Questions and Answers

Hi all,

I posted this as a comment on Lucky’s recent article about Hyatt’s new dining and spa award rates, but since I didn’t get a definitive answer there I decided to repost here:

Question: At a high-end property (say a Park Hyatt) where you’re staying a few nights, do you need to pay each time you eat dinner (for example), which would mean you get less value for your points, or do hotels like that give you the option to put it on a “tab” and pay for everything when you check out? The second option would make for a much better use of points because you could pay with $200 worth of points instead of paying $50 worth of points 4 times. Any ideas?

If anyone has any data points or recent experiences to share I would appreciate it. I’m particularly thinking about the Park Hyatt Maldives, where I have a reservation (on points, if it matters) for later in the year. If no one has any ideas I’ll contact them directly and then report back on what I learned.
Thanks!

Maybe I’ve just not been to the right places but I don’t think I’ve ever stayed anywhere that will allow you to use points to pay for meals, spa, etc. You could *earn* points by charging those types of things to your room but you eventually have to use cash for them.