Buy Hyatt Points with a 40% Bonus (1.7 cents each!)

by Enoch

I am a big fan of Hyatt hotels, and enjoy my Diamond status with them. They have tons of aspirational properties, many of which can be much more accessible with points than with cash.

Receive up to 40% bonus points with the latest Hyatt promotion

Receive up to 40% bonus points with the latest Hyatt promotion

The Offer

Hyatt is currently running a promotion, where you can buy points with 40% bonus. This is the best offer I’ve seen from Hyatt. Whereas in the past offers like this are can sometimes only be available to elite members or Hyatt credit card holders, this one is available to all members. 

The bonus is tiered, but the thresholds are really low, since you can get the maximum percentage of bonus with just 10,000 points:

  • Buy 5,000 points or more = 30% Bonus
  • Buy 10,000 points or more = 40% Bonus

You can buy up to 55,000 points with Hyatt every year. If you haven’t bought any this year, you can maximize this promotion by buying 55,000 points, at a cost or $1,320. This will net you 77,000 points with the bonus, and you will essentially be paying 1.71 cents per point, which is a pretty great value.

You can buy up to 55,000 points from Hyatt every year

You can buy up to 55,000 points from Hyatt every year

If you have already maxed out on your purchase this year, there might still be a way to get in on the offer. Hyatt allows you to transfer points between any Hyatt Gold Passport member with no fee or limit. You can only request one transfer every 30 days, and can do so simply by filling out a form with the members’ information.

Cash & Points

One of my favorite uses of Hyatt points is with Cash & Points. This allows you to use half the points amount usually required, plus a flat rate in cash.

You usually get the most value when you book a Category 2 through 6 hotel, which effectively lets you “buy” Hyatt points at  1.2 cents to 1.38 cents each. Let me explain: instead of using 25,000 points for a Category 6 hotel, you are using 12,500 points + $150. This means you are using $150 to “buy” the remaining 12,500 points, at a rate of 1.2 cents per point. That’s much better than any offer that lets you buy points outright.

Hyatt Cash & Points Reward Chart

Hyatt Cash & Points Reward Chart

For category 1 and 7 hotels, I usually like to redeem points for its entirety. That’s because if I use Cash & Points for a Category 7 hotel, I am basically “buying” 15,000 points for $300, at a rate of 2 cents per point. That’s a terrible deal, especially in light of the current promotion.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that a Cash & Points night counts as elite-qualifying, so you could apply upgrades and earn points from it. On the other hand, a full reward night is not elite-qualifying, so you will get all applicable elite benefits, but won’t earn points and cannot apply a Diamond Suite upgrade to it.

Redeeming for Free Nights

Purchasing points can be a great value, when compared to paying for a hotel stay outright. For example, the cheapest room at the Park Hyatt New York is going for $818 after taxes for this one night.

The cash rate for Park Hyatt New York is $818 after taxes on January 21

The cash rate for Park Hyatt New York is $818 after taxes on January 21

Alternatively, I can redeem 30,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for it.

Redeem 30,000 points for one night at the Park Hyatt New York

Redeem 30,000 points for one night at the Park Hyatt New York

Under this promotion, I can purchase 30,000 points for $513. It’s definitely not cheap, but still a significant saving from paying for the night in cash. Of course, with reward redemptions you are subject to availability. But under the right circumstances, buying points can actually save you money.

Stackable Offers

This is a fantastic time to buy and use points, since Hyatt is concurrently running a few promotions. First of all, you can earn up to 75,000 bonus points under the “More Points More Play” offer. Cash and Points redemptions count as elite-qualifying stays, and therefore are eligible for this promotion, which ends November 30, 2016.

Additionally, Hyatt is offering Chase Hyatt credit card members a 10% rebate on all stays through October 30, 2016. This means you can get a Category 7 Hotel, like the Park Hyatt New York or Park Hyatt Paris, for 27,000 points after the rebate. If you purchase the points needed for the night under this purchase points promotion, that’s about $461 a night. That’s not cheap, but can be much less expensive than paying cash.

Should you buy, and with what card?

This is the best bonus I’ve seen Hyatt offer on points purchases. If you have an upcoming hotel stay, I’d certainly look into whether it’s worth booking them with points over cash. However, I don’t think I can unequivocally recommend purchasing Hyatt points speculatively, even at this rate, since the room rates can vary a lot.

Hyatt points are purchased through Points.com, so it does not count as “travel” or “hotel” spending. If you have an Ultimate Rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred, I’d recommend using the Chase Freedom Unlimited. It gives you 1.5 points per dollar, which you can actually then transfer into Hyatt points. Alternatively, you can also use a card that offers 2% cash back, like the Citi DoubleCash card.

Terms & Conditions

The offer ends on October 25, 2016. Here are the terms and conditions:

Offer available for purchases made between 12:00 am ET October 4, 2016 and 11:59 pm ET October 25, 2016. Bonus points will be awarded upon completion of individual transactions. Offer only available when points are purchased for the purchaser’s account. Offer not valid for transactions gifting points. Offer may be withdrawn or changed without notice. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer. Only purchases made online are eligible for the promotion.

You can purchase Hyatt points here.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

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4 comments

rick b October 4, 2016 - 3:19 pm

This is a terrible deal. Rarely if ever are Hyatt points even close to 1.5 cents value. Just because some overpriced hotel charges exorbitant rates doesn’t make the redemption “worth” that amount. There are often similar quality hotels for much less in the same location.

Besides, it’s trivial to generate Chase points for much less than 1.5 cents per point and transfer those over.

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