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If you want a free hotel stay in Japan, World of Hyatt is a great way to make that happen. I’ll go over the best ways to earn Hyatt points. This is also a good opportunity to show how valuable Hyatt points can be.
Hyatt has several brands ranging from budget-friendly hotels to luxury hotels. Award nights at World of Hyatt properties start at 5,000 points per night. I wrote about the insane value of Hyatt in Costa Rica. There are quite a few sweet spots in this program in lots of corners of the world.
We stayed at Marriott properties during our recent trip to Japan, but in a post-SPG/Marriott merger world, Hyatt points are probably going to go further than Marriott points. Actually, Hyatt points will probably go further anywhere Hyatt is available.
The problem is, Hyatt’s footprint worldwide isn’t nearly as extensive as Marriott. That, plus 5/24 implications, plus a decent welcome bonus, is what keeps the Marriott card on my list of top cards for beginners. But if I had to choose between Marriott and Hyatt, I tend to favor Hyatt.
World of Hyatt properties in Japan
There are currently 16 Hyatt properties in Japan. A few more are scheduled to open soon. These properties range from World of Hyatt category 2 to WOH category 8. Later in the post I’ll list these by region and I’ll show some paid rates from random dates so you can see how valuable Hyatt points are.
Fun fact: I originally wrote this post in January of 2019 and nine months later (I’m updating this in October 2019), several properties moved up a category or two. I wonder if the olympics has anything to do with that. Anyway, even with the category changes, Hyatt is still a good value in Japan.
Category 2 (8,000 points per night)
Category 3 (12,000 points per night)
Category 4 (15,000 points per night)
- Hyatt Regency Seragaki Island, Okinawa
- Hyatt Regency Naha, Okinawa
- Grand Hyatt Fukuoka
- Enso Ango Fuya II
- Hyatt Place Tokyo Bay
Category 5 (20,000 points per night)
There are no category 5 properties in Japan at this time
Category 6 (25,000 points per night)
- Grand Hyatt Tokyo
- Hyatt Regency Hakone Resort and Spa
- Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo
- Hyatt Regency Kyoto
- The Tokyo Station Hotel
Category 7 (30,000 points per night)
Category 8 (40,000 points per night)
How to earn World of Hyatt points
- World of Hyatt credit card welcome bonus
- WOH credit card spend
- Paid stays at Hyatt properties
- Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
- Don’t forget about the Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping portal since UR transfer to Hyatt!
The quickest way to earn lots of points or miles for any given award travel goal is to open credit cards and earn welcome bonuses
If you’re a beginner, it is very important to plan your strategy around Chase’s 5/24 rule. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, stop reading now and read this post first. Both cards I’ll discuss (Sapphire cards and World of Hyatt card) are Chase 5/24 cards.
World of Hyatt credit card from Chase
There is only 1 Hyatt co-branded credit card. Even though the World of Hyatt credit card is the only Hyatt-co-branded credit card, it isn’t the only credit card that can help with a free Hyatt stay. This is because Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Hyatt. More on that in a moment.
Welcome bonus: The welcome offer on the World of Hyatt credit card from Chase is 30,000 Hyatt points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months, plus 2 bonus points per dollar on purchases that normally earn up to 1 point per dollar for the first 6 month on up to $15,000.
Earn rate: The earn rate is 4 World of Hyatt points per dollar at Hyatt, 2 points per dollar at restaurants, 2 points per dollar on airfare purchased directly from airlines, 2 points per dollar on local transit, and 2 points per dollar on gym memberships.
Other benefits: There is a great benefit that may make this card worth keeping year after year. At your first cardmember anniversary and each anniversary thereafter, you will receive an annual free night certificate which is good for any Hyatt property that is category 1-4.
This card also comes with Discoverist status, which is mid-tier at best, but Discoverist status will get you free premium internet and late checkout. in our experience, Hyatt is also generous with room upgrades, even for lower status!
The annual fee is $95, but there are so many properties for which you can use the annual free night with rates significantly higher than $95. This is a 5/24 card, so it’s a card you will want to open before opening cards from other banks. Click here for the top cards for beginners.
Potential Value of using World of Hyatt in Japan
I’m going to breakdown the properties by city/region and discuss the potential value of Hyatt points compared to the paid rate. These prices are from random dates next spring. Rates can fluctuate pretty drastically, so keep that in mind. In fact, I checked a few dates on some properties and you’ll see there can be a large range. Also, these are just the base rates, so remember that you also have taxes and fees on a paid stay. When a Hyatt stay is booked entirely on Hyatt points (or Ultimate Rewards points transferred to WOH), there is no fee.
With the rates below, almost every property would result in a redemption value of at least 2 cents per point.
Why is this important?
Because of another currency you may have heard of: Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Hyatt is a hotel transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards
Transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points are the currency earned from certain Chase cards:
The card_name card has a welcome bonus of 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can find 36 ideas to redeem Ultimate Rewards points here. You’ll see Hyatt stays plus some redemptions worth well over $1000.
If you qualify for business cards, the bonus on the card_name is currently 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points! I suggest opening one of these cards before opening the Hyatt card due to the transferability of the points.
Chase Sapphire Preferred®
Current offer: Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.
card_name is a great card for anyone, but especially beginners. The welcome bonus is worth at least $750 in travel, the annual fee is reasonable, and the rewards (Chase Ultimate Rewards) are easy to earn and redeem.
The annual fee is $95, but the welcome offer alone is worth a lot more than that. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to 11 different airline frequent flyer programs or 3 different hotel loyalty programs. You can also redeem the points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption portal.
Earn 5 points per dollar on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 2 points per dollar on all other travel. 3 points per dollar on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout), 3 points per dollar on select streaming services, 3 points per dollar on online grocery purchases (this excludes Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs), and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Current offer: Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in 3 months.
This premium card comes with a Priority Pass membership which gives you access to Priority lounges worldwide. The bonus categories on the card_name (3 points per dollar on travel and at restaurants) are a little better than our other favorite premium travel card, the Amex Platinum Card.
The annual fee is $550, but, you receive a travel credit of $300 each year. There are other credits and benefits that may also offset the fee. Learn more about this card on our current offers page. You cannot have this card if you already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred. But if you’re trying to decide which one to open, it really depends on how much you travel and how much you value the premium benefits.
Chase Ink Business Preferred®
Current offer: Earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $15,000 in 3 months.
If you own a business, I highly recommend card_name. 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points are worth at least $1,250, and the annual fee is very reasonable at $95.
The earn rate makes it easy to accumulate Chase Ultimate Rewards points on business and travel expenses. You’ll earn 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent each year in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines. After you hit $150,000 on these categories, the rate is 1 point per dollar. All other categories are 1 point per dollar.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. I try to save my Ultimate Rewards points for redemptions that result in a value of 2 or more cents per point. So in order for me to transfer Chase UR to Hyatt to book an award stay, I want to make sure the value of using points is going to be somewhere around 2 cents per point.
Here are the paid rates (including taxes and fees) a room would have to be to give you a redemption value of 2 cents per point. I’ll start with category 2 since there are no category 1 properties in Japan:
- Category 2 (8,000 points per night): $160
- Category 3 (12,000 points per night): $240
- Category 4 (15,000 points per night): $300
- Category 5 (20,000 points per night): $400
- Category 6 (25,000 points per night): $500
- Category 7 (30,000 points per night): $600
- Category 8 (40,000 points per night): $800
Free 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. Hyatt is usually pretty good about having rooms available. 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.
I’ll go through each property in Japan and list the rate or rate range I found when searching random date(s) next year. Keep in mind that rates for your dates may be totally different.
Hyatt in Japan: Tokyo
1. Park Hyatt Tokyo
- Category 7
- 30,000 points per night
- Rate: $603-$1010
This is going to be your luxury property. The Ritz Tokyo is 70,000-100,000 Marriott points whereas the Park Hyatt Tokyo is only 30,000 points. Both of these currencies transfer at a 1:1 ratio from Ultimate Rewards. So you can get 2 nights at the Park Hyatt for the same amount of UR as one night at the Marriott. See why I don’t usually suggest transferring UR to Marriott?
- A cash rate of $1010 is a value of over 3 cents per point.
- 600/30,000=0.0337
- 0.0337 X 100=3.4
- 3.4 cents per point
For reference, this rate is in the higher range. Average is more like $600-$800, but even at a rate of $600, 30,000 points would be 2 cents per point.
2. Hyatt Place Tokyo Bay
- Category 4
- 15,000 points per night
- Rate: $312
3. Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo
- Category 6
- 25,000 points per night
- Rate: $615
4. Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills
- Category 7
- 30,000 points
- Rate: $506-$766
5. Grand Hyatt Tokyo
- Category 6
- 25,000 points
- Rate: $427-$665
6. Hyatt Regency Tokyo
- Category 3
- 12,000 points
- Rate: $237-$379
7. The Tokyo Station Hotel
- Category 6
- 25,000 points
- Rate: $430
Hyatt in Japan: Okinawa
8. Hyatt Regency Naha, Okinawa
This isn’t quite 2 cents per point, but the rate was in the $300-$400s when we were considering this hotel for our trip. Again, rates are all over the place. It’s impossible to predict until you search for your exact dates.
- Category 4
- 15,000 points
- Rate: $224-$262
9. Hyatt Regency Seragaki Island, Okinawa
- Category 4
- 15,000 points
- Rate: $224-$334
Hyatt in Japan: Hakone
10.Hyatt Regency Hakone Resort and Spa
This is almost 3 cents per point!
- Category 6
- 25,000 points
- Rate: $644-$702
Hyatt in Japan: Osaka/Kyoto
11. Hyatt Regency Kyoto
- Category 6
- 25,000 points
- Rate: $443-$516
12. Hyatt Regency Osaka
- Category 2
- 8,000 points
- Rate: $155-$223
13. Enso Ango Fuya II
- Category 4
- 15,000 points
- Rate: $463
Hyatt in Japan: Fukuoka
14.Grand Hyatt Fukuoka
- Category 4
- 15,000 points
- Rate: $300-$308
Hyatt in Japan: Niseko
- Category 7
- 30,000 points
16. Kasara Niseko Village
- Category 8
- 40,000 points
Hyatt’s award chart is favorable to Ultimate Rewards point transfers
Many hotel loyalty programs have inflated their award charts so much. Looking at you, Marriott. Inflated award charts means that points are going to be less valuable. You aren’t going to find too many hotel currencies that get you 2 cents per point in value.
Do not use the Hyatt credit card for everyday spending
If you are under 5/24, it is a good idea to open a Hyatt credit card for the bonus and the benefits. But after earning the bonus, it’s better to put your everyday spending on a Chase Sapphire card that earns transferable Ultimate Rewards. That way, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt when needed, but you have the option to transfer to other partners. On the other hand, if you only use a Hyatt card, you only earn Hyatt points. You would be limited to redeeming those points on Hyatt properties.
The earn rate on Chase Ultimate Rewards earning credit cards and the World of Hyatt credit card for non-category bonus spending is one point per dollar. So the earn rate is the same, the only difference is that Hyatt points can only be redeemed for Hyatt stays, whereas Chase Ultimate Rewards has lots of options.
You can redeem Ultimate Rewards as cash towards travel through the Chase booking portal, or you can transfer Ultimate Rewards to airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio.
Final thoughts
Hyatt has a decent amount of options for properties in Japan. The redemption prices at almost all properties seem to be a great value.
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 Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card such as a card_name.
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