You’ve spent all this time saving up Hyatt points for an incredible vacation. Now, how should you use those points? This is absolutely our favorite type of question, and one that once you understand once, will serve you well for years of heavenly stays to come.
While there are plenty of ways to spend World Of Hyatt Points, redeeming Hyatt points for hotel stays is where you’re bound to get the most bang for your buck, if of course you do it the right way. There are a variety of ways to make that happen, and if any meet your fancy, it’s happy vacations, for less bucks.
Free Nights
Free nights is the obvious place to start with any pile of hotel points. The Hyatt chain is no different. Well, maybe a little different, and that’s partly thanks to amazing boutique hotels which complement Hyatt’s main Park Hyatt, Andaz, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt House and other brands.
Some of the best properties in the Hyatt system will only set you back 15,000 to 30,000 points per night, with a small collection of hotels from the Small Luxury Hotels of the collection topping out at 40,000 points.
The very best hotels at Marriott or Hilton will set you back 100,000 points, so it’s not too hard to see why Hyatt stays can be a great way to burn credit card points, like Chase Ultimate Rewards Points over other types of hotel points.
One great tip to remember is that Hyatt doesn’t have blackout dates. If a property has a standard (lowest) room type available and says points aren’t being accepted, just pick up the phone and an agent should be able to get your points booking completed.
Need more points? Read up on at least 7 great ways to earn Hyatt Points.
For years, if there was one complaint loyal Hyatt fans could make, it was that Hyatt didn’t have hotels everywhere you wanted to go. That and that Hyatt doesn’t offer a 5th night free option similar to Marriott and Hilton.
Sure, there were some incredible hotels, like the Park Hyatt Sydney. But, there were plenty of great international cities (Lisbon, Rome, Venice) with no Hyatt in sight. And, popular markets like Las Vegas only offered a limited service Hyatt Place off the beaten path. Hyatt solved that with some relatively new, and dynamic partnerships. You care, because it solves the “where to stay” conundrum for World Of Hyatt enthusiasts.
A free night at the finest Hyatts will set you back 30,000 points per night, which is a far cry from the 100,000+ you’ll find at Hilton and Marriott.
It started with MGM Resorts, giving loyal Hyatt members a wide choice of properties. Looking to save money? MGM has the Excalibur and Luxor. Looking to hang with the high rollers? Bellagio and NoMad are a perfect use of Hyatt points.
More recently, Hyatt formed a large partnership with Small Luxury Hotels, adding hundreds of properties all over the world. Hyatt also recently acquired some stunning boutique hotel brands, like Thompson and Alila to add even more awesome properties into the mix. Hyatt might not have as many total hotels as other mega brands, but the aspirational options are endless. We like aspirational.
All-Inclusive
For those looking to get serious bang for your buck (er, points) Hyatt Ziva and Zilara might be just what you’re looking for. Both are Hyatt all-inclusive brands where you can redeem your Hyatt points for free nights.
Ziva is a brand perfect for families while couples looking for a romantic getaway replete with scented candles and rose petals will be more interested in Zilara. There are even some adults-only pools hidden away at some Ziva properties. Surprisingly to many, these are all-inclusive resorts that don’t suck. You’re not going to find free top-shelf liquor and wine, but you might be genuinely surprised by the food quality.
Only 20,000 Hyatt points per night will get you a room for two as well as free food and drink. 5,000 points more for the “expensive” all-inclusives.
Hot tip: you can also redeem World Of Hyatt points for additional guests when booking an all inclusive hotel stay at Ziya or Zilara. Your points cover the vast majority of food and beverage options (even room service and the mini bar at some properties) as well as a host of included activities. Think: paddle boarding, snorkeling, tennis, etc. Like any all-inclusive, there are opportunities to buy up here and there.
Suites
Who doesn’t want the Presidential Suite overlooking the water on a sandy beach located on a far away island? We definitely do. For some stays, you want to guarantee a memorable room, and using World Of Hyatt Points for suites allows you to do that.
Hyatt lays out pretty specifically how you can use your points for suites. And, to help make things even clearer, Hyatt hotels will generally label suites on their website as to whether they’re standard or premium so you have an idea of how far your points can take you in that private villa.
Hyatt’s partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World means using your points for some of the best boutique properties in far away destinations.
If you venture outside of Hyatt to Small Luxury Hotels of the World or some of the other boutique chains they’ve integrated, you may find the information a bit less visible. We’ve had really good luck getting information the old-fashioned way, by picking up the phone and talking to a reservations agent.
We’ve even had our fair share of luck with those boutique hotels giving us incredible upgrades above and beyond what was required – here’s looking at you, Eliza Jane in New Orleans. Whether you need extra space for family travel or you really just want to live it up in an incredible suite, your Hyatt points can help.
Points & Cash
Don’t you love it when the name is self-explanatory in this ever complicated world of points and miles? World of Hyatt offers Points & Cash bookings which means you can…….wait for it, combine points and cash to pay for your next hotel stay.
The formula for Points & Cash is half of the points normally required for a specific category of hotel (for example, Category 4 Points & Cash will cost you 7,500 points instead of 15,000 per night). The cash component is typically half the going rate for the room using cash, though it can go up to 70% in rare circumstances.
Back in the day, this used to be a phenomenal way to use your Hyatt points. In the world of travel loyalty programs, it’s true that many good things do come to an end. But, there are still ways to use Points & Cash to your benefit.
Using half the points required for a suite, paying some cash to cover the rest is a way we’ve seen pretty great value. Basically, you can save on nicer rooms by using cash and points to offset the overall price. outright. Even if you just want a basic room, you can use World Of Hyatt’s Points + Cash option to stretch your points further and take the financial sting out of your stay.
World Of Hyatt Room Upgrades
Using points for room upgrades is one of our favorite options, particularly if you’ve got family traveling, or want some extra space to look important for clients. Hey, when it only costs a few points – why not?
There are three upgrade levels for World Of Hyatt:
- Club Room Upgrade: 3,000 points per night
- Standard Suite Upgrade: 6,000 points per night
- Premium Suite Upgrade: 9,000 points per night
If you invest some time in finding a great rate at your favorite vacation hotel, using your Hyatt points to upgrade can be a big win. If you don’t already have access to the Regency Club or Grand Club due to elite status, you can spend 3,000 points per night to give everyone in your room access to it. With extensive free breakfast in these clubs at some properties, this can be a great way to get bang for your buck.
Find a cheap cash rate at your favorite Hyatt property and score a suite upgrade for only 6,000 points per night.
Similarly, 6,000 points per night to upgrade to a suite and have that extra luxury/space can save the expense of needing to book two rooms for a family. And, 9,000 points allows you to go all-out in that palace suite you’ve been dreaming of.
Dining & Spa Services
Redeeming points for free nights is likely your best bet for great value. But hey, everyone gets hungry sometimes, and free food is the only thing more delicious than delicious food. With that in mind, redeeming your World Of Hyatt points for dining and spa services can be a really good way to enjoy yourself on vacation without stressing too much about the final bill, and yes – you can do that.
Hyatt allows you to redeem points for most food and beverage outlets in their hotels, though you can’t redeem points for alcohol in some areas due to local laws. The same goes for spa services, but it can be a bit tricky to make sure you don’t waste points.
Think of using World Of Hyatt Points for food and spa purchases like redeeming points for a gift certificate. When you go to redeem your World Of Hyatt Points, you’ll redeem points for a specific dollar amount, such as 20,000 points for $250 of food credit. That $250 can be used in pretty much any combination between dining and spa services during your stay. You can also pay partially via cash and partially using your points.
Is a credit towards food or spa services it the best way to use your World Of Hyatt Points? Generally no – but as Sheryl Crow says, if it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad – right?
In theory, this little dance can be done at checkout, but we’ve had some complications trying to do so. Your better bet is to estimate how much you’re going to spend at the spa and on dining. Then, talk to a Hyatt employee when you arrive at your hotel. The front desk is a good place to start, though other departments should be able to help you as well.
The majority of properties that have either dining or spa services participate, but it helps to know before you go. Hyatt has a helpful page that will display properties by geographic region and tell you whether dining or spa (or both) are eligible for points redemption.
Experiences
Hyatt isn’t alone in offering ways to redeem your points for unique experiences. Your options generally divide up into two categories.
If you’re looking to get lessons from an award-winning sushi chef or learn how to dogsled, Hyatt’s FIND program is right for you. The number of points varies widely across the different experiences. In most cases, these are a decent value for redeeming your Hyatt points.
If Antarctica or Galapagos are on your dream maps, Hyatt can get you there, but for a whole lot of points…
While all Hyatt members receive a $250 onboard credit with any Lindblad booking through Hyatt, these expeditions will set you back a lot of points. A quick perusal through some 2021 excursions shows that you’ll need at least ¼ million Hyatt points to book one of these, and some are over 3 million points. That’s a whole lot of nights in a Hyatt hotel. But, Antarctica does look pretty awesome.
Fitness & Spa (Exhale)
Hyatt’s partnership with Exhale Spa means you can redeem points for fitness classes and spa treatments at this upscale wellness brand, with convenient locations in about a dozen different US cities. A fitness class is 2,000 points which strikes us a pretty good deal for a class in NYC. Any 60-minute massage or facial will cost 12,000 points. Your mileage may vary on this one, but it’s probably still a good value in big cities.
Airline Tickets & Rental Cars
You can totally turn your Hyatt points into airline miles. We just really hope you don’t. Hyatt has partnerships with over two dozen airlines that you can transfer. While there are a few exceptions, transferring 5,000 Hyatt points will yield you 2,000 airline miles. If you are going to use this option, make sure to transfer at least 50,000 Hyatt points. That earns you a 5,000 mile bonus.
Those 50,000 Hyatt points will yield you 25,000 total airline miles in most situations. That’s generally enough for a saver domestic flight in the US, if you’re lucky enough to find one. Alternatively, you could have 3 nights at The Confidante in Miami Beach, The Eliza Jane in New Orleans or the Park Hyatt Istanbul.
Trust us. File this one under “In case of emergency, break glass.” Unless it’s a true emergency, don’t spend your Hyatt points by transferring them to airlines!
You can also redeem 6,000 Hyatt points for one day in an intermediate level car rental from Avis. Just keep in mind that 5,000 Hyatt points gets you a free night in a Category 1 hotel, and only 8,000 for a Category 2 hotel. Most of the time, a one-day car rental in an intermediate is going to be far cheaper than that hotel room, so it’s better to burn your Hyatt Points on the hotel stay, rather than the car. You’ve been told, but what you choose to do with the information is up to you!
The World Of Hyatt Wrap
It’s no surprise that redeeming your Hyatt points for free nights is a great way to get the most value. But, we all have different priorities, and happily, Hyatt covers many of them. For most people free nights are such an easy and enjoyable way to benefit, with the closest thing to “free” in travel.
Hyatt’s Suite upgrades also make a great choice for people whose work may cover the standard room, or who don’t mind paying for a basic room and enjoying extra space. For others, avoiding that big bill from the spa can be the perfect fit for savvy travelers who are vacationing with someone who loves to be pampered.
On that note, be sure to Use Google Flights to find cheap flights to your dream destination and turn it into a bargain dream trip at a Hyatt property. It’s a win-win.
At the end of the day, you earned those Hyatt points one way or another. Have fun, live it up, make great memories. Don’t be ashamed of how you redeem them.
Well, okay, maybe if you do that airline transfer or car rental thing.
Hyatt does have an excellent program and a lot of great properties have been added but despite being Globalist I never seem to be able to use a suite upgrade………….seems their properties are not all in on that benefit!