New benefits for Hyatt Platinum and Diamond members

Back in December Hyatt announced plans to extend free wireless internet to all Gold Passport members, which left many members wondering whether this would impact Platinum and Diamond elite benefits. After all, free wireless internet was a prominent benefit, for Platinum members who didn’t have much else in the way of elite perks.

Hyatt has just announced that starting February 14, Platinum and Diamond members will receive free premium wifi. I don’t know that this is a huge triumph. I’ve always picked premium wireless during my stays as a Diamond member and had it automatically deducted from my bill. However, I’m sure this announcement will reassure those elite members (who need it) that they are still special and more important than the minions beneath them in the status hierarchy.

Along with premium wifi, a host of new benefits will be offered to Hyatt Diamond members, starting March 1, 2015:

Guest of Honor

Hyatt is introducing a benefit they’ve dubbed “Guest of Honor,” which allows members to extend their Diamond benefits (room upgrades, breakfast, lounge access, etc.) to friends and family on award stays. The 30% point bonus does not apply to such bookings, which is perfectly reasonable.

Last year, as a birthday present, I booked an award stay at the Park Hyatt Sydney for my cousin. I booked it under my Gold Passport account and simply added her name to the reservation. She received the same benefits I did during my stay at the hotel, just as the hotel assured me she would. It’s still nice that Hyatt is officially recognizing this benefit, especially for those who were not previously aware of it.

The terms do specify that in order to take advantage of the Guest of Honor perk, Diamond members must call 800-400-2261 “or the nearest global contact center” for award stays through December 30, 2015. The fact that a date is specified makes me think this might be another temporary benefit, like the Hyatt My Elite rate that was discontinued after just one year. Let’s hope they keep this benefit past December. Or at least allow members to continue utilizing it unofficially, like they currently are.

United Club Passes

Starting March 1, Hyatt Diamond members will begin receiving two United Club day passes on an annual basis. These passes can normally be purchased for $50 each. However, at any given time there is bound to be a blogger giving them away as a prize for a short-term increase in page views. While everyone has something negative to say about domestic club lounges these days, they’re still a better place to pass the time during a long delay than sitting at a crowded gate with no place to charge your phone.

The press release outlining these changes mentioned another exciting development, which is embargoed until February 17. Let’s just say, you will be happy about it. I once off-handedly wished for something like it in a blog post (on another blog), so it’s great that they’re actually rolling it out. You can read about the details of this new development on February 17.

What are your thoughts on Hyatt’s new Platinum and Diamond benefits?