dipping exists on most hotel credit cards, with the Hyatt I believe you get 5x as standard, 0.5x extra from status obtained with credit card and 4x on the cards. I’d say roughly a Hyatt point is worth at least double a Marriott point.

As another +1 for Hyatt, I believe they are the only one to waive resort fees on point stays, which can make the points worth even more than first appear.

Another observation I have had when staying at hotels for work is that the Hyatt app price typically is on point with cheap last minute booking places. Meaning I can book through Hyatt and receive the points and small benefits. I have not had that experience with other programs.

It’s also worth considering value you get out of points transfer partners into each Hotel program. What I have seen from collecting UR, is that I get much better value transferring at 1:1 into Hyatt than 1:1 into Marriott (not sure if it is still 1:1).

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It is nice that Hyatt waives resort fees and then doesn't let you book resorts with points.  I have looked at a lot of resorts and have never seen them available with points.  On the other hand Marriott I have never seen a resort not available with points.  But like I said everyone should get the 60k Hyatt offer. It is great. If you have a spouse get one for them to and refer them so you get referral bonsus.  You should be sitting pretty. I think Chase also gives you 5k points for adding an authorized user.  Pretty much a no brainer to get the card for the sign up bonus.

Then keeping the card is definitely worth it for the yearly free night.  The one thing that is a plus for the Hyatt is that in 2019 Marriott is going to charge peak point rates so you will pay more in points for in-season redemption.  While Hyatt same points redemption cost no matter what the season.  The problem is getting them to have award rooms.

The best thing about Marriott is 5th night free.  So if you have 4 nights award redemption you get the 5th night for free.  And Hyatt seems pretty much you are going to get 1.8 cent a point.  Marriott redemption value varies.  

Anyway if you don't have either credit card.  Makes sense to get the Hyatt and the Amex SPG personal and Biz for the sign up bonuses.  Then you can use both programs and see which one you like better before comitting to one.  Really after the sign up bonus I would just use Citi Thank You Premier if you wanted points for hotels.  As you can stay at any hotel you want and not having to hope there is one of these chains at your destination. 

[jdbkiang]

If you’re going with just ONE travel card, CSR is probably the best catch-all, unless you’re committed to one hotel chain.

[Anonymous]

Not sure I got across exactly what I meant:

From my experience it has been cheaper to book Marriott on a platform that doesn’t enable points to be accrued and possibly status to be considered.

But I’ve never found a Hyatt price cheaper than in Hyatt, meaning you end up with points for that stay. If you do, they have a price guarantee and give you some more money off I believe.

[Anonymous]

Domestically I usually always stay at marriotts.

If I travel internationally most of time it’s to Caribbean and sometimes all inclusive. To the CSR I’m trying to justify the $450 AF. I already have the Uber for dining so trying to see how I would spread out my spending.

[simplynoir]

If that's the case it depends on what currency you value more: points or cash.

[iced]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Not sure I got across exactly what I meant:

From my experience it has been cheaper to book Marriott on a platform that doesn’t enable points to be accrued and possibly status to be considered.

But I’ve never found a Hyatt price cheaper than in Hyatt, meaning you end up with points for that stay. If you do, they have a price guarantee and give you some more money off I believe.

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Ah, now I understand. That said, with the Marriott "member" rate they post in their app and on their website, I also consistently can book a Marriott for (slightly) less than what's offered in travel portals. Example: the Marriott app is quoting me $355 for two nights in LAS, while Expedia, AmEx Travel, and Hotels.com each want $374.

[iced]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Domestically I usually always stay at marriotts.

If I travel internationally most of time it’s to Caribbean and sometimes all inclusive. To the CSR I’m trying to justify the $450 AF. I already have the Uber for dining so trying to see how I would spread out my spending.

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The CSR is really a $150 AF card. If you travel at all, it would be nigh impossible to not bank all $300 of the travel credit. One plane ticket or two nights in a hotel and you have that.

[wasCB14]

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@iced wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
Domestically I usually always stay at marriotts.

If I travel internationally most of time it’s to Caribbean and sometimes all inclusive. To the CSR I’m trying to justify the $450 AF. I already have the Uber for dining so trying to see how I would spread out my spending.

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The CSR is really a $150 AF card. If you travel at all, it would be nigh impossible to not bank all $300 of the travel credit. One plane ticket or two nights in a hotel and you have that.

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$150 plus the value of whatever rewards you'd have earned with another card on $300 of travel.