I just realized I redeemed 98,000 Hyatt points at less than once cent each. I’m an IDIOT!!!

I just realized I redeemed 98,000 Hyatt points at less than once cent each. I’m an IDIOT!!!

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I’d like to think I’m pretty damn good at maximizing miles and points. At least I liked to think so till yesterday. Last night I published the introduction to my trip report, in which I posted about how I booked my stays at the Hyatt Regency Nice and Grand Hyatt Cannes. As I outlined in that post I redeemed points — 18,000 and 22,000 points per night, respectively. Compared to the revenue rates, that was a great value, given that both hotels were going for over 350EUR per night.

Then last night I got a tweet from a reader, as follows:

Tweet

 

You ever have one of those moments where you literally slap yourself in the face out of frustration? Yeah, I had one of those. I’ve posted in the past about Hyatt’s stay certificates, and what a phenomenal value they can be. Basically Hyatt will sell you certificates each valid for one free night. There are different category certificates each valid at different types of hotels. So obviously the highest category certificate is valid at more properties than the lowest category certificates.

So I looked up in which categories the Hyatt Regency Nice and Grand Hyatt Cannes are in:

Hyatt_Stay_Certificates

The Hyatt Regency Nice is a “Choice” level property, while the Grand Hyatt Cannes is a “Premier” level property. How much could I have purchased those certificates for?

Hyatt_Stay_Certificates1

So we spent three nights at the Hyatt Regency Nice, which accepts “Choice” level certificates. Those retail for $152.22 each, so rather than redeeming 54,000 points I could have spent $456.66.

Meanwhile we spent two nights at the Grand Hyatt Cannes, which accepts “Premier” level certificates. Those retail for $188.89 each, so rather than redeeming 44,000 points I could have spent $377.78.

So all-in-all, redeeming 98,000 Gold Passport points for $834.44 isn’t my proudest moment.

At the very least, please, please, please learn from my mistakes. By the way, both of these are phenomenal properties, and the fact that they’re in the “Choice” and “Premier” level is borderline ridiculous, given that they often retail for $500+ per night.

To make my life a bit easier, does anyone have one of these that I could borrow?

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  1. Chris Guest

    Well, Hyatt Certificate participating properties now says Palais de la Méditeranée does not accept stay cert anymore, so are most Park Hyatt (I checked for SYD and TYO).

  2. lucky OMAAT

    @ Kevin F -- It doesn't look like they've been added to the program yet. I doubt they will be since they're not Hyatts but rather "affiliate" properties.

  3. Kevin F Guest

    Quick question: are the new Vegas hotels part of the cert program or separate? Thanks!

  4. lucky OMAAT

    @ Al -- Slightly. In January of this year they slightly adjusted the prices, but it wasn't a big difference.

  5. Al Guest

    Have the prices of those certificates increased over the years due to inflation?

  6. Chris Guest

    ROFL @ the video on the end :D

  7. lucky OMAAT

    @ Al -- Not that I know of, unfortunately. I suppose someone may be given them as a gift and try to resell them on Ebay, but that's about the only way they'd end up for resale as far as I know.

  8. Stvr Guest

    And now this deal will die. Got three of my family members into Nice for three separate vacations. They were talking about doing it again next year. Onto the next deal

  9. Al Guest

    Just another thought. Is there a secondary market where I can buy those certificates at a discount?

  10. Al Guest

    It's interesting that the category of a hotel for stay certificates can be very different from its award category... I just noticed that a category 3 property is "classic". That's only $109, almost insane!

    Never thought you could leverage stay certificates this way... Thanks guys!!!

  11. beachfan Diamond

    Well those two hotels seem surprisingly low for cert use. Any other amazing bargains? I notice you can't even use them at any price at the Park Hyatt Vendome.

  12. lucky OMAAT

    @ EricNYC -- See this post for an explanation of how to search for space using these certs:
    https://onemileatatime.com/reward-programs/hotel-rewards/world-of-hyatt/

  13. lucky OMAAT

    @ Rhys -- Yep, though sadly I was within the cancellation period already when I booked.

  14. lucky OMAAT

    @ Carl -- Well it's not "no blackout dates" like with points, but generally I still find availability to be rather good. Depends on the specific property, though. In the post linked above I outline how to search for availability.

  15. EricNYC Guest

    Hi,
    Great post - never considered this option. How can you tell if there is availability before purchasing certs? I have 2 reward nights booked at Park Hyatt Chicgo in Sept for bday wknd. I would opt for cert if avail - only $260/nt w certificates.

  16. lucky OMAAT

    @ Susan -- As janyyc notes, you don't get stay credits, but then again you also don't get them on points.

  17. lucky OMAAT

    @ Jig -- Hah, that makes me feel a bit better, thanks.

  18. lucky OMAAT

    @ gavinmac -- They have to ship them so I guess I should feel slightly less horrible since I planned this last minute... but still.

  19. Rhys Guest

    If you find availability with Certs, can't you just cancel the Hyatt points nights and have them redeposited if you are outside of the cancellation window?

  20. Pointsnob Guest

    I seemed to have made the same mistake just a couple weeks after you, Ben. I never really think I travel certs when looking into high end foreign properties... But guess this is a lesson learned!

  21. janyyc Guest

    No you don't get stay credits. No points too.

  22. Susan Guest

    Plus, do you still get the stay credit with those certs?

  23. Carl Guest

    How tight is the inventory control on using these certificates? If the capacity control is too tight, they aren't worth much.

    By any chance do they earn stay credits when consumed at the property? They are kind of revenue...

  24. gavinmac Guest

    Interesting info. Do they ship or mail hard copies of all certificates, or is there a way to buy them online and just have the instantly emailed?

  25. Mike S. Guest

    Besides the these two hotels, any other sweet spots to redeem these certs ?

  26. Jig Guest

    Ben,

    Unslap yourself. Tried several dates in August just now with the Premier code at the Cannes property, and no availability using the travel cert, but plenty using points. Didn't hit every date possible of course, but obviously availability isn't guaranteed for the travel cert.

  27. PhatMiles Member

    Maaaan, I am sorry. You do not deserve a slapping machine Ben. For the ocean of information you possess, this is the price of a missing drop I say. Good luck next time.

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The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Chris Guest

Well, Hyatt Certificate participating properties now says Palais de la Méditeranée does not accept stay cert anymore, so are most Park Hyatt (I checked for SYD and TYO).

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lucky OMAAT

@ Kevin F -- It doesn't look like they've been added to the program yet. I doubt they will be since they're not Hyatts but rather "affiliate" properties.

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Kevin F Guest

Quick question: are the new Vegas hotels part of the cert program or separate? Thanks!

0
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