Diamond Summary: July 1st 2014-February 29th, 2016

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

My Hyatt Diamond Status expired February 29th, after earning it via a mattress run I completed during the first half of 2014.  But not to fear! We are already 23 stays into our new run, and will complete the last two by the end of March.

So why would someone stay at a Hyatt hotel 25 times just to earn status, are those people crazy!?  Well, I've compiled the data on how much I spent vs how much value we got out of Diamond status.  Granted, both figures are estimates, but they'll give you a general idea of what is possible depending on your stay habits.

For our mattress run in 2014, we stayed at 6 different hotels: The Hyatt Miami at the Blue (now closed) once, the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento twice, the Hyatt Regency in Monterey once, the Hyatt Place in Roseville twice, the Hyatt Place in Rancho Cordova three times, and the Hyatt House in Rancho Cordova 17 times.

Of those, 5 stays we would have completed regardless of whether we aimed for Diamond status or not.

So for the mattress run itself I spent approximately $1425 and 56500 Hyatt Points (of which 52000 were purchased on promo for $960).  We earned back 16500 in United Miles (Enough for a one-way saver award ticket within the U.S) and 7000 Hyatt Points.  If you value United Miles at 1.5 cents apiece, as I do, that means my net expenditure for Diamond status through February 2016 was ~$2075

So now the big question: What did we get out of it.

First, we received 8 Suite Upgrade Awards (4 upon earning status, 4 more March 1st of 2015) which we applied to the following:
2014-
Single night stay at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Embarcadero: Value $100
Seven night stay at the Grand Hyatt in Kauai: Value $2100
Two rooms on a single night stay at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco: Value $300
2015-
Five night stay at the Grand Hyatt in Kauai, which was further upgraded to an Ocean Suite: Value $2000
2016-
Two night stay at the Park Hyatt in Abu Dhabi: Value $600
Three night stay at the Park Hyatt in Dubai: Value $1050
One night stay at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco for NYE: Value $250

Total value of Diamond Suite Upgrades: $6400

The bulk of our Diamond status value came from upgrades and club access

at the Grand Hyatt in Kauai.

These values were calculated using the difference in cost between a standard room and the suite we upgraded to. Of course those prices may fluctuate up or down depending on time of year.

So in Diamond Suite upgrades alone we received $6400 in value. Everyone values suites differently though, so consider whether those would hold any value to YOU.

Next on the list are the few complimentary suite upgrades I received.

The first was on a three night stay at the Hyatt Regency in Miami. Granted this was the least impressive of the suites I had been in, but it was an upgrade nonetheless: Value $75
The next was on a single night stay at the Hyatt Regency Monterey: Value $125
Finally was a single night stay at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento. Unlike the other two, this upgrade I requested: Value $250
Not included in the value was a suite upgrade we received at the Andaz in San Diego. We had a foul odor (smoky) in the first room we were assigned, and upon complaint was upgraded to an Andaz Suite.  I consider the possibility that we may have been upgraded no matter our status, but were we a lower tier, we may have just been reassigned to a different room.

Total value of comlimentary upgrades: $450

Next was our amenities. At every Hyatt we stayed at as Diamond members, we received a bonus of either 1,000 Hyatt points or a food and beverage amenity. (Save for a single Hyatt Place stay where we chose United miles on promotion) We only took the food and beverage amenity twice, I'd value that at $30.
We accumulated over 14,000 points through 14 stays with 1,000 points apiece. Incidentally, the two stays where we chose the food amenity, we also received the 1,000 point bonus. Based on those 14K, I'd say the value was $250 (using the same calculation from above whereby I spent $960 for 52K, or 1.8 cents per point)

On top of the above, we also received bonus points during our mattress run this January and February to requalify through February 2018. Most of those stays were at a Hyatt place, 2 were at Hyatt Regencys. Through a total of 22 stays in those two months, we earned an extra 12,000 points we would not have otherwise received. We also earned an extra 4000 points for the 50% bonus I received because 15 of the 22 stay bonuses did not post and I had to call Hyatt to resolve. (14 HP stays x 250 & 1 HR Stay x 500 points) Value: $295

Total amenity value: $560

Lastly was the free breakfast we received at all Non-Hyatt Place hotels (where breakfast was included) and lounge access.  Sparing you another 10 minutes worth of details, I'll just say that my value was calculated using 14 Stays/29 nights whereby I would have not otherwise had free breakfast or lounge access. The figure is far from exact, but I am undervaluing club access  (I.E, you would have to pay more than I am valuing it to get it), and base my breakfast figures on how much the bill came to each time.

Quick stats: 6 stays/6 nights breakfast, 8 stays/23 nights club access.

Value: $1120

Total value obtained via Diamond status: $8530

Obviously the bulk of value came from our room upgrades, and if you took those away, we'd actually have lost $400. Breakfast/Food in the lounge and points are a little more substantive when it comes to determiming a value, and so at minimum I'd value status at $1675.  I have plenty of friends who could care less about having a suite, but I love it.  Of course, I would never spend $6850 to have the  rooms I had, but I would value them much greater than $400.

Here are a couple other great posts about the value of Diamond Status:
http://thepointsguy.com/2016/03/what-is-hyatt-gold-passport-elite-status-worth-2016/
http://www.pointsmd.com/what-is-a-year-as-a-hyatt-diamond-elite-worth/

We are looking forward to the next two years of status!