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Hyatt’s current points sale has been running since late August and has been offering World of Hyatt members a great opportunity to top up their accounts at the cheapest rate that we usually see Hyatt offer. Unfortunately and as will all good things, this sale has to end and it’s ending today so you have just hours left to lock in this deal if the numbers work for you.
Key terms
- Sale ends 11:59 pm on 30 September 2022
- Get a 30% discount by purchasing a minimum of 3,000 points
- World of Hyatt members can buy a maximum of 55,000 points per calendar year (excluding bonuses)
- You must have been a World of Hyatt member for at least 60 days in order to be eligible to buy Hyatt points.
The full terms and conditions can be found on the sale page
The numbers
One of the better aspects of this sale is that Hyatt doesn’t mess around with the price of points within a given bonus band so, as the latest bonus band runs from 3,000 points to 55,000 points, any number of points that you buy within that band will come at the same cost/point.
Here’s the math:
If you were to buy 3,000 Hyatt points it would cost just $50.40…
…and $50.40 for 3,000 points would see you buying points at 1.68 cents each.
At the opposite end of the buying range, if you were to buy the full allowance of 55,000 points it would cost you $924…
…and, once again, you would be buying points at 1.68 cents each.
Should you buy points in this promotion?
It should go without saying that if you don’t have an immediate need for Hyatt points you shouldn’t be considering this sale (my one essential rule to follow when buying miles and points applies here). Having said that, if you’re planning on booking any Hyatt stays for the upcoming months, this sale may help you save some money.
The key to understanding where value is to be found is the current World of Hyatt award chart:
Buying points and using them to book a top-tier property (Category 8) would see you pay between $588/night and $756 for a stay and for me, that’s expensive. I wouldn’t be tempted to buy all the points needed to book a top-end property unless it was for a (very) special occasion.
I would buy points to top up my account so that I could book a top-tier property, but I definitely wouldn’t buy all the points needed.
The great value is to be found a little further down the award chart by booking mid-tier/upper mid-tier properties (and possibly the occasional low-tier property) and I’m going to use the Andaz 5th Avenue as an example to illustrate what I mean.
On a random night in May, an entry-level room at this property can cost a painful $594 + taxes/fees …
… or 25,000 points (this is a standard season date):
Once you factor in the taxes and fees that will be added to this booking, the cash rate for this particular night comes to $724.99 …
… which includes the heinous Destination Fee which World of Hyatt members don’t have to pay on award bookings.
Using points to book a room on this particular night would see you get approximately 2.90 cents of value out of each point used and that’s a pretty great deal if you only paid 1.68 cents per point in the first place.
Effectively you would have paid $420 for a room that would otherwise have cost ~$725 so you would have saved $305 by buying points in this sale.
However …
Just as this property can prove my point that it can be a good idea to buy points in this sale, it can also prove my point that you need to be careful. Buying points and then using them without working out the value you’ll be getting is a great way to lose money.
On another randomly selected date, the Andaz 5th Avenue can be booked for ~$365 (including all taxes and fees) or 25,000 points. If you were to use points purchased in this sale to book this particular night, you’d be getting under 1.5 cents of value out of every point you used, and that’s not a good idea if you originally bought those points at 1.68 cents each.
Buying points in this sale can definitely save you money but you need to be selective with your bookings if you’re to guarantee a good return on the money you spend.
Don’t forget
Hyatt sells its points through Points.com so there’s no scope to earn a travel/hotel bonus by using a credit card that offers bonus points for spending in either of those categories.
That makes this a good opportunity to use a credit card on which you’re working towards a welcome bonus (like the great bonus currently available on the Citi Premier® Card) or a card that earns you points that you value highly (e.g. the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review) which earns cardholders 2 Membership Rewards Points/dollar spent on the first $50,000 of eligible spending every year – terms apply).
If you’re someone who prefers to earn cash back over miles and points, the Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card (review) would be a good option.
Bottom Line
This is the best rate at which we usually see Hyatt selling its currency so if this sale doesn’t work for you, it’s unlikely that whatever Hyatt offers up next will be any more attractive.
Despite this, in some cases this sale still won’t represent a great deal but, as I’ve shown above, there will be times where buying points in this sale can save a World of Hyatt member a serious amount of money. I found the example that I gave above with my first search so getting value out of this sale shouldn’t be a challenge.
As always, it all comes down to individual circumstances and the numbers. 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 1.68 cents each could save you some money.
