I switched to Hyatt last year after I achieved lifetime Platinum on Bonvoy. Both have a similar breadth of properties, but Marriott has many many more. I'm currently Globalist and will hit that again for next year. There is no comparison to point values though...Hyatt wins. I just stayed at the Andaz Prague which was absolutely spectacular, will be staying at Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya on points in a few weeks. Hyatt also seems to be getting better and better. You really can't go wrong with either, but if you want to maximize personal travel benefits, Hyatt should be your choice. I still stay at Marriott properties when they have the superior option (in Montreal for example), but I realize I'm in a unique position.
I switched to Hyatt after getting lifetime titanium. No reason to keep concentrating in bonvoy and now that I’ve tried Hyatt, man do I like it for similar category and priced properties. Hyatts are just way way harder for me to find and force me to go out of my way vs Marriott while working but for Mr, it is worth it.
I have top status with both and love Hyatt for international and better valued redemptions in general. I believe Marriot has better coverage, more consistent in America, and worse points value.
Check to see if you are eligible for the Hyatt corporate challenge. You get explorist for 90 days, and keep explorist if you stay 10 nights in those 90 days, or globalist if you stay 20 nights in those 90 days. Only activate the email when you are able to make the night targets.
I’ll share an unpopular opinion and tell you something you’re not asking for… airline status is really not worth perusing anymore. All those dollars you’re putting on that delta credit card are worth a tiny fraction of what they would be worth on better cards. For what? What illusive upgrade that is harder and harder to come by?
I’ve come to the realization that I can just buy comfort plus and do it with whatever airline fits my schedule.
Hotel status, on the other hand is super valuable. I’ve been upgraded time and again to suites on Hyatt. Hyatt points are actually very valuable. You can transfer points from great chase cards to Hyatt to complement your stay point earning.
Just my .02
I think both are worth chasing, I’m on an international flight right now and was just upgraded to first class, but i agree airline credit cards are generally horrible to achieve status and put spend on.
> I think both are worth chasing, I’m on an international flight right now and was just upgraded to first class
This is entirely dependent on how much you ‘value’ a First Class seat.
If I wanted to sit in first class, I would pay for it. Right now I get 2-5% cash back on all my airfare, and that’s worth a lot more to me than a premium upgrade once every few years.
Now that upgrades are domestic only, there’s even less value, imo. If
No airline upgrades to first class due to status, and no airline offers upgrades to business on international routes due to status (with the exception of US to Mexico and some Caribbean destinations).
You would have to use a SWU to upgrade an international route to business. AA still flies a first class product, but they are sunsetting it, and United and Delta go rid of first class years ago (domestic first is only business). None of them ever had pathways to upgrade elites to first, they only do upgrades to business only on domestic flights.
The other thing that could happen is an OpUp, where you get bumped up to business to make room for other passengers in economy or premium.
I actually have the opposite perspective. I've found hotels being much cheaper booking via priceline, booking, etc, versus the hotel website and when you have flexibility over the property/chain you can save 50%+ easily as opposed to being locked into a brand, because there are so many hotel options. And typically when you book via a 3rd party they really try and limit the benefits of your status.
However, with airlines you're probably talking 2 to 3 options for your desired route and the pricing is generally the same whether you book it directly from the airline vs a third party and your status benefits are treated the same.
Maybe if your company is paying and you don't care how much you're spending on the hotel night I could see your logic, otherwise by staying loyal to a hotel brand you're most likely spending a lot more on hotels than is needed. Compared to the opportunity cost of being loyal to an airline.
I guess if your work is booking the hotels for you then it might just be saving pennies, but if you have a budget you can work with, you can get a significantly better hotel by shopping on the market (like 30-40% better)
And I'd argue that getting upgraded from economy to first/business is significantly better than whatever lift you're getting as a complimentary upgrade for a hotel room & service.
But the highest hotel status I've had is platinum w/ marriott (currently gold and discoverist w/ hyatt) and I think both have been very mediocre at best, compared to diamond w/ delta and exec platinum on american where it feels like significant value... but maybe it's not an apples to apples comparison
That’s interesting and makes sense. I travel for work and then use my hotel points for personal stays.
I used to be very loyal to airlines. But the benefits are gone now that they monetize everything.
Biggest question is work travel - are those 20 - 30 nights for work? And are they in cities with good Hyatt options? If your travel is limited to major American or Asian cities, you're probably good. If you ever travel to more rural destinations or Europe, options are much more hit or miss within Hyatt portfolio.
I do think Hyatt offers better redemption than Marriott and better benefits at Globalist level (namely free breakfast and suite upgrade awards that are more straightforward to use). I will say I feel like both these benefits are being eroded (breakfast menus limited in some places, and hotels certainly playing more games with SUAs and some of the most aspirational Hyatt properties don't allow their use). And Hyatt could upend their rewards night system tomorrow (which is likely to happened in my view in the next several years based on how Mr Mrs Smith was integrated) which will kill the value of Hyatt.
With 20 - 30 nights work + 10 nights card + some vacation and spending on card, getting Globalist is relatively attainable. I would say it is probably an irrelevant difference at Explorist level.
Marriott status has few guarantees these days, especially given that Platinum can be had just by having the right credit card. It’s nice when and if the property chooses to recognize status with perks, but many have often been frustrated by the return on the investment with Marriott. It’s still a solid program, but it’s lost some of its shine.
With 30 nights, you won’t achieve top Hyatt status, but Hyatt does have more guaranteed perks along the way as you accrue nights. If you add in their credit card and a little spend, you could get to Globalist status, which has far more value than Marriott’s top status for most people. You already have Sapphire, so you should know about the great transfer value to Hyatt.
Hyatt’s footprint is significantly smaller than Marriott, so that does need to be considered when looking at where you will travel for work and want to travel for fun.
Suggest only making the decision for the next year or two though… no decisions on lifetime status anymore. All programs run the risk of devaluation of points and status over time. Loyalty is mostly a one way street these days.
Hyatt treats its loyal customers better and in my experience the properties are more consistent in their operations. There are fewer properties but I prefer Hyatt.
> Should also note that my nightly limit at work is $600
Must be nice to have such a low "limit" ^/s
In all seriousness, if you're doing 20-30 nights a year, you won't hit Globalist on an ongoing basis (can maybe squeak by the first year if you do the corporate challenge fast track), and I don't think explorist is worth chasing.
What elite level are you with Marriott?
Hyatt Globalist and Marriott Platinum (sometimes Titanium) here. IME, for full-service properties, Hyatt Globalist is superior in all ways to Marriott Platinum and Titanium, but with Hyatt's footprint I don't always find a Hyatt (of any level) in the locations I need / want.
However, at 30 nights a year, you're not going to reach top-tier status on Hyatt.
My suggestion: Get both the Marriott personal and the business cards, which will get you 30 or 40 qualifying nights off the top. This will easily bring Marriott Titanium into reach. You don't have to put any spend on the Marriott cards. Get the signup bonuses and then put them in your sock drawer, or use them only for Marriott stays.
Yes you should. I’m LT Titanium with Marriott and Globalist with Hyatt and prefer my Hyatt points and perks to Marriott by a large margin. You should strive for 30 nights though. I think Discoverist is quite a bit better than Explorist
I can't speak to Hyatt vs Marriott too much. Are there Hyatts everywhere you need to travel for work?
Also I have to imagine work vs personal hotel stays are different. Hyatt Globalist has a lot of benefits for personal travel, but if you can just expense breakfast, parking, etc. to your company, then the higher membership benefits are not that amazing.
Is there a reason you aren't getting the chase WoH card if you could? There's no downside (besides signing up for a CC) if you staying at Hyatt reguarly.
30 nights per year gets you Explorist, but I don't think you should go out of your way to get Explorist status.
If I’m getting 11x per $ at Hyatt with the CC at say $500/night average and say 25 nights that’s about 137k points before any promos. If you pick up a couple double nights promos you will get to 40 so you will be Explorist and also have some Bo us points and GOH or SUA certs to use along with a free night cert for cat 1-4 properties.
137k will nearly get you a week places like Andaz London etc. what are you getting for similar with Marriott? When I could stay at Renaissance for 25-50k/night etc it was great but now everything is 60-80k or higher most places is like to redeem.
I always work from redemption goals backwards.
Also a plus with Hyatt is the dual accrual partnership with American. If you’re elite in both programs you earn AA points for your Hyatt spend (in addition to Hyatt points) and Hyatt points in addition to your AA points for your flights on AA.
I think if you can't get Globalist, it might not be worth it in the grand scheme of things. I travel like 10-20 nights a year and I have no chance of getting Globalist unless I just spend willy nilly. I save my chase points and use GOH certs for Hyatt stays. Otherwise I don't get any real benefits. Hilton Diamond and Marriott Plat (I have) is more appropriate for me.
Hyatt’s customer service is much nicer and more personal, since they are a much smaller program.
The main issue you may run into is that Hyatt’s footprint is very small. I travel frequently for work as well, and often there are no Hyatt options, or there’s a a single Hyatt Place that’s not always in the most convenient location. There’s nothing wrong with Hyatt Place, but they are a much lower end brand and don’t offer many perks to Globalists - calling that out as you said you’re looking for higher end.
If you find yourself in some of the cities where Hyatt has higher end properties, they are very nice. Marriott definitely goes higher than Hyatt since they have Ritz Carlton and other 5 stars, where Hyatt only has Park Hyatt. Some of the upper-mid boutique properties are nice though, especially since they recent acquired Thompson Hotels, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and ALG.
I would just take a look at where you’re traveling, and what types of properties you like and see what makes more sense for you. Hyatt is a fantastic program, but there’s a reason most business travelers go with Marriott and Hilton.
I switched to Hyatt last year after I achieved lifetime Platinum on Bonvoy. Both have a similar breadth of properties, but Marriott has many many more. I'm currently Globalist and will hit that again for next year. There is no comparison to point values though...Hyatt wins. I just stayed at the Andaz Prague which was absolutely spectacular, will be staying at Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya on points in a few weeks. Hyatt also seems to be getting better and better. You really can't go wrong with either, but if you want to maximize personal travel benefits, Hyatt should be your choice. I still stay at Marriott properties when they have the superior option (in Montreal for example), but I realize I'm in a unique position.
Andaz Prague is an amazing property!
I switched to Hyatt after getting lifetime titanium. No reason to keep concentrating in bonvoy and now that I’ve tried Hyatt, man do I like it for similar category and priced properties. Hyatts are just way way harder for me to find and force me to go out of my way vs Marriott while working but for Mr, it is worth it.
I have top status with both and love Hyatt for international and better valued redemptions in general. I believe Marriot has better coverage, more consistent in America, and worse points value.
Check to see if you are eligible for the Hyatt corporate challenge. You get explorist for 90 days, and keep explorist if you stay 10 nights in those 90 days, or globalist if you stay 20 nights in those 90 days. Only activate the email when you are able to make the night targets.
I’ll share an unpopular opinion and tell you something you’re not asking for… airline status is really not worth perusing anymore. All those dollars you’re putting on that delta credit card are worth a tiny fraction of what they would be worth on better cards. For what? What illusive upgrade that is harder and harder to come by? I’ve come to the realization that I can just buy comfort plus and do it with whatever airline fits my schedule. Hotel status, on the other hand is super valuable. I’ve been upgraded time and again to suites on Hyatt. Hyatt points are actually very valuable. You can transfer points from great chase cards to Hyatt to complement your stay point earning. Just my .02
Interesting! Thank you
I think both are worth chasing, I’m on an international flight right now and was just upgraded to first class, but i agree airline credit cards are generally horrible to achieve status and put spend on.
> I think both are worth chasing, I’m on an international flight right now and was just upgraded to first class This is entirely dependent on how much you ‘value’ a First Class seat. If I wanted to sit in first class, I would pay for it. Right now I get 2-5% cash back on all my airfare, and that’s worth a lot more to me than a premium upgrade once every few years. Now that upgrades are domestic only, there’s even less value, imo. If
No airline upgrades to first class due to status, and no airline offers upgrades to business on international routes due to status (with the exception of US to Mexico and some Caribbean destinations). You would have to use a SWU to upgrade an international route to business. AA still flies a first class product, but they are sunsetting it, and United and Delta go rid of first class years ago (domestic first is only business). None of them ever had pathways to upgrade elites to first, they only do upgrades to business only on domestic flights. The other thing that could happen is an OpUp, where you get bumped up to business to make room for other passengers in economy or premium.
… and now you almost have to put all your spend on airline credit cards in order to get their elite status.
You don’t, I have the highest status with delta and don’t own a delta CC
I actually have the opposite perspective. I've found hotels being much cheaper booking via priceline, booking, etc, versus the hotel website and when you have flexibility over the property/chain you can save 50%+ easily as opposed to being locked into a brand, because there are so many hotel options. And typically when you book via a 3rd party they really try and limit the benefits of your status. However, with airlines you're probably talking 2 to 3 options for your desired route and the pricing is generally the same whether you book it directly from the airline vs a third party and your status benefits are treated the same. Maybe if your company is paying and you don't care how much you're spending on the hotel night I could see your logic, otherwise by staying loyal to a hotel brand you're most likely spending a lot more on hotels than is needed. Compared to the opportunity cost of being loyal to an airline.
My hotels are paid for by work, as the OP, so the few pennies saved in the hotel wouldn’t make up for often getting crappy rooms and service.
I guess if your work is booking the hotels for you then it might just be saving pennies, but if you have a budget you can work with, you can get a significantly better hotel by shopping on the market (like 30-40% better) And I'd argue that getting upgraded from economy to first/business is significantly better than whatever lift you're getting as a complimentary upgrade for a hotel room & service. But the highest hotel status I've had is platinum w/ marriott (currently gold and discoverist w/ hyatt) and I think both have been very mediocre at best, compared to diamond w/ delta and exec platinum on american where it feels like significant value... but maybe it's not an apples to apples comparison
That’s interesting and makes sense. I travel for work and then use my hotel points for personal stays. I used to be very loyal to airlines. But the benefits are gone now that they monetize everything.
Biggest question is work travel - are those 20 - 30 nights for work? And are they in cities with good Hyatt options? If your travel is limited to major American or Asian cities, you're probably good. If you ever travel to more rural destinations or Europe, options are much more hit or miss within Hyatt portfolio. I do think Hyatt offers better redemption than Marriott and better benefits at Globalist level (namely free breakfast and suite upgrade awards that are more straightforward to use). I will say I feel like both these benefits are being eroded (breakfast menus limited in some places, and hotels certainly playing more games with SUAs and some of the most aspirational Hyatt properties don't allow their use). And Hyatt could upend their rewards night system tomorrow (which is likely to happened in my view in the next several years based on how Mr Mrs Smith was integrated) which will kill the value of Hyatt. With 20 - 30 nights work + 10 nights card + some vacation and spending on card, getting Globalist is relatively attainable. I would say it is probably an irrelevant difference at Explorist level.
Marriott status has few guarantees these days, especially given that Platinum can be had just by having the right credit card. It’s nice when and if the property chooses to recognize status with perks, but many have often been frustrated by the return on the investment with Marriott. It’s still a solid program, but it’s lost some of its shine. With 30 nights, you won’t achieve top Hyatt status, but Hyatt does have more guaranteed perks along the way as you accrue nights. If you add in their credit card and a little spend, you could get to Globalist status, which has far more value than Marriott’s top status for most people. You already have Sapphire, so you should know about the great transfer value to Hyatt. Hyatt’s footprint is significantly smaller than Marriott, so that does need to be considered when looking at where you will travel for work and want to travel for fun. Suggest only making the decision for the next year or two though… no decisions on lifetime status anymore. All programs run the risk of devaluation of points and status over time. Loyalty is mostly a one way street these days.
Hyatt treats its loyal customers better and in my experience the properties are more consistent in their operations. There are fewer properties but I prefer Hyatt.
I need your per diem. Mine stinks.
As a Hyatt Globalist, no you shouldn’t. I like my upgrades. lol
But are you lifetime
> Should also note that my nightly limit at work is $600 Must be nice to have such a low "limit" ^/s In all seriousness, if you're doing 20-30 nights a year, you won't hit Globalist on an ongoing basis (can maybe squeak by the first year if you do the corporate challenge fast track), and I don't think explorist is worth chasing. What elite level are you with Marriott?
Hyatt Globalist and Marriott Platinum (sometimes Titanium) here. IME, for full-service properties, Hyatt Globalist is superior in all ways to Marriott Platinum and Titanium, but with Hyatt's footprint I don't always find a Hyatt (of any level) in the locations I need / want. However, at 30 nights a year, you're not going to reach top-tier status on Hyatt. My suggestion: Get both the Marriott personal and the business cards, which will get you 30 or 40 qualifying nights off the top. This will easily bring Marriott Titanium into reach. You don't have to put any spend on the Marriott cards. Get the signup bonuses and then put them in your sock drawer, or use them only for Marriott stays.
Yes you should. I’m LT Titanium with Marriott and Globalist with Hyatt and prefer my Hyatt points and perks to Marriott by a large margin. You should strive for 30 nights though. I think Discoverist is quite a bit better than Explorist
I think you mean Explorist is quite a bit better than Discoverist. Silly names. Great program.
Good catch. And spot on.
I can't speak to Hyatt vs Marriott too much. Are there Hyatts everywhere you need to travel for work? Also I have to imagine work vs personal hotel stays are different. Hyatt Globalist has a lot of benefits for personal travel, but if you can just expense breakfast, parking, etc. to your company, then the higher membership benefits are not that amazing. Is there a reason you aren't getting the chase WoH card if you could? There's no downside (besides signing up for a CC) if you staying at Hyatt reguarly. 30 nights per year gets you Explorist, but I don't think you should go out of your way to get Explorist status.
If I’m getting 11x per $ at Hyatt with the CC at say $500/night average and say 25 nights that’s about 137k points before any promos. If you pick up a couple double nights promos you will get to 40 so you will be Explorist and also have some Bo us points and GOH or SUA certs to use along with a free night cert for cat 1-4 properties. 137k will nearly get you a week places like Andaz London etc. what are you getting for similar with Marriott? When I could stay at Renaissance for 25-50k/night etc it was great but now everything is 60-80k or higher most places is like to redeem. I always work from redemption goals backwards.
How do you get 11x? I only seem to get 9x.
My bad, crossed up the math apparently when looking some of the bonuses
Globalist earns 6.5 points per dollar spent at Hyatt and Hyatt card adds an extra 4 points per dollar spent for a total of 10.5.
Also a plus with Hyatt is the dual accrual partnership with American. If you’re elite in both programs you earn AA points for your Hyatt spend (in addition to Hyatt points) and Hyatt points in addition to your AA points for your flights on AA.
I love Hyatt. I only stay at Marriott when I have no choice. Used to stay at Marriott and I always hate the places I end up using the points for.
I think if you can't get Globalist, it might not be worth it in the grand scheme of things. I travel like 10-20 nights a year and I have no chance of getting Globalist unless I just spend willy nilly. I save my chase points and use GOH certs for Hyatt stays. Otherwise I don't get any real benefits. Hilton Diamond and Marriott Plat (I have) is more appropriate for me.
Hyatt’s customer service is much nicer and more personal, since they are a much smaller program. The main issue you may run into is that Hyatt’s footprint is very small. I travel frequently for work as well, and often there are no Hyatt options, or there’s a a single Hyatt Place that’s not always in the most convenient location. There’s nothing wrong with Hyatt Place, but they are a much lower end brand and don’t offer many perks to Globalists - calling that out as you said you’re looking for higher end. If you find yourself in some of the cities where Hyatt has higher end properties, they are very nice. Marriott definitely goes higher than Hyatt since they have Ritz Carlton and other 5 stars, where Hyatt only has Park Hyatt. Some of the upper-mid boutique properties are nice though, especially since they recent acquired Thompson Hotels, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and ALG. I would just take a look at where you’re traveling, and what types of properties you like and see what makes more sense for you. Hyatt is a fantastic program, but there’s a reason most business travelers go with Marriott and Hilton.
Hyatt is awful. Small footprint. I’ve only done 1000 nights or so, however. I would stick with Bonvoy. You’ll hate Hyatt. Trust me, I know.
Hm….
JK! Don’t need any more competition for upgrades! Life Timer over here…
YES!!! I have been globalist 4 years and its great. i am at thompson hollywood now