When planning a honeymoon to Madagascar, a traveler encountered an unexpected issue during their layover at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD). The traveler, a loyal Hyatt customer with the World of Hyatt Credit Card, had booked a stay using points at what they believed was a nearby Hyatt hotel. However, an automated email revealed that the reservation was mistakenly made at the Hyatt Place Chicago/Midway Airport, located 45 minutes away from ORD.
The error occurred amidst a challenging booking process for flights home due to complications with Ethiopian Airlines' partner award flight policy. "This is one of the few downsides of playing the points and miles game," the traveler noted. Fortunately, there was ample time before their afternoon flight to address the situation.
Upon realizing the mistake, the traveler logged into their account and discovered that canceling within 24 hours would result in being charged one night's fee. A call to a World of Hyatt representative clarified that canceling after the deadline would refund points but charge the card on file for one night's current room rate.