How to Earn Hyatt Points Fast: Simple Beginners Guide
This guide to how to earn Hyatt points fast describes all the ways to accumulate Hyatt points and how to redeem them for hotel stays.
In 2020, I picked up a quarantine hobby of travel hacking. If you aren’t familiar, travel hacking is the practice of earning and redeeming travel rewards for free flights and hotel stays.
Even though I wasn’t exactly jet-setting in 2020, I was able to use the time to educate myself on the intricacies of rewards travel. World of Hyatt quickly became my favorite hotel rewards program due to the amazing redemptions available.
There are three main ways to quickly earn Hyatt points- through Hyatt credit cards, hotel stays, and Hyatt transfer partners. Below, I’ll break down what this means and how you can get started.
If you are interested in travel hacking, check out my beginner’s guide to hotel rewards programs.
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The Value of Hyatt Points and Why to Collect Them
Hyatt points are my favorite hotel currency because they go super far compared to their competitors (Marriott, Hilton, etc).
As an example, I recently booked five nights at the Park Hyatt Maldives for 150,000 points. An equivalent property, the JW Marriott, runs 79,000 points per night or 316,000 for the same stay.
For these reasons, Hyatt points are like gold to me to. I try to earn them through anyway I can, including stays, credit cards, and transfer partners.
Below, I’ll explain all the ways to earn Hyatt points so you can also begin accumulating these valuable points.
So how valuable are they? The easiest way to look at point value and compare redemptions is by calculating cents per point.
Simply divide the number of points for a stay by the cash cost. For example, my Park Hyatt Maldives stay is valued at $5,147 so I got around 3 cents per point.
As a general rule of thumb, I value Hyatt points at 2 cents per point. If a redemption is lower than that, I will typically use cash and if the redemption is higher, I will use points.
3 Best Ways to Earn Hyatt Points
1. Hotel Stays – Earn points for nights stayed and money spend on your booking
2. Hyatt Credit Cards – Get rewarded with Hyatt hotel points for your every day spend
3. Travel Credit Cards – Earn points for spend on a credit card that can be transferred for Hyatt hotel bookings
Earning Points Through Stays
The simplest way to earn Hyatt points that you are probably already aware of is by using a loyalty number when you stay in Hyatt hotels.
First, create a World of Hyatt account. Then, provide that number whenever you stay in a Hyatt hotel.
However, stays must be booked directly through Hyatt to be eligible for points. Stays booked through third parties such as Expedia or Booking.com will not earn any points.
Once your loyalty number is provided, you will earn 5 points for every dollar spent on that stay, including dining or spa charges to your room.
If you earn Hyatt elite status, you will earn additional points for stays at the following rates:
- Discoverist – 10% bonus
- Explorist – 20% bonus
- Globalist – 30% bonus
While this is a great way to earn points, they only begin to add up for very frequent travelers. To expedite your earnings, keep reading for credit cards that earn Hyatt rewards.
Credit Cards that Earn Hyatt Points
Credit cards are a great way to earn rewards points. The simplest way to earn Hyatt points through credit cards is with a Hyatt co-branded card.
There are two options for Hyatt credit cards – the standard World of Hyatt card and the business card.
These co-branded credit cards earn between 1 and 4 points per dollar spent on that card. This is a great way to get travel benefits from your everyday purchases. Although 1-4 points seems small, it adds up very quickly.
In addition, credit cards offer sign up bonuses. This is the quickest way to earn a high volume of points.
Sign up bonuses are a lump sum of points you will receive after spending a certain amount of money within the first few months of having a card.
Below, I outline the two World of Hyatt credit cards and their benefits.
World of Hyatt Credit Card
Annual Fee: $95
| Multiplier | Category |
| 4x | World of Hyatt Stays |
| 2x | Transit and commuting |
| 2x | Dining and restaurants |
| 2x | Flights purchased through airlines |
| 2x | Fitness and gym memberships |
| 1x | Every other purchase |
Other Benefits:
- Annual free night at category 1-4 hotel with an extra annual free night for $15,000 of credit card spend
- World of Hyatt Discoverist status – 10% bonus points on Hyatt spend, premium internet, upgrades upon availability
- 5 elite qualifying nights towards next status tier
- 2 elite qualifying nights for every $5,000 of spend
Sign up bonus: 60,000 points
Why this card is a good choice: If you are Hyatt loyal, this card is a no-brainer. The annual free night certificate easily pays for the $95 annual fee. In addition, there’s no other card (besides the business version) that gets 4x points per dollar spent at Hyatt. If you stay at Hyatt hotels often, you will quickly rack up the points with the 4x credit card bonus plus 5x points as a Hyatt member.
Check out the World of Hyatt card for yourself
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
Annual Fee: $199
| Multiplier | Category |
| 4x | World of Hyatt Stays |
| 2x | Top 3 eligible spend categories such as dining, airline tickets, car rentals, gas stations, social media |
| 2x | Fitness and gym memberships |
| 1x | Every other purchase |
Other Benefits:
- Up to $100 in Hyatt statement credits
- World of Hyatt Discoverist status for you and 5 employees – 10% bonus points on Hyatt spend, premium internet, upgrades upon availability
- 5 elite night credits towards next status tier for every $10,000 of spend
Sign up bonus: 60,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months
Why this card is a good choice: If you are a business owner, this card is a great choice for quickly earning Hyatt points, especially if you expense travel for your business. In addition, this card has a relatively low spend threshold for the sign-up bonus compared to other business credit cards.
See more about the Hyatt Business Card
Credit Cards that are Hyatt Transfer Partners
In addition to credit cards that directly earn Hyatt points, there are credit cards that earn rewards you can transfer to Hyatt.
Big credit card companies such as Chase, American Express, and Capital One have created their own points currencies, called Chase Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, and Capital One Rewards respectively.
These points are earned through using their portfolio of credit cards.
These points are known as transferable point currencies because they can be spent directly through the bank’s portal or transferred to travel partners.
Travel partners are different airlines and hotel programs, which vary by bank.
Below, I list the three best credit cards to earn points that can be transferred to Hyatt. The benefit of these cards versus co-branded cards is flexibility.
If you choose, you can spend your points on a flight or different hotel, instead of being locked into Hyatt.
In addition, there are higher value earning categories than you can earn with a Hyatt card, allowing you to accumulate points more efficiently.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Annual Fee: $550
9 Tips to Maximize Your Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card
| Multiplier | Category |
| 5x | Flights booked through Chase |
| 10x | Hotels and car rentals booked through Chase |
| 3x | Travel expenses |
| 3x | Dining |
| 10x | Chase dining |
| 10x | Lyft |
| 1x | All other purchases |
Other Benefits:
- $300 annual travel credit
- Travel protection
- Priority Pass lounge access
- Global Entry / TSA Precheck credit
- Lyft pink membership
- DoorDash DashPass membership
Sign up bonus: 60,000 bonus points after spending $4000 in the first three months
Why this card is a good choice: The Chase Sapphire Reserve is my favorite premium credit card. The annual fee can be hard to swallow, but it’s easily made up through the benefits. The annual travel credit alone cuts the annual fee in half.
In addition to all the travel benefits such as lounge access and travel protection, this card earns points quickly. Strategically spend in the bonus categories such as dining or Lyft to quickly accumulate points.
Finally, Chase has a ton of great travel partners. Even though this guide is focused on earning Hyatt points, it’s very valuable to own points that can be transferred to a variety of partners for different travel needs.
Get the Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Annual Fee: $95
| Multiplier | Category |
| 5x | Travel booked through Chase |
| 2x | Travel expenses |
| 3x | Online grocery |
| 3x | Dining |
| 3x | Streaming services |
| 5x | Lyft |
| 1x | All other purchases |
Other Benefits:
- $50 annual credit for hotels booked through Ultimate Rewards
- Travel protection
- DoorDash DashPass membership
Sign up bonus: 60,000 bonus points after spending $4000 in the first three months
Why this card is a good choice: The Chase Sapphire Preferred is like the little brother to the Reserve, mentioned above. It has a lot of the same great benefits, with a much lower annual fee. Again, the annual fee is cut in half by the travel credit.
This card has very valuable bonus categories, such as online grocery, dining, and streaming that you likely are already spending money on.
Switching that spend to this card will allow you to earn 3x more points and quickly earn rewards.
In addition, the Chase Sapphire preferred has a very high sign-up bonus for a low annual-fee card. I’ve seen the SUB ranging from 60,000 up to 100,000 points!
Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred
BILT Mastercard
Annual Fee: $0
| Multiplier | Category |
| 1x | Rent (no transaction fee) |
| 2x | Travel |
| 3x | Dining |
| 1x | All other purchases |
Other Benefits:
- Get double points on the first of the month “Rent Day”
- Cellphone protection up to $800
Why this card is a good choice: I am obsessed with this card. It’s almost unheard of to find a card with no annual fee and this many bonus categories. In addition, it’s the leading card on the market for rent payments.
If you are a renter, I cannot stress enough how much you need this card. They will allow you to earn points on rent, fee free, through a direct bank transfer or a check to your landlord.
In addition, rent day is a great benefit. The double points earnings on the first of every month makes the multipliers on this card higher than almost every competitor.
What hotels are in the World of Hyatt portfolio?
Now that I’ve gone into the top ways to earn Hyatt points, let’s talk about how to spend them. World of Hyatt points can be redeemed at most of their properties throughout the globe by booking directly through their site.
To find the points required for a stay, simply search on their site while logged into your account and check the box for “Use points”. This will show you the point price and cash price per night for hotels in your desired area.
From this, you can quickly calculate the cents per point. Remember, aim for 2 cents per point for the best use of your hard-earned points!
Below are all of the brands that are in the Hyatt portfolio. They range from simple hotels such as a Hyatt Place, to luxury brands such as the Park Hyatt.
In addition, there’s an entire inclusive collection. I love booking all-inclusive resorts with points, because then it’s a truly free vacation.
Timeless Collection – Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt, UrCove, Hyatt Residence Club
Boundless Collection – Miraval, Alila, Andaz, Thompson Hotels, Dream Hotels, Hyatt Centric, Caption
Independent Collection – The Unbound Collection, Destination by Hyatt, JdV by Hyatt
Inclusive Collection – Impression by Secrets, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Zoetry Wellness, Secrets, Breathless, Dreams, Hyatt Vivid, Alua, Suncape
Other Partnerships – Small Luxury Hotels, Mr and Mrs Smith (coming soon)
The Best Ways to Redeem Hyatt Points
If I haven’t convinced you of the value of Hyatt points, maybe these hotels will. There are many great redemptions of Hyatt points, but the below properties are some of the most aspirational.
Since they are so popular, the reward availability often fills up a year out, but they can be booked if you plan ahead.
Park Hyatt Maldives – This resort is in the world-famous destination of the Maldives. Known for honeymoons and romantic vacations, the Maldives is so beautiful.
The Park Hyatt Maldives is on a private island, only reachable by seaplane. On the property are beach villas and overwater villas. There is great snorkeling off the beach, great dining, and a large resort pool.
Calala – Calala is an intimate, rustic, private island resort in Nicaragua. The island can only be reached by a boat ride from mainland Nicaragua.
On the island, there are only five private suites, so this resort is super intimate. Calala is known for relaxation and connecting with nature.
Alila Ventana – Alila Ventana is an all-inclusive, adults-only, resort in Big Sur California. The resort’s fine dining is all included, as well as nature activities on site.
The views from this hotel cannot be beat of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding area.
The Chase Sapphire reserve is my favorite credit card that earns Hyatt points because of the high category bonuses for travel and the amazing travel perks (especially lounge access). Apply here!
Summary of How to Earn Hyatt Points Fast
To summarize, there are three main ways to earn Hyatt points fast:
- Stay in hotels – Sign up for a World of Hyatt membership and stay at their many properties around the world.
- Get a Hyatt credit card – Get the World of Hyatt personal or business credit card and strategically spend to earn points.
- Transfer points – Get a credit card with transferrable points such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or BILT MasterCard, then transfer the points you earn to Hyatt.
Once you earn the points, use them to book stays at Hyatt’s hotels for free! Get a bunch of nights at some of Hyatt’s more basic properties for an inexpensive family vacation or splurge for a few nights at one of their premier properties.
For more hotel travel hacking tips, read my guide to how to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.
Interested in travel hacking? Check out all of my posts on the subject to learn more! Still confused? Reach out with any questions.
Related Posts:
- How To Book Hotels With Points? Guide To Hotel Rewards
- How To Earn Marriott Points Fast – Guide To Marriott Bonvoy
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Disclaimers – I am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice. Sign up bonuses are always changing and vary person to person. Click the links in this post for the latest information regarding these credit cards.
