As you may know, today marks the official launch of our Hyatt Gold Passport global campaign and promotion. Both are aimed at encouraging our members to turn their travel possibilities into a reality with the help of Hyatt Gold Passport – whether that means a special trip to the new Park Hyatt Maldives or a girlfriends' getaway to Andaz 5th Avenue right in the heart of NYC.

In case you still need details on the promotion, here is the scoop: Hyatt Gold Passport members can earn 10,000 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points after every five eligible nights at any Hyatt hotel or resort worldwide, plus an additional 5,000 bonus points for every two nights thereafter up to a maximum of 60,000 bonus points.

To help bring our new global campaign and promotion to life, we've launched our "Possibilities" tab on the Hyatt Gold Passport Facebook Page. The tab has a lot of great elements, including our "Picture the Possibilities" sweepstakes where members of our Facebook community can win 5,000 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points. We are also introducing you to our "Point Pros" -- individuals that have turned their Hyatt Gold Passpoint points into real possibilities -- and today, we are introducing one of our "Point Pros" right here on Keyed Into Hyatt!

Gary Leff, a blogger for Boarding Area/View from the Wing, is a Hyatt "Point Pro" who knows how to make every Hyatt Gold Passport point count. Check out his "Point Pro" story, his advice on how to use your Hyatt Gold Passport points, as well as our Hyatt Friday Photo, which is Gary's picture from his hotel room at Andaz 5th Avenue!

"At the beginning, loyalty programs were started by airlines to reward high spending business travelers with inexpensive leisure flights, and in the U.S., the most aspirational trip was something like Hawaii.

Most people still look at their points as saving on something they're going to spend money on anyway.  I look at the points as a way to experience travel in a way - and a style - that I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford.

I'm relatively new to the Hyatt program.  It caught my eye a couple of years ago, when Hyatt Gold Passport made it so that points are good at any of their hotels any time a standard room is available -- you know you can almost always use your points when you want. 

Since I'm new, I've only redeemed free nights a couple of times so far. The first was back in December at Andaz 5th Avenue in New York.  New York hotels are usually very expensive...

My wife wanted to try anti-gravity yoga and found a place in New York that offered it.  Instead of going with the cheapest hotel, I decided to splurge a bit and I redeemed points at Andaz, a new Hyatt brand.  I got to make it a bit of a luxury weekend with my wife (best advice I received before getting married, "happy wife, happy life") and I got to try out a new hotel concept, too. 

Most New York hotel rooms are tiny, and our room was large for the city.  Free internet and free soft drinks from the minibar -- and there was always free waters, sodas, coffee and tea around the hotel.  Very modern hotel, everyone was incredibly friendly.  I admit, I was sold.  And as a Hyatt Diamond member, there's complimentary breakfast, offered at the restaurant or through room service.  They have the absolute best lemon pancakes -- I've even asked the hotel for the recipe so I can try them out at home.

I've never had really great hotel experiences in New York until this one. So when I have to go to New York, I now search for the best rates at Andaz 5th Avenue since I really WANT to stay there. 

My wife is hooked on the anti-gravity yoga thing, and we're headed back to New York.  For our two night stay, I am paying for one night and using points for the other.  That way, we're out less money than we would be staying somewhere else for two nights, and we get to stay at our favorite hotel in New York. Plus, by paying for one night, I get a stay credit, which stretches the points, earns more points, and helps with re-qualifying for elite status.

Now that I've got New York under control, I'm saving up for a dream trip.  Earlier in the week, the news broke that one of the nicest hotels in the Maldives was being re-branded as a Park Hyatt.  I've been gazing longingly at the photos online.  I'm not a wealthy man, but I should be able to build up my points to stay at a luxury dream property, which I wouldn't be ever able to afford if I were paying cash.”

Overall, to be a "Point Pro" I would say:

• Use your points to experience things you wouldn't normally pay for.  Miles and points afford the opportunity for aspirational travel.  They can make how you get there and where you stay as much a part of the trip as being there.
• Set a reward goal to motivate yourself.  Think and dream about what you'll do with all of the points you'll accumulate. That will help motivate you to earn the points and also help you to avoid redeeming them for low value awards. Psychology research shows that planning travel can bring you even more happiness than the trip itself, and what could be more fun than strategizing and then getting your dream trip for free?
• Always take the points. That means don't ever leave a frequent flyer or frequent guest number out of the reservation.  It also means for top tier elite members of a frequent stay program, when you check in and have a choice of amenity, points are always the best option, they'll help cover your next trip.
• Research your airfare first.  Hotel rewards are easier to get than cheap airfare or free award tickets.  Odds are if you can get the airline tickets right, the hotel nights on points will be easy.
• Register for promotions.  Hyatt Gold Passport often runs special promotions to earn extra points, like April – June promo.  But you only get the points if you 'register' your account to receive them.  Which means you have to know about them first. You can keep up with the latest bonus offers by Liking the Gold Passport Facebook page, logging on to frequent flyer communities like Milepoint.com, or reading my blog.