New World of Hyatt vs. Marriott Premier Plus

[Anonymous]

Both interesting upgrades and especially with Marriott with now finally combining with SPG. I’ve usually always stayed at Marriots (not a crazy amount maybe 5x year) however the new Chase Hyatt card is pretty appealing. I’ve always loved their high end resorts say in Aruba.

Which do you guys prefer? They both seem like can even be used as a daily if needed.

[iced]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Both interesting upgrades and especially with Marriott with now finally combining with SPG. I’ve usually always stayed at Marriots (not a crazy amount maybe 5x year) however the new Chase Hyatt card is pretty appealing. I’ve always loved their high end resorts say in Aruba.

Which do you guys prefer? They both seem like can even be used as a daily if needed.

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My personal feeling is that accruing hotel points through credit cards isn't an optimal use of card spend. Hotel points tend to have among the lowest valuations of any type of point, and aside from the occasional high multiple for a specific spend category, they are generally not worth it.

The value in hotel cards will lay more in the perks they bestow. For someone who cannot or does not attain hotel status benefits through stays or nights, a card can be valuable. For those who stay enough to qualify for a mid-tier but may be able to push to a higher tier of status with a card (night credits, for example), a hotel card can be valuable.

As a means to accrue hotel points, hotel cards are not that valuable excepting someone who has heavy spend ($100,000+) annually with a particular hotel chain. Even then, since hotels code as travel, miles could be accrued on a card at a rate that would still outvalue the hotel points.

[wasCB14]

Hyatt has a much smaller footprint, but the points are fairly valuable, even for a basic member or Discoverist. I think iced is right that hotel points are generally worth less than airline miles, but I would say Hyatt points are an exception. Again, the downside is there aren't a lot of Hyatts.

The new Hyatt could be a good daily driver for someone who might reach elite Explorist or Globalist...or likes Hyatts but wants to keep complexity and annual fees down. At five stays a year, though, that's not much of a chance to enjoy elite status.

Personally, I spend more on UR cards. I accept that I will stay at Discoverist, and just focus on earning a lot of URs.

[Anonymous]

Good points . Yeah the fact Hyatt’s aren’t as convenient as Marriott is big. I also did some searching of some hotels if I used Hyatt points and it’s pretty hard to book. Seems like you have to book really early. I’ve always though been a fan of their hotels however.

[Anonymous]

I went through the same decision making process and went with the Hyatt card. Mostly because of what I have read about Hyatt redemptions, the free night working at the Grand Hyatt in DC, and their points value - a lot of potential bookings I looked at for real dates I needed returned 3 cpp value.

I also didn’t want to fall into the loyalty program trap that I have with frequent flyer status, so I liked that Hyatt didn’t give you status that lured me in too much, unlike the highest AF Hilton card.

So my plans is to transfer UR to Hyatt to book more extravagant vacations, and weekend city events. Then stick to Hotels Tonight, for most of my bookings.

{Moderator Edit - Posting about or soliciting referrals in PMs is not allowed on these forums. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.  --- Irish80}

[Anonymous]

How are you using the spend on it? Is it your daily?

[minski]

What are the thoughts about keeping the cards not for benefits or spend but for the free anniversary night? Would it be worth it?

[Anonymous]

This was my thought as well.

Up to 35K redemption. That’s pretty good and more than covers the annual fee.

[iced]

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@minski wrote:

What are the thoughts about keeping the cards not for benefits or spend but for the free anniversary night? Would it be worth it?

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Situational. Some people have regularly planned stays every year that fall into the category restrictions of the free night certs that make them worth it. Others may struggle to find sufficient value in them to warrant the AF.

I personally struggle a bit with certs (Marriott) as I only tend to stay at properties where the certs are invalid. I'll accrue a few throughout the year from various promotions and usually have to manufacture a weekend trip somewhere to burn them. It's not so bad when they're free, but I'm not sure I would want to pay $85 for something I'm forcing myself to use every year.

[Anonymous]

Is the Marriott points 6x PLUS the 5x you get being a member? If it’s 11x then that’s pretty good. Was curious on this.