While the most popular way to redeem World of Hyatt points is for free night redemptions, the program also has a Points + Cash option, whereby you can redeem part points and part cash toward the cost of a hotel stay.
The reality is that the value of Hyatt Points + Cash has fluctuated significantly over the years. Going back a decade, it was the primary way that I redeemed my points. Then it was devalued significantly, and then some value was brought back. So I’d like to take a look at the current state of things… is Hyatt Points + Cash worth considering nowadays?
World of Hyatt Points + Cash program basics
As the name suggests, with Hyatt Points + Cash, you can redeem part points and part cash toward the cost of a Hyatt stay. More specifically, you’ll redeem 50% of the points required for a stay, and will receive a 30-50% discount off the standard rate for the room type chosen.
Now, there are some important things to be aware of:
- Points + Cash stays are capacity controlled, unlike free night award stays, where there are no blackout dates or capacity controls on standard rooms
- The cash portion of the Points + Cash rate is payable at the hotel at check-out, and is subject to the same percentage taxes & fees you’d pay on a revenue stay
- You earn World of Hyatt points for the cash portion of a Points + Cash stay; with World of Hyatt you earn 5x points per dollar spent, plus elite bonuses of 10-30%, and those base points count toward elite status, including lifetime Globalist status
- You earn elite nights for Points + Cash stays, just as you would if paying cash or redeeming points
- World of Hyatt waives resort & destination fees on points stays for all members, and waives parking fees for Globalist members on award stays; for these purposes, a Points + Cash reservation isn’t considered an award stay
- You can combine awards with Points + Cash bookings, whether that’s a World of Hyatt Guest of Honor booking, Suite Upgrade Award, Club Access Award, etc.
Just as a reminder, below is the standard room World of Hyatt award chart, which shows the award pricing for a free night hotel stay based on which of the five pricing tiers applies for a particular night (lowest, low, moderate, upper, or top).
| Category | Lowest | Low | Moderate | Upper | Top |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3,000 | 4,500 | 6,000 | 7,500 | 9,000 |
| 2 | 6,000 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 |
| 3 | 8,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 17,500 | 20,000 |
| 4 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 22,500 | 25,000 |
| 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 |
| 6 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 40,000 |
| 7 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 45,000 | 55,000 |
| 8 | 35,000 | 45,000 | 55,000 | 65,000 | 75,000 |
When booking Points + Cash, you’d pay half of the points, plus 50-70% of the flexible revenue rate, so below is that chart.
| Category | Lowest | Low | Moderate | Upper | Top |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,500 + Cash | 2,250 + Cash | 3,000 + Cash | 3,750 + Cash | 4,500 + Cash |
| 2 | 3,000 + Cash | 3,750 + Cash | 5,000 + Cash | 6,000 + Cash | 7,500 + Cash |
| 3 | 4,000 + Cash | 6,000 + Cash | 7,500 + Cash | 8,750 + Cash | 10,000 + Cash |
| 4 | 6,000 + Cash | 7,500 + Cash | 10,000 + Cash | 11,250 + Cash | 12,500 + Cash |
| 5 | 7,500 + Cash | 10,000 + Cash | 12,500 + Cash | 15,000 + Cash | 17,500 + Cash |
| 6 | 10,000 + Cash | 12,500 + Cash | 15,000 + Cash | 17,500 + Cash | 20,000 + Cash |
| 7 | 12,500 + Cash | 15,000 + Cash | 17,500 + Cash | 22,500 + Cash | 27,500 + Cash |
| 8 | 17,500 + Cash | 22,500 + Cash | 27,500 + Cash | 32,500 + Cash | 37,500 + Cash |
Crunching the numbers on Hyatt Points + Cash
With the basics of Hyatt Points + Cash out of the way, let’s do some number crunching. Let me state upfront that based on my latest miles & points valuations, I consider World of Hyatt points to be worth 1.4 cents each, though I usually get quite a bit more value out of them in comparison to what a hotel stay would cost with cash.
For the purposes of the below examples, I’ll simply be comparing the cost for a free night redemption to the cost of a Points + Cash redemption. This doesn’t consider the outright cost of a stay if paying cash, so for more on that, see my post about when you should redeem points for a hotel stay.
I picked six hotels at random, belonging to different brands and in different regions. I picked totally random dates, so let’s take a look at what I found.
For the night I picked, the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay is charging 15,000 points per night, or 7,500 points plus $103 ($116 including taxes & fees). If redeeming outright, you’re spending 7,500 extra points to save $116, which is like buying Hyatt points for 1.55 cents each.
The Park Hyatt Los Cabos is charging 55,000 points per night, or 27,500 points plus $500.50 ($680.68 including taxes & fees). If redeeming outright, you’re spending 27,500 extra points to save $680.68, which is like buying Hyatt points for 2.48 cents each.
The Hyatt Studios Mobile is charging 3,000 points per night, or 1,500 points plus $61 ($71.98 including taxes & fees). If redeeming outright, you’re spending 1,500 extra points to save $71.98, which is like buying Hyatt points for 4.8 cents each.
The Thompson Rome is charging 35,000 points per night, or 17,500 points plus $281.20 (that includes taxes & fees). If redeeming outright, you’re spending 17,500 extra points to save $281.20, which is like buying Hyatt points for 1.61 cents each.
The Hyatt Centric Dubai Jumeirah is charging 20,000 points per night, or 10,000 points plus $115 ($145.14 including taxes & fees). You’re spending $145.14 to save 10,000 points, which is like buying Hyatt points for 1.45 cents each.
The Grand Hyatt Seoul is charging 20,000 points per night, or 10,000 points plus $221 (that includes taxes & fees). You’re spending $221 to save 10,000 points, which is like buying Hyatt points for 2.21 cents each.
So, is Hyatt Points + Cash worth it?
As you can see, the value of Hyatt Points + Cash varies significantly. In the above six examples I randomly pulled up, you’re essentially “buying” Hyatt points for anywhere from 1.45 cents to 4.8 cents each (these aren’t actually points in your account, but rather you’re spending some amount of cash in lieu of points).
So the idea is that if the “purchase” price on points were relatively low, it could be worth booking Points + Cash, rather than just redeeming outright. On the low end of the spectrum, some people might find this to be worthwhile, though I think on the high end of the spectrum, we can all agree this represents an awful deal.
Before you make a final decision, just keep in mind:
- What the taxes & fees are for the cash portion of the Points + Cash booking, which will show on the final booking page (I tried to incorporate that in the above math)
- Factor in the World of Hyatt points you’d earn for the cash portion of the Points + Cash booking, which improves the math even further
- If a property has a resort or destination fee and you’re not a Globalist member, then there’s a huge advantage to outright redeeming for a free night award, so that’s waived
- Keep in mind the opportunity cost of a Points + Cash booking; for example, if I’m booking a luxury property, I may prefer to outright redeem points for one night and then pay cash through the Hyatt Privé program for the other night, so I receive extra perks
Lastly, let me just mention that in many cases Points + Cash is a better value compared to redeeming points outright in situations where the cash rate is lower than usual, and a hotel is in low season. In those situations it might not make sense to redeem points at all. This comes down to how reimbursement for these awards works between World of Hyatt and individual hotels.
For example, the single best Points + Cash deal above is at the Hyatt Centric Dubai, but if you look at the cash rate, you’ll see that redeeming points isn’t a great deal in the first place. There’s no reason to redeem 20,000 points (or 10,000 points plus $115) when the cash rate in the first place is well under $200.
Bottom line
Hyatt Points + Cash lets you redeem part points and part cash toward the cost of a hotel stay. While it’s nice to have the flexibility of this redemption opportunity, more often than not it doesn’t represent a good deal, in my opinion.
The value you’re getting per point through Points + Cash does vary wildly, but one thing that’s fairly consistent is that you won’t get outsized value. In a majority of situations where Points + Cash represents a good deal compared to the outright points cost, it’s a hotel where a points redemption isn’t a good deal in the first place.
Personally, I avoid Points + Cash redemptions, though it’s always worth checking and crunching the numbers.
What’s your take on Hyatt’s Points + Cash option? Do you ever use it?
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