World of Hyatt selling points with a 30% bonus

From now till 24 February 2021, 1259 p.m SGT, World of Hyatt is selling points with a 30% bonus. These sales aren’t uncommon (we see them several times a year), but it may be worth noting given the current 15% rebate on points redemptions and reduced requirements to earn status this year. 

Buy World of Hyatt points with a 30% bonus

A minimum of 5,000 points must be purchased to trigger the 30% bonus, and a maximum of 55,000 points can be purchased in a year. However, you can also combine points across accounts during redemptions, so you and your spouse/traveling companion could each buy points and pool them if necessary.

Buying points with a 30% bonus is equivalent to paying 1.85 US cents per point. The highest bonus I’ve ever seen is 40%, but Hyatt hasn’t offered this since November 2019- which is strange, given all that’s happened with COVID-19. 

As a reminder, here’s the current World of Hyatt award chart. Hyatt does intend to introduce peak and off-peak pricing, but has suspended this till until July 2021. 

World of Hyatt points expire after 24 consecutive months of inactivity, but due to COVID-19, all points expiration has been paused till June 30, 2021 at the earliest. 

What can you redeem World of Hyatt Points for?

Back in July 2020, World of Hyatt announced a new promotion for points redemptions, where registered members would receive a 15% points rebate on free night awards, points + cash stays, room upgrades and dining and spa services. For example, if you redeemed a room award that costs 10,000 points, you’d get 1,500 points credited back to your account. 

This offer was originally set to end on 8 October 2020, but has now been extended till 28 February 2021. 

Remember that this is not a discount, it’s a rebate. In other words, you’ll need to have the required points upfront, as the points rebate only comes later. For example, you can’t redeem an award that costs 100,000 points if your balance is currently only 85,000. The maximum points rebate a member can receive under this promotion is 30,000 points. 

With this offer, the effective cost of an award nights at Hyatt properties in Singapore is:

• Andaz Singapore: 20,000 17,000 points
• Grand Hyatt Singapore: 20,000 17,000 points

It may be better to pay cash for staycation rates, however, so be sure to do a comparison of the relative cost and inclusions. Unfortunately, the Barracks Hotel and Outpost Hotel Sentosa have left the Hyatt-SLH partnership. The hotels are still on SLH, but you can no longer use Hyatt points to book them. 

But if you’d like to dream of overseas jaunts, World of Hyatt has been busy acquiring smaller chains, and over the past few months we’ve seen Destination Hotels, Alila Hotels, Joie De Vivre and SLH get folded into the portfolio. This means more unique places to redeem your points.

An example of a unique place? Try Ventana Big Sur, an Alila Resort. It’s often in the shadow of the better-known Post Ranch Inn, but it’s still an amazing property in and of itself, nestled deep within the natural beauty of Big Sur. Rooms here cost upwards of US$1,100 per night during peak period, but can also be redeemed for 30,000 points a night. 

Otherwise, buying Hyatt points is a way of accessing some of the portfolio’s top tier properties like the Park Hyatt Maldives, a Category 7 property which costs 30,000 points a night. Given that revenue rates here can be upwards of US$880 a night including taxes, there are deals to be had by buying points instead.

Park Hyatt Maldives

It’s not just the top tier properties which have great redemption opportunities- even the lower category World of Hyatt hotels can be good choices.

For instance, the Studios at Alila Seminyak is a Category 1 hotel that costs just 5,000 World of Hyatt points a night. If you purchase points during this sale, you will pay much less than the US$130 rates you’d normally find during busy periods.

Of course, all these are irrelevant until travel restrictions are lifted. 

What cards should I use to buy World of Hyatt points?

World of Hyatt points purchases are processed by Points.com and are charged in USD. This means they do not code as hotel spending for the purposes of credit card bonuses. Here’s the best cards to maximize the miles earned on your purchase:

following cards to maximize your returns from buying Hilton Honors points:

	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply here	4 mpd	Cap of S$1K per s. month
UOB Visa Signature Apply here	4 mpd	Min S$1K Max S$2K FCY spend per s. month
SCB Visa Infinite Apply here	3 mpd	Min spend S$2K per s. month
OCBC VOYAGE Apply here	3 mpd	Cap at S$1K till 31 Jan 2021
S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month

I personally don’t recommend the DBS Woman’s World Card for Points.com purchases, as many people have reported issues with getting the bonus points credited. 

Conclusion

Buying points for staycations won’t make sense in the vast majority of cases, unless you’re looking at a date where revenue rates go through the roof (e.g New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day). 

However, for those of you who need a quick top-up, this certainly beats paying full price.