Buy World of Hyatt Points with a 20% Bonus

World of Hyatt is a great alternative hotel loyalty program to Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors.

They’ve recently announced the latest promotion on purchased points, which could be a valuable way for members to top up their points balances and book hotel stays.

Buy World of Hyatt Points with a 20% Bonus

World of Hyatt is offering a deal on points purchases until December 4, 2023, with which you’ll get a 20% bonus upon buying at least 3,000 points.

Normally, Hyatt charges 2.4 cents per point (USD) to buy points. With this 20% bonus, the rate is reduced to an effective cost of 2 cents per point (USD).

This isn’t necessarily the most competitive price for buying World of Hyatt points, and it’s well above our current valuation of 1.5 cents per point (USD). Indeed, it’s even above all of the offers we’ve seen from World of Hyatt in the past year.

However, if you’re in immediate need of Hyatt points, this promotion could be an effective way to top up your account.

How many World of Hyatt points can you buy?

World of Hyatt usually imposes a limit of 55,000 points purchased per calendar year before any bonus is accounted for. That limit remains in effect for this promotion, although it has been doubled in other promotions.

Note that World of Hyatt refers to all purchased points as Bonus Points.

If you max out this promotion, it’ll cost $1,320 (USD) for 66,000 Hyatt points.

Purchased points will appear in your account within 48 hours.

Which credit card should you use to buy World of Hyatt points?

World of Hyatt sells points through an external vendor, Points.com. They don’t count as a travel purchase, and there’s no extra benefit to using, say, Chase’s US-issued personal or business World of Hyatt credit cards.

Instead, you can use any card with a high base earning rate, or one where you’re working on meeting the minimum spend requirement.

In particular, any US credit card will do. That’s because you’ll be charged Canadian sales tax if your billing address is in Canada.

Therefore, even a Canadian-issued credit card with no foreign transaction fees would be a worse choice — although it’s still your best option if you don’t have any US credit cards yet.

Who Should Buy World of Hyatt Points?

Shrewd travellers will be able to find pockets of value both at the high and low ends of the World of Hyatt hotel portfolio.

However, it’s not that easy for Canadians to earn World of Hyatt points. Hyatt’s only co-branded credit cards are in the US, and it’s a bit of a process for Canadians to get US credit cards with Chase.

Therefore, you may be motivated to look for other means of acquiring points, like buying them outright, assuming the price is right.

High-Value Aspirational Hotels

The World of Hyatt program boasts many highly appealing hotel brands and properties which offer exceptionally unique travel experiences.

For example, you could book a stay on Calala Island, a private island in Nicaragua with only four villas. An all-inclusive stay covers your room for two, food, drink, activities, and round-trip plane and boat transfers to and from the island.

It’s a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, which has a marketing partnership in place with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. World of Hyatt members can stay at Small Luxury Hotels for 35,000–45,000 points per night.

Cash prices are astronomical, starting at $2,350 (USD) per night and reaching as high as $3,650 (USD) on peak dates. 

By booking on points instead, you’d bring this exclusive experience well within reach. You’d get an outrageous value of 6–9 cents per point (USD), well above our nominal valuation of a Hyatt point.

With the current bonus on purchased points, it’d cost you $816 (USD) to buy 40,000 points for a standard night at Calala Island — a screaming deal compared to the cash rate for the room.

Of course, you’ll want to ensure you’ve lined up the award availability at the hotel before pulling the trigger on a points purchase, especially for Small Luxury Hotels, which limit the number of rooms bookable on points. The resort also imposes a three-night minimum stay, so keep that in mind when you’re searching for award availability.

There are also some decadent resorts within Hyatt’s own portfolio, even within the US. For example, you could book a night at the Alila Ventana Big Sur for 56,000–66,000 points on the award chart for suites, or $2,400 (USD) for the same room.

Buying points is clearly a better deal, as it would only cost as low as $1,128 (USD) per night with the current promotion, which is a bargain compared to paying the full cash rate.

You’ll also find similar value in Hawaii, where you can redeem awards at high-end Category 7 properties for over 5 cents per point (USD).

Low-Category Hotels with High Cash Rates

Aside from aspirational hotels, buying points to use at lower-category hotels can also be a good deal.

For example, consider Spirit Ridge Resort Osoyoos for an Okanagan winery getaway. Also a Category 4 property, it’ll cost up to 18,000 points per night on peak dates, compared to cash prices exceeding $550 (CAD) in the summer.

With the current promotion, it’d cost just $360 USD ($500 CAD) to buy 18,000 points, which is still a discount to the regular cash rate.

It’s always worth checking the prices on your travel dates. As long as the value of your redemption is above the acquisition cost of the points, you’ll come out ahead on any booking.

The only reason I wouldn’t do this is if I were saving my World of Hyatt points for an even more valuable redemption. There aren’t many ways to earn Hyatt points, so you might want to keep them for exclusive opportunities and pay cash elsewhere.

Other Ways to Earn World of Hyatt Points

While the value of World of Hyatt points is more reliable than its competitors, it’s always a risky proposition to buy points if you aren’t imminently planning a booking.

Indeed, World of Hyatt is the only major hotel program that continues to publish an award chart. However, the introduction of off-peak and peak pricing could be a sign of further changes to come in future years.

If you’d prefer to slowly build your balance for a bigger redemption down the road, it’s best to look at other earning methods first.

US Credit Cards by Chase

South of the border, Chase issues two co-branded World of Hyatt Visa cards:

• World of Hyatt Credit Card: Earn up to 60,000 World of Hyatt points upon spending $3,000–15,000 (USD) in the first three to six months, with an annual fee of $95 (USD).
• World of Hyatt Business Credit Card: Earn 60,000 World of Hyatt points upon spending $5,000 (USD) in the first three months, with an annual fee of $199 (USD).

Furthermore, with the personal card, each year you can earn up to two Free Night Awards for a Category 1–4 hotel:

• Starting in your second year, earn a Free Night Award on your card anniversary
• Plus, earn an extra Free Night Award upon spending $15,000 (USD) within a calendar year

In addition to co-branded World of Hyatt cards, Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred 1:1 to World of Hyatt. You can earn these rewards on any of the Chase Sapphire products:

If you have one of the above cards, you can also turn your cash-back rewards from some other Chase cards, including their Freedom lineup, into Ultimate Rewards.

These credit cards are undoubtedly a great way to extract value from the World of Hyatt program as you progress deeper into the US credit card game.

Multi-Player Mode: Pool Points Among the Family

You can also combine points from multiple accounts. However, if you’re looking to fast-track your Hyatt balance, there are a few major caveats to be aware of:

• You must be a member for at least 60 days before you can buy points.
• You can only transfer points “in order to have a sufficient number of points to redeem a particular award”.
• You can only combine points, whether sending or receiving, once every 30 days.
• Points transfers are a slow process with human oversight, and you have to fill out a request form.

Due to these limitations, you shouldn’t rely on pooling World of Hyatt points in general. But still, the option is available and might be useful in select situations if you’re facing a points shortage before making a booking.

Previous Promotions

As you decide whether this promotion is a good opportunity for you to meet your travel goals, here’s a look back at World of Hyatt’s previous promotions on purchasing points over the past year:

Conclusion

World of Hyatt is offering a promotion on purchasing points. With a 20% bonus, you can effectively buy points at a rate of 2 cents per point (USD).

While I don’t normally recommend buying points speculatively without an immediate redemption need or long-term plan, I’d give some consideration to this opportunity, as the World of Hyatt program has a strong track record of delivering value where its peers have faltered.

Make sure to purchase World of Hyatt points before December 4, 2023 to take advantage of this offer if you’re interested.