How To Book Hyatt Award Stays With Chase Ultimate Rewards

Advertiser disclosure: The Miles Genie has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products.  The Miles Genie and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Editorial disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses, and recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.

World of Hyatt is probably my favorite hotel loyalty program in a post-Marriott/SPG merger era.  World of Hyatt points are easy to earn and can be very valuable when redeeming. My favorite way to accumulate World of Hyatt points is by earning transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

You do not have to accumulate World of Hyatt points to book free Hyatt stays

In fact, you do not even need Hyatt’s co-branded credit card.  If you have a Chase Sapphire card that earns transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can use those points to book free stays at Hyatt properties.

Transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points are the currency earned from certain Chase cards:

• card_name
• card_name
• card_name

Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned from these cards can be transferred to 11 different airlines or 3 hotel programs, including Hyatt.

Even if a Hyatt stay is your goal, I suggest opening one of these cards before opening the World of Hyatt credit card due to the flexible redemption options you will have with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Also, unless you’re working on a minimum spending requirement for a newly opened credit card, I suggest using a card that earns transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points for everyday spending. While the World of Hyatt credit card from Chase is great for benefits, if you use only a World of Hyatt card, you only earn Hyatt points. Your redemption options are limited to those of the World of Hyatt program. But if you use a card that earns transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you have multiple redemption options.

Important: Cards such as the Chase Freedom Flex and card_name earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, but they aren’t the same as transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points. They are basically cash-back cards. Points earned from these cards cannot be transferred unless you also have a CSP, CSR, or CIBP. With that said, pairing the no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited with a CSP, CSR, or CIBP is a great way to boost the amount of Ultimate Rewards points you earn on everyday spending. Click here for more information.

There are many redemption options with Ultimate Rewards points.  The two options that I use most are:

1. Book travel through the redemption portal.  This is basically using your points as cash.
2. Transfer Ultimate Rewards to hotel and airline partners at a 1:1 ratio.  There are 11 airline programs and 3 hotel programs to which you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  World of Hyatt is one of these programs.

When redeeming points for a free Hyatt stay, your Ultimate Rewards points are probably going to be more valuable by transferring to Hyatt (option 2) rather than by using the redemption portal (option 1).  This means you will transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt and then you will use World of Hyatt to book your stay.

I will show you how to check both redemption options so you can make sure you are getting the best value.

Hyatt’s award chart is favorable to Ultimate Rewards point transfers

World of Hyatt’s award chart usually results in using less Ultimate Rewards points than if you were to use your Ultimate Rewards points to book your stay through the redemption portal.

The Ultimate Rewards hotel transfer partners are World of Hyatt, IHG Premier Club, and Marriott Bonvoy.

I generally try to reserve my Chase Ultimate Rewards points for redemptions that give me 2 cents or more per point. Many hotel loyalty programs have inflated award charts.  Looking at you, Marriott and IHG.  Inflated award charts means that points are going to be less valuable.  You will not find many hotel currencies that result in a redemption value of 2 cents per point. Hyatt, on the other hand, has some potential.

Click here to read about one of our favorite Hyatt redemptions to date at Ventana Big Sur.

Hyatt’s award chart

The amount of Ultimate Rewards required depends on the category of the property you want to book.  

While there is a range for any given category, (off peak standard, and peak pricing) these are still fixed redemption prices. The redemption price will be either the off peak, standard, or peak price per night no matter what the paid rate of the stay is.  For example, a free standard room at a World of Hyatt category 5 hotel requires 17,000/20,000/23,000 (off peak/standard/peak) points whether the rate for your dates is $600 per night or $1,000 per night.  In other words, 23k is the max redemption price even if the paid rate is high. On the other hand, the amount of points required when using the Ultimate Rewards redemption portal is higher when rates are higher. More on the Ultimate Rewards portal vs. transferring Ultimate Rewards points in a moment.

You can also book premium rooms, but more points will be required. Redemption prices for suites and Regency/Grand Club are here.

Free World of Hyatt night redemptions are subject to availability

Just like many airlines do with award seats, hotels limit the amount of rooms that you can book on points. I’ve been able to find availability at Hyatt properties significantly more times than not, but there are some properties notorious for having scarce availability.

Generally, if a standard room is available to book as a paid stay, it should be available to book on Hyatt points. But the amount of standard rooms varies from property to property. My advice is to book as early as possible.

Once you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt (or other partner airlines or hotels), you cannot get them back

Do not transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt (or any transfer partner) until you have confirmed availability.

When you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to a partner airline or hotel, your Ultimate Rewards points become the currency of the airline or hotel program.  For example, if you transfer 20,000 Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt, you now have 20,000 World of Hyatt points.  Those points are subject to the award chart and policies of World of Hyatt.

You cannot transfer those points back to Chase Ultimate Rewards.  For that reason, it is best to wait until you are certain your dates are available before transferring any points.

How to determine availability for a World of Hyatt stay on points

Before you transfer Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt to book a free stay, you will need to make sure your property and dates are available to book with World of Hyatt points.  I will use the Andaz Costa Rica as an example. Click here for more info about our trip to Costa Rica.

1. Go directly to the property’s website (Click here for Andaz Costa Rica)

Or go to Hyatt.com and type in the location or name of the property you want to check

2. Type in your dates and the number of people that will be in your room.  

If you need more than one room on points, you will need to call to make sure more than one room is available on points as you can only book one at a time online with points.

The cash rates will show up on the next screen.

3. Click “View Points”

If a room is available on points, you will see a tab that says “Redeem Points” as pictured above.

Hyatt also has an option called points and cash.  You can redeem a stay for half the amount of points plus a co-pay. The co-pay is half of the standard paid rate ($695 for this date). This can be a good option in some cases, especially if you are short on points. But just like free nights, Points + Cash are subject to availability.  If a points and cash room is available, you will see another tab that says “Points + Cash”

Note that with points and cash bookings you will have to pay taxes, fees, and resort fees if applicable. Rooms booked entirely on World of Hyatt points will not have taxes or fees.

4. Now that you’ve confirmed availability, you will need to transfer the appropriate amount Ultimate Rewards points to your World of Hyatt account.  

But don’t do it quite yet.  If you really want to make sure you are getting the best value, you should check the price in the Ultimate Rewards redemption portal.

Before you transfer, check the Ultimate Rewards redemption portal price against the Hyatt award chart price

Even if you find availability with World of Hyatt, I suggest checking prices in the Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption portal before you transfer.  To do this, log in to your Ultimate Rewards account.  Select “Travel” to the right of “Transfer to Travel Partners”.  Enter your dates and hotel location and a list of available hotels will show.

Note that lots of hotel options are going to show up, not just hotels from Hyatt’s transfer partners.  Also, not all hotels will be available on any given date in the portal.  The inventory comes from a third party so it’s similar to booking with Expedia, Priceline, etc.

How much are Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth when booking Hyatt stays through the redemption portal?

If you use the redemption portal, Ultimate Rewards are worth a fixed value and that value depends on which card you hold:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred: 1.25 cents per point
• Chase Ink Business Preferred: 1.25 cents per point
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: 1.50 cents per point

Using the Ultimate Rewards booking portal is like using your points as cash to book travel.  You’re going to have more options for hotels and you are not limited to Ultimate Rewards transfer partners.  But like cash back credit cards, the redemption rate is a fixed value, so a higher rate is going to cost more points.

Tip: Marriott, another Chase Ultimate Rewards hotel transfer partner, is usually a better value when booked via the portal.  You can read more about that here. 

Option 1: Transfer Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt

The Andaz Costa Rica is a World of Hyatt category 5 property which is 20,000 points per night (this is for standard dates- it would be 17k for off peak or 23k for peak).  Since Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, you can book it for 20,000 Ultimate Rewards per night.

If the room costs over $600 per night after taxes and fees, that is a value of at least 3 cents per point (600/20,000=.03). Knowing that the redemption portal results in a value of 1.25 or 1.50, depending on your Sapphire card, transferring to WOH is definitely going to be the best way to book. I’m still going to show the redemption portal numbers below, because I think it is important to see how valuable transfer partners can be.

Option 2: Use the Ultimate Rewards booking portal

To book the Andaz Papagayo through the Ultimate Rewards portal, you would need way more than 20,000 points if the rate is ~$600.

Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred:

• $600/1.25= 480
• 480 X 100= 48,000 Ultimate Rewards points

Chase Sapphire Reserve is slightly better:

I realize this isn’t quite $600 but it’s close enough.

• $600/1.50= 400
• 400 X 100= 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points

So here are your totals:

1. Transfer to Hyatt  (20,000 Ultimate Rewards points per night)
2. Booking portal
   • with CSP or CIBP (48,000 Ultimate Rewards points per night)
   • with CSR (40,000 Ultimate Rewards points per night)

In this case, it definitely makes sense to transfer points to World of Hyatt to book rather than booking in the redemption portal. In this case, transferring points to World of Hyatt then using WOH to book would mean you can book 2 nights for the same redemption price as 1 night if you were booking through the Ultimate Rewards portal.

How to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt and other partners 

If you do not already have a World of Hyatt account, you will need to sign up for free. No credit card required.

1. Once you have a World of Hyatt Member number, log in to your Ultimate Rewards account

2. Click the “Earn/Use” menu and select “Transfer to Travel Partners”.

3. You will need to link your World of Hyatt account to your Ultimate Rewards account. Scroll until you see World of Hyatt.

4.  Click “Transfer Points” to the right of World of Hyatt

5. Click “Select Recipient” and your name and your designated authorized user/household member will show up if there are any.  Select the recipient and then type in your World of Hyatt member ID.  Then click continue.

6. Enter the number of Ultimate Rewards you want to transfer.  Transfers must be made in increments of 1,000. Then click continue.

7. Confirm your details then click Confirm & submit.

Sometimes your previously used hotel and airline accounts will be saved and you will not have to do step 5.

Now you are ready to book with the World of Hyatt program.

How to book Hyatt stays with World of Hyatt points

Transfers from Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt should be immediate, but sometimes you will need to log out of your Hyatt account and log back in.  Once you see that your points have posted, you are ready to book!

1. Go to Hyatt.com and repeat the steps you took to search for availability, but when you get to this screen, choose your room then go ahead and click “Select”

2. The next page will confirm your contact details such as your phone number and it will ask for a credit card.

They just need a credit card to hold the room in case of cancellation, but you will not be charged as long as you show up (or cancel according to the policy).  Of course if you’re booking with cash and points, your card will be charged for the cash portion.

World of Hyatt cancellation policy

Read the cancellation policy because it differs from property to property.  The cancellation policy at the Andaz Costa Rica for the dates I searched is 24 hours prior to check in to avoid a one-night penalty. If you cancel prior to 24 hours (or whatever the designated timeframe is) you get the points back. Again, read the policy prior to booking because this could change, especially if you’re booking peak dates.  Remember that any points you get back from a refund are Hyatt points.  You cannot transfer them back to Chase Ultimate Rewards.

3. After confirming your contact details, credit card info, and acknowledging the terms, click “Book my stay”

4. You will receive a confirmation number and an email confirmation.  That’s it!

Final thoughts

Some of our best hotel redemptions have been at Hyatt properties. It’s easy to earn a free Hyatt stay with credit card points. The World of Hyatt credit card is great for a welcome bonus and for the benefits.  I definitely suggest opening it, but only after you have opened a transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card such as a card_name.

There are two ways to redeem transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points for free Hyatt stays. You can either book via the Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption portal or you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt. Most likely, transferring Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt is going to result in a lower redemption cost than using points to book in the Ultimate Rewards portal. But check the cost of both options before you do anything.

If you decide you want to transfer Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt, the process can be summed up in 3 steps:

• Check for availability with World of Hyatt
• If there is availability, transfer the appropriate amount of Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt
• Use your World of Hyatt account to complete the booking

If you already have a card that earns transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards, opening a World of Hyatt credit card is a great way to earn World of Hyatt points. This card has a few benefits that make the card worth keeping year after year.

Advertiser disclosure: The Miles Genie has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products.  The Miles Genie and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Comments below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. The comments have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.