Appreciate your summary of Hyatt's "thousand cuts". On the positive side, I do appreciate that Hyatt counts the nights of stays booked with points toward elite status instead of just nights booked with dollars.
What really hurt me was the increase of the Manchester Grand Hyatt from category 4 to 5 so free night certs from the credit card don't work there anymore.
I used to get the best room in the hotel as a Globalist. Now they have "select" rooms intended for suite certificates. And they won't let a Globalist stay in a unsold premium suite. And the worst is some hotels opting out of certificate use for a Junior suite.
Great new format! Your Hyatt insights are spot on. I appreciate the way you dive right in to the material so that experienced travelers can get the message without sitting through long winded introductions and dreamy generic hype about the joy of traveling on points.
0:09 Prop percolator coffee? I didn’t see a drip! I’m calling out your coffee break guarantee just for this potential deceit… I want my money back 😆 Funniness aside, Hyatt’s 1000 cuts does seem like injurious inflictions have been dripping blood due to partner-related changes category 8 with SLH that creeped into Hyatt’s properties, goodbye to MGM, and low Hyatt point redemption value with Mr & Mrs. Smith. Those things aside, Hyatt remains a severed-head and shoulders above other hotel loyalty programs, particularly for top tier status. @frequent-miler What’s the 1001 cut that you see happening next?
@@downapocalyptic are they generalizations if they’re based on experience? I’d take japan, Vietnam, and even Singapore over SK. IMO the food is better in all of those places and they are all much more affordable. Japan used to cost a lot more but the yen isn’t worth much right now due to there aging population and attempted economic stimulus.
@@IanMaschal those are valid opinions from valid experiences but I would argue it’s still hefty oversimplification to say that visiting SK is inferior to Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam. I am biased because my parents emigrated from Seoul 40 years ago, so I grew up visiting at least 2-3 times a year. But not biased enough to say that for me, Japan is my favorite place to visit as of now. Like you said, because of the weak Yen, the amazing food is even cheaper, the hotels are always clean, the people are always polite and friendly, etc. SK has its cons, but so does Japan. And so does Vietnam. And even Singapore. Honestly to compare them is kind of weird in the first place, because they’re so different. Weather is one factor, but it’s a huge one for many people. Personally, I do not like visiting very humid/hot places. I’ve been to Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Macau in their peak humidity/heat. I can say for certain that I don’t wish to return to places like Singapore, Vietnam, and most other places in SE Asia when they’re very humid like that. Korea and Japan are much more tolerable in my opinion, especially between seasons. I just got back from 12 days in Japan/Korea today and the weather has been a perfect (to me) 65-75 F. Not rainy season, while places like Singapore have been raining almost every day. Some people LOVE humidity and heat, so they might prefer these places. So climate is just ONE factor that may change someone’s perception and shape someone’s experience when visiting these countries. There are many other factors that influence opinions, so to make a blanket statement like yours doesn’t really make sense because they cannot be objectively compared. Even your point about SK being more expensive than Japan doesn’t stand well if you mention Singapore thereafter. Singapore is one of the most expensive places in SE Asia, it’s like the Switzerland of the region. I do agree with you that the people tend to be nicer in Japan, especially to foreigners. But being Korean and knowing the two cultures quite well, their outward friendliness doesn’t always reflect their true sentiments toward you. Japan and Korea are two extremely socially-conscious cultures. Koreans just tend to be a little less extreme than the Japanese which is why they seem less friendly than in Japan. The Japanese rarely speak their mind unless forced to.
Appreciate your summary of Hyatt's "thousand cuts". On the positive side, I do appreciate that Hyatt counts the nights of stays booked with points toward elite status instead of just nights booked with dollars.
What really hurt me was the increase of the Manchester Grand Hyatt from category 4 to 5 so free night certs from the credit card don't work there anymore.
Seriously I loved the breakfast there!😢
I used to get the best room in the hotel as a Globalist. Now they have "select" rooms intended for suite certificates. And they won't let a Globalist stay in a unsold premium suite.
And the worst is some hotels opting out of certificate use for a Junior suite.
Great new format! Your Hyatt insights are spot on. I appreciate the way you dive right in to the material so that experienced travelers can get the message without sitting through long winded introductions and dreamy generic hype about the joy of traveling on points.
Love the coffee breaks!!
Thanks for the info + video!
Eventually they see this as the easiest place to cut if they can’t grow but it’s really Hyatt’s only competitive advantage against the other three
0:09 Prop percolator coffee? I didn’t see a drip! I’m calling out your coffee break guarantee just for this potential deceit… I want my money back 😆
Funniness aside, Hyatt’s 1000 cuts does seem like injurious inflictions have been dripping blood due to partner-related changes category 8 with SLH that creeped into Hyatt’s properties, goodbye to MGM, and low Hyatt point redemption value with Mr & Mrs. Smith. Those things aside, Hyatt remains a severed-head and shoulders above other hotel loyalty programs, particularly for top tier status.
@frequent-miler What’s the 1001 cut that you see happening next?
Hyatt loyalist, def hurts but still best program…can’t get to 150 nights only 100-110 / year
SPG was better
Hilton is uncapped for now ... until SLH comes along :D
Watching this from yet another Hyatt! Andaz Seoul 😩
Going there in December on points. Is it worth staying?
@@patrickk8268just go to japan. SK is so expensive. Imo. Better food and nicer people in japan
@@IanMaschalnice generalizations
@@downapocalyptic are they generalizations if they’re based on experience? I’d take japan, Vietnam, and even Singapore over SK.
IMO the food is better in all of those places and they are all much more affordable. Japan used to cost a lot more but the yen isn’t worth much right now due to there aging population and attempted economic stimulus.
@@IanMaschal those are valid opinions from valid experiences but I would argue it’s still hefty oversimplification to say that visiting SK is inferior to Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam. I am biased because my parents emigrated from Seoul 40 years ago, so I grew up visiting at least 2-3 times a year. But not biased enough to say that for me, Japan is my favorite place to visit as of now. Like you said, because of the weak Yen, the amazing food is even cheaper, the hotels are always clean, the people are always polite and friendly, etc.
SK has its cons, but so does Japan. And so does Vietnam. And even Singapore. Honestly to compare them is kind of weird in the first place, because they’re so different. Weather is one factor, but it’s a huge one for many people. Personally, I do not like visiting very humid/hot places. I’ve been to Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Macau in their peak humidity/heat. I can say for certain that I don’t wish to return to places like Singapore, Vietnam, and most other places in SE Asia when they’re very humid like that. Korea and Japan are much more tolerable in my opinion, especially between seasons. I just got back from 12 days in Japan/Korea today and the weather has been a perfect (to me) 65-75 F. Not rainy season, while places like Singapore have been raining almost every day. Some people LOVE humidity and heat, so they might prefer these places. So climate is just ONE factor that may change someone’s perception and shape someone’s experience when visiting these countries. There are many other factors that influence opinions, so to make a blanket statement like yours doesn’t really make sense because they cannot be objectively compared. Even your point about SK being more expensive than Japan doesn’t stand well if you mention Singapore thereafter. Singapore is one of the most expensive places in SE Asia, it’s like the Switzerland of the region.
I do agree with you that the people tend to be nicer in Japan, especially to foreigners. But being Korean and knowing the two cultures quite well, their outward friendliness doesn’t always reflect their true sentiments toward you. Japan and Korea are two extremely socially-conscious cultures. Koreans just tend to be a little less extreme than the Japanese which is why they seem less friendly than in Japan. The Japanese rarely speak their mind unless forced to.
Spicy!
20 minutes or my money back?!? But I didn't pay any money .... oh.
:)