Hyatt Promotions 2020
Hyatt currently has three very generous promotions. Below I break down each promotion and help you navigate whether a paid stay or a points stay makes more sense.
Paid Stays
The first promotion is for paid stays when you book by September 8, 2020 for stays through December 20, 2020. With this rate, you get 20% off as a World of Hyatt member plus free daily breakfast. Now, this rate isn’t that great for properties that already include breakfast (such as Hyatt House or Hyatt Place). It also isn’t that great for Globalists that already receive free breakfast.
The rate is also flexible with cancelations up until 24 hours prior to the stay.
No registration is needed. Just look for the “Members Save More + Breakfast” rate when booking your hotel.
The first promotion stacks with a second promotion that Hyatt is running where you receive 3x the World of Hyatt points starting with their second stay.
After registering here, your first stay will earn you a 2,500 bonus (total, not per night). This is good on award stays as well as paid stays.
Starting with your second stay, you will earn 3x the points for stays through September 15, 2020. This means instead of the standard 5 points per dollar spent, you will earn 15 points per dollar spent.
This is on top of any elite bonus points you earn or points through the Hyatt Chase Visa card. And remember that if you have the Hyatt Chase card you also automatically get Discoverist status.
Here is a chart I created that shows the bonus points you will earn after your second stay based on elite status:
Now let’s calculate this in a real world scenario. You book three nights at the rate above of $128/night that includes breakfast.
Your total for the stay is $384 (plus tax, but tax will only earn 4 points per dollar when paying with your Hyatt Chase card).
As a Discoverist (status is free with the Hyatt Chase card), you would earn a total of 7,488 World of Hyatt points on your three night stay. I value Hyatt points at about 1.8 cents/point, so you would earn about $135 in points.
Points Stays
The third promotion Hyatt is running is the Free Nights Sale. With this promotion, you get 15% of your points back for award stays. For those with the Hyatt Chase Visa card, you get a total of 25% of your points back. You also get free parking during your stay.
You must register here (Hyatt Chase cardholders) or here (non-Hyatt Chase cardholders) by September 1 for stays through October 8.
Which Promotion is Best?
First of all, a reminder that both paid and points stays count towards elite status.
So during the promotion, how do I know if it is a better deal to book a paid stay or a points stay?
I go back to my valuation of Hyatt points at 1.8 cents per point. If I am getting a value of 2 cents per points for a points stay, I’ll go that route. Otherwise, I’ll probably pick the paid stay especially at a location where I can get free breakfast with the A Warm Welcome Awaits.
Scenario #1
So back to my rate I highlighted above. It is $128 per night with free breakfast at a Category 3 Hyatt Regency where I would pay 12,000 points per night.
For my paid three nights, it would cost me $384 and as a Discoverist with a Hyatt Chase card I would earn 7,488 points. Plus I would get a nice breakfast each morning. Since I value each point at 1.8 cents, the 7,488 points I earned are worth $135.
For my points stay for three nights, it would cost me 36,000 points. While I wouldn’t get free breakfast, I would get free parking (if the property charges for parking) which would be an added value. I would then get 9,000 points back. The total stay would then have only cost me 27,000 points. Since I value each point at 1.8 cents, this stay “cost” me $486.
Paid night final “cost’ is $249 + tax and parking. Includes breakfast.
Points night final “cost” is $486 + NO tax and NO parking fee. Does not include breakfast.
In this case, I would pay for the stay with my Hyatt Chase card (unless I was going to be paying for parking and taxes are extremely high). Even if you value points at only 1.5 cents, it is still a better deal to pay for your nights.
Scenario #2
Now, let’s look at another scenario. The rate is $150 per night at a Category 2 Hyatt Place where I would pay 8,000 points per night. Hyatt Place already offers free breakfast so the A Warm Welcome Awaits isn’t as valuable.
For my paid three nights, it would cost me $450 and as a Discoverist with a Hyatt Chase card I would earn 8,775 points. Since I value each point at 1.8 cents, the 8,775 points I earned are worth $158.
For my points stay for three nights, it would cost me 24,000 points. I would then get 6,000 points back and free parking. The total stay would then have cost me 18,000 points. Since I value each point at 1.8 cents, the stay “cost” me $324 and I get free parking.
Paid night final “cost” is $292 + tax and parking. Includes breakfast.
Points night final “cost” is $324 + NO tax and NO parking fee. Includes breakfast.
In this case, after taxes (and parking), the costs are very similar. I would use points for this stay.
Both promotions are fantastic and take a bit of math to figure out which present the best value. Have you booked a hotel with any of these promotions? Did you go with points or paid stays, and why?