Hilton Diamond vs Hyatt Diamond
- Thread starter PainCorp
- Start date
BuddyFunJet
Level 2 Member
I am both and the answer depends on your stay pattern. I have found the biggest advantage of Hilton Diamond over Gold to be the guaranteed club access/breakfast even if no room upgrade. I haven't gotten much of a room upgrade at Hilton. Is this worth diverting $40k spend to get it? Marginal for me but I justify by using Amex Hilton at Grocery.
At Hyatt, Diamond is the level that gets breakfast. International upgrades are usually good, sometimes great. Four suite upgrade certs are great. In US, Hyatt benefits are less but pretty good.
With my stay pattern, Hyatt is very worthwhile but I keep Hilton for airport/misc stays.
Anything in particular you would like to ask?
At Hyatt, Diamond is the level that gets breakfast. International upgrades are usually good, sometimes great. Four suite upgrade certs are great. In US, Hyatt benefits are less but pretty good.
With my stay pattern, Hyatt is very worthwhile but I keep Hilton for airport/misc stays.
Anything in particular you would like to ask?
I have so much up in the air, and I'm so bored at work I thought I would just put it out there to start a discussion. I have HH Gold through at least the end of next year, so I'm debating beginning of next year or the year after. It doesn't seem like you get more than a one level bump up in room category unless you use points or a cert to bump you to a suite, at either brand. I've had great luck with Gold overseas, they usually give me Lounge access anyways. I ate my weight in Banana Bread at the lounge in SYD. =D
If I decided to do this I was planning on using MS methods to meet the spend for no fee with Hilton Reserve. I get less points, but I don't have to pay almost $500 in GC fees. Also, I should clarify, when I say shift from Chase to Citi, I mean Freedom/CSP, not the Hyatt card. I don't have that...yet....and not sure if it's really needed unless you use it for the night/stay bonus with high spend. If I end up staying at Hyatt I might get the card and then put $40k through that for the stay credits, but unless you want the suite certificates, I don't see a huge benefit to Diamond over Platinum. The extra bonus points are nice, but I get plenty with Chase cards.
If I decided to do this I was planning on using MS methods to meet the spend for no fee with Hilton Reserve. I get less points, but I don't have to pay almost $500 in GC fees. Also, I should clarify, when I say shift from Chase to Citi, I mean Freedom/CSP, not the Hyatt card. I don't have that...yet....and not sure if it's really needed unless you use it for the night/stay bonus with high spend. If I end up staying at Hyatt I might get the card and then put $40k through that for the stay credits, but unless you want the suite certificates, I don't see a huge benefit to Diamond over Platinum. The extra bonus points are nice, but I get plenty with Chase cards.
BuddyFunJet
Level 2 Member
Hyatt PLT does not include breakfast. My domestic upgrades have been a one cat but internationally I have gotten lovely suites from Hyatt without using the upgrade cert, never from Hilton. Upgrade was even from the cheapest booking class to the suite.
BTW, no upgrade in Vegas rooms at MLife. I do use the Hyatt card for stay credit and free night. If possible, get card after you get diamond. Extra points on card are minor since I usually book points/cash rate. Also, Amex open does 5% off on domestic Hyatt (not hyatt place or house). I charge domestic stays to Open card rather than Hyatt card.
BTW, no upgrade in Vegas rooms at MLife. I do use the Hyatt card for stay credit and free night. If possible, get card after you get diamond. Extra points on card are minor since I usually book points/cash rate. Also, Amex open does 5% off on domestic Hyatt (not hyatt place or house). I charge domestic stays to Open card rather than Hyatt card.
I usually stay in Vegas on free nights courtesy of MyVegas, which I've been playing all day. I only pay when I need a cheap mattress run, which I would have done had I planned this year better and not realized last minute I wanted to hit Hyatt Platinum. I can always do it in the first few months of the new year anyways, which is probably better since it will be good longer.
I don't have any Amex Business card anymore, wasn't worth the fee to me. I really like UR points though and 5% on a Hyatt stay is about what I value 2.14 UR points at on my CSP card, if used correctly.
Seems like Hilton Diamond is worth MS'ing for, and Hyatt is worth earning, if you want both and stay at both.
I don't have any Amex Business card anymore, wasn't worth the fee to me. I really like UR points though and 5% on a Hyatt stay is about what I value 2.14 UR points at on my CSP card, if used correctly.
Seems like Hilton Diamond is worth MS'ing for, and Hyatt is worth earning, if you want both and stay at both.
BuddyFunJet
Level 2 Member
BTW, Amex Blue for Business is a no fee card that qualifies for the 5% Open savings. Also 1 MR point per dollar spend.
BuddyFunJet
Level 2 Member
I may be confused by my own abbreviations. Amex Blue for business is an OPEN card that earns 1 membership reward point per dollar with a 30% bonus at year end so really 1.3 points.
here is the amex link
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/blue-for-business
here is the amex link
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/blue-for-business
I'm familiar with the card, but these are not the points that can be transferred to partners like DL, VX, HA, etc, right?
BuddyFunJet
Level 2 Member
My understanding is that membership reward points are all the same. I did see an asterick in the MR T&C that says
* Because some Cards vary in their benefits, you may need to contact us to find out if your Card is automatically enrolled in the program or if there is any additional cost to enroll.
But since the joining link shows MR membership, I don't think it applies. That said, I'd probably call Amex to verify before applying and getting the hard pull.
* Because some Cards vary in their benefits, you may need to contact us to find out if your Card is automatically enrolled in the program or if there is any additional cost to enroll.
But since the joining link shows MR membership, I don't think it applies. That said, I'd probably call Amex to verify before applying and getting the hard pull.
So do you mean Hilton Diamond vs. Hyatt Platinum or Hyatt Diamond? I would say that Hyatt Diamond > Hilton Diamond > Hilton Gold > Hyatt Platinum. Whether it is worth pursuing depends on how much you'd spend and how much you value the benefits... Hyatt Diamond was absolutely fantastic when I got the "Diamond Trial" for our Maui Trip, but I wouldn't have invested much in it, since we rarely stay at Hyatts. Hilton is more valuable to me since I tend to stay at Hiltons frequently.
I'm with you on your rating of the levels. We'll have to see what my travel plans are like next year. Still debating converting my Double Cash back to Reserve because of SMGC purchase fees rising.
andysiz
Level 2 Member
+1
In a vacuum, the marginal benefit of Hyatt Diamond (over Hyatt Platinum) is much higher than the marginal benefit of Hilton Diamond (over Hilton Gold). The DSU's + the quality of the average and high-end Hyatt hotels put Hyatt Diamond over the top. If I had to choose between Hyatt Diamond + Hilton Gold or Hilton Diamond and Hyatt Platinum (assuming that's the choice you're facing), I'd easily go the former over the latter because of DSU's, great upgrades on Hyatt Diamond, and the incremental breakfast benefit to Hyatt Diamonds. Not even close.
In the end, as @Josh F states, it depends on where you intend to use the benefits. If you don't intend to stay at Hyatts and utilize the Diamond benefits, what's the point (and vice versa)?
R
RamboAroundTheWorld
Guest
I don't see the downside here if you're getting it effectively for free.
andysiz
Level 2 Member
I think the the downside is the opportunity cost of up to $40k spent on a Hilton card for HHonors points better spent on other cards. Depending on existing points balances and needs, this opportunity could be quite meaningful to virtually irrelevant.
R
RamboAroundTheWorld
Guest
Opportunity schmopportunity. Get the status. Be happy. Spend on some other card later.
BuddyFunJet
Level 2 Member
I'm kind of with you there. I don't plan my stays far enough in advance to KNOW if I need Hilton Dia or not so I just go ahead and get it since irrops happen.
R
RamboAroundTheWorld
Guest
There you go. People put too much stock in opportunity cost. Especially in your case of constant hotel stays, I'd be more worried about opportunity lost. Now, obviously this would change if you had to buy the status via MS. But on a free basis? As the esteemed councilman Clay Davis would say:
It would be a shift in MS (away from UR) to hit Hilton Diamond in the beginning of the year, the nice thing is, as long as my cards stay open, I would only have to shift 50% of my underpants-MS to hit it in 4 months, but might throw in some other MS. I just wish you could combine spend on Amex/Citi to get Diamond, then I would be set.
You pretty much have to earn Hyatt Diamond, at least for 80% of it, the other 20% you can get from CC spend. I may end up getting Hilton Diamond just for shits and giggles, and then see how Hyatt/MGM falls.
R
RamboAroundTheWorld
Guest
Doesn't hyatt diamond kick in with a certain amount of spend on their CC?
The most you can get is 5 stays/10 nights after $40k. If that was the case I would put my 1x MS on the Hyatt card only.
We all would.
R
RamboAroundTheWorld
Guest
Could you do a Hyatt challenge and time the $40k spend to kick in the nights after it goes through?
You mean the discontinued Diamond Challenge? =P
Also, you don't need nights immediately after you initiate the challenge (which has ended). You got it for the remainder of the year and the next full year.
R
RamboAroundTheWorld
Guest
Show you how up to date I am
This is a good point. You can get Hilton Gold "free" with 2 different CC cards (yes the annual fee) and IMO I don't see much value in chasing Diamond for another $40K in spend. When Hilton points were more valuable it was perhaps more worthwhile. While you can get Hyatt Platinum free with 1 CC - if you plan on having Hyatt Stays - it would be more worthwhile chasing Diamond, since the Platinum vs Diamond benefits are significantly different.
R
RamboAroundTheWorld
Guest
If you already have Hyatt Platinum via the CC is there a lower bar to entry into Diamond?
andysiz
Level 2 Member
Unfortunately, no.
El Ingeniero
Level 2 Member
I did some math a couple days ago, looking at raising 260K points for an 8 night stay at the Conrad Bangkok (I hope the pix do the place justice).
The upshot was that getting there by putting $40K on a Surpass would have a net cost of about $200, after giving the 80K leftover points a value of $120 (cost of 2 nights at a budget hotel).
So my question is, is Hilton Diamond worth $200 for 8 to 10 days? I'm looking at the Hilton site, and I'm not seeing the value seeing as how I stand a very good chance of being upgraded to the club level as a Gold.
The upshot was that getting there by putting $40K on a Surpass would have a net cost of about $200, after giving the 80K leftover points a value of $120 (cost of 2 nights at a budget hotel).
So my question is, is Hilton Diamond worth $200 for 8 to 10 days? I'm looking at the Hilton site, and I'm not seeing the value seeing as how I stand a very good chance of being upgraded to the club level as a Gold.
BuddyFunJet
Level 2 Member
[QUOTE="El Ingeniero, post: 152529, member: 1265otel).
So my question is, is Hilton Diamond worth $200 for 8 to 10 days? I'm looking at the Hilton site, and I'm not seeing the value seeing as how I stand a very good chance of being upgraded to the club level as a Gold.[/QUOTE]
While you may have a good chance of the upgrade as a gold, you are guaranteed club access as a diamond. The $200 is like an insurance premium that removes the uncertainty. For me, it's worth it. For you, can't say.
So my question is, is Hilton Diamond worth $200 for 8 to 10 days? I'm looking at the Hilton site, and I'm not seeing the value seeing as how I stand a very good chance of being upgraded to the club level as a Gold.[/QUOTE]
While you may have a good chance of the upgrade as a gold, you are guaranteed club access as a diamond. The $200 is like an insurance premium that removes the uncertainty. For me, it's worth it. For you, can't say.