Time flies. I remember being a teenager who was obsessed with miles & points like it was yesterday. 15+ years later (I’m now 34 years old), my interests haven’t changed a whole lot, but just about everything else about this “hobby” has.
In this post I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane, and share what was no doubt my favorite promotion we’ve ever seen from a loyalty program, and what lessons we can learn from it.
In this post:
Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights promo was one-of-a-kind
A couple of days ago I was flying out of Tampa Airport, seated on the right side of the aircraft. As we took off, I saw the Grand Hyatt Tampa off the right wing, which always brings back fond memories. I grew up in Tampa, and in 2008-2010, the Grand Hyatt Tampa was the hotel I stayed at the most often, and it became my second home. Why? Well, Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights promotion…
Faster Free Nights was a promotion that Hyatt Gold Passport (Hyatt’s loyalty program, before World of Hyatt was created in 2017) ran at least once per year in 2008 through 2010 (and maybe even before that, though that was before my time being into hotel loyalty programs).
Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights promotion was simple — for every two hotel stays you completed at any Hyatt property during the promotion period, you received one free night certificate you could use at any Hyatt property. I’d argue that this is the single most lucrative repeated promotion we’ve ever seen from any travel loyalty program.
Now, I imagine the idea was that a business traveler who stays in hotels four consecutive nights per week would take advantage of this, meaning they’d get one free night after every eight nights (since the promotion was based on completing two stays, not two nights). However, for those of us into this hobby, we’d stay two separate nights at our closest, cheapest Hyatt hotel, and then we’d use our free night awards at Hyatt’s top properties, like the Park Hyatt Tokyo, Park Hyatt Paris, etc.
The earnings potential here was even more generous than this, though. For example, the Grand Hyatt Tampa was my go-to property for this promotion. It consistently cost around $100 per night. First of all, at the time, Costco sold Hyatt gift certificates for 20% off, so that would lower my real cost to around $80 per night.
But then I’d earn a bunch of additional rewards:
- At the time, Hyatt offered 2,500 points per stay if you were a Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond member staying at a property with a closed club lounge (in addition to complimentary restaurant breakfast); the Grand Hyatt Tampa club lounge was closed Fridays through Mondays
- At the time, Hyatt had a “G3 bonus,” as it was called, whereby you’d get an extra 1,500 points per stay (you just had to include the code, but it was combinable with basically any rate)
- At the time, Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members received a welcome amenity, and could select 1,000 points per stay as this, in lieu of a food and beverage item
- At the time, Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members earned 5x base points on spending, plus a 30% points bonus, meaning the $100 rate earned 650 points
So I’d typically check-in at the Grand Hyatt on Friday, check out on Saturday, and then check-in again on Sunday, before checking out on Monday. Each weekend would cost me $160, and I’d earn a free night award plus 11,300 Gold Passport points.
That might not sound like a lot of points now, but at the time, Hyatt’s most expensive properties went for 18,000 points per night (compared to 45,000 points now).
Let me of course emphasize that while plenty of people took advantage of this offer, I was ridiculously lucky to live near a hotel with a closed club lounge on weekends, plus a hotel eligible for the G3 bonus, as most people taking advantage of this offer weren’t getting that many bonus points.
What Hyatt’s generous promotion taught us about loyalty
Nowadays we don’t see many loyalty programs offering high-value promotions that are in some ways “too good to be true.” Rather, most programs nowadays have promotions that are quite modest.
I can appreciate wanting to control expenses, but in some cases I can’t help but wonder if these offers even move the needle in terms of consumer behavior, or if programs are basically just giving something away without getting much in return.
So I think it’s interesting to consider how Hyatt Gold Passport’s Faster Free Nights promotion was both incredibly lucrative, and also worked out for Hyatt, as I think there are some lessons to be learned:
- Faster Free Nights was at a time when Hyatt was growing at a fast pace, and was way smaller than competitors; while Hyatt is still among the smaller hotel groups and it’s still growing, the scale was different at the time, so Hyatt needed to do something to really differentiate itself
- This promotion was largely during a major recession, when a lot of hotel rooms were empty, and this offer got heads into beds; keep in mind that when hotels aren’t full, reimbursement for award stays is typically quite low
- Faster Free Nights is a promotion that worked incredibly well to foster long term loyalty and engagement, even when the generous promotions stopped; many of us have had top-tier status with Hyatt ever since Faster Free Nights, and I’ve even earned lifetime Globalist status now
- The way information is shared has changed over the years, so while there was a lot of interest at the time, I can understand how risky a promotion like this would be in the age of rampant social media; that’s probably why we don’t see many promotions like this nowadays
Jeff Zidell was the head of Hyatt Gold Passport back at the time, and to this day, he’s one of the loyalty program executives I most respect. He understood the concept of delivering value and consistency to members in a way that many others don’t. Between Zidell and Starwood Preferred Guest’s Chris Holdren, it was a great time for hotel loyalty…
Times have changed, but it’s not all bad
I’m not writing about this promotion because I’m trying to suggest that the best of times in miles & points are entirely behind us, and that there’s no point in playing this game anymore. Quite to the contrary, there’s still a ton of value to be had, it’s just that the methods have changed.
15 years ago, the best way to earn miles & points was to take advantage of airline and hotel promotions. Mattress running and mileage running were both very much a thing, and made sense. But loyalty programs have evolved, and aren’t rewarding in the same way.
But there are so many new opportunities to earn points nowadays. Look at the amazing credit card welcome offers we see on cards, as well as the points multiples for spending on many credit cards. Back then, the concept of a huge credit card welcome offer was basically unheard of, and savvy people were using their SPG Amex for all their spending, earning one Starpoint per dollar spent. The concept of 100K+ point bonuses and earning 3-5x points on credit card spending was unheard of.
So while award redemption values aren’t as good as they used to be, the opportunities to earn points are also much greater.
Bottom line
The miles & points world has changed a lot over the years, in some cases for the better, and in some cases for the worse. When I think of promotions from the past that really seemed too good to be true, Hyatt Gold Passport’s Faster Free Nights promotion comes to mind. What a time that was for hotel loyalty…
Any OMAAT readers fondly remember Hyatt Gold Passport’s Faster Free Nights promotion?
One of my favorites was AA’s two round trips for a free lower 48/Canada ticket. As I was doing the typical consultant 3/4/5 schedule the the offer paid for my flights for a long time and paid for friends flights to get together.
Oh and of course this was back in the Naughts when AA was one of the best airlines to fly
Parting Shot
Those comments right there are so stupid that I must ask: why is it that whenever there is a commenter that can coherently and eloquently defend their position in this forum, its resident trolls immediately jump to the conclusion that the commenter and DCS must...
Parting Shot
Those comments right there are so stupid that I must ask: why is it that whenever there is a commenter that can coherently and eloquently defend their position in this forum, its resident trolls immediately jump to the conclusion that the commenter and DCS must be the same person? And why is that even important ?!!!
It happened with a prolific commenter named "platy", who they were sure was DCS, and now they are swearing that Tim Dunn and DCS must be the same person, which is utterly stupid because, you see, DCS is (a) a UA Million Miller/LT *G, (b) Hilton Honors aficionado and LT Diamond, (c) Miles/Points math wiz, (d) Ivy League Med U Prof, and (e) as knowledgeable about hotel loyalty programs in general as any self anointed "travel guru", while Tim Dunn is a one trick pony, i.e., (a) DL, (b) DL, (c) DL, (d) DL, (e) DL...
See the difference? If not, then just remember that DCS knows jack about DL, or you can just go on being stupid.
G'day!
I'm still hung up on hyatt's DEL5k promotion. A 1- night stay yielded 5000 points and a $75 credit! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I will jump on the nostalgia train for my own story...
from 2008-2011 during the Hyatt faster free nights promo, I unfortunately had never even considered Hyatt. I was a true road warrior spending 200+ nights on the road with absolute freedom to stay wherever I wanted within my budget constraints - which meant Marriott, IHG and Hilton. It was during this time that I used every advantage trick possible to maximize IHG promos. Due...
I will jump on the nostalgia train for my own story...
from 2008-2011 during the Hyatt faster free nights promo, I unfortunately had never even considered Hyatt. I was a true road warrior spending 200+ nights on the road with absolute freedom to stay wherever I wanted within my budget constraints - which meant Marriott, IHG and Hilton. It was during this time that I used every advantage trick possible to maximize IHG promos. Due to the recession, they were throwing everything under the sun at people to come back and stay. Due to the low prices, I was able to book the 2x point package every night, and when I was fortunate to find the right properties, they offered 5,000 and 10,000 point bonus packages that were still well within my budget range. I remember I would routinely earn as much as 15,000 bonus points per stay at a simple Holiday Inn Express for $99 or less. That was the AVERAGE. Sometimes I'd earn 25,000 or more on a single night stay.
Once I discovered Hyatt I asked for a status challenge. 9 stays in 30 nights would get me diamond plus some bonus point perks. I was in the Oklahoma City area and Tulsa areas for work and literally checked in and out of 9 different Hyatt Places over 9 nights and stayed diamond for many years after that.
I eventually earned and spent millions of IHG and Hilton points on international travel around the world, sometimes at nicer properties and sometimes at simple properties that did the trick. The point is, between IHG, Hilton and Marriott, and eventually Hyatt, I didn't spend a dime out of pocket for lodging in a decade+ of personal travels around the world, and much of that was due to the great 2008-2011 hotel promo period. Hasn't been anything like it since, in my opinion.
I actually don't disagree with all of what DCS has to say despite others that write him off.Hes actually smarter than others give him credit for.
While there is no perfect program I utilize a combination of a number programs.Marriott Hyatt Hilton & IHG
Hyatt once was the all time champ out there for decades but since after the pandemic they have been in a free fall.
Lousy promotions and leaning towards...
I actually don't disagree with all of what DCS has to say despite others that write him off.Hes actually smarter than others give him credit for.
While there is no perfect program I utilize a combination of a number programs.Marriott Hyatt Hilton & IHG
Hyatt once was the all time champ out there for decades but since after the pandemic they have been in a free fall.
Lousy promotions and leaning towards targeted marketing etc
Charging Top tier elites for room upgrades in the better hotels that once were standard upgradeable suites.Holding back standard rooms for redemption's cutting breakfast benefits..Gaming the system like crooks!
Letting hotels screw program members.That bad business practice led me to become an equal opportunity program member.
Most disturbing of all are Hyatt point devaluations where rooms for cash would be half the price over using points Example: San Francisco
I'm also disturbed by Hyatts excessive use of targeted marketing and seasonal award pricing.All imported by SPG and bringing over the same folks to Hyatt who destroyed SPG.
Chris Holdren was the only thing good at SPG the rest of the crew for the most part tainted the once great company which left it ready to be sold to Marriott for many of the failures @ SPG
People get starry eyed when Hyatt says no resort fees and a free breakfast but the fact is many don't do the math and overpay thanks to the smoke and mirrors at most programs.
I'm finding far better value elsewhere by cherry picking
IHG has 4th night free with their Credit card (prefer over staying 5 nights)and when hotels are slow the value can be really high.I prefer InterCons to most Hiltons these days.But thats all subjective.
And because IHG uses dynamic pricing the rates may be lower than using Hilton points or other currency.Plus a 10% rebate for folks like myself that have the IHG legacy credit card.
While there are still some sweet spots out there the game is over IMO and the golden days are far behind us.
ROTFLMAO. They do not disagree with DCS, either! They know that he's not wrong and is smarter than they are, which is precisely why they can't stand him and constantly try to troll him instead of refuting the content of his posts.
ROTFLMAO. They do not disagree with DCS, either! They know that he's not wrong and is smarter than they are, which is precisely why they can't stand him and constantly try to troll him instead of refuting the content of his posts.
Fine, but neither is more advantageous than the other because you get exactly the same thing with either: one free night.
@DCS
"ROTFLMAO. They do not disagree with DCS, either! They know that he's not wrong and is smarter than they are, which is precisely why they can't stand him and constantly try to troll him instead of refuting the content of his posts."
You are now writing about yourself in the 3rd person. Illeism is a treatable psychological condition.
You could argue, but you'd be wrong because other programs have been offering something that'd argue is even better, for...
You could argue, but you'd be wrong because other programs have been offering something that'd argue is even better, for years and continue to, as the 4th or 5th award night free!
In fact, this piece might as well be titled "Epitaph for WoH" because the current incarnation of Hyatt Gold Passport is on the proverbial "race to the bottom" and cannot be considered to even be a shadow of its former self that the piece describes nostalgically.
Present-day WoH has been greatly and palpably devalued as, unlike the program with "Faster Free Nights Promotion", its current incarnation has made it increasingly harder for members to earn significant numbers of points to afford decent award stays:
-- There have been almost no good global promos.
-- The program still does not offer members the 4th/5th award night free — quantifiably, the single most valuable perk in hotel loyalty.
-- Significantly, there has been a clear downward "step function" in the percentage of bonus points awarded on purchased points, going from 40% before the pandemic to 20% in their latest offering [see a dramatic graphical illustration here: https://bit.ly/4b7iIx3 ]
-- At the same time, high-end hotels requiring more points have been added to the portfolio, or existing hotels coveted for award redemptions have been raised to higher categories that also require more points.
The result is that, in what I consider pure heresy, WoH members are having to transfer highly coveted transferable UR points to WoH points to be able to afford decent awards, instead of using UR points to book premium cabin tickets to fly long-haul on some of the world’s best carriers...
..."Epitaph for WoH", indeed :-(
I should add that one program that still delivers a lot of value to members through what is unquestionably the richest points-earning structure in the business, with industry-leading credit card earn rates, high numbers of points earned for in-hotel spend, among highest in % elite bonus on base points, highest in % on purchased points, nonstop and lucrative targeted and/or global promos, is...the much maligned Hilton Honors!
I'm glad you find value with Hilton. I'm even more glad that it means I never have to run into you in person. Please, find a new bit.
DCS and Tim Dunn must be the same people
Then you are certifiably stupid to miss the clear dissimilarities, not only between DL and HH, but also in argumentation...but, then again, you would not recognize true scholarship if it hit you in the face.
So, get lost.
Too much coincidence to be anything else.
@Ken, YES!
I will say "Amen" to that and for small blessings because we are, in fact, in full agreement
I trust you will, therefore, disappear right about now?
@DCS Hilton's 5th night free, if you bothered to ever read their T & C, states that it only applies to their Standard Rooms. Your car salesman like rehearsed speech fails to disclose this important fact, I can understand why, because it devalues your argument and the Hilton Honors program. The "Standard Rooms" are their lowest, cheapest and smallest rooms, and at a resort, you have a view of a parking lot.
When Hilton...
@DCS Hilton's 5th night free, if you bothered to ever read their T & C, states that it only applies to their Standard Rooms. Your car salesman like rehearsed speech fails to disclose this important fact, I can understand why, because it devalues your argument and the Hilton Honors program. The "Standard Rooms" are their lowest, cheapest and smallest rooms, and at a resort, you have a view of a parking lot.
When Hilton expands the fifth night free to all of their rooms it may have some value. I say may because even now, if you book a room above the Standard Room category, the cost in points is too high.
Example: Hilton Times Square right here in my hometown, a Standard Room, 330 sq ft, is $434 (before taxes) per night or 90,000 points (@.5 cents / pt =$450). Fifth night free is good value. The next room at $462 (before taxes) is a 360 sq ft Premium Room available for 158,000 points (@.5 cents / pt = $790) and even with a fifth night free, you are overpaying for this room.
@JeffNYC -- I am perfectly aware of the Hilton Honors T&C on "5th award< night free" perk, which by definition applies only to their standard rooms... standards room that can be a villa at WA Maldives, a King Deluxe room at WA Rome Cavalieri, i.e., the same room that you would book with your hard earned points, except that you get one night for free. Therefore, forgive me if I fail to understand precisely...
@JeffNYC -- I am perfectly aware of the Hilton Honors T&C on "5th award< night free" perk, which by definition applies only to their standard rooms... standards room that can be a villa at WA Maldives, a King Deluxe room at WA Rome Cavalieri, i.e., the same room that you would book with your hard earned points, except that you get one night for free. Therefore, forgive me if I fail to understand precisely what is your point.
Actually, strike that. I do understand what your point is and you have no point, unless you think it makes sense for Hilton should allow members to book a presidential suite for the cost of a standard award or get it for free as the 5th award night.
BTW, your "math" is nonsensical for using the "face" value of a Hilton point of 0.5cpp, when I have been twice to WA Maldives and the lowest redemption value I got for my Hilton points was more than 3cpp. Redo the "math" with that.
@DCS
Your response is vague and incorrect.
Whateva...
I accept your apology and of course I forgive you for failing to understand.
Look, you have no idea what you are jabbering on about.
For the purpose of the miles/points game, all every program out...
Look, you have no idea what you are jabbering on about.
For the purpose of the miles/points game, all every program out there offers are standard awards. To harp on about Hilton Honors' "premium" awards that are treated exactly like and have the same availability as revenue rates, based on conversion factor between points and cash the varies by property, is utterly mindless. Only one who is clueless would play 150K points for a "premium" room in Manhattan. For that kind of award rate, one who plays the game with "a full deck" would fly to the Maldives and stay in villa.
I have no time to waste "debating" you.
Goodbye.
You also forgot that back then you could use Priceline Bidding Rooms for Hyatt Credit. I lived in Chicago and would stay at the Hyatt Oakbrook for $35-$40 as a Diamond. Those were the days. Loved the G1, G2, and the G3. G2 was the best for 3000 points.
The last great Hyatt boondoggle dried up with the end of the MGM partnership. MGM would routinely offer comped rooms, free play and food credit to its elite members. MGM elite status could be matched from Hyatt status. On top of that resort fees were waived for Hyatt elites and one could get Hyatt credit for certain spend and nights at the MGM properties. All that had to be done was to make sure your...
The last great Hyatt boondoggle dried up with the end of the MGM partnership. MGM would routinely offer comped rooms, free play and food credit to its elite members. MGM elite status could be matched from Hyatt status. On top of that resort fees were waived for Hyatt elites and one could get Hyatt credit for certain spend and nights at the MGM properties. All that had to be done was to make sure your Hyatt membership was tied to your stay at check in.
This was such a sweet deal. One could routinely get 3 nights free at the MGM Grand, Park, New York New York and other MGM properties. A 4th or 5th night could sometimes be added on for $20-$40 more. Granted these were not MGM's premier properties, but they were decent and the food credit was good at any restaurant tied to any MGM property. People would often check in, leave the same day and then electronically check out a few days later. Add to that a couple of cheap AS flights to and from Vegas and one could easily get 5 Hyatt nights, $25-$50 in free play and the same in food credit for all in under $200.
That was such a sweet deal, I often wondered how MGM could make out on these offers. I guess there were enough people who just couldn't stop gambling when the free play ran out. Or perhaps, it ultimately proved a loser for MGM and that is why their partnership with Hyatt came to an end? I still wake up in the middle of the night with tears. Oh well, on to the next game changer . . . .
Oh man… FFNs.
I remember when Hyatt would allow you to add your Gold Passport number on Priceline “Name Your Own Price” stays and allow you to check in online (or was it over the phone? Can’t recall).
It was well known via Priceline user forums like betterbidding.com that there was only one three-star property in the Denver Tech Center area and that was a Hyatt Place. You could employ bidding strategies to suss out...
Oh man… FFNs.
I remember when Hyatt would allow you to add your Gold Passport number on Priceline “Name Your Own Price” stays and allow you to check in online (or was it over the phone? Can’t recall).
It was well known via Priceline user forums like betterbidding.com that there was only one three-star property in the Denver Tech Center area and that was a Hyatt Place. You could employ bidding strategies to suss out the absolute lowest price for the property and win it without risk of getting another hotel. One would then “check in” remotely and get all associated points, stay credit and bonuses without ever leaving home.
I also moved most of my actual hotel spend to Hyatt as well which was difficult due to their small footprint at the time, offset somewhat by their Amerisutes acquisition.
I maintained top tier Hyatt status for years and stayed for free at Park Hyatts in Tokyo, Paris, Milan, Chicago and more. I was once upgraded to the Presidential Suite at the HR Waikiki on an FFN stay.
Seems like a dream now… thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Love that HR Waikiki Presidential Suite. Probably the best Hyatt suite I've stayed in. Those were the days. . . Like many Diamonds, we traveled so much we'd often run into other Diamonds we'd met at Regency Clubs in the most random places.
SPG had a similar promo around the same time. A free resort night after every three stays, which lined up very nicely with my Monday-Thursday travel.
It’s even older than 2008 —- I recall doing the “Hyatt shuffle” during business trips in 2004-05 by alternating between Hyatt locations in various cities to rack up the extra free nights
There was a similar program for SPG in Asia at this time. One ~$60 paid night at an aloft could get you a free night at the St. Regis! Good times
Great bit of nostalgia here! We are similar in age so this echoes my experience and views almost exactly (minus the closed club lounge bonanza at the grand Hyatt Tampa! I was slumming it at a Hyatt House for $89 a night every weekend…)
The game has changed; still a ton of value to be had, but getting thinner, and windows of opportunity close much more quickly…
2010 was a great year for hotel promotions. Hilton had one whereby you received a free night for every four stays. I found myself in a city that had two Hilton properties, and I would check in on Sunday to Hotel A, Monday I walked down to Hotel B, Tuesday was back to Hotel A, and Wednesday was Hotel B again. So I received a free night at any Hilton property each week.
After...
2010 was a great year for hotel promotions. Hilton had one whereby you received a free night for every four stays. I found myself in a city that had two Hilton properties, and I would check in on Sunday to Hotel A, Monday I walked down to Hotel B, Tuesday was back to Hotel A, and Wednesday was Hotel B again. So I received a free night at any Hilton property each week.
After 12 weeks, I had 12 free nights at multiple Hilton brands in Asia, as well as status.
Not nearly as lucrative as Hyatt's offer, but still, lucrative enough. The recession really did have an upside. Thank you, GW Bush!
By far the best Hyatt promo was during the early stages of the pandemic. Hyatt was giving out triple points on cash stays and 30% back on points stays. We ended up traveling a ton during that time period and earned an extra 400k plus in points above and beyond what we would have normally earned for our stays during that promo. There will be nothing like that promo ever again I'd guess.