Hyatt Points + Cash bookings are now available for booking online. Hard to miss that news with 38 blog posts yesterday detailing the Hyatt change. Rather than type up a quick 39th article to post on Loyalty Traveler, I spent part of yesterday looking for hotels where I could book a Points + Cash hotel to save some of my Hyatt points and money. The task was harder than it would seem.
There are plenty of Hyatt Points + Cash award rates to be found, however, I found there were not many hotels where I would actually save money and get better value than choosing other lodging choices or simply paying the Hyatt rate.
Hyatt Gold Passport Points + Cash Award Table
http://www.hyatt.com/gp/en/awards/pointspluscash.jsp
Value of Points + Cash awards
At the very least, Points + Cash awards allow a member to pay 50% points + a cash portion for each award night of a hotel stay.This essentially means you are buying points for a cash amount when booking a Hyatt Points + Cash stay.
Category 1 = $50 for 2,500 points = $20.00/1,000 Hyatt points
Category 2 = $55 for 4,000 points = $13.75/1,000 Hyatt points
Category 3 = $75 for 6,000 points = $12.50/1,000 Hyatt points
Category 4 = $100 for 7,500 points = $13.33/1,000 Hyatt points
Category 5 = $125 for 10,000 points = $12.50/1,000 Hyatt points
Category 6 = $150 for 12,500 points = $12.00/1,000 Hyatt points
Category 7 = $300 for 15,000 points = $20.00/1,000 Hyatt points
The first thing to notice is category 1 and category 6 Points + Cash hotel awards are equivalent to buying Hyatt points for $20 per 1,000 points. Hyatt Gold Passport Category 2 to category 6 hotels have better purchase rates for Points + Cash award nights.
Buy Hyatt Points for Less during a Sale
Hyatt normally sells points for $24 per 1,000 points and the maximum number of points a member can purchase in a calendar year is 55,000 points. Hyatt Gold Passport periodically runs specials for points purchases at 25% discount, meaning the price is $18.75 per 1,000 points, although in 2015 the favored promotion has been bonus points offers for Hyatt Gold Passport points purchases.
In May 2015 Hyatt had an offer for 40% bonus points. A member could have purchased 77,000 points at $17.14 per 1,000 points. In August 2015 there was a Hyatt 30% bonus points purchase offer.
A category 7 Hyatt at $300 co-pay is already out of my comfort zone. I have never paid $300 for a room night and I don’t think I’ll start that trend with Hyatt Points + Cash category 7 awards.
Disneyland Anaheim on Hyatt Points + Cash
In December I am heading to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. What kind of deal does Hyatt Points + Cash offer me for a discount hotel stay at its three hotels in the Anaheim area?
Hyatt Place at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center
Hyatt Points + Cash Award gives good value compared to the $224 published rate for the hotel night at Hyatt Place Anaheim.
First thing to know is you pay tax and fees on the cash portion of Hyatt Points + Cash reward nights. The actual rate is 6,000 points + $89.91. This is a far lower rate than Best Flexible Rate of $293.49 after tax. The redemption value for 6,000 Hyatt points is $203.58 or $33.93 per 1,000 points.
That is a great redemption value considering I can save 6,000 points by paying $89.91. I am essentially buying 6,000 points at the rate of $15 per 1,000 points.
But I also need to keep in mind that this is actually a Hyatt Place hotel and not some swanky 4-star resort Hyatt. I also have to add $16 for daily parking at the hotel.
Paying 6,000 Hyatt points + $90 for a Hyatt Place does not seem like a great deal to me, even though the room rate is approaching $300 on a Saturday night.
Hyatt Regency Orange County Garden Grove
Hyatt Regency Orange County Garden Grove is a full service hotel and offers more benefits to me as a Hyatt Diamond elite than I can receive at a Hyatt Place. The lowest rate is $169. The added value of Hyatt category 3 Points + Cash reward nights at this hotel is the opportunity to use Diamond elite suite upgrades. There is also the difference between receiving 1,000 points for a Diamond welcome amenity at Hyatt Regency compared to 500 points for Hyatt Place and little upgrade potential.
A King standard room is $199.73 after tax. This hotel has a one-bedroom King Suite on sale for $199 per night ($234.83 after tax).
Hyatt Regency Orange County Points + Cash = 6,000 points + $75 ($89.76 after tax).
Hyatt Regency Orange County Garden Grove hotel room saves $110 using 6,000 points, giving a points redemption value of $18.33 per 1,000 points. While this rate is slightly higher than some of the Hyatt buy points rates offered in 2015, the primary advantage to Points + Cash over a standard reward stay for 12,000 points per night is the opportunity to use a Diamond suite upgrade on a Points + Cash stay, while also conserving Hyatt Gold Passport points. This Points + Cash stay also is eligible for Hyatt Gold Passport promotions, although there are no global promotions for bonus points with HGP at the present time.
Hyatt Regency Orange County charges $24 parking per day and there is a shuttle to Disneyland for a $5 per person daily fee. That adds $34 per night for car parking and Disney transportation to the hotel rate.
Hyatt Regency Garden Grove is in a hotel complex a couple miles from Anaheim Convention Center as seen in my photo taken from Marriott Anaheim at Convention Center.
Hyatt House Cypress/Anaheim category 2 hotel
Hyatt House Cypress offers AAA rate of $116 or $127.60 after tax. The rate is only $106 with a prepaid advance purchase nonrefundable booking.
Or Hyatt Points + Cash is 4,000 points + $55 ($60.50 after tax).
Buying 4,000 points for $60.50 is essentially buying points for $15 per 1,000 points. Spending 4,000 points for the points portion of a Points + Cash reward saves $67 compared to AAA rate for a Hyatt points redemption value of $16.75 per 1,000 points.
One of the big savings with this hotel is free parking. Hyatt Regency Orange County is $34 per day to park and take paid shuttle to Disneyland. Parking in Disney lots is $15 per day with free shuttle to the park gates.
Bottom Line
This survey of Hyatt rates for Anaheim and the choice of standard rewards or Hyatt Points + Cash rewards highlights what I most commonly find with Hyatt Hotels. I generally do not find solidly great deals for Hyatt Gold Passport Points + Cash rewards for my hotel stays. The redemption value for points is often right around the same rate that I can buy Hyatt points during a good sale. The best attribute for Hyatt Points + Cash stays compared to standard rewards is the opportunity to earn promotion bonuses and use Diamond suite upgrades on these award stays, while conserving points.
Hyatt Gold Passport points have been on sale a couple times in 2015 for under $18 per 1,000 points. None of these three hotels in Anaheim offer a great redemption value for the dates of my stay. The main choice here is whether to go with a Hyatt Regency stay on Points+ Cash and use a Diamond Elite Upgrade to book a suite for 6,000 points + $90 or stay at Hyatt House and pay $127 per night and simply earn points without burning points.
Hyatt Place Anaheim
- $293 per night best flexible rate after tax
- 12,000 points standard reward (redemption value 12,000 points saves $293 = $24.41/1,000 points)
- 6,000 points + $90 Points + Cash after tax (redemption value 6,000 points saves $203 = $33/1,000 points)
- $26 parking and Disney transportation
Hyatt Regency Orange County
- $200 per night best flexible rate after tax
- 12,000 points standard reward (redemption value 12,000 points saves $200 = $16.67/1,000 points)
- 6,000 points + $90 Points + Cash after tax (redemption value 6,000 points saves $110 = $18.33/1,000 points)
- Potential for suite upgrade
- $34 for parking and Disney transportation
Hyatt House Cypress
- $128 per night best flexible AAA rate after tax
- 8,000 points standard reward (redemption value 8,000 points saves $128 = $16.00/1,000 points)
- 4,000 points + $60 Points + Cash after tax (redemption value 4,000 points saves $68 = $17.00/1,000 points)
- $15 Disney transportation and free hotel parking
Hyatt House Cypress offers a suite for 4,000 points + $60 (after tax rate) and free parking. This makes transportation to Disney a $15 per day rate to take the shuttle compared to $10 to pick up a shuttle to Disney from the other two Hyatt hotels, on top of their hotel daily parking fee.
Andaz Amsterdam
On the opposite end of the spectrum is a look at a high category high-priced hotel to see if this is where more Points + Cash value is found.
This hotel is 25,000 points per night or 12,500 points + $136 USD.
Andaz Amsterdam Points + Cash saves $214 using 12,500 points and paying $136 for 12,500 points. There is no additional tax.
- Andaz Amsterdam $350 room rate
- Andaz Amsterdam 25,000 points standard reward = $14/1,000 points redemption value.
- Andaz Amsterdam 12,500 points + $136 saves $214. Redemption value for 12,500 points = $17.12/1,000 points.
Once again, this redemption value using Hyatt Points + Cash is nearly the same redemption value as the cost to buy points during a Hyatt sale.
My conclusion is it can be a good idea to buy Hyatt points when they drop below $18 per 1,000 points. This gives the member points to book Hyatt Points + Cash reward nights at a rate close to the common redemption value for Hyatt Gold Passport points with Points + Cash rewards.
I am sure there are some great redemption values using Hyatt Gold Passport Points + Cash rewards. None of these four hotels illustrate fantastic savings.
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