Hyatt's "My Elite Rate" discontinuing

Hyatt's loyalty program, Hyatt Gold Passport, has traditionally offered generous benefits to its members. One of the best features in 2014, available for Platinum and Diamond members, was the "My Elite Rate" program.

Suite at the Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile, which I booked with My Elite Rate

On a space-available basis, Platinum and Diamond members could book rooms and suites at 20% off the rack rate. Unfortunately, Hyatt will not be renewing My Elite Rate for 2015.

The "My Elite Rate" was often comparable to rates you might find booking through a site such as Orbitz or hotels.com. My Elite Rate induced me to book through Hyatt rather than through one of those consolidator sites. This was a win-win; I got Hyatt loyalty points for booking through Hyatt; Hyatt didn't have to pay the third-party site a commission.

To lessen the sting, you can buy Hyatt gift cards at 10% off here through December 31, 2014 using the promotional code GPGIFT14. But it sure would have been nice to use those gift cards with the My Elite rate.

Source:  Hyatt.com