Guide to Hyatt’s 60-Day Diamond Challenge – 2014

One hotel elite status that I am chasing after this year is the Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond. Across the board Hyatt properties offer some of the most consistent high quality properties along with their generous elite status program benefits.

Guide to Hyatt Diamond Passport

Guide to Hyatt Diamond Passport Series Index:

One of the most valuable aspects of a quality hotel program include consistent and well maintained properties along with solid service that can be expected from stay-to-stay and property-to-property. When it comes to hotel stays, surprises are generally never a good thing.

The Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond looks promising and I’m looking forward to using its benefits. Elite status benefits with Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond include:

  • Club lounge access (complimentary full breakfast in hotels without a club lounge)
  • Upgrades to best room available (excluding suites)
  • Free internet
  • Guaranteed 4:00 p.m. late check-out (subject to availability at resorts)
  • Welcome amenity or points
  • Earn 30% Gold Passport point bonus
  • Four Diamond suite upgrade certificates annually (confirm a suite at the time of booking eligible on paid stays up to seven consecutive nights)
  • 20% off the daily rate with My Elite Rate (subject to availability)

Hyatt’s top-tier elite level Diamond status can be earned through 25 stays or 50 nights annually. However, there is an easier and quicker way to earn status status through Hyatt’s Diamond Challenge. This is basically a way to lure customers over to Hyatt who have status with another major hotel loyalty program.

Hyatt has offered various Diamond Challenge requirements, but the current offer has remained the same for almost a year. The current offer and terms are available until October 31, 2014 and after that it’s possible for the offer to change, but your guess is as good as mine.

How to Qualify for Hyatt Diamond Challenge

Anyone who has upper-tier elite status with a competing hotel program can request enrollment in the Hyatt Diamond Challenge. If you have a handful of stays on a recent statement it may be more likely to get approved with a lower-tier status, but there are no hard and fast rules of what is accepted.

Generally the following elite status levels will qualify:

  • IHG  |  Platinum
  • Marriott  |  Silver, Gold & Platinum
  • Hilton  |  Honors Gold & Diamond
  • Starwood  |  Platinum

It doesn’t matter how you actually earn the status, so whether you earned it through paid stays or automatically through a co-branded credit card, you will be able use it for the challenge. The only necessary proof you need is a recent statement showing your status level and that you made at least one stay with the competing program.

One of the best ways to stay up-to-date with which current elite status levels are being accepted include reports on Status Matcher and this Flyertalk thread.

How to Enroll in Hyatt’s Diamond Challenge

To request to enroll in a Hyatt Diamond Challenge email goldpassport@hyatt.com with an attachment of a recent hotel statement that includes both your current status and a recent stays with a competing hotel program. In practice the status levels from the programs listed above will work.

Include in the email (subject line or body text) the following information:

  • Hyatt Gold Passport number
  • Promo Code: DIA14
  • Exp. Date 02/28/2016

You can expect to receive a response to accept the 60-day Diamond Trial offer within 24-hours, and you can call the Diamond hotline at 1-800-400-2261 to confirm your account is updated and request a Diamond membership card. When I completed my Diamond trial it took less than 48 hours to seal the deal and my account status became updated to Diamond.

In regards to the current Diamond trial offer, you will have to register before October 31, 2014 and the terms are good until then. After that Hyatt may continue with a new Diamond trial offer period with similar terms or things may change all together.

Earning Diamond Status from the Challenge

When you enroll in the Diamond trial you are given a 60 days trial of Hyatt Diamond status. Within this same 60 day time period if you complete 12 eligible nights at any Hyatt properties you will keep Diamond status until February, 2016. You’ll also earn an additional 1,000 points per night for the first 6 nights during the Challenge, meaning if you complete the Challenge you’ll earn 6,000 bonus points. Read here about other ways to maximize the Hyatt Diamond Challenge.

Guide to Hyatt 60-Day Diamond Challenge - 2014
Diamond status benefits

One nice aspect of this is that eligible nights include almost any published rate that is not a full points award. That means that eligible nights include rates such as My Elite Rate, corporate, senior, AAA, AARP, and  Points + Cash rates.

What You will Get with the Hyatt Diamond Challenge

Given that when you accept the Diamond Challenge you get a 60 day free trial of Diamond status, you will get full perks of having the status. One perk includes four suite upgrades that you can confirm during booking. You can use these on the 12 eligible nights you would need in order to complete the challenge or even after the 60 day period if you don’t meet the requirements (until February of the next year).

Park Hyatt Mendoza and Park Hyatt Buenos Aires
The Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires

The certificates will be deposited into your account as soon as your status level is updated to Diamond. Each suite upgrade can be used at the time of booking for up to a consecutive seven night stay. Normally the suite upgrade is to the lowest suite category room at the hotel and there needs to be room availability on Hyatt.com in order to use them.

It’s worth noting that you will automatically get a free room upgrade with your Diamond status, so if you can read reports of the typical Diamond upgrade it may be worth saving these certificates for later unless you want to be 100% sure to get a suite. For instance, the normal upgrade at the Buenos Aires Park Hyatt is to the Park Suite, so if there is availability at time of check-in you should receive a suite.

The Bottom Line

The Hyatt Diamond Challenge is a great fast track way earn top-tier status after just 12 nights. If you have top-tier status with Hilton, IHG, Marriott, SPG or any of the other major hotel programs you can request a Diamond trial and challenge from Hyatt.

If you complete the challenge, you will keep Hyatt Diamond status until 2016 of the next year, plus you will get full Diamond benefits during the 60 day trial period. If you have been thinking about taking the challenge you can leverage Hyatt’s other promotions to earn extra points while earning status.

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7 thoughts on “Guide to Hyatt’s 60-Day Diamond Challenge – 2014”

  1. I’ve looked and looked (all blogs and FT) and cannot find an answer anywhere to this question: If I want to use a suite upgrade but be assured I get an ocean view room, what do I need to actually book? Do I need to book the least expensive ocean view (which may cost more than the least expensive non-ocean view suite)? I don’t want to book “more room” ($$) than I have to, but I sure don’t want to be “up-graded” to a non-ocean view suite. Thanks!

    1. choi, you are right, the upgrade certs can be used on any “eligible rate” which is huge. I’m planning a post specifically on the upgrade certs next week.

    1. Jack, the only requirement is that you stay 12 nights in the 60 days, so staying at the same hotel would qualify and it can even be made as one stay.

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