When World Of Hyatt lowered the requirements in 2021 due to covid for Globalist status, I jumped! Now in my second year, I am still loving it.
One of my favorite things about being a World of Hyatt Globalist, is the ability to book stays without having the points in my account. When I do this, I am always advised by the Hyatt rep that I need to have the points in my account at least 7 days prior to the stay. With proper planning, that makes things rather easy.
I acquire the Hyatt points from a number of sources. Since I wanted to maintain my Globalist status for 2023, I actually spent more than I would have liked on my Hyatt card in 2022 to earn those 2 nights for every $5k I spend. But when I use the card for the nights, I am obviously also earning Hyatt points as well. I wish I could get the business version of the card, but I fear I will never be under 5/24 to make this happen.
Since I have been trying to keep my Globalist status over this year, I lean towards staying at a Hyatt property when possible and there are times (albeit rare) that I pay for the night, so I earn points on these stays.
And my favorite way to acquire Hyatt points is by transferring them from Flexible Rewards partners. Chase Ultimate Rewards has always transferred to World Of Hyatt, usually at the ratio of 1:1 with a couple of 50% bonuses sprinkled in over the course of a year. New to the scene, my Bilt Rewards also transfer to my Hyatt account at a ratio of 1:1.
So, I freely book my hotel stays in advance knowing that I have all of the above ways to get the points that I need in my account. With so much time to play with, (compare with the 60 day rule with a Bonvoy points advance and the fact that the redemtion rate may change before earning the points), I rarely worry that I will have trouble amassing the points. I can always adjust my spending back to my Chase cards (I have been favoring Capital One lately) to ensure that I get what I need!
So, what Hyatts am I heading to in 2023 and how much have I saved? Also, I will do a value calculation using an industry value of 1.7 cents per Hyatt point to see how I did in terms of gaining or losing value (despite the fact that I may end up transferring points from Chase (worth about 2 cents) to make some of these redemptions). The 1.7 versus 2.0 is not that far off!
1. Park Hyatt Zurich-Rob and I are spending a few days here after we take Daniel (who will be abroad in Copenhagen) skiing in Zermatt. We used 85,000 points for our 3 night stay that would have cost $2020 had we paid with money. Value of the points used = $1445, Value GAIN of $575.
2. Hyatt Regency Indian Wells-we are taking a spring time trip to this area of Cali (#emptynestlife) and booked 4 nights at this resort for 89,000. These four nights here would have cost $2740 had we paid. Value of the points used = $1513, Value GAIN of $1227.
Since booking, I used one if my Suite Night awards to upgrade and they put me in the PENTHOUSE SUITE. This stay would cost $5200. New Value GAIN of $3687!
3. Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco-we are embarking on a California coast trip before our USC parents weekend next fall. We are spending one night in San Francisco at this hotel. The room was 23,000 points for a stay with money that would have been $706. Value of the points used = $391, Value GAIN of $315.
4. Alila Ventana Big Sur-one of the stops on our California road trip and my favorite and most lucrative redemption. I was very strategic in that I knew the exact date this property opened for booking and planned my dates around when I nailed down my 3 night stay. Since a standard room on points was NOT available (hmm), I booked a standard suite for 68k points per night. So in total I am using 204,000 for a stay that would have cost me $2676 PER NIGHT or $8,028. Value of the points used = $3468, Value GAIN of $4560. This redemption rivals my redemption that I just took advantage of in Santorini at the Canaves Oia Suites.
Update-I randomly looked again at this property a few months later to see if a regular room had opened up. It had! Rob and I do not need a suite! I downgraded our suite to a regular room that ran 45,000 points per night so 135,000 points for the stay. The room would have cost $7044 for the 3 nights. Value of points used = $2295. Value Gain of $4749. Even better than before.
5. Mar Monte Hotel in Santa Barbara-another stop along the coast. I am not sure I will keep this one as I am trying to accumulate enough Bonvoy points for a stay at the Ritz Bacara, but just in case I don’t, I booked 2 nights here for 20,000 points per night. This stay, if we booked with money, would be $913. Value of the points used = $680, Value GAIN of $233. Fancy friends, I also know about and have looked into the Rosewood in Montecito, but I cannot wrap my head around spending $2kish per night and not using rewards! Maybe in my next life!
6. Hotel Figueroa in LA-one of the few downtown hotels in LA that we have not yet tried despite all of the favorable reviews from USC friends who have stayed there. This stay for 2 nights was 40,000 points and they stay would have cost $1205. Value of the points used = $680, Value GAIN of $525.
7. Hyatt Centric Wall Street-I booked a regular king room and a suite too for my 3 kids who are planning to run the NYC Marathon this upcoming November. For the king room, the night was 23,000 points and the stay would have cost $478. Value of the points used = $391, Value GAIN of $87.
For the Centric Suite, the night was 35,000 points and the stay would have cost $707. Value of points used = $595, Value GAIN of $112.
8. Andaz Scottsdale-I am taking another trip with my mom and sister. I booked 5 nights at this resort for 141,000 and used one of my Suite Night Awards to upgrade us to the Sonoran Suite. These 5 nights would have cost $7784 had we paid. Value of the points used = $2397, Value GAIN of $5387
9. Park Hyatt Bangkok-our December trip that I just recently booked! We are staying 2 nights and I got 2 rooms, each room costing 20,000 points per night. So I used 80,000 points for a stay that would have cost $346 per night or $1384 in total. Value of points used = $1360, Value GAIN (although a tiny bit) of $24.
10. Akyra Manor Chiang Mai-we are actually staying at 137 Pillars in Chiang Mai, but we will be in the area the night of the 24th (Xmas Eve) and the hotel was requiring us to go to an obligatory Xmas Eve dinner that would have cost us about $1,000. No thanks.
We will “slum” it (ha, not really), at this Small Luxury Hotel property for the one night and go to the dinner we choose! The one night is a mere 18,000 Hyatt Points for the night and I booked 2 rooms and we need to pay an extra $50 per night for the third kid in one of the rooms.
Each of these rooms would have cost $353 so for the 2 rooms, it is $706. Value of points used = $612, Value GAIN $94. But then less the extra $50 I have to pay, so my gain goes down to $44. Still a GAIN!
11. Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit-the night before our flight home. Each of these rooms were 9500 points per night for a total of 19,000 points. The nights would have cost $335 each or $670 total. Value of points used = $323, Value GAIN of $347.
What are my totals? I need it for my instagram post. 🙂
Value of all my points used is 1445 + 1513 + 3468 +680 + 680 + 391 +595 +2397+ 1360 + 612 +323 = 13,464
Amount my stays would have cost had I had to pay for them is 2020 + 2740 + 7044 + 913 + 1205 + 478 + 707 + 7784 + 1384 + 706 + 670 = 25,651
#paylikethepointsmom!