The Hyatt Gold Passport program is one of my favorite hotel loyalty programs. The four confirmed suite upgrades is my favorite Diamond benefit, behind the complimentary breakfast of course. If you are like me and earn a lot of Hyatt points throughout the year, it is good to know all the different ways you can redeem your hard earned points.

Everyone doesn’t have a large bank roll of miles to redeem at top category hotels, like the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires which runs at 110,000 (22,000 per night) Hyatt points for five nights. But you can still earn enough points for a nice reward by staying just a few nights, picking up the Chase Hyatt credit card or by transferring Ultimate Rewards points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Ink Plus and Chase Ink Bold.

In this series we’ll demonstrate different ways to redeem Hyatt points for travel rewards.

Using Hyatt Points For Travel Rewards

• Booking a suite at Hyatt using points
• Upgrading to a suite on a paid stay at Hyatt using points
• Other redemption options

The easiest way to see where you can go with your Hyatt points is to pay a quick visit to Hyatt’s award calculator tool and select the location you are interested in visiting. The free night awards are priced out by hotel category as shown below.

Free Night Awards

Book A Suite With Hyatt Points

If you are a Diamond member you can confirm a suite upgrade on a paid stay at the time of booking by using one of your four confirmed suite upgrades. The suite has to be available, and at a suite upgrade qualifying hotel, but the confirmed upgrade is a pretty cool Diamond benefit.

If you don’t have Diamond status but want to stay in a suite, you can still use your hard earned points to confirm a suite at the time of booking. By using a few extra Hyatt points, you can secure the extra space and amenities that suites can offer.

Is There Value In Redeeming Points For A Suite

In this example, I looked up the points required to book an award stay in a suite in Paris. Lets assume you would select the expensive Park Hyatt Paris. The normal points required for a room at this hotel is 22,000 points. But you can confirm a suite for only 33,000 points. When normal queen room rates are going for around $950 and executive suite rooms rates are going for $1,500, using points at this hotel is a great deal.

If you redeem 22,000 points for a regular room you realize a point value of about $0.043, which is not bad at all.

If you redeem points for a suite instead of a regular room, the point value achieved from the incremental points comes in at $.05 (($1,500-$950) / (33,000-22,000 = .05) and you get to confirm a nice suite in advance.

Booking A Suite In Paris On Points

Once you find the hotel where you would like a suite, you can call Hyatt at 800-228-3360 to complete your reservation. There are a few terms and conditions when using Hyatt points to book a suite.

• Minimum booking of 3 nights is required
• Suite awards are not valid at Hyatt Regency Kyoto, Hyatt Regency Paris-Madeleine, Park Hyatt Sydney, Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort, Hyatt Vacation Club Resorts and Hyatt Place hotels.

Bottom Line

Knowing all the ways you can redeem points for an award will help you maximize your point redemption. Using a free instrument for a suite upgrade is an amazing value. But if you don’t have that option, using a few extra Hyatt points can help you secure a suite in advance and take out the guessing game associated with an upgrade at check-in.

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If you are looking for free nights at a Hyatt hotel, consider the Hyatt Visa Credit Card. With this offer, you will receive two nights at any Hyatt around the world. These nights are even good at top tier hotels like the Park Hyatt Paris, Park Hyatt and Buenos Aires. There is an offer at Hyatt that also provides 2 suite upgrades for current Platinum members. You’ll also receive Hyatt Platinum status for as long as you have the card and an anniversary free night (up to category 4)  that will more than cover the $75 annual fee.

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