At Frequent Miler, we keep a database of point valuations called “Reasonable Redemption Values.” These are estimates of the “worth” of airline miles, hotel points, transferable points, and more. The idea is that we try to identify the point at which it is “reasonable” to get that much value or more from your points.
This information is critical for making informed decisions. In fact, it’s a key component of the First Year Value information shown on our Best Credit Card Offers page, and it’s similarly used to show which cards offer the best value for everyday spend and which offer the best category bonuses.
The value of Hyatt points is particularly salient now, as it just launched a new five-tier award chart last month. The maximum amount that properties in each category can charge for a one-night award has increased significantly (by up to 67%), a change which we expected would reduce the overall value of Hyatt points.
As a result, we’re paying closer-than-usual attention to Hyatt award prices. In March, we performed an analysis to establish a baseline point value before the award chart changes, and now that they’ve been in effect for ~1 month, we’ve checked again to see where things stand.
Unfortunately, we weren’t surprised by what we found.
Overview
When we first started looking at the value of hotel points, we used a laborious process that involved manually comparing the cash and award prices of hundreds of stays each year, then using those results to create RRV estimates. However, we now have a much better way of pinning down the value of Hyatt points.
Gondola is a terrific free hotel search tool that shows prices for properties in both cash and points, and it keeps data on both for searches on its platform.
The kind folks over at Gondola have made this data available to us to identify hotel program point values. Thanks to them, we now have access to results from over 555,000 domestic and international World of Hyatt award searches across over 1,800 properties, and each one shows both the cash and award prices for the same room. It’s important to note that all of these searches took place after the award chart changes.
Based on Gondola’s data, including only searches made after the new award chart was released, the Reasonable Redemption Value (RRV) for World of Hyatt has decreased to 1.5 cents per point, which we rounded down from 1.54. That’s a drop of more than 10% from our last look before the new charts took effect and the lowest value for Hyatt points that we’ve ever seen.
Background
When collecting points and miles, it’s always good to have a general idea of what points are worth. Let’s say, for example, that you have the opportunity to either earn 1,000 Hyatt points or 2,000 Marriott points. Which should you go for?
If you don’t know what the points are worth, you’d likely go for the Marriott points. But, in our analyses, we’ve found Hyatt points to be worth more than twice as many as Marriott points. Therefore, on average, 1,000 Hyatt points are worth more than 2,000 Marriott points. In this post, you’ll find my best current estimate of the redemption value of Marriott points.
Methodology
To determine the value of Hyatt points, we analyzed Gondola’s collected, real-world cash and points prices for almost 2,000 World of Hyatt properties. Since Hyatt award bookings are fully refundable, we excluded data for all non-refundable cash rates to ensure a complete apples-to-apples comparison. We also used the Total Cash Rate, which includes taxes and any local fees.
Hotel Programs that Waive Resort Fees on Award Stays
Hilton, Hyatt, and Wyndham waive resort fees when you book stays using points or free night certificates. For these chains, the resort fee need not be considered separately from the Total Cash Rate (which includes it). So, the RRV calculation is as follows:
RRV = Total Cash Rate ÷ Point Price
Hotel Programs that Charge Resort Fees on Award Stays
IHG, Marriott, and many other hotel programs impose resort fees on award stays. For these chains, the resort fee must be explicitly accounted for in the calculation. We do that by having Gondola subtract it from the Total Cash Rate. The RRV calculation is as follows:
RRV = [Total Cash Rate – Resort Fee] ÷ Point Price
Gondola Data
For our hotel RRV values, we use the median observed from Gondola data. If the median is 1 cent per point, meaning that half of all searches produced a value of less than 1 cent per point, and the other half above 1 cent per point.
- Gondola Median Observed Value for Hyatt redemptions: 1.5 cents per point (rounded down from 1.54)
(based on data as of June 23rd, 2026)
World of Hyatt Brand Comparison
Gondola’s data set allows us to see how point values vary across a program’s brands. There’s a decent amount of variance among Hyatt’s brands, especially with Mr. & Mrs. Smith and some of the all-inclusive properties. Here are some of the most notable examples; any brands not listed tracked within +/-5% of the RRV:
| Brand: | RRV | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Hyatt Regency | 1.86 | +21% |
| Joie de Vivre | 1.75 | +13.6% |
| Hyatt House | 1.75 | +13.6% |
| Hyatt Place | 1.74 | +12.9% |
| Hyatt without MMS | 1.74 | +12.9% |
| Park Hyatt | 1.70 | +10.3% |
| Hyatt Centric | 1.65 | +7.1% |
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith (MMS) | 1.38 | -10.4% |
| Dreams | 1.35 | -12.4% |
| Hyatt Zilara | 1.31 | -15% |
| Hyatt Ziva | 1.27 | -15.5% |
| Zoetry | 1.27 | -15.5% |
| Hyatt Residence Club | 1.02 | -34% |
As we’ve seen recently, Hyatt award values still group into two distinct tiers: many of Hyatt’s “legacy” brands, including Hyatt Regency, Park Hyatt, and Hyatt Place, all show median prices well above the RRV of 1.5 cents per point.
On the other hand, some of Hyatt’s all-inclusive and Mr. & Mrs. Smith properties yield an RRV hovering in the 1.25-1.4 range. In fact, removing Mr. & Mrs. Smith alone raises the RRV of all other Hyatt properties by ~13%. Mr. & Mrs. Smith and the Inclusive Collection are still dragging down the value of Hyatt points, even after the award chart changes. This is a phenomenon readers have repeatedly commented on over the past couple of years: in general, Hyatt’s all-inclusive properties and MMS aren’t a great use of your points.
World of Hyatt Tier Comparison
Here’s a comparison of average cents-per-point value across various redemption levels:
By far the most valuable way to use Hyatt is still for lower-category hotels. That’s likely exacerbated by the relatively low values of all-inclusive properties and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which would start showing up in results in large numbers at around ~25k and above. The new super-peak award level for category 7+8 properties undoubtedly exacerbates that.
We continue to expect those lower-value tiers to drop further as the 5-tier chart is in effect, as Hyatt emphasized the need to allow category 1+2 properties to raise award prices during peak times, when cash rates offer exceptional value, to provide greater pricing flexibility.
World of Hyatt Comparison by City
Gondola also lets us look at the relative value of Hyatt points across a “basket” of popular destinations. Below are the results from this time around.
| Brand: | RRV | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Beach | 2 | +29.8% |
| Tokyo | 1.99 | +29.2% |
| Chicago | 1.95 | +26.6% |
| New York | 1.95 | +26.6% |
| Cabo San Lucas | 1.88 | +22% |
| Las Vegas | 1.77 | +14.9% |
| Dubai | 1.72 | +11.6% |
| Washington | 1.71 | +11.5% |
| San Francisco | 1.65 | +7.1% |
| Bangkok | 1.63 | +5.8% |
| Honolulu | 1.63 | +5.8% |
| Orlando | 1.57 | +1.9% |
| Los Angeles | 1.53 | -1% |
| London | 1.52 | -1% |
| Cancun | 1.4 | -9% |
| Paris | 1.4 | -9% |
| Barcelona | 1.39 | -10% |
| Rome | 1.36 | -11.7% |
| Singapore | 1.01 | -34% |
There seems to be a clear distinction here between large US cities and international destinations (especially in Europe). Large US cities have generally declined vis-à-vis cents per point but still represent an above-average value relative to the overall RRV.
On the other hand, international cities with several Mr. & Mrs. Smith properties and a higher concentration of Summer peak pricing see significantly lower values. Cancun, with its massive concentration of all-inclusive resorts, also comes in significantly lower.
Results
Point Value
| Analysis Date: | 6/23/26 | 3/16/26 | 6/9/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point Value (Median) | 1.5 cents | 1.7 cents | 1.8 cents |
| Minimum Point Value | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Maximum Point Value | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.1 |
The median observed point value for Hyatt points was 1.5 cents per point. This means that half of the observed results yielded equal or higher point values, and half yielded equal or lower point values. Another way to think about it is that, without cherry-picking the best awards, you have a 50/50 chance of getting at least 1.5 cents in value from your Hyatt points when booking free-night awards.
Pick your own point value
| Analysis Date: | 6/23/26 | 3/16/26 | 6/9/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50th Percentile (Median) | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| 75th Percentile | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| 90th Percentile | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
When we publish Reasonable Redemption Values (RRVs) for points, we conservatively use the middle value, i.e., the 50th percentile. The idea is that by randomly picking hotels to use your points at, you have a 50/50 chance of getting this value or better.
But what if you “cherry-pick” awards? Many people prefer to hold onto their points until they find uses that represent good value. If that’s you, then you may want to use the table above to pick your own point value. For example, if you think that you’ll hold out for the best 10% value awards, then pick the 90th percentile. If you cherry-pick a bit, but not that much, you might want to use the 75th percentile (for example). We’re guessing that most cherry-pickers will land around the 75th percentile: 2 cents per point.
This analysis shows that those who cherry-pick good-value awards can expect to receive around 2 cents per point in value or better.
Reasonable Redemption Value for Hyatt points: 1.5 CPP
Our Reasonable Redemption Value (RRV) for Hyatt points has slightly decreased to 1.5 cents per point. RRVs are intended to be the point at which it is reasonable to get that much value or better for your points. Therefore, we believe the median observed value is a good choice for our RRV.
- Reasonable Redemption Value for Hyatt: 1.5 cents per point
- Targeted Redemption Value for those who cherry-pick awards: 2 cents per point
Points are worth less for elite members
In most hotel programs, elite members earn more points per dollar on paid stays than non-elite members do. As a result, the relative value of an award stay compared to a paid stay decreases. The following table shows the median point values with various levels of elite status.
| Elite Level | Point Bonus on Paid Stays | Median Cents Per Point |
|---|---|---|
| None | None | 1.5 |
| Discoverist | 10% | 1.5 |
| Explorist | 20% | 1.5 |
| Globalist | 30% | 1.4 |
As you can see above, points are worth a tiny bit less for Globalist members, but the small elite bonuses for lower-level members don’t move the needle. Also, keep in mind that Globalist members get free parking on award stays, so if that were factored in, Globalists would actually get better point value than others.
Overvaluing vs. Undervaluing Points
There is no perfect way to estimate the value of points. Decisions we made here, in some ways, overvalue points and, in others, undervalue them. The hope is that these things roughly offset each other…
Factors that cause us to undervalue points
- For hotel programs that offer 4th Night Free Awards (IHG, with some credit cards), 5th Night Free Awards (Hilton & Marriott), or award discounts (Wyndham), we do not consider point savings in our analyses.
- For hotel programs that offer free parking on award stays to top-tier elites (e.g., Hyatt), we do not factor this in.
Factors that cause us to overvalue points
- We do not use discount rates (other than member rates) in our analyses. In real life, many people book hotels more cheaply (and sometimes far cheaper) by using AAA rates, government & military rates, senior rates, etc.
- We do not use hotel promotional rates. Often, individual hotels have deals such as “Stay 2 Nights, Get 1 Night Free,” which can greatly reduce the cost of a stay.
- We do not use prepaid rates in our analyses. Sometimes these rates are significantly lower than refundable rates.
- We do not factor in rebates earned by booking hotels through shopping portals.
- We do not factor in extra points earned on paid stays for elite-status members.
- We do not factor in rewards earned from hotel credit card spend.
- We do not factor in hotel loyalty program promotions: most promotions, though not all, offer incentives only for paid stays. We often see promos offering bonus points, double or triple points, free night awards, etc.
- With hotel programs that waive resort fees for top-tier elites on paid stays (e.g., Hyatt), we do not factor this in.
Conclusion
Based on the latest analysis, the Hyatt Reasonable Redemption Value (RRV) has dropped slightly to 1.5 cents per point. This represents a ~10% drop in the value of Hyatt points since we last analyzed them in March, before World of Hyatt rolled out its new award charts.
Some might argue that a 10% drop isn’t earth-shattering, especially given all of the apocalyptic hand-wringing from Hyatt fans in the preceding months. Indeed, it could be that Hyatt intends to maintain a median value of around 1.5 cents per point, simply with fewer outliers that provide outsized value. I’m not in that camp.
Although all five tiers are live, it still seems like the majority of them are only showing three different price points, as though Hyatt just took the old 3-tier system and mapped them into lowest/moderate/upper.
Hyatt has made it clear that properties’ movement into the new five-tier award levels would be less dramatic initially, but that we could expect to see more movement later in 2026, and even more so in 2027. I take them at their word, and felt the best-case scenario would be what we’d likely find just after the award chart launch. The fact that we’re already seeing such a substantial drop after only a month isn’t encouraging. If Hyatt points fall any further, World of Hyatt loyalists’ worst fears may become a new, expensive reality.
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There hasn’t been a single instance I can ever remember of my not getting at least 2 cents value for each Hyatt point, and, in some instances, way more than that. Even with the new chart, that continues to be true.
There is no world in which a Hyatt point or any other hotel points currency is worth more than twice the value any other. Comparing your RRV for Hyatt of 1.5cpp vs Marriott’s of 0.7cpp is an apples-and-oranges comparison. It’s like comparing US $ and Australian $ 1:1 simply because they are both called “dollars”! Unless 1 Hyatt point = 1 Marriott point, you cannot compare 1.5 cents/Hyatt point vs. 0.7cent/Marriott point and claim that a Hyatt point is worth more than twice (look at the denominators!). It’s kindergarten-level math and you keep failing it…
The US dollar and Australian dollar get compared all the time. It’s called the exchange rate. We don’t value USD and AUD as 1:1 because they’re not worth the same, same as we don’t value Hyatt and Marriott points as 1:1 because they’re not worth the same.
<blockquote>”The US dollar and Australian dollar get compared all the time. <b>It’s called the exchange rate</b>”</blockquote>
Bingo! It’s called the “exchange rate”, and you need it to make US$ and AU$ directly comparable.
<blockquote>”…same as we don’t value Hyatt and Marriott points as 1:1 because they’re not worth the same.”</blockquote>
That’s precisely why you cannot directly compare cents/<b>Hyatt</b> points vs cents/<b>Marriott</b>point without an “exchange rate” that converts Hyatt points to Marriott points or vice versa. Without the “exchange rate” denominators do not vanish!!!
1.5cents/<b>gallon</b> vs. 0.7cents/<b>liter</b> cannot be compared directly unless liters are first converted to gallons or vice versa.
Like I said, kindergarten level math, and you keep failing it…
It looks like the HTML interpreter stopped working… I hope the point is still clear even without it. Stop making claims that are demonstrably and mathematically wrong… .
G’day.
1.5cents/gallon vs. 0.7cents/liter cannot be compared directly unless liters are first converted to gallons or vice versa.
Yes. So Hyatt points are valued in cents and Marriott points are valued in cents, thereby allowing you to compare the two.
PLEASE BE SERIOUS! Cents is the US currency controlled by the US Treasury. “Points” are Hyatt’s and Marriott’s currencies, which are controlled by each program and they are not equivalent 1:1 so that they cannot be directly compared
You are not comparing generic “points” because there is no such thing. You comparing Hyatt points (gallons) and Marriott points (liters).
1.5cents/gallon vs. 0.7cents/L of gas which costs more?
We first need to convert gallons to liters based on the known “conversion factor” (“exchange rate”) between the two units:
I gallon = 3.8 liters.
1.5cents/
gallon* 1gallon/ 3.8liters = 0.38cents/literNow you can compare the two:
1.5cents/gallon = 0.38cents/L vs. 0.7cent/L
(0.7
cent/L)/(0.38cent/L) = 1.8All units cancel out leaving you with a pure number: 1.8
0.7 cent/L of gas costs 1.8 times more than 1.5 cents/gallon
even though 1.5 cents is 2.14x bigger than 0.7 cents.
——————
Now compare 1.5cents/Hyatt points) vs.(0.7cent/Marriott point
(1.5
cents/Hyatt point)/(0.7cent/Marriott point) =1.5 * Marriott points/ 0.7 * Hyatt point = 2.14 * (Marriott point/Hyatt point).
See? Marriott point and Hyatt point do not vanish or cancel out because they are not equivalent 1:1. You need an “exchange rate” between Hyatt points and Marriott points before you can compare them directly.
One way to get the “exchange rate” between Marriott and Hyatt points:
Marriott Plats and above earn 23.5 points/$WoH Globalists earn 10.5 points/$Because $1 = $1
23.5 Marriott points = 10.5 Hyatt points
23.5 Marriott points/10.5 Hyatt points = 1
That is the “unit factor” or “exchange rate” for converting Marriott to Hyatt points or vice versa.
Above, we ended up with a comparison in which Marriott points and Hyatt points did not vanish or cancel out:
2.14 * (Marriott point/Hyatt point)
Now we have the exchange rate and can make the units vanish:
2.14 * (
Marriottpoint/Hyattpoint) * (10.5Hyattpoints/23.5Marriottpoints)= 0.956 = ~1.0
See that? We got a pure number, which is equal to ~1 (not more than 2!), meaning that
1.5 cents/Hyatt point and 0.7cent/Marriott point are worth exactly the same.
The math is incontrovertible and kindergarten-level.
G’day!
Bro, I didn’t read this because it’s too long and I don’t think you know what you’re talking about, but let me assure you that if you’d like to trade your Hyatt points 1 for 1 for Marriott points, I’ll give you all the Marriott points you want.
Well, that’s brilliant! I am sure Stephen Pepper read it, and he’ll tell us both how wrong it is…
About trading 1 Marriott point for 1 Hyatt point, it’s like offering someone a suit that cost you $950 for one that cost them just $425. Really.
Nothing in this comment is correct.
When you accuse Stephen of comparing the US and Australian dollars at 1:1 because they’re both “dollars” *you are doing* exactly what you’re accusing Stephen of doing. The US and Australian dollars have an objective exchange rate and, by coincidence, the AUD is worth exactly .69 US dollars as of today’s exchange rate. You can say “there’s no way that an AUD is only worth 2/3 of a USD”, but the number is what the number is.
Hotel points don’t have a single market source you can consult for an exchange rate, but FM has come up with a (very) credible scoring system to determine the exchange rate between the currencies (or, rather, to determine a dollar-to-hotel-point currency exchange rate). Unless you can identify an error in the process, the numbers are what the numbers are. On average, you’ll get about twice as much value from a Hyatt point as a Marriot point.
Both Hyatt and Marriot points can be transferred to other members. Do you have Hyatt points? I’ll happily do a 1:1 transfer for whatever Marriot points I have available (and happy to open a card to get more to enrich the transfer).
Everything in the comment is incontrovertibly and mathematically correct. See the simply math above.
I see that line all the time including in a comment I addressed earlier, and it is not really as clever as you seem to think it is. Here’s the reality. Trading 1 Marriott point for 1 Hyatt point makes as much sense as offering to trade a suit that cost you $950 in exchange for one that goes for just $425. It’s way really out there…
Both of you are wrong.
Points are worth whatever you redeem them for at the time of redemption.
The Maura Kea Beach Hotel for spring break next year is 431500 points, $7310, 1.7 cpp.
However, the AC Honolulu is 262K points, $1745, 0.67 cpp.
The La Parchamp Paris for five days around Bastille Day, 258K points, $1142, 0.44 cpp.
However, the Prince de Galles in Paris for the same dates is 649K points, $6945, 1.07 cpp.
In Grand Rapids, MI we are having ArtPrize in September and October of this year. For the Friday to Saturday of 9/25 to 9/26 the JW Marriott 64K/$436 versus the Courtyard at 40K/$436.
The JW is $6 less than the Courtyard but is 60% more in points.
Smart travelers redeem their points for the best value they can find and use cash to earn points when the point redemption is low.
There is no set value for points.
Every redemption is different and must be analyzed on an individual basis.
My comment had absolutely nothing to do with the notion that “every redemption is different”, which I did dispute. More apples and oranges!
No, please respond to my full text which is:
Both of you are wrong.
Points are worth whatever you redeem them for at the time of redemption.
The Maura Kea Beach Hotel for spring break next year is 431500 points, $7310, 1.7 cpp.
However, the AC Honolulu is 262K points, $1745, 0.67 cpp.
The La Parchamp Paris for five days around Bastille Day, 258K points, $1142, 0.44 cpp.
However, the Prince de Galles in Paris for the same dates is 649K points, $6945, 1.07 cpp.
In Grand Rapids, MI we are having ArtPrize in September and October of this year. For the Friday to Saturday of 9/25 to 9/26 the JW Marriott 64K/$436 versus the Courtyard at 40K/$436.
The JW is $6 less than the Courtyard but is 60% more in points.
Smart travelers redeem their points for the best value they can find and use cash to earn points when the point redemption is low.
There is no set value for points.
Every redemption is different and must be analyzed on an individual basis.
Thank you.
“No, please respond to my full text which is:
Both of you are wrong.”
There is nothing in your post that addresses anything in mine for you to declare mine “wrong.” Therefore, you are looking for a “fight”, but I ain’t gonna give you one for the reason I already stated: there is nothing to respond to when I do not disagree with your premise that “every redemption is different and must be analyzed on an individual basis” — a principle I am sure most people agree with.
All I can tell you is that what you are illustrating is only the ‘redemption’ or subjective side of points currencies. The other side, which your examples do not address, pertains to the actual values of points currencies as assigned by each program, which are the values that redemptions need to beat to be worth it.
If Marriott assigns a value of 0.7 cpp to their points (which is actually quite close) then getting a redemption of 0.44cpp as at La Parchamp Paris is a terrible redemption.
There, you just got my response…
Correction: My comment had absolutely nothing to do with the notion that “every redemption is different”, which I did **NOT** dispute. More apples and oranges!
Oh ive been waiting for this post
Hyatt points have had a value of 0 cpp for me because I have never stayed at one in the over 60 years that I have lived.
They are a pretty small chain at 1350 locations.
We took a road trip for a short vacation this year.
Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan in between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. No Hyatts but plenty of Marriott, IHG, etc and STR.
Cedar Point Amusement park- again no Hyatts even remotely close. The HIX we are at is only a couple hundred yards up the road from an official Cedar Point hotel.
IKEA in Canton, Michigan. Marriott, Hilton, IHG properties are all so much closer.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with the hotels just that if they aren’t where you stay because there are so few of them the points have no value.
I don’t think Hyatt is marketing to you. Your trips sound more like Red Roof Inn situations.
Since you like sleeping in a tent in South Haven, Michigan I suppose I should understand that you get easily confused.
https://www.hyatt.com/shop/rooms/m1806?checkinDate=2026-07-02&checkoutDate=2026-07-03&rooms=1&adults=1&kids=0&rate=Standard&accessibilityCheck=false&hpesrId=ps__xeHwmLZQVwbBUANWi9AHvNzZT5fR11pm
That certainly can’t compare to the view of the Pyramids that we will be waking up to next year.
https://hrewards.com/en/steigenberger-pyramids-cairo
Of course, after that we will be spending a week in the MS Hamees before we see the Total Solar Eclipse in Luxor.
I am sure it will shock you that you have seen Luxor before on TV! It was in The Spy Who Loved Me and the original Battlestar Galactica, amongst others.
Enjoy your tent.
That is just one trip.
Here is another.
https://www.insightcruises.com/events/st20/
Waking up to a view of the Pyramids at Giza is pretty upscale. And then a stay in Luxor aboard a luxury river cruise ship with nightly dinner and cocktail parties while sailing the Nile.
My comments about Hyatt are coldly analytical about the low number of them. You were just snide and of course, completely inaccurate.There just aren’t many Hyatts. For example, there are none in Luxor. There is at least one Hilton though, amongst other brands.
And in Cairo, there are only two Hyatts versus 10 Marriotts, 8 IHG, 7 Hilton and 5 Accor.
Hyatt points have exactly zero value for our Egypt trip, unless you can find a Hyatt that has a view of the Pyramids that is as good as our hotel or the Marriott.
https://joujoutravels.com/pyramid-view-hotels/
My goodness, you can take swim at our hotel and see the only remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World.
As always, thanks for these analysis posts. Love how you break out the brands as well, including the Hyatt without MMS category. Helps more family budget travelers like myself see the value for the brands I’m more likely to use which is more like Place and House
I’m fresh off a stay at the PH Paris Vendome when rates were 2000 euros a night and up. Did 5 nights at 45K points a night. I think it was worth it when you combine with globalist benefits. Otherwise even at close to 5cpp, it’s much to high a redemption short of globalist
Right – Paris is a city full of hotels at different price levels. 5cpp would be accurate for someone otherwise willing to actually pay 2000 Euros. There is no scenario where I would spend that much or value the room at 2000 Euros a night.
don’t focus on the cpp part of it. what made the redemption worth it to me was breakfast for 3 people in my room. They advertise breakfast for up to 2 guests but we got it for all 3 of us with no issue. Even did room service twice for breakfast, no charge, not even a service charge. That’s why it was a great redemption imo
Thanks for the good work on this. What you have found convinces me that this (devaluation of Hyatt points) is — alas! — only the third-worst kick in the Hyatt and Hyatt-adjacent environment, the other two being on the points acquisition side:
Which is to say, #3 (the topic of your post) would not be that big a deal were it not following #1 and coinciding with #2. Together, this has effectively ended my regime of high-end deals/steals (think Park Hyatt). The nerve of these people!
Are you guys ready to admit all unbonused spend should go on Robinhood Gold for 3% cashback? Your own analysis admits that 75% of the time you will do worse than 3% when earning 1.5UR with Freedom Unlimited assuming you’re paying $795 for a Sapphire Reserve.
Earning 3% cashback on the Robinhood Gold card certainly isn’t a bad option, but it’s not necessarily the best option for everyone. For starters, the Robinhood Gold card is waitlist-only and there’s no knowing how long you’ll be on the waitlist. You also have to pay $50/$60 per year (depending on if you pay annually or monthly) for a Robinhood Gold subscription, even though the credit card itself has no annual fee.
If you were to value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents per point, that means Freedom Unlimited purchases would effectively be earning 2.25%. That’s 0.75% less than the 3% on the Robinhood Gold card, but the Freedom Unlimited card doesn’t have an annual fee. The annual subscription for Robinhood Gold membership means you’d need to spend $6,667 before you’d even start coming out ahead of the Freedom Unlimited.
That’s also assuming that all the rewards from your unbonused spend should be directed towards booking Hyatt stays. As one alternative, someone could get the Bilt Palladium card (albeit with a $495 annual fee) and get 2X on unbonused spend, or 3X if redeeming Bilt Cash for a points accelerator. Or they could rack up Ultimate Rewards or Bilt points in bonused categories in order to transfer those to Hyatt, then put unbonused spend on any transferable points currency card that earns 2X.
It could also be argued that someone would be much better off buying Visa/Mastercard gift cards with no purchase fee (or at a small profit) at office supply stores with a Chase Ink Cash card for 5X, then using those cards to make unbonused purchases. There are obviously potential logistical issues with that approach, but 5X Ultimate Rewards – which could be cashed out for 5% cashback if nothing else – would easily beat 3% from Robinhood, especially seeing as the Ink Cash doesn’t require a $50/$60 annual subscription for the privilege of having it.
Again, 3% pure cashback is an excellent earning rate, especially if you’re someone who’d be paying for a Robinhood Gold subscription anyway. It’s just not necessarily a no-brainer for the majority of people.
You are missing the fact that to make those points earned from No AF ink cards worth 1.5cpp (at Hyatt), you now need a $795 AF card or at the bare minimum, a $95 AF card that makes them transferable but at a much worse rate. And don’t forget that with 3% cash back in hand, you are not stuck with Hyatt anymore and can also benefit from ongoing cash deals, promotions, and many other opportunities to earn points.
He’s also missing that you can take your $0.03 and buy any transferable point you want. And since you can buy Hyatt points on sale for $0.018 each, $0.03 cashback is equivalent to earning 1.67 Hyatt points per $1 when you get 3%. More on others (6 IHG or Hilton points, for example).
As I replied to DMoney above, the context of the Ink Cash card reference was that you could take your $0.05 and buy any mile or point you want – that’s 66.67% more than the $0.03 you’d get with the Robinhood Gold card and without a $50 or $60 annual subscription fee added to the mix. That would get you 10 IHG or Hilton points rather than only 6.
My point with the Ink Cash card is that you’d be earning 5% cashback with no annual fee, versus only 3% cashback with the Robinhood Gold card with a $50 or $60 subscription fee per year. I wasn’t referring to making those points transferable.
Yes, I agree on that part and the trade-off is the tediousness of using those $200 cards for small purchases, and not being able to use multiple cards for larger purchases, and that those 5x are capped at $25k per annum. As you said, it could work for some, and not for others.
However, I was addressing the first part of your comment where you say “If you were to value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents per point, that means Freedom Unlimited purchases would effectively be earning 2.25%.“ For this sentence to be true, you need one of the higher AF reserve cards or at least a $95 fee preferred card but then your 2.25% drops to 1.6875%
Your point isn’t very compelling. Yes, you can buy $200 gift cards from Staples when they’re on sale and try and use it for all your unbonused spend, but the reality is that often doesn’t work out — they don’t work online many times, get locked, not useful if you have a >$200 expense that can’t be split tender, etc. And you still need a $95 or $795 card to transfer points…
This is correct. While the “buy fee-free $200 GCs” is an interesting thought exercise, it’s simply not practical for many of the reasons you listed. I’d also add, these cards are notorious for getting hacked and you’re playing with fire hanging on to them for normal spend. These $200 GCs at 5X are excellent if you have an avenue to quickly liquidate, they’re just impractical as a replacement for normal spend.
To be fair, Stephen is providing several counter arguments against the RH card, some of those are better than others. Besides what he mentioned, the RH card tends to have a lower credit limit, cannot be used for things like taxes and there are numerous reports of people running afoul of their T&Cs simply making large (non-gold) purchases at Cost Co.
IMO, the RH card is current best card for “all other” spend and that’s how we use it. I think there is also a decent argument for the Bilt Palladium, but there are so many more hoops to jump through there to get the value.
You’re comparing paying $50 for Robinhood Gold (who, btw gives you $1k free margin which you can just plop in a short term treasury ETF paying you back $40 of it) to Freedom Unlimited with UR at 1.5cpp while ignoring you need to spend $95 (CSP or CIP, only 4:3 Hyatt transfer ratio) or $795 (CSR)?
Sure, go ahead and jump through massive hoops for BILT, or buy VGC to make your normal spend (something I do on my Citi TYMCs) but for just regular ol’ unbonused spend 3%+ is best.
Unless you have the US Smartly Card and the ability to earn 4% cash back… that is the best card
Or 4% on the Coinbase card (up to $10k per month).
That requires a $49.99 Coinbase One annual membership subscription. You also only earn up to 4% back – the percentage depends on your holdings with Coinbase, but you need to be holding $200,000 with Coinbase in order to get the 4% rate.
The rewards on the Coinbase card are earned as Bitcoin rather than cashback, so the value could go down as well as up. If you subsequently sell the Bitcoin, you could be on the hook for taxes. For the vast, vast majority of people, that would make the Robinhood Gold card a far better option than the Coinbase card.
It is profoundly weird to have years old comments on the post. Really confused me there for a minute or five…
Thanks for the updated analysis
Consider that on paid stays, Hyatt Globalist earns 6.5x. Cherry-picking, let’s say someone can find redemptions that are 2cpp. So, a reward rate of 13%.
Consider a Marriott Platinum earns 15x. Cherry-picking, I have found 1.25cpp easily doable. That’s a reward rate of nearly 19%.
For someone who can’t cover all stays via points . . . someone who is a cash payer . . . someone who is an adept cherry-picker . . . maybe Hyatt isn’t the program for them. Just saying.
I think a lot of people fall into this scenario. I think most readers aren’t points-generating machines. There is so much focus on just the redemption side and, for these people, not enough focus on overall reward rate. And, the default “of course Hyatt” advice . . . for these people . . . would seem to be a bad fit.
It doesn’t make sense to take FM’s 75th percentile value for Hyatt and compare it to your own anecdotal Marriott value. FM says 0.91 for Marriott 75th percentile!
Most people in the game don’t stay in hotels often enough for earn rate to come into play, and when they do pay cash they are going to be using Bilt/Chase Sapphire Preferred/Delta Stays/etc. credits.
But what you’re saying isn’t wrong, just more applicable to business travelers.
Not to quibble, 0.91cpp * 15 = 13.65% or 0.91cpp * 17.5 = 15.9%. The point still is that the Hyatt default is not necessarily the best choice for someone who is predominantly a cash payer.
To quibble more, I think it makes more sense to compare someone with a Bonvoy Brilliant card earning 21x versus a World of Hyatt cardholder who gets Discoverist earning 4x + 5.5x = 9.5x.
21x * 0.91 is almost identical to 9.5x * 2.
But again, like, a lot of us have a ton of non-loyalty-eligible credits to burn… more important than quibbling over the theoretical return on stay.
And not use a non-cobranded card that would be better earning at any hotel?
Regarding “a lot of us,” your point might well be valid for them but that’s not about whom I’m talking. I will again say that I’m talking about THE PERSON WHO IS PAYING CASH.
But, I get it. Find any answer to justify Hyatt. You demonstrate my point.
> And not use a non-cobranded card that would be better earning at any hotel?
?
> I will again say that I’m talking about THE PERSON WHO IS PAYING CASH.
I think most people would agree that the person paying with Bilt/CSP/Delta Stays is paying cash. And the person who is booking third party or with Hotels.com gift cards etc. is definitely paying cash.
I’ll jump in. I agree with you. Hyatt’s aspirational properties have always been 40k award nights. Yet, using FHR or Hotel Collection can give one benefits that roughly equal Globalist benefits, without spending 40K per night. The fact is the easy ways to earn URs (the INK train) are gone. The value for Hyatt awards using URs is gone and this post proves that. $.015 per point (converting UR) is pitiful. Much better to use them on business class awards. These bloggers harp on Globalist, but most of us are not Globalists. The value is better if you are a Globalist, but certainly not if you are not a Globalist.
I’d be curious what the RRV changes to by removing the all-inclusives. It’s pretty clear that all-inclusive award stays are (in general) bad use of Hyatt points, and that fits my travel patterns just fine.
Yep. From my experience, AI’s can frequently be found at a discounted cash rate through portals (I have booked Hyatt AIs through AA’s portal and Rove in the past year) at lower cash rates than on Hyatt’s website. If you don’t care about reaching Globalist (which I don’t), booking through these portal for Hyatt AIs is a no brainer vs paying with Hyatt points. Why am I gonna spend 40k points on a hotel that I can book for $350 in a portal.
for a traveler to asia with no access to usa cc like me, hyatt almost never made sense. the by-city data showed why.
buy points? 2.08c if 20% off. 2.16c if 20% bonus. very very few asian properties outside tokyo yielded those lofty cpp not just currently but always had been. still exactly true taking mms properties out of consideration. not to mention the lost value of earned points if cash stay.
then the cash stay…. could never bring myself to pay the vast price premium over other comparable or even favorable properties. and those exact vast price premiums padded the cpp from horrible to just bad.
no resort/destination/amenity/etc fees and most hotel guests in these parts of the world like me don’t drive, so the waived fees don’t merit in calculation.
4pm guaranteed late check-out? either replicable in other programs or still much cheaper by just paying for it at other places. same logic definitely applies to free breakfast if not much more so. suite upgrades through whatever perks/mechanisms/maneuvers? the total final cost in my cases always ended up favoring ihg, gha, accor, local chains/independant, or even sometimes lhw.
For June (3 nights), Mr&Mrs Smith:
Gamla Stan Hotel Reisen 2.81
Ghent Pillows Grand 1.81
What is a “Points Farm” Hotel?
Some properties are colloquially known as “points farms” because their business model relies heavily on guests redeeming points rather than paying cash.
Hyatt has a lot of those….
Very interesting. I pretty much always get >2.5cpp, because my biggest use of Hyatt points is at a particular Cat 2 HP that I go to ~3 weekends per month. I’ll use points for the occasional leisure trip, and usually get >2cpp, but that’s not my main use. Very interesting, and I’m definitely the outlier.
Which Hyatt Place is this? I want to go.