How Much Are Hyatt Points Worth? 2024 Hyatt Points Value Guide
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Summary:
The average cash value of a World of Hyatt point is roughly between $0.015 and $0.019 (1.5 cents and 1.9 cents, respectively). However, they can be worth either more or less depending on how and where they are redeemed. Five base points are earned for every dollar spent at certain Hyatt properties, and reward stays begin at 3,500 points for “budget hotels” and go all the way up to 45,000 for standard rooms at the fanciest hotels and resorts. To calculate the exact value of Hyatt points, simply divide the points required to rent the room by the listed nightly rate. Naturally, different hotels, dates, and locations — plus other redemption options — will impact the real-world value of Hyatt points.
Everybody and their brother has some type of rewards or miles program, even McDonald’s. Keep eating those quarter pounders and milkshakes, and pretty soon you’ll have some freebies coming your way. While some rewards programs are better than others, it’s always nice to get some benefits from a credit card, product, airline, or hotel chain that you were planning to use anyway.
By all accounts, Hyatt has one of the best hotel points programs around, with many options to use them. But how do you find the best value of Hyatt points? And when does it make more sense to pay cash for a room and earn points rather than redeeming them? Today we’ll explore those topics and more about World of Hyatt hotels and Hyatt points value.
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Types of Hyatt hotels
When considering how far your Hyatt points will go, it’s important to consider the Hyatt point value in relation to what type of Hyatt hotel you’re planning to stay in. The range of Hyatt hotels is vast, reaching from your more basic place to stay while visiting family in Chicago, to huge Hyatt Regency beach resorts in Hawaii. Not only that, but they also have Small Luxury Hotels of the World (a Hyatt partner) in more exotic locales, like France or Thailand.
World of Hyatt ranks its accommodations in categories from one to eight — one being the least expensive and eight being the most pricey. From there, Hyatt hotel rooms are further categorized by standard room, club room, standard suite, and premium suite.
To get an idea of the differences, consider that a category one standard room will cost you 3,500 Hyatt points in off-peak season, 5,000 for “standard times” (sometimes known as the shoulder seasons), and 6,500 for peak times. A premium suite, by contrast, goes for 35,000, 40,000, and 45,000 for the same time frames.
When you start getting into all-inclusive resorts, the numbers go up even further. Standard rooms start at 12,000 for off-peak times and go up as far as 115,000 Hyatt points for a premium suite in the peak season.
Here is a summary of the cost in Hyatt points for Standard and Club rooms across hotel categories.
| Standard Room | Club Room | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFF-PEAK | STANDARD | PEAK | OFF-PEAK | STANDARD | PEAK | |
| 1 | 3,500 | 5,000 | 6,500 | 5,500 | 7,000 | 8,500 |
| 2 | 6,500 | 8,000 | 9,500 | 10,500 | 12,000 | 13,500 |
| 3 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 14,000 | 17,000 | 20,000 |
| 4 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 | 18,000 | 21,000 | 24,000 |
| 5 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 | 24,000 | 27,000 | 30,000 |
| 6 | 21,000 | 25,000 | 29,000 | 29,000 | 33,000 | 37,000 |
| 7 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 | 44,000 |
| 8 | 35,000 | 40,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 | 50,000 | 55,000 |
The cost of a night at a Hyatt hotel or resort increases significantly when splurging for a standard or premium suite.
| Standard Suite | Premium Suite | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFF-PEAK | STANDARD | PEAK | OFF-PEAK | STANDARD | PEAK | |
| 1 | 6,500 | 8,000 | 9,500 | 7,000 | 10,000 | 13,000 |
| 2 | 11,500 | 13,000 | 14,500 | 13,000 | 16,000 | 19,000 |
| 3 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 |
| 4 | 21,000 | 24,000 | 27,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 36,000 |
| 5 | 29,000 | 32,000 | 35,000 | 34,000 | 40,000 | 46,000 |
| 6 | 36,000 | 40,000 | 44,000 | 42,000 | 50,000 | 58,000 |
| 7 | 43,000 | 48,000 | 53,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 70,000 |
| 8 | 56,000 | 61,000 | 66,000 | 70,000 | 80,000 | 90,000 |
How much are Hyatt points worth?
The average value of Hyatt points tends to be higher than similar hotel chains. That being said, it really boils down to where you want to stay, the days of the week, and whether you’re visiting a destination in peak or off-peak times. The category of hotel is also a big factor.
For example, if you want to stay at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa on January 6, in an oceanfront king room with club access, the member rate is $1,000 per night. The hotel is a category six World of Hyatt resort, meaning it costs 25,000 points at the standard rate. So, according to our formula, if you divide the cost of the room ($1,000) by the points needed (25,000), you get $0.04, or four cents a point. That’s a pretty great dollar value and far above average.
But if you get the same room in October, the rate is $704, so your cash value drops to 2.8 cents per point. Still good, but significantly less. It’s an easy way to calculate where you’re getting the most value when redeeming points and deciding where and when you want to travel.
Looking at a more conservative example, a stay at the Hyatt Place Baton Rouge, a category one hotel, the member rate is $115 per night. Or, if you want to use your Hyatt points that’s 3,500 for an off-peak time. Using the formula, that comes out to a 3.2 cent point value.
Earning and redeeming points
There are a ton of ways to earn and redeem Hyatt points, through flying, dining, shopping, and renting cars, as well as hotel stays around the world. World of Hyatt may not have as large a global footprint as some other large hotel chains, but it’s still one of the major hotel loyalty programs. And Hyatt’s points value is better than most.
Earn Hyatt points worth great perks
- Staying at Hyatt hotels and resorts. World of Hyatt has more than 1,000 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 70 countries across six continents to choose from. You also have the option of ten participating Las Vegas hotels to choose from under the MGM Resorts brand. This is in addition to many other options from the Small Luxury Hotels of the World Hyatt partner.
- Dining and spa services. You can also earn or use points for dining out on your vacations or taking advantage of spa treatments at Hyatt locations. The best part is you can do this even if you’re not spending the night at that hotel.
- Experiences. Earn Hyatt points by taking part in exciting or interesting experiences on your vacation, such as hiking with a wolf, cooking with an executive chef, or practicing yoga in the Redwood Forest.
- Other travel. If you like, you can earn or use miles with travel partners of World of Hyatt, such as Avis rental cars, American Airlines, or one of 25 other partner airlines. You can even choose to earn miles instead of points, although the average Hyatt point value is far less for airline tickets than for hotel stays.
- Bonus points. You can also collect bonus points to add to your collection (although they won’t count toward elite status) by opening up a World of Hyatt credit card, World of Hyatt business credit card, or by hosting qualified meetings or events at Hyatt hotels and resorts.
With all this in mind, it’s important to remember that Hyatt isn’t the only credit card issuer with a rewards program. If you’d like to venture outside of the Hyatt points system, check out the rewards credit cards below.
Pro Tip
Please note that some experiences mentioned above may have been temporarily postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Before attempting to participate in these experiences, speak with the respective hotel or organizer and make sure you can enjoy them safely.
Advantages and disadvantages of World of Hyatt points
The benefits of the Hyatt program are pretty strong compared with other hotel chains, especially when considering average point value. That being said, there are a few drawbacks to consider.
Pro Tip
One of the easiest ways to earn Hyatt points, aside from staying in Hyatt hotels and resorts, is to get a World of Hyatt credit card. That way you can rack up points just by making your day-to-day purchases.
Do Hyatt points expire?
Like most reward programs, points or miles will expire after a long period of inactivity. If your account is inactive for two years, you will forfeit your Hyatt points. And once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.
It would be a shame to let those points lapse, but luckily you don’t necessarily need to redeem points to keep the account active. Although that is one way, here are some other ways to keep your account active.
- Stay at a Hyatt hotel. Staying at a Hyatt property or one of its participating hotel partners will keep your account active whether you redeem points or pay in cash. To make sure you get credit, be sure to book directly through Hyatt, not an online travel agency.
- Use your World of Hyatt card. As long as you use your card occasionally, your points won’t expire. Plus, using the card is a great way to earn more points.
- Convert Hyatt points to airline miles. This method doesn’t give you as much value for your points as hotel stays, but if you need to fly somewhereand keep your account active, this will work. There are a ton of flying options with Hyatt airline partners like American, Delta, or United, among many others.
- Transfer points. If you have Chase Ultimate Rewards points, for example, you can transfer those points to your Hyatt account. In some cases, Ultimate Rewards points can be worth even more when converted to Hyatt points, so this could potentially be a great value.
- Send or receive points. Hyatt members can send and receive points for free, so if you’re just looking to show some activity, this is an easy way to do it.
- Buy Hyatt points. Call this a last resort option. You can purchase Hyatt bonus points in 2,000-point increments for $48. It’s a way to reset the expiration clock and give you more time to put those points to good use.
Pro Tip
When deciding to pay cash for a room versus redeeming Hyatt points, consider resort fees as well. If you pay in cash for a room, resort fees are added to the price, whereas they’re usually waived for award nights.
FAQs
Can I buy World of Hyatt points?
You can buy World of Hyatt points for yourself or give them as a gift. At $48 for each 2,000 points, it might make financial sense at times to buy yourself enough points to cover that room at the Park Hyatt Sydney, which features luxury accommodations right on the beach.
Alternatively, you could buy bonus points as a gift to another Hyatt member — perhaps as a wedding present to help the new couple stay at a fancier place than they could normally afford.
Is the World of Hyatt loyalty program free?
Becoming a Hyatt member is free to join. Then, as you start getting credit for your Hyatt hotel stays, your status moves up gradually. There are four levels of membership. You’ll start as a new member then move on to the three elite tiers of Hyatt Discoverist status, Explorist, and finally the highest elite status of Globalist, which has the most perks.
Members earn tier status and even more rewards and benefits like tier bonuses, room upgrades, late checkout, club lounge access, and more, with qualifying activities each year. It takes a lot of hotel stays and points to reach those levels, but there is never a fee for World of Hyatt membership.
How many Hyatt points do you need for a free night?
You’ll need a minimum of 3,500 points for a standard, off-peak room at a category one hotel with blackout dates. Starting at 5,000 points, you can enjoy free nights without blackout dates. And, as a new member, you can enjoy a free night award (no Hyatt points needed) after staying at five different Hyatt hotel brands.
Key Takeaways
- The Hyatt loyalty program, on average, has better value award points than other large hotel brands.
- Membership for World of Hyatt is free and, as you reach new milestones or elite status, you can take advantage of multiple perks such as free nights, room upgrades, and more.
- Hyatt points are worth more than their competitors, but they take longer to accumulate.
- World of Hyatt and partners have many world-class hotels, but not as many worldwide locations as the competition.
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