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Until December 10, 2014, you can purchase Hyatt Gold Passport points for 1.85 cents each.

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The sale offers a 30% bonus on the number of miles you receive for all purchases of at least 5,000 points, and you can purchase up to 55,000 points per calendar year. (If you purchases 55,000 points, you’d receive 71,500 points after the bonus.)

Screen Shot 2014-11-11 at 11.17.22 AMSince the bonus is constant, and the price of Gold Passport points is constant at 2.4 cents each, you pay 1.85 cents each for any purchase of at least 5,000 points (6,500 after bonus.)

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In general, I’d value Hyatt points at 1.2 cents, so as usual, this sale is not the time to stock up on points. However, there are a lot of uses, for which buying points now and then immediately redeeming them makes great sense.

  • Under what circumstances, should you buy Hyatt points for 1.85 cents?

When I say I value Hyatt points at 1.2 cents, I am considering the average value I will get from redeeming them, and remember that I value hotel stays much less than the average person because I enjoy hostels and Airbnb more, and they’re cheaper.

There are certainly redemptions on which you can get more than 1.85 cents worth of value though.

In general, you will get more value out of Hyatt points when you value the hotel room at its retail value, when you can book under-categorized hotels, and when you can book cash & points awards.

Retail Value

The Park Hyatt in the Maldives goes for $1,270 or 25,000 points per night.

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If you’re so rich, that you would pay cash to stay at this stunning property, you could reap huge savings by buying points instead.Screen Shot 2014-11-11 at 11.28.40 AMDuring this sale, you can buy 25,000 points for about $462, which is a 64% savings off the retail price of the hotel.

BUT if you don’t value a night at the retail price–be honest: would you pay cash for the retail amount?–then this is bogus math, and buying the points might not be such a great deal.

Under-Categorized Hotels

Here is the Hyatt award chart for free nights.

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Generally hotel chains do a good job of categorizing hotels in relation to their average price. Sometimes a hotel is under-categorized. I don’t have any specific Hyatt examples, but imagine a Category 1 hotel that usually goes for $125 that you’d be willing to book with cash.

Buying points instead for 1.85 cents each would be like lopping a quarter off the retail price.

Points + Cash

Unlike free nights, which are available whenever a standard room is for sale, “Points + Cash” awards are capacity controlled. When they are available, they can offer a great deal.

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For instance, the Andaz Maui at Wailea is a Category 6 and costs 12,500 points + $150 (+ tax on the $150) per night when Points + Cash stays are available. Here’s my trip report from a recent stay at the property.

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View of Sunset from the Hot Tub

The property goes for about $600 per night, which I am not rich enough to afford. If you could buy the 12,500 points for 1.85 cents each ($231) and then pay the cash co-pay of $150, that would be about $400 total after tax. That’s still more than I can pay for a night at a hotel, but it’s 1/3 off the normal rate, and some people might find it to be a good deal for a special occasion.

Bottom Line

This sale offers Hyatt points for 1.85 cents each. That’s not a good price to stock up, but it may be a good price for some uses.

If you do buy the points, make sure you award search first, run the math first, and burn the points immediately!


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