Few days left to buy Hyatt points for as little as 1.71 cents

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Mystery sale ends August 21st

Here’s how the Mystery Bonus Sale works. Go here. Log in. Find out your bonus on purchased points. Most people are getting 30-40%, mine came in at 40%, which equates to a little over 1.7 cents per point. This warrants a strategic discussion: Is it cheaper to buy points to stay at a hotel compared to paying the cash rate?

While this strategy can be employed year round, peak season travel can literally save hundreds a night. Add on highly desirable locations like the beach or  a romantic European city, and the savings adds up. Let’s walk through what I’m talking about and whether it’s a good fit for your trip. As always – I never recommend buying speculatively.

My Mystery Bonus: 40%

My Cost – 77k points for $1320 or 1.71 cents a points

Rule and terms:

• Runs til August 21
• Max you can purchase is 55k a year

The strategy: Buying Points < Paid Rate.

Peak Season travel is EXPENSIVE. Occupancy is high, rates even higher. But that doesn’t mean hotels always block award space. In fact, if you’re savvy, and have some flexibility, you can arrange your trip around award avail, and stay in the best spots at the best times of the year.

For example: I stayed at the Park Hyatt Saigon and loved it. Rates can get pricey – here’s a look next March where the rate prior to taxes and fees is $344. That’ll be $400+ when you check out.

But guess what…you can nab it for 15k points a night. Or $256 with this sale. Nearly $150 savings per night.

That’s obviously an example that is far away for a lot of people, but what about other desirable locations like Augusta Georgia during the Masters? I wrote an entire post about this, but we were able to stay for 12k points a night when paid rates were $1000. Obviously an extreme example, but the strategy is the same.

You still earn Status on award stays.

If you didn’t already know this, by using points, you aren’t sacrificing those elusive Elite Nights that you need to gain/retain status for next year. Hyatt now counts award nights towards status. In fact, most of your Elite benefits are extended to you when staying on an award night. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

Stretch those points even further with Cash + Points.

You’re capped at buying 55k points. In my deal, that left me with 77k total after the 40% bonus.  That’s 5 nights at a category 4, 15k per night, hotel like the Andaz Papagayo, but what if I wanted 6? You wouldn’t have enough points.

Additionally…Cash + Points could not only get you a longer trip, but also a cheaper trip.  I made a chart to illustrate the value of Cash + Points and when it makes more sense vs All points.

Category Hotel	Points per night	Cash + Points	Total Cost All Points	Total Cost Cash + Points
Category 1	5k	2500 + $50	$85.50	$50 + $42.75 = $92.75
Category 2	8k	4000 + $55	$136.80	$55 + $68.20 = $123.20
Category 3	12k	6000 + $75	$205.20	$75 + $102.60 = $177.60
Category 4	15k	7500 + $100	$256.50	$100 + $128.75 = $228.75
Category 5	20k	10000 + $125	$342	$125 + $171 = $296
Category 6	25k	12,500 + $150	$427.50	$150 + $213.75 = $363.75
Category 7	30k	15000 + $300	$513	$300 + $256.65 = $556.65

Using the Category 4 stats from this chart, I’d not only save money by using points, but Cash + Points offers an even bigger discount than all points. Compared to the paid rate – a savings of almost $100 a night.

You can check your Hyatt Mystery Bonus here. Thanks so much!