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In terms of the value that can be extracted out of each point, World of Hyatt points continue to be the most valuable hotel currency around despite the upcoming devaluations. The actual value that each person assigns to World of Hyatt points, however, will vary depending on how the points are earned and how the points are used.
What some people may not realize, however, is that Hyatt has given us an easy way to place a value on World of Hyatt points because it actually guarantees all World of Hyatt members a minimum return. For some, that minimum return is as high as 1.54 cents per point.
Back in December 2019 when Hyatt announced that it would be introducing peak and off-peak pricing, a further announcement was also made, but that announcement got a little lost among the noise generated by the award chart devaluation and the pandemic that followed shortly thereafter.
This second announcement was actually good news for World of Hyatt members as it was the announcement that told us that Hyatt was significantly improving the value proposition of redeeming points for on-site credit.
In fact, the improvement was so good that since January 2020, World of Hyatt points have offered a better on-site redemption rate than any other hotel currency.
Take a look at this chart:
This is the chart that shows how much on-site credit (for dining, spa treatments, parking, transportation, and more) Hyatt will give World of Hyatt members in exchange for their hard-earned points, and while at the low end the offer is poor, at the high end things get interesting.
Redemptions of 20,000 points or less are bad value and should be ignored by just about everyone who doesn’t have more points than they can possibly use, but the value offered for redemptions of 35,000 and 65,000 points shouldn’t be ignored.
A World of Hyatt member redeeming 35,000 points for $500 of on-site credit will be getting approximately 1.43 cents for every point they use, and a member redeeming 65,000 points for $1,000 of credit will be getting approximately 1.54 cents for every point they use, and while neither of those rates of return is particularly amazing, they put a floor on the value of Hyatt’s currency for those who like to spend on-site.
Sure, unless you’re staying at a resort with your family for at least a week or staying at a property with a Michelin-starred restaurant, most people will probably struggle to spend $1,000 in on-site credits during a single stay (although some won’t find this challenging at all), so claiming that World of Hyatt Points are worth “at least” 1.54 cents is probably a stretch.
But spending $500 on food, spa treatments, and parking at a variety of Hyatt properties (e.g. the Andaz Maui) isn’t much of a challenge for those who like to eat on-site and get a little pampering (one visit to the spa can easily take care of $500), and that makes it considerably less of a stretch to claim that for these people, World of Hyatt Points are worth at least 1.43 cents each.
Note: Because Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to the World of Hyatt in a ratio of 1:1, this also means that it’s reasonable to say that for anyone who’s a fan of Hyatt and who enjoys spending on-site, Ultimate Rewards points are worth at least 1.43 cents each too.
It’s important to keep in mind that World of Hyatt members can only choose to exchange points for on-site credit when they’re checking out of a property, so it’s not possible to spread the credit over multiple stays (that would be too good to be true!). That, however, shouldn’t take away from the fact that some World of Hyatt members can now be justified in thinking that their points are worth at least 1.43 cents each, and it shouldn’t take away from the fact that World of Hyatt members now have a reasonable way of cashing out their points on something other than an award stay.
Bottom Line
Overall, this redemption option doesn’t change much for me as I’ve been valuing Hyatt points at 1.4 cents each for some time, but for those who have been valuing their Hyatt points at a lower rate (and who had forgotten or were not aware of this redemption option), this may just change the value they assign to their points.
I’m not suggesting that World of Hyatt members should be looking to use their points for on-site redemptions every time they stay at a Hyatt property (you should be able to do better than 1.43/1.54 cents point when you book award nights), but it’s an option that’s worth keeping in mind.
Did you know about this redemption option and would you consider using it?
I always get 2-3 cent per point with Hyatt. Maybe I’m selective in that I have good balances with Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt so see what the cash and points value is for each in a market then only use points if getting more than my value estimate (1.7 cents Hyatt, .7 cent Marriott and .5 cent Hilton). I also have a lot of Chase points so can just buy it at 1.5 cent a point if I want (or pay cash). Basically, I’m pretty selective on how i use my points and can afford to pay cash if not getting reasonable value for them.