Premise
You can always purchase points or miles from the various hotel and airline companies, but you should be only doing it during sales, to maximize your value. Yesterday, Hyatt launched a Limited Time Offer of 30% More Bonus Points, or 30% more points for every points purchase of 5,000 or more, ending May 23rd. This represents a decent deal, as Hyatt maintains similar hotel category costs as Starwood of between 5,000 and 30,000 points. Hyatt Points sales happen a couple times a year, and helps those looking to top off their accounts and hit that target amount necessary for hotel stays. Sometimes it reaches as high as 40% bonus, which is of course better than this sale.
Hyatt Points Acquisition Analysis
Throughout the entire year, you can purchase in increments of 1,000 for $24, or 2.4 cpp. Typically, I compare against low, mid, and high-tier hotels, to get some semblance of comparables.
- Category 1 cost 5,000 Hyatt points ($120) for lowest tier hotel, usually Hyatt Place
- Category 4-5 cost 15,000 to 20,000 Hyatt points ($360-$480) for middle tier, such as Hyatt or Hyatt Regency, maybe even Grand Hyatt
- Category 7 cost 30,000 Hyatt points ($720), for highest tier – Park Hyatt New York, etc.
As you can see, these are what I call “whatever” deals, in that they are not really a deal. However, at a 30% bonus, you can reduce your cpp from 2.4 to 1.85, making the same hotels much more reasonable:
- Category 1 now costs $92
- Category 4-5 now costs $277-$369 – still on the higher side compared to cash rate
- Category 7 now costs $554 – good for those thousand dollar hotels.
I would not immediately jump to paying a faux-cash rate by buying points and using it stays, but this sale and bonuses are very useful for topping off accounts.
Churning Comparison
Of course compared to churning, you’d do much better with a Chase Freedom Unlimited and transferring them via a Chase Ink or Reserve to Hyatt, getting 1.5 points per dollar spent. This does not factor in typical churning, which with a Freedom Unlimited means about 0.83 cpp cost, and a much better redemption value.
Terms
Per the Hyatt website, standard terms apply. Keep in mind for those who are interested this sale ends May 23rd and purchases are limited to 55,000 points per calendar year. You can purchase a total of 71,500 points (55,000 + 16,500), for $1,320. Use your Hyatt card for even more savings!
30% bonus offer available with a minimum purchase of 5,000 points made between 12:00 a.m. CT April 25, 2017 and ends 11:59 p.m. CT May 23, 2017. Bonus points will be awarded upon completion of individual transactions. 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. 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.
Conclusion
Ultimately, I do not recommend purchasing points, unless you have an upcoming trip and need points quickly. Lastly, note that these purchases are not refundable and do not count towards qualification for Hyatt status. Full terms and conditions are here.
Featured Image is a resort, what I imagine the Hyatt all-inclusive resorts look like, from Unsplash. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links which, should you click through and/or make a purchase, grant me a commission. Also, I only post in the best interest of my readers. Lastly, thank you for supporting my blog and my travels.
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