As I posted last week, Hyatt is downgrading the current value of Points+Cash reservations and that day is tomorrow. This means that you will want to book all of your Points+Cash reservations right now to lock in the current fixed rate points and cash amounts.
Book Your Hyatt Points+Cash Reservations Now
Link: Hyatt
The current (until tomorrow, November 1) rate for Points+Cash reservations is fixed amount of both points and cash and varies only based on the category of hotel. This means that you can redeem for nights using the following chart:
Here is the current Hyatt chart for Points+Cash reservations
If you will, redeeming for a Points+Cash reservation is basically like “buying” the rest of the points you would need for a regular points reservation. If looked at that way, here is the value of those points from the cash part of it:
- Category 1 – 2 cents per point
- Category 2 – 1.3 cents per point
- Category 3 – 1.25 cents per point
- Category 4 – 1.33 cents per point
- Category 5 – 1.25 cents per point
- Category 6 – 1.2 cents per point
- Category 7 – 2 cents per point
As you can see, the worst values for this redemption method has always been Categories 1 and 7. With the current Hyatt sale going on now, you can buy Hyatt points for less than 2 cents each so you would be better off just buying the points needed for those categories and redeeming for a full award.
The New Points+Cash Program – Starting November 1
The new Points + Cash chart
No more after tomorrow! Starting tomorrow, November 1, all Points+Cash reservations will keep the points amount but fluctuate the cash component to be 50% of the standard rate for a room. The good news is that this can change, based on the fluctuation of the standard rate. The bad news is that you will no longer be able to get the outsized value that we are used to under the current Points+Cash chart.
This means that you need to book your Points+Cash reservations today. The good news is that you can book all the way to the end of the schedule to get that rate but you will not be able to change it after today.
What If You Don’t Have Enough Hyatt Points?
The good news is that you can transfer Ultimate Reward points over – instantly – to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio with a 1,000 point minimum. If you don’t even have any of those to spare (or you like to save them for other things), you also buy them for as low as 1.67 cents each. This will let you buy as many points as you need to pay for the points part of the P+C component.
Any Good News?
Check out this post for the Winners and Losers of this new change with Hyatt. Depending on the season, you may actually be better off with the new program! Also, starting tomorrow, you will be able to book suites with points+cash as well as upgrade to suites with points.
Featured image is the beautiful Grand Hyatt Washington DC that is a fabulous value with the current Points+Cash mix – just $100 and 15,000 points. Rates can often be over $400 or even $500 per night!
