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Hyatt is back with a new points promotion in which it’s offering World of Hyatt members a 40% bonus when they buy at least 10,000 points.
The last Hyatt promotion offered a 30% bonus and, as Hyatt’s 40% bonus promotions don’t come around too often, this latest offer is definitely worth a closer look.
Buy Hyatt Points – Headline T&Cs
- Offer available with purchases made between 12:01 am ET May 6, 2019 and ends 11:59 pm June 11, 2019.
- Purchase 5,000 to 9,000 Bonus Points in a single transaction and receive 30% additional Bonus Points.
- Purchase 10,000 or more Bonus Points in a single transaction and receive 40% additional Bonus Points.
- Bonus Points will be awarded upon completion of individual transactions.
- 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.
- Offer may be withdrawn or changed without notice.
- Offer cannot be combined with any other offer.
- Only purchases made online are eligible for the promotion.
- Price includes all applicable fees.
- GST/HST will be charged to Canadian residents.
- This transaction is completed by Points.com.
Link to offer page and full terms and conditions
The Promotion
This is the exact same promotion Hyatt ran around this time last year…and it’s pretty simple:
- Buy 1,000 – 4,000 points and get zero bonus
- Buy 5,000 – 9,000 points and get a 30% bonus
- Buy 10,000 – 55,000 points and get a 40% bonus
Note: The tier structure may vary from member to member
The Math
Hyatt doesn’t play around with pricing within its bonus bands so as long as you purchase 10,000 or more World of Hyatt points you will be buying at the best available cost/point.
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?
While it’s true to say that Hyatt offers bonuses on the sale of its point reasonably frequently, the 40% bonuses don’t come around that often and, when they do, they’re often targeted so you’re not always certain to be offered the 40% bonus even when it’s around (this promotion doesn’t appear to be targeted).
That makes this promotion worth a closer look.
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 properties imported in from SLS cost 40,000 points/night so, if you were to buy enough points in this promotion to book such property, it would set you back between ~$513 and ~$684
Personally speaking there are very few circumstances I can think of 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 know that some people will 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 therefore suggest that paying $513 for points that are used to book this room is a pretty sweet deal.
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.
Do you really want to spend that much on a single night stay in NYC when you’ll probably have very little time to actually enjoy all that the hotel offers?
Still, there are other ways to get value here.
If we take a look at a mid-tier Hyatt property (like the Category 5 Andaz Wall Street) the math can make this promotion look both good and bad.
20,000 points in this promotion would cost approximately $342 and 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 + atrocious 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?
In mid-week and during peak season things can be different – if you can find award availability points can be a money saver.
When things get busy it’s not at all unusual to see rooms rates push $500 before taxes and fees….
…and when all the extras are added in the nightly rate pushes up 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 the 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 here) or a strong cashback 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 at all even though this is the best bonus we see Hyatt offer….but there are instances where buying points in this promotion can save you a lot of money.
As always, it all comes down to individual circumstances and the math.
I’d never buy points speculatively as you never know when Hyatt will choose to devalue its awards but, if I was planning a stay in the next few months, I would 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.
Link to buy Hyatt points at ~1.71 cents each
