Summer travel to Greece is really ramping up. It had its down years but now, vacationers are heading back to Greece in droves. For people traveling from the US, there are now 7 options for non-stop flights from the US to Greece, making it easier than ever to get to from the US.
Traveling to Greece? See Why Hyatt is Your Best Award Program to Use!
The Eagles Villas in Halkdiki, Greece
On the hotel side, there are some very inexpensive times to go but those times coincide with weather that is quite a bit cooler than the classic Greek summer weather that makes the beaches so packed! This means that using points for hotels in Greece can be a great way to get really good value. For US programs, which hotel program do you choose?
Surprisingly, that answer could be the World of Hyatt program! The reason that is surprising is that at this time last year, there was only one hotel in all of Greece where you could use points from Hyatt! What a difference a year makes as there are now 24 hotels that are in Greece and bookable with Hyatt points!
That is quite an increase for sure and many of these properties are in prime beach locations. This means that typical rates are going to be high (think an average of €500 per night during the summer – average across the properties) and point amounts are going to be high as well. But, if you wanted to vacation purely on points, that is now possible with Hyatt points!
Note for family travel: as is the case with many hotels in beach destinations in Greece, there may be an occupancy limit of 2 to a room or for adults only. Check your preferred hotel to make that it is not the case before booking for a family.
Hyatt Has More Hotels and Locations
When compared to other major hotel programs, you will find that Hyatt has more hotels in their award portfolio than the others. This includes the new Marriott Bonvoy program.
Not only are there more, but they also cover the country of Greece very nicely. There are 2 hotels in the northern city of Thessaloniki, 4 hotels in Athens, hotels in Halkidiki for northern beaches and then a bunch of hotels scattered throughout the Greek islands.
“Free night certificate hotel” refers to the Category 1 – 4 certificates members can receive – see below for more information.
| Hotel | City | Award Category | Points Per Night | Free Night Certificate Hotel | Random Summer Price (July) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boheme Hotel | Mykonos | 8 | 40,000 | No | €820.00 |
| Mr and Mrs White Paros | Paros | 5 | 20,000 | No | €260.00 |
| Mykonos Ammos Hotel | Mykonos | 7 | 30,000 | No | €454.00 |
| Agalia Luxury Suites | Ios | 6 | 25,000 | No | €667.00 |
| Eagles Villas | Halkidiki | 8 | 40,000 | No | €988.00 |
| Grand Forest Metsovo | Metsovo | 3 | 12,000 | Yes | €115.00 |
| Minos Beach Art Hotel | Crete | 8 | 40,000 | No | €485.00 |
| Naxian Collection | Naxos | 6 | 25,000 | No | €440.00 |
| Rodos Park Suites & Spa Hotel | Rhodes | 5 | 20,000 | No | €250.00 |
| St. Nicolas Bay Resort Hotel | Crete | 8 | 40,000 | No | €540.00 |
| Archipelagos Hotel | Mykonos | 6 | 25,000 | No | €350.00 |
| Elounda Gulf Villa | Crete | 7 | 30,000 | No | N/A |
| On the Rocks | Santorini | 6 | 25,000 | No | €449.00 |
| Pietra E Mare Beach Hotel | Santorini | 6 | 25,000 | No | €425.00 |
| San Antonio | Santorini | 8 | 40,000 | No | €750.00 |
| Santorini Secret Suites & Spa | Santorini | 8 | 40,000 | No | €1,049.00 |
| Sesa Boutique Hotel | Preveza | 5 | 20,000 | No | €200.00 |
| The Margi | Athens | 6 | 25,000 | No | €474.00 |
| Theoxenia Palace & House Suites | Athens | 3 | 12,000 | Yes | €147.00 |
| Aressana Spa Hotel & Suites | Santorini | 6 | 25,000 | No | €399.00 |
| Liostasi Hotel & Suites | Ios | 6 | 25,000 | No | €490.00 |
| The Excelsior | Thessaloniki | 3 | 12,000 | Yes | €170.00 |
| Grand Hyatt Athens | Athens | 3 | 12,000 | Yes | €187.00 |
| Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki | Thessaloniki | 2 | 8,000 | Yes | €161.00 |
Hyatt Offers Better Benefits to All Members
The Exclesior Hotel – Courtesy of Hyatt
If you book through something like the Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts program, you are going to get many similar benefits and even more – if you have the Amex Platinum card, consider that.
In a great move for every Hyatt member, all Hyatt members (not just elites) get the following benefits at any Small Luxury Hotel when booked through Hyatt (the only Greek hotels this does not apply to are the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki and Grand Hyatt Athens):
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Daily Complimentary Continental Breakfast for two guests
- Room Upgrade (one category at check-in if available)
- Early check-in (noon, based upon availability at check-in)
- Late check-out (2:00pm, based upon availability at check-in)
While free breakfast is something you may find at many Greek hotels, getting a continental breakfast guaranteed is a nice benefit. Also, a typical Greek continental breakfast is going to blow away anything you find in a US hotel! 🙂 The room upgrade is also nice since you cannot use points or an upgrade certificate to otherwise upgrade at Small Luxury Hotels.
Getting Hyatt Points
Credit Cards
The World of Hyatt credit card can give you 50,000 points!
Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you are approved for a card, I will earn points as well. Thanks for the support!
To get the Hyatt points you need, there are a couple of options. One is to apply for the World of Hyatt credit card (that will also give you a free anniversary night each year that can be used at a category 1 – 4). After spending $6,000, you will earn 50,000 points (plus the 6,000 points from the spending). That could get you at least 2 nights at several of the Greek SLH properties. (link here).
You could also apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card that will get you 50,000 Ultimate Reward points after spending $4,000. These points transfer to Hyatt at 1:1. Another Chase card is the Chase Sapphire Reserve that gives 50,000 points with $4,000 in spending as well, but the annual fee is higher (it comes with more features, like a $300 travel credit, that can help offset that fee).
If you have a small business, the Chase Ink Business Preferred comes with a hefty 80,000 Ultimate Reward points with $5,000 in spending in 3 months. That is a nice haul for sure! That would get you 2 free nights at the best Hyatt/Small Luxury Hotels in Greece, or multiple nights at lower category hotels.
Buying Hyatt Points with Sales
A couple of times a year, Hyatt runs sales on Hyatt points (with things like a 30% or 40% bonus) that can make sense for properties like this. When buying through those sales, you can buy as cheap as 1.67 cents per point. If you bought the maximum (55,000 points in a year, with the bonus it could be as high as 77,000 points), that would cost $1,320.
With 77,000 points, you could book 3 nights at the Agalia Luxury Suites that as an average summer cost of €667 per night. At the current exchange rate, that would equal $2,270. So, you would end up paying $1,320 instead of $2,270. Not that bad, if you really wanted a hotel like that!
Free Night Certificates for Category 1 – 4 Hotels
The Grand Forest Metsovo, a Category 3 hotel in Greece
On the list above, you will notice that there are 5 hotels that are bookable with a free night certificate. Unfortunately, none of them are in the islands or at beaches but if you were going to be flying in/through Thessaloniki (to go to Halkidiki) or Athens (to fly to any island destination), these can be a big help!
Hyatt has free night certificates that are good for a single free night (any night) at a Category 1 – 4 property. Here are ways you can earn a Hyatt free night certificate:
- Staying 30 nights in a year at Hyatt properties
- Staying in 5 different Hyatt brands
- Staying in another 5 different Hyatt brands
- An anniversary night on both the regular Hyatt credit card and the World of Hyatt card
- By spending $15,000 in a year on the World of Hyatt card
As you can see, it is very easy to pick up these free night certificates! If you are an Explorist elite member (requires 30 nights in a year), you could earn as many as 5 (the brand certificates are one-time certificates and this assumes you have the World of Hyatt card and are spending $15,000 in a year). At the least, an Explorist member with a Hyatt card would receive 2 free nights each year.
Featured image is the Santorini Secret Suites & Spa in Santorini
Hi Charlie,
Can you please make a column for family friendly in your table above? From my quick search, about 5 hotels out of the 24 are family friendly as in they allow children in the first place?
Great write up Charlie. Thank you. Greece looks very intriguing. Hyatt is our go-to brand in most cases. Now I need to find way over there…riding upfront….
Nice list. Thanks! I hadn’t realized that there were so many, although a lot are pricey. Any idea when the clock resets for staying at 5 types of hotels to get the free category 1-4 night?
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I don’t think the Grand Hyatt Athens is available for points and I don’t think it is even in a category, although it started out in cat 3.
It is (and still a Cat 3) but you need to contact Hyatt to book with them. They are having some issue (for a while now) but Hyatt had told me before that it can be booked with points over the phone or via Twitter.