A week ago Hyatt announced a major change to their award chart — a massive devaluation on their Points + Cash redemptions. Currently. you redeem a fixed number of points plus a fixed amount of cash per hotel category for this type of redemption. Starting November 1st, you’ll instead need to redeem the same fixed number of points plus a variable amount of cash. The amount of cash required will be 50% of the standard hotel rate at the time of booking. At the end of the day this is going to cost Hyatt members a ton of more money essentially making Point + Cash redemptions on standard rooms useless. So while you have one more day to make your reservations for the next year, make them now at the current rate so you do not forget! Also, if you aren’t 100% sure of your check-in and check-out dates, book single night reservations in case you need to cancel any nights (assuming a refundable rate).
Current Points + Cash Award Chart
This is the current award chart where you pay 50% of the full point redemption rate, plus a fixed amount of cash per night. Using Points + Cash is a great deal for category 2-6 hotels, although availability can be limited at many properties (blackout dates are allowed for Points + Cash redemption).
New Points + Cash Award Chart
New Points + Cash Award ChartThis will be the new Points + Cash award chart starting November 1, 2018. All hotel reservations made prior to this date will stick with the old chart, but any new reservations or changes to an award reservation post November 1st will be booked with this new award chart. Hence the suggestion of making one stay award stays.
With the new award chart, you’ll pay the same amount of points as the old award chart, but the amount you pay in cash will depend on the current standard rate at the property – which is 50% of the standard rate. While this is great for inexpensive hotel rooms, chances are you probably wouldn’t have used points anyways. And many times you’ll even find significantly better rates than the standard rate making this type of redemption not worth it. I personally like getting at least 2 cents per point on my Hyatt stays making this an absolutely horrible change!
You Can Now Redeem Cash + Points on Suites!
You Can Now Redeem Cash + Points on Suites!Starting November 1st you’ll be able to redeem cash + points on suites which is a huge improvement of the program and unique compared to other major hotel chains. Since there was no opportunity to redeem your points this was in the past, this is definitely an enhancement. You can actually redeem points for both a standard or premium suites although the suites defined as standard/premium will vary per hotel. Because you are still redeeming 50% of the standard rate, this still might be costly, but possibly worthwhile.
Points + Cash at Miraval Hotels
You’ll now also be able to use Points + Cash at Miraval hotels for a standard room, standard suite, and premium suite. This will also be 50% of the full reward hotel points + 50% cash of the standard rate.
Remember, if you have any Point + Cash reservations you are looking to make, just make sure to do so today or tomorrow. If by chance the “cash” portion of the award goes down, you can always cancel and rebook (assuming you are within the cancelation policy).
I personally am making a few speculative reservations for next year. Not 100% sure I will keep them as I haven’t fully planned out next years travel calendar yet, but hopefully they work out! Where will you be booking?
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