Hyatt Gift Cards can be bought at a 10% discount if you buy a Milepoint premium membership for $49.95. But you can increase the discount by using a Starwood Business AMEX with OPEN savings to pay for the gift cards, since Hyatt spend using the OPEN savings gives you 5% cash back, in addition to the SPG points you earn for the purchase.
You can buy up to $5000 in Hyatt gift cards with the Milepoint 10% discount, and there's a flat $6 shipping fee, so it's best to buy more given the fixed fee.
So what's the catch? Well, in addition to the upcoming Hyatt Devaluation that is lowering the value of the loyalty program, there are some cons of the Hyatt Gift Cards:
Cons of Hyatt Gift Cards
- Cannot Be Used Internationally: The key sticking point, for me at least, is that Hyatt gift cards can only be used at Hyatt hotels in the U.S., Canada and Caribbean (see Hyatt Gift Cards vs. Hyatt Check Certificates). This makes them worth a lot less to me than, say, Hyatt Check Certificates, which can be used at any Hyatt property worldwide. Given that most of my travel is international, this sharply limits the usefulness of Hyatt gift cards.
- Cannot Be Used to Buy Hyatt Check Certificates or Exchanged for Hyatt Check Certificates: Just to make sure, I called to verify that the 10% Milepoint discount does not apply to Hyatt Check Certificates, nor can you use Hyatt Gift Cards to Exchange for Hyatt Check Certificates or to buy them.
- May Not Be Used for Advance Purchase or Group Reservations: The Hyatt Gift Cards cannot be used as payment when you make an advance purchase or group or other negotiated rate reservations: you would need to put down a regular credit card.
Best Uses of Hyatt Gift Cards
- Pay for Hyatt Virtuoso Reservations: Since you can use the Hyatt gift card to pay for regular room rates, one of the best uses is to use them to pay your bill at check-out for a Virtuoso hotel reservation, which is typically made at the Hyatt Daily Rate (note that only select higher end Hyatts are members of Virtuoso). Particularly on one or two night stays this can often be a better deal than an advance purchase rate because of the perks that come with a Virtuoso reservation: upgrade if available, daily breakfast, and $100 food and beverage or spa credit. For example, you'll be able to use these for a Virtuoso reservation for the new Park Hyatt New York (rendering pictured above), once it opens in mid-2014.
- Pay for Dining or Spa Charges, Even if Not Staying at the Hotel: You can earn 5 Hyatt points per dollar of Hyatt spend (plus 15% bonus points if Platinum, or 30% bonus points if Diamond) for Hyatt spend, including dining or spa spend, even when not staying at the hotel. For example, I earned Hyatt points when dining at The Shop at Andaz Fifth Avenue and Wall & Water at Andaz Wall Street
Effective Discount if Buying $1000, $2000 or $5000 of Hyatt Gift Cards
The best deal is if you buy $5000 worth of Hyatt gift cards. Hyatt gift cards do not expire (unlike Hyatt check certificates, which do expire) so you can spend them at your leisure, over several years.
If you expect to have plenty of Hyatt stays, even with the Hyatt Devaluation and can afford to buy $5000 at one time, go for it. It could even work out well in terms of meeting minimum spend for a new credit card: use the SPG AMEX Business card to purchase the Hyatt gift cards with the 10% Milepoint discount, but buy some Vanilla Reload cards with the card you're working on meeting minimum spend for, to pay the bill for the SPG Business AMEX.
$1000 in Hyatt Gift Cards
- $49.95 Milepoint Premium Membership, to get the 10% Hyatt gift card discount
- $1000 Hyatt gift cards + $49.95 + $6 shipping = $1055.95
- 10% discount gives you $100 off, so $955.95
- SPG AMEX Business card OPEN savings gives you 5% cash back = $45 back, so $910.95
- Assume an SPG point worth 2.2 cents, gives you ~$22 back, so ~$888.8
- Discount: 15.8%
- Plus: additional Hyatt points earned for Hyatt spend: 5 points per $1 for regular Gold Passport, 5.75 points per $1 for Platinum, and 6.5 points per $1 for Diamond spend. If, say, you value Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each, that would give you anywhere from an addtional 7.5% as a regular member to 9.8% as a Diamond
$2000 in Hyatt gift cards
- $49.95 Milepoint Premium Membership, to get the 10% Hyatt gift card discount
- $2000 Hyatt gift cards + $49.95 + $6 shipping = $2055.95
- 10% discount gives you $200 off, so $1855.95
- SPG AMEX Business card OPEN savings gives you 5% cash back = $90 back, so $1765.95
- Assume an SPG point worth 2.2 cents, gives you ~$44 back, so ~$1721.8
- Discount: 16.2%
- Plus the additional Hyatt spend bonuses above, up to 9.8% as a Diamond
$5000 in Hyatt gift cards
- $49.95 Milepoint Premium Membership, to get the 10% Hyatt gift card discount
- $5000 Hyatt gift cards + $49.95 + $6 shipping = $5055.95
- 10% discount gives you $500 off, so $4555.95
- SPG AMEX Business card OPEN savings gives you 5% cash back = $225 back, so $4330.95
- Assume an SPG point worth 2.2 cents, gives you ~$110 back, so ~$4220.8
- Discount: 16.5%
- Plus the additional Hyatt spend bonuses above, up to 9.8% as a Diamond
The Verdict: While I would have much preferred to have the 10% Milepoint discount apply to the Hyatt Check Certificates, since they can be used internationally, I will purchase a moderate amount of Hyatt gift cards to use for future Hyatt spend, primarily Virtuoso rates and food and beverage spend at U.S. Hyatt hotels, where I'll also earn an additional 8.6% return as a Hyatt Platinum member, valuing my points at 1.5 cents each. Note that if you plan to go through Top Cashback for an additional 3% discount, this *cannot* be used in conjunction with a Virtuoso rate, due to the exclusion of rates booked with an IATA number.
Do you plan to buy Hyatt gift cards at a discount?
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