In an ideal world, everyone would have enough points that they never need to buy any.
“Free points” are always more fun than those you need to purchase, but the reality is, most people don’t always have enough points. Sometimes, that includes me too.
I’m an earn and burn person, and always spend as many points as I can, as quickly as I can. That means even though I’ve earned many millions of points, I’ve spent many too. To make some travel happen, without tapping into other points, that mean’t I’d need to buy some Hyatt Points, if I wanted to save on a special stay.
Buying Hyatt Points To Save On A Stay
Hyatt Points are typically regarded as the most valuable hotel points, on a cents per point basis. You don’t need as many of them as you would other hotel currencies, to unlock a fantastic night.
Whereas some hotel loyalty programs charge upwards of 120,000 points per night for a room, Hyatt’s rates top out at 40,000 points per night- and many of the spectacular hotels in the portfolio are 25,000 points per night, regardless of what the cash price is.
The simple way to assess whether buying points might make sense is to look at the price of the hotel night in cash — and then see how much the same exact night would cost if you bought points, instead.
Doing The “Math” For A Special Stay
For stays in the USA, where you buy Hyatt Points in USD and stay at places charging USD, the math doesn’t always work out in your favor when it comes to buying points. Sometimes, it’s actually a much better deal to just pay with cash, than buy points and pay in points.
But in places abroad, particularly where currency exchange hits the dollar hard, like the UK, buying points can be absolutely magic. Take London. I recently wanted to book a night at a hotel in a strategic location, and the marvel of points arbitrage slapped me in the face.
The Scotland Yard Hotel is an amazing five star property in an ideal location, and is part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection. As many top properties in London can, this hotel fetches over £400 per night most of the year, and even more during festive periods. It also charges 25,000 points per night for a “free” room.
For reference, £400 GBP is about $530 USD. Keep that in mind for the purpose of this little explainer. On the night I wanted, the rate was actually higher.
Right now, World Of Hyatt has a 30% off sale when you buy 5,000 Hyatt Points or more, which isn’t far off their best all-time offers. In the sale (which ends on Dec 30th), you can purchase 25,000 World Of Hyatt Points for $420 all in, which as you’ve probably deduced, is the perfect amount for a night here.
See what we did there?
In this instance, buying points instantly saves at least $110 per night ($420 vs $530+), which isn’t at all insignificant. That’s pretty much dinner for two at any non Michelin starred spot in town, while still enjoying a top class hotel without compromise.
One Of Many Global Examples (Better Ones Too!)
From Paris to the Maldives, Vienna to Hong Kong and plenty more, this example above is far from unique. In exotic hotels where cash prices are astronomical, buying points can be all the difference. The only way to assess the validity is the logical approach of comparing the price in cash, versus the price to acquire the points.
To confidently establish whether you should buy World Of Hyatt Points, or pay cash, do this:
- Check the cash price.
- Check the points per night required.
- Compare the cost of buying any points needed versus cash price.
- Check that availability using points exists for your nights.
- If favorable, buy your points and book ASAP to lock in savings.
Hot tip: it can take up to 48 hours for Hyatt points purchases to appear, so be sure to use the same email, billing address and other features as on your account to ensure a speedy process. If you need them immediately, they may not appear, so bear that in mind. Typically, they appear faster on subsequent purchases than your first.
This works out even better if you already have *some* Hyatt points already in your account. I’ll often have 5,000 here, or 10,000 there, so buying 15,000 in a sale for $250, to be able to lock in a night worth $500, or more, is pretty easy math and a happy win.
Buying Hyatt Points always makes the most sense during a sale. If you know you will use them at a future time somewhere, it never hurts to buy during a sale, to hedge for future needs. It’s better than buying them at full price when you suddenly find a need.
As noted Hyatt’s current sale on points continues until December 30th, so if these could help fuel a future trip, with some savings too, you can buy points here.
