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When evaluating the luxury brands within the Hyatt portfolio, one thing is apparent — the value members receive by booking expensive cash hotels with a relatively low number of points. That’s simply not the case with other brands when you’re talking about booking similar luxury properties.
This article is part of our “best ways to book luxury hotels” series. Not only are we covering Hyatt in this article, but we’ve also evaluated what’s offered by the Hilton Honors, IHG Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy programs in other articles in this series.
For this analysis, we made a few assumptions:
The goal here is to evaluate the value a traveler would receive booking luxury Hyatt hotels. We value Hyatt points at ~1.6 cents per point and used a floor of 2.5 cents per point in value for hotels to make this list.
Cash rates will fluctuate throughout the year, so the value you receive will likely be different than what’s shown here. This guide is merely meant to provide ideas of hotels that could present value for your hard-earned Hyatt points.
With that out of the way, let’s start with one of the best ways to unlock value in the Hyatt program: that’s by being a cardholder of one of its co-branded credit cards. We’ll then dive into the luxury Hyatt hotels that made our list. From there, you’ll learn about how to earn Hyatt points via point transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards.
When you’re talking about co-branded hotel credit cards, there are several options. No matter your brand loyalty, each chain offers credit cards that entice you to spend on its cards.
For travelers loyal to Hyatt, the great news is that Hyatt offers a fantastic duo of co-branded credit cards in The World of Hyatt Credit Card and World of Hyatt Business Credit Card. These cards allow you to spend your way to elite status and earn points on everyday purchases, whether personal or business in nature.
The World of Hyatt card offers a fast track to Hyatt elite status, an annual free night, and up to 9x points per $1 on Hyatt stays.
The World of Hyatt Credit Card makes your Hyatt stays more rewarding and helps you get coveted World of Hyatt elite status faster. This card is a must-have for any traveler who regularly stays at Hyatt hotels, or even for anyone who’s able to take advantage of the card’s annual free night certificate.
When you factor in all the benefits the World of Hyatt card offers, it’s easy to see why it is one of the best co-branded hotel credit cards on the market.
The World of Hyatt Business card provides a solid option for business travelers that are looking to put their expenses on a small business card.
Hyatt loyalists who do their fair share of business travel have been clamoring for the addition of a co-branded Hyatt business credit card for quite some time — and now it’s finally here.
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card is now available. In this guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about it!
Cardholders of both cards will earn 5x points as a World of Hyatt member and 4x points as a cardmember, resulting in up to 9x points at Hyatt.
The personal card also gets you a Category 1 to 4 free night certificate every anniversary year. Heavy spenders can earn additional benefits — with every $5,000 spent on World of Hyatt card, you earn 2 elite night credits. When you spend $15,000 in a cardmember year, you’ll receive a second Category 1 to 4 free night certificate.
Bottom Line: These Chase cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule. You’ll want to factor that into your credit card strategy.
| Hotel Category | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | Peak Point Increase |
| Category 1 |
3,500
|
5,000
|
6,500
| 1,500 |
| Category 2 |
6,500
|
8,000
|
9,500
| 1,500 |
| Category 3 |
9,000
|
12,000
|
15,000
| 3,000 |
| Category 4 |
12,000
|
15,000
|
18,000
| 3,000 |
| Category 5 |
17,000
|
20,000
|
23,000
| 3,000 |
| Category 6 |
21,000
|
25,000
|
29,000
| 4,000 |
| Category 7 |
25,000
|
30,000
|
35,000
| 5,000 |
| Category 8 |
35,000
|
40,000
|
45,000
| 5,000 |
Note that there are also different rates for club rooms, standard suites, and premium suites. Check out our guide to the World of Hyatt loyalty program for more details.
The California coast has some of the best ocean views, not only in the U.S. but around the world. When you throw in a minimally developed coastline that is flanked by forests, you know you’ve landed in Big Sur.
Alila Ventana Big Sur is a property located south of San Francisco that is now bookable through Hyatt with Alila joining the Hyatt portfolio. It’s an adults-only resort on Highway 1 in Big Sur that offers a perfect getaway for a quiet vacation.
Summer is peak travel time for this area with cash rates exceeding $2,500+ per night. While this hotel requires 35,000 to 45,000 points per night, you’re still receiving more than 8 cents per point in value.
Hot Tip: The Alila Ventana Big Sur is an adults-only property. For those with kids, we recommend using Google Hotels to find kid-friendly options in the area.
Category: 8
Points Required: 35,000 to 45,000 points per night
May to July Rate: $2,900 per night
Points Value: Up to 9.7 cents per point
There is a myriad of hotel options from all major brands in New York City. Whether you’re looking for a luxury, boutique, or more affordable property, the World of Hyatt program has you covered for your stay in the city.
In Midtown, you’ll find a well-known Hyatt hotel in the Park Hyatt New York. It’s a couple of blocks from Central Park and within walking distance of the world-class food and drink scene of the city. Madison Square Garden is also fairly close if you’re wanting to catch a show or Knicks or Rangers game.
As you’d imagine, cash rates for a luxury hotel in New York aren’t cheap, especially during peak travel time over the summer. The average cash rate is $1,000+ per night, with 35,000 to 45,000 points per night required for an award night. That said, 3.5 cents per point is a ton of value.
The World of Hyatt card offers one of the easiest ways to earn Hyatt points. When you add in the fact that World of Hyatt members earn 5x points per dollar spent, that results in up to 9x points during your stays at Hyatt.
Hyatt is also one of the most valuable travel partners of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, though it won’t deliver the enormous returns that are possible when transferring to airlines to book expensive business class flights.
However, Hyatt doesn’t require the gargantuan number of points that are required to book the same luxury-style properties offered by Hilton and Marriott. So while the cash rates are equivalent for luxury properties across Hilton, IHG, and Marriott, the number of Hyatt points required is significantly less, resulting in more value.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are 2 of the best Chase credit cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Each offers high-earn rates in select categories and comes with travel benefits that make it worth holding on to the cards.
Business owners may find value in the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, which is also a Chase Ultimate Rewards credit card. Like the personal credit cards above, this card has high earn rates in select bonus categories that help you quickly earn Chase points that can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to Hyatt.
Now that luxury properties from Hyatt’s recent acquisitions are bookable online, the World of Hyatt program becomes even more valuable. When you add JdV by Hyatt, Alila, Destination by Hyatt, and Thompson to the Park Hyatt and Unbound Collection, World of Hyatt members have more options than ever before.
With all of these new properties and the overall value of Hyatt, we rank Hyatt number 1 in our list of hotel programs. Marriott is a close second followed by Hilton in third and IHG in fourth.
The big knock on Hyatt is its lack of a global footprint. While that’s still true when compared to Hilton and Marriott, the gap is closing. Hyatt is not only increasing its portfolio but is also adding unique luxury and boutique hotels around the world that make for interesting redemptions.
The information regarding The World of Hyatt Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
Hyatt in and of itself is not a luxury hotel company. The hotel company has hotels across the spectrum from affordable hotels such as Hyatt Place to high-end hotels such as Park Hyatt.
Hyatt has 18 hotel brands catering to different types of travelers. Alila, Andaz, Destination by Hyatt, JdV by Hyatt, Miraval, Park Hyatt, Thompson Hotels, and the Unbound Collection are hotels in the luxury hotel category.
Marriott does not own Hyatt. Marriott and Hyatt are 2 separate companies. Hyatt is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois while Marriott is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation is the parent company that owns the hotels in the Hyatt portfolio. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
It sure does. Hyatt acquired Thompson Hotels and continues to expand the Thompson hotel footprint, which is great news for travelers.
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Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Michael took his first international trip in 2013 with friends to the Bahamas. Although he didn’t travel much in his younger years, on that trip, he caught the travel bug and has been hooked ever since.
Michael first caught wind of the points and miles game in 2014 while at a bar in Washington, DC where the conversation amongst friends was quickly derailed because of an alert on a friend’s phone about a mistake fare. That’s where the love affair with points and miles began.
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7 comments
Anna KC
December 08, 2020
Michael, this is so well written and informative. Articles on this website are always so useful. Appreciate the time you spent on research and analysis and laid out such comprehensive summary plus hot tips! Keep up the good work!
Sherry Y. Smith
December 28, 2020
Michael, thank you for this great article! Great job! You’ve sparked my travel bug for a stay at the Park Hyatt Syndey (Australia is on my bucket list) and the Park Hyatt Paris in France. Hoping to be able to do it all on points!
Robert
February 19, 2022
Just booked three nights at Alila Big Sur for 95K points. I simultaneously checked the “best rate” for those three nights and it was $8578 including taxes. Am I calculating point value correctly that it is approx 9 cents per point? $8578 / 95000 = $0.09?
Jarrod West
February 19, 2022
Hi Robert,
Yes, your math is correct! Awesome redemption!
TM
June 04, 2022
I have been to all the Park Hyatts mentioned. I still think the best Park Hyatt is Vienna.
Amir Mahadi
July 02, 2023
Points for Hyatt seem so much less than Marriott and Hilton. Are points hard to earn? A category 7 for 25-35,000 points? Marriott that would be 70-100,000 points per night!
Christine Krzyszton
July 03, 2023
Hi Amir. You bring up a very good point that I am sure others will wonder about. Different hotel loyalty program points have different values. For example, we estimate Marriott Bonvoy points are worth ~.7 cents each, Hilton ~.5 cents each, and Hyatt ~1.5 cents each. Depending on the redemption option you choose, points can be worth more, or less. And yes, Hyatt points can be more difficult to earn but you can also transfer points from other flexible rewards programs. Here’s a related article on earning Hyatt points. /travel/hotels/how-to-earn-hyatt-gold-points/
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