Daraius Dubash of "Million Mile Secrets" blog
Of all the Hyatt trips I've taken in my life, my favorite is the weekend getaway to Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill with my girlfriend, Emily. During this trip we visited the Prime Meridian (also known as the center of time and space), and just outside of London, I got down on one knee and asked her to be the center of MY...
Daraius Dubash of "Million Mile Secrets" blog
Of all the Hyatt trips I've taken in my life, my favorite is the weekend getaway to Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill with my girlfriend, Emily. During this trip we visited the Prime Meridian (also known as the center of time and space), and just outside of London, I got down on one knee and asked her to be the center of MY universe, and she said "yes!"
We went on this life changing trip by taking advantage of my Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond status, which got us upgraded to an Executive Suite at Hyatt Regency London and free breakfast in the lounge every day. The staff took such great care of us and helped make our stay incredibly memorable and romantic - we even received a plate of delicious chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of champagne in our room!
For our next trip, I'll be using my points to take Emily to Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome. Emily has never been to Paris before, so I'm looking forward to showing her the sights and spoiling her rotten! The hotel's location is the best part, as it is right in the heart of the city, just minutes from the Louvre and in an incredibly romantic neighborhood.
It took me about six to eight months to accumulate enough points for this stay, which I earned mostly through credit card sign up bonuses (through the Chase Hyatt and Chase Sapphire Preferred credit cards) and by taking advantage of Hyatt promotions.
What are your favorite Hyatt properties to visit when you know you have points to spare?
I especially enjoy visiting Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome and Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa. I would love to visit Park Hyatt in the Maldives! I always appreciate the warm service and attention to detail at all of Hyatt's properties.
Overall, to be a "Point Pro" I would say:
- Plan your Hyatt stays around particular promotions to maximize accrual of points. Some promotions reward you for stays (i.e. how many times you actually stay in a Hyatt) and some reward you on a per night basis (i.e. how many nights you stay) - figure out which type of promotion it is and then plan your stay around that.
- Use the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card for all non-Hyatt expenses. You receive double points for dining and travel with the card, which can then be transferred to Hyatt, but be sure to use the Hyatt credit card while you're staying at a Hyatt so that you can earn triple points!
- Use your points for shorter trips. If you don't have the points for a big trip, use them for a weekend getaway or a shorter holiday. It's much better to use your points, even for a short memorable trip, instead of putting off a trip because you don't have enough points.
- Know that earning Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum status is easy. You just need the Hyatt credit card and you get free internet access, 15% extra points and late checkout - all which will save you money.
- Be aware that Hyatt's Gold Passport Diamond status is the best elite status of any hotel. You get free breakfast and internet, along with four suite upgrade certificates, which you can use with any paid booking. These are great because you can get a suite when it matters the most to you. In my case, I'd rather get the fancy suite when I'm proposing to Emily or on my honeymoon then when I'm on a work trip by myself!
- Understand that you can use points to upgrade to a suite even if you don't have Diamond elite status. For only 5,000 points, you can upgrade a paid reservation to a suite costing hundreds of dollars more per night. That's an absolute steal!
Learn more about Daraius, Hyatt promotions and what you can do with your Hyatt Gold Passport points by visiting his blog, Million Mile Secrets.
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