Have you ever fallen in love with something, walked away, trying to be prudent and ponder only to return and find that it was no longer available?! ^%$*#! People hoping to use their points run into this classic fail all the time. Hyatt has one truly incredible feature to their points and loyalty program which makes using them a lot less frustrating, but you may have to hack the system to get it honored…
Hyatt Has No Blackout Dates Using Points, Which Is Awesome, Sort Of…
Unlike other programs Hyatt really offers a no blackout date policy for using points. In practice it means that if a standard room is available at a standard rate, it’s bookable using points. For example, if an “Andaz King” is the lowest room type in the hotel you want, and you can make a cash booking for the room at a standard rate you CAN use points. It just may not say so…
Their Website May Say There Are No Rooms Available Using POINTS!
Lies! Lies! If you’ve done your (2 seconds) of research, found that the lowest room type offered at the hotel is bookable using cash at a standard rate and the website tells you that there are no rooms available using points, it is lying! Hotels are known to “accidentally” pull the plug on space using points, keeping most travelers from finding the joys of free nights. There’s a hack for that..
Now play nice here! No one likes a “know it all”. Call Hyatt and ask about using points to book a room on the night you want at the property you want. They’ll likely say “oh, I don’t see any rooms available using points”. That’s where you softly say “I read somewhere that if the lowest room type was available at the standard rate, that there were no blackouts, is that true”? This will likely involve a brief hold, contacting the hotel and then you getting your booking. If you get an agent keen to say no, just say thanks for your help and call back.
And If That Doesn’t Work There’s A Work Around…
Standard Rate bookings with Hyatt aren’t prepaid. To officially prove your point until a willing customer service agent is ready to help, or until IT fixes their computer glitches, consider booking a standard room at standard rate using cash. Immediately after booking call Hyatt and tell them you’d really appreciative if they can convert the booking to a points booking.
