LAST CHANCE: Register for Hyatt’s Bonus Journeys promotion

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Hyatt’s current global promotion has been running since the beginning of March and with an end date of 15 June is still has a few weeks left to run. If, however, you have yet to register for this promotion (it’s free to register), you have until the end of tomorrow to do so because the registration period is about to end.

Hyatt Bonus Journeys promotion

• Registration is required by 15 May 2021 (here) – TOMORROW!
• The promotion runs through 15 June 2021.
• All World of Hyatt members will earn 2,000 bonus points for every 2 qualifying nights during the promotion period.
• Holders of World of Hyatt credit card will earn a 500 points bonus for every 2 qualifying nights during the promotion period (for a total of 2,500 bonus points).
• Nights do not have to be consecutive.
• Eligible nights can be earned at all Hyatt brands, at participating MGM properties, at participating SLH properties, and with Lindblad Expedition experiences.
• For the purpose of this promotion, an “Eligible Night” is defined as any night where a member is paying an Eligible Rate or redeems a free night award.
• All World of Hyatt members can earn up to one Free Night award valid at properties in Categories 1 through 4 after their first ten eligible nights during the Promotion Period. The award expires 180 days after being issued.
• A World of Hyatt member can earn a maximum of one Free Night award can in this promotion.
• There is no cap on the number of bonus points that can be earned in this promotion.
• Only the room occupied by the Member will count toward this promotion.

Full terms and conditions can be found on the promotion page.

Thoughts

This isn’t a bad promotion, but it’s also not a promotion that makes me go ‘wow’ like the promotions that Hyatt ran through February.

While this promotion will certainly work well for some, it would take a blinkered, die-hard Hyatt loyalist to call this promotion “great”…although some of the current targeted spending bonuses on the World of Hyatt card may make things considerably better (more on them in a moment).

The good news here is that, as usual, award nights will earn the bonus points on offer, that Hyatt is sticking with its policy of offering holders of the World of Hyatt credit card a little extra bonus, and that anyone booking a very cheap Hyatt stays may do well out of this promotion.

The bad news is that this won’t be a particularly rewarding promotion for most people paying regular Hyatt rates (i.e. rates that are well over $200/night) and that the effective rebate that this promotion is offering on award nights doesn’t come close to matching the 15% – 25% rebate that’s been on offer in the recent past. That’s a shame.

I value World of Hyatt points at 1.4 cents each so, effectively, this promotion is offering guests a rebate of $28 on every 2 nights consumed during the promotion ($35 for holders of the World of Hyatt credit card).

If you’re booking cheap (sub $70) rates at properties like the Hyatt Place West London Hayes or if you’re booking some of the great deals available through Hyatt’s ‘Office For The Day‘ promotion* then $28 or $35 back for every two nights is pretty good going and the free night certificate after 10 nights is a nice added bonus.

If, however, you’re paying $250, $300, or $350+ per night for your stays (which is what nights at a lot of Hyatt properties cost), you’re unlikely to be overly excited by the idea of what is effectively a rebate of no more than 7%.

Yes, the Category 1-4 free night award (worth up to 15,000 points) will make things a little better for the higher spenders, but the fact that it’s only valid for 180 days (from the date of issue) is more than a little annoying and considering the current climate, it’s a little miserly too.

Overall, the latest Hyatt promotion strikes me as being better than the current Hilton promotion and the current IHG promotion but, a little amazingly, it’s not better than the current Marriott promotion, and that should probably tell you all that you need to know.

Don’t forget the targeted spending bonuses on the World Of Hyatt Card

Towards the end of March, Chase launched a new set of targeted spending bonuses for its co-branded cards, and among those offers were these bonuses for the World of Hyatt credit card:

• Spend $3k & earn 5,000 points
• Earn 5 points/dollar on up to $1,500 of spending

In addition, Chase launched a new targeted offer of the World of Hyatt credit card only yesterday:

• Earn 8 points/dollar at Hyatt properties worldwide
• Earn 5 points/dollar on all other travel spending
• Earn 5 points/dollar at gas stations

If you’ve been fortunate enough to have been targeted for any of those spending bonuses (and you haven’t maxed out the offer yet), the bonus points they would generate could make the difference between the current Hyatt global promotion being only “ok” and “pretty great”.

Bottom line

Hyatt’s current global promotion still has a few weeks to run, but the registration period closes tomorrow. Whether or not you think you’ll be spending any time at a Hyatt property in the coming weeks, you should make sure that you take a few seconds out of your day to register just in case your plans suddenly change – it costs nothing to register and you’ll kick yourself if you don’t and you then find yourself with an unexpected qualifying Hyatt stay.

*I have confirmation from Hyatt that ‘Office For The Day’ bookings qualify for the bonus points being offered here. I day booking = 1 night.