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We seem to be in the middle of a points/miles sale frenzy right now with United, Radisson, Alaska Airlines and now Hyatt all releasing new deals within a few days of each other. Some are flash sales (United & Radisson) while Alaska’s and Hyatt’s offering are lasting considerably longer.
The two most important things you probably need to know about Hyatt’s latest points sale are as follows: The promotion isn’t targeted (everyone can earn the same bonuses) and with a maximum bonus of 40% on offer this is as good as Hyatt’s points sales get. If this sale doesn’t work for you it’s unlikely that any other Hyatt points sales will work any better.
The Sale Offer
- Buy 1,000 – 4,000 points and get a 0% bonus
- Buy 5,000 – 55,000 point and get a 40% bonus
Headline Terms & Conditions
- Offer available with purchases made by 11:59 pm August 27, 2019.
- Purchase 5,000 or more Bonus Points in a single transaction and receive 40% additional Bonus Points.
- Bonus Points will be awarded upon completion of individual transaction.
- Bonus Points can be purchased in increments of 1,000, up to 55,000 points per calendar year.
- Members can receive points in increments of 1,000, up to 55,000 points per calendar year. Additional Bonus Points awarded under this offer do not count towards these maximums.
- Price includes all applicable fees. GST/HST will be charged to Canadian residents.
Full terms and conditions can be found on the sale page via this link
The Math
Because Hyatt doesn’t change the price of points within its bonus bands, you’ll be buying Hyatt points at the best available rate as long as you purchase at least 5,000 points in this sale.
Here’s proof:
Whether you buy the minimum number of points that entitles you to the 40% bonus…
….or the maximum number of points permitted…
….the cost per point doesn’t change. It remains at ~1.71 cents/point.
Is This A Good Deal?
Hyatt’s points sales with an untargeted 40% bonus on offer (the best bonus it offers) have been appearing with greater frequency of late so they’re not as uncommon as they once were…but you never know when Hyatt will revert to its old habits, so these sales are always worth considering.
The Hyatt award chart is one of the keys to deciding how good this promotion is:
The very top Hyatt properties cost 30,000 points/night and the top SLH properties cost 40,000 points/night so, if you wanted to buy enough points in this promotion to book a night at one of these properties, it would set you back either ~$513 or ~$684
I can’t think of very many circumstances where I’d consider paying that much for a night at a hotel so, from my point of view, this promotion is not much use for top-tier redemptions (others may see things differently).
I’m well aware that some people like to argue that a few top-end Park Hyatt properties will charge a lot more than $513/night (the Park Hyatt New York is a good example of such a property)…
…and will suggest that paying $513 for points that are used to book this room is a pretty sweet deal….but I don’t like that kind of reasoning.
This kind of reasoning may make sense for someone looking to top up an account to allow them to book a multi-night stay (or for someone wanting to add a night to an existing booking) but it makes absolutely no sense for someone without enough existing points to book a few more nights as well.
Who wants to spend that much on a single night stay in New York when you’ll probably have very little time to actually enjoy all that the hotel offers?
So, as far as getting value in this sale goes, most people should be ignoring the very top-tier properties and focusing on some of the very good properties in some of the lower categories.
The Category 5 Andaz Wall Street (which costs 20,000 points/night) can show this points sale in two different lights – one good and one bad.
20,000 points in this promotion would cost approximately $342 and on off-peak days that’s not a great deal at this property.
On weekends and at slower times of the year the Andaz Wall Street can be booked for just $198 + taxes + unconscionable destination fees…
….which comes to approximately $264/night with all the additional costs added in:
Why would you pay $342 for 20,000 points when you can book the room for less and also earn points into the bargain?
But…
In mid-week and during peak season things can be different. If you can find award availability points can be a big, big, money saver.
When things get busy it’s not at all unusual to see room rates at the Andaz Wall St. push $500 before taxes and fees…
…and when all the extras are added in the nightly rate moves to over $600/night:
Buying 20,000 points for $342 in this promotion would save you ~$230/night.
Note: Because the horrendous destination fee is payable on award bookings as well as cash bookings this has to be taken out of the equation when working out how much money a points booking will save you.
Don’t Forget
Hyatt points sales are processed by Points.com so you’re not going to get a credit card travel/hotel category bonus if you buy points in this sale.
This is a good time to use a card on which you’re looking to earn a sign-up bonus or a card whose points you value highly.
My personal preference would be to use the Blue Business Plus Credit Card from Amex (2 points/dollar) or a strong cash back credit card like the Citi Double Cash Card (2% back per dollar) or the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card (1.5% or 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar).
Bottom Line
In some cases, this isn’t a great deal even though this is the best bonus we see Hyatt offer….but there will be plenty of instances where buying points in this promotion can save you a lot of money.
As always, it all comes down to individual circumstances and math.
Never buy points speculatively as there may be no warning the next time Hyatt decides to devalue its currency or rework its award chart but that doesn’t mean you should ignore this sale altogether – far from it.
If you’re planning a stay in the next few months, you should check award availability, compare the cash rate to the number of points needed, do the math and see if buying points at 1.71 cents each could save me some money – there’s a good chance that it will!
Link to buy Hyatt points at ~1.71 cents each
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