Hyatt Gold Passport sent out an email today advertising another one of their bonus offers. This time it seems to be targeted to elite members (Diamonds and maybe Platinum Members as well).
Buying Hyatt points usually makes very little sense due to the pricing, however it can be worth it to look at individual redemptions to evaluate on a ‘case by case’ basis. Hyatt Gold Passport allows to purchase 55,000 Miles per calendar year plus whatever bonus amount there is available. This already limits the use somewhat since a Cat 7 property (such as the Park Hyatt Maldives) runs at 30,000 points per Night.
This current promotion ends July 31st 2015. You can access this offer on Hyatt’s website here.
The maximum you are able to obtain through this promotion are 77,000 Gold Passport Points at a purchase price of 1,320 USD which brings the price per point to 1.71 cents per point. That is expensive and significantly higher than buying points through the annual Discover America promotion where it was possible to purchase Hyatt GP points for 1.00 cent per point (access related article here).
I can still make some sense however if you plan to stay at properties with very high retail prices and you are willing to pay somewhat in that region.
One example would be the above mentioned Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa (visit their website here). At 30,000 points per night with the current offer you would pay 513 USD all in per night. A very decent price for this property where daily rates can easily go double this rate plus local tax. Be aware though, the hotel transfer is pricey as well!
If the 77,000 points are not enough for your purposes, you will be able to stretch your purchase points with the option of the Cash&Points award though at a price of 2 cents per point (15k + 300$) for a Category 7 property.
Conclusion
Hyatt has beefed up their award chart in some ways during the past years. You now really have to do the math what kind of redemption makes sense. Especially in light of the popular Cash & Points redemptions that also count towards status qualification and can be combined with a Diamond Suite Upgrade.
I don’t value my Hyatt points at 1.7 cents so this promotion makes little economic sense in my opinion. The only exception is if you stay at properties with a very high tag price and there are no alternative options around where it can indeed provide good savings.
Here are the Terms & Conditions for this offer:
