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Hyatt Regency Valencia Review – King standard
As soon as Miles heard that Hyatt had created a new challenge for Diamond status he knew he had to go for it. He had some around the world travel planned, but needed some nights to shore up the challenge. Being the Hollywood Monkey that he is, he opted for a staycation right around the corner at the Hyatt Regency Valencia. It’s a category 2, the closest and lowest category Miles took advantage of the 20% rebate on points promotion currently running until the end of July and used a points and cash rate of 4000GP + $55 for two nights. This would net out to 6400 GP and $123.44
The hotel is right across the street from the WestField Valencia Town Center shopping mall. Which turned out to be pretty much. Mall walking, sports bars, and movie theaters can make for a fun go at it. Living smack in the middle of Los Angeles, it was kind of nice to stay away in a spot with a suburban non-LA feel.
Check was great. Unfortunately no upgrade was given…which was fine. Otherwise the staff was nice.
The stadard king room was pretty “standard” and is starting to show a bit of wear and tear, but ultimately was very comfy and quiet for the stay.
The stay was fun and it racked up nights. A little time in Vines, a little time by the pool. This hotel would be great for a group of friends to kick it after going to Magic Mountain. There are several sports bars in the area, one across the street and a BJ’s 5 mins away at the Town Center. Go all day at MM and then go out for some drinks and food to recount the day and avoid the madness of traffic on the 5 going back to LA. There is a Movie Theater and several restaurants ranging from healthy to fried decadent goodness and would make for a good day after rollercoasters. Miles had a good time, and if in a pinch, he’d rack a few more nights up here with discounted rates and good points + cash avail.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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