I gathered the data of all Hyatt properties to find the best way to spend World of Hyatt points

Lobby at the Hyatt Regency Cape Town (Source: Hyatt)

Well, here we are again. You might already be familiar with my analyses - I have previously looked at a bunch of higher-end Hilton properties’ points value and published my first full report on maximizing the value of Marriott Bonvoy points. If you are curious, you can find the files also below or in our shop on the top right.

As with every previous analysis, I want to get a step further. This time, I set out to gather data of all Hyatt properties and a few Mr & Ms Smith properties, culminating in 2,400 properties!

1. ASSUMPTIONS

But let me start from the beginning. First up, I had to decide again on the scope of this analysis. Hyatt has quite a wide portfolio of brands, but I wanted to incorporate all of them. After all, maybe we’ll discover that certain brands are of better points usage than others?

When I started gathering the data then, I quickly noticed one issue: Hyatt’s loose partnership with the Mr & Ms Smith brand made consolidating their points per night data extremely difficult and manual. Thus, I had to drop this brand from the analysis.

I was curious, however, whether Mr & Ms Smith properties could be an excellent points value so I decided to take a sample of 62 properties for which I could find enough data points (more on that later). Suffice to say that the points pricing for these properties does not look very attractive and I am glad to say that I think we are not missing out if we drop this brand from the scope.

Suite at the Andaz Fifth Avenue (Source: Hyatt)

With all ‘proper’ Hyatt brands selected, the next question was how to find a good representation of an average cash rate and points price - after all, hotel pricing can be pretty dynamic, there are off- and peak-season points prices, and we don’t want an outlier to completely mess up the data.

Therefore, I decided to extend the data point scope from my Marriott analysis - I took a total of 6 date ranges for each single property, thus averaging out any outliers that otherwise might skew the outcome.

Date ranges used in this analysis:

• February 4 - 7, 2025

• April 19 - 23, 2025

• Jun 11 - 14, 2025

• Aug 3 - 6, 2025

• September 24 - 27, 2025

• November 11 - 14, 2025

There are certain limitations with this approach, at least if you are interested in good data quality: Not every property is available to be booked with cash and points for each of these 6 data ranges. Consequently, I decided that “enough data points” means having at least 3 dates for which the website would show cash and points availability.

That reduced the initial 2,400 properties (which, to be fair, included also properties that will only ‘open soon’ or ‘come soon’) down to around 1,300 ones.

Geographical distribution of all analyzed Hyatt properties (Source: Unmatched Voyages)

1.1. Additional Assumptions

Some people save up their points exclusively to use them at the highest-end properties, such as in the Maldives or the Seychelles. Others like to “churn and burn” and do not mind redeeming them for a lower value if it means that they do not have to use cash for their stay.

Likewise, due to the different earning rates from Hyatt loyalty status levels, as well as the vast landscape of credit cards that earn additional points, it is impossible to incorporate all of that in one analysis.

Lobby at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Source: Hyatt)

Therefore, you have to make assumptions. In this report, two assumptions were made:

1. The average traveler has a World of Hyatt Discoverist status and therefore earns 10% bonus points on top of the 5 points per Dollar spent on Hyatt properties

2. The average traveler values earned points from stays at 2.0 Cents per Point. This is a compromise between using points for aspirational properties and using points as they come

2. TAXES AND FEES

We have to take taxes and fees into account to reflect the accurate cash prices and make a proper comparison. These are not shown during the overview of hotels for an area and only come into play when you click further into selecting a specific room for the property you are interested in. The difference in price can be negligible (most European countries mandate taxes and fees to be shown in the advertised price), while in some countries you see an additional 30% - 40% in taxes and fees on top of the advertised rate!

Hyatt’s initial advertised rate per night (Source: Hyatt)

Hyatt’s additional taxes and fees (Source: Hyatt)

In the example above, you can see how an advertised $144 per night rate quickly increases to around $174 per night once you get to the payment page - that is a roughly 20% increase!

To reflect the ‘true’ cash rate in this analysis, I painstakingly mapped every country’s and US state’s taxes and fees and applied it to the initially shown cash rate.

3. CONSIDERATIONS

Before we look at a preview of the results, I wanted to bring up a point that someone commented on my last analysis, and that is the matter of fair pricing. We all want to get the best value out of our stays and a higher price often means a better cents-per-point value if you redeem award nights for it.

There are arguments over whether some properties are fairly priced. While a high cents-per-point value is great and all, ask yourself whether the cash rate the hotel charges seems to reflect what you’d be getting there.

Hyatt Place Bodh Gaya (Source: Hyatt)

Some properties I have come across seem to have surprisingly high cash value compared to their Award Category and the points price they charge. Whether these cash rates are justified is not up to me to say, but at least these high cash rates are consistent throughout the year, making usage of points an attractive deal.

4. How to Use This Report

While of course it is exciting to see high numbers on the CPP value for your bookings, this metric alone should probably not be your guiding principle. With this report, I do not want to suggest what the “best” properties are to spend your points; rather, I want to give you inspiration on properties you might not have considered before, as well as guide you on general principles (that I will talk about in a later segment in this report).

As with any points booking, please check the numbers for your specific case. One way to get a brief glimpse of what the value of your points would be is to select your specific property you intend to book and to check the final cash amount (click all the way through the room and rate selection) that includes taxes & fees and compare that to the points amount.

Entrance of the Park Hyatt Milan (Source: Hyatt)

To compare apples to apples, I usually select the base room and the “Member Rate” on the cash side, as it is the cheapest flexible rate - a feature that point bookings also offer.

To provide some additional support for the many people who might not have an easy access to Hyatt points via credit cards, I calculated the percentage discount you save over the cash rate when you instead buy all points during one of Hyatt’s regular sales offers. Here, the company usually offers the points at a rate of 1.92 US Cents per point and even buying the full amount of points can be a good way to save some money!

4. Preview of the Results

Of course, the highest CPP is what we are all after, isn’t it? Where do I get the best value when I want to use my hard-earned points? And where should I rather resort to paying in cash? Where in the world can I find the cheapest luxury properties and where will high taxes and fees make my stay a lot less nice?

Here is a little preview of two of the many tables and analyses I have included into my report that is up for purchase below (or you can head to the ‘Shop’ via the top right menu):

Properties mapped by region (Source: Unmatched Voyages)

Besides the extensive tables showing you the top properties in terms of points value (or CPP) for all regions around the world, I wanted to deep-dive into the trends of the Hyatt pricing: Are there certain regions that have a better CPP? What about brands? Price levels?

In my analysis, I spent a lot of time investigating this part and I must admit that I was surprised to see that the results are quite a bit different from my Marriott and Hilton analyses. In fact, let me share with you below the scatterplot chart that I also created for the other two chains.

Scatterplot of all Hyatt properties by cash rate and CPP (Source: Unmatched Voyages)

Usually, in such an analysis we see a clear trend of the pricier hotels having the higher CPP. That means, the more expensive the average cash rate for a hotel is, the more value you are getting for each point you are using for that property.

Andaz Vienna am Belvedere (Source: Hyatt)

While Hyatt has a bit of a trend line in this direction, you can see just how many properties with a great CPP of greater than 2.00 Cents per Point can be found in these low areas. This was a big surprise to me, given my previous experience with Hilton and Marriott. Therefore, my recommendations how to use Hyatt points are a bit different from what I recommended for the other loyalty programs.

5. Finding the cheapest properties

Besides looking at the best use of points, I also wanted to give an insight into where on average you can find the cheapest properties. I sorted those in the report by regions, as well as by brands.

Below you can see a sample of the cheapest Grand Hyatt properties around the world. Most of these properties are located in Asia and the Middle East, with some being brand new hotels with great lounges. And none of them sets you back more than $163 per night - an absolute steal.

Cheapest Grand Hyatt properties globally (Source: Unmatched Voyages)

As you can see on the right side of the table, it is definitely not recommended to use points for these properties. The CPP is pretty low and the discount you are getting if you bought Hyatt points at the regular sales promotions (at 1.92 Cents/point) is negative, meaning you’d pay more buying and using points than if you just used cash.

One interesting outlier is the Grand Hyatt Hefei. While the cash rate is pretty low, you can book this property from as little as 3,500 points per night, since it is classified as an Award Category 1 hotel.

The Grand Hyatt Hefei is brand new and looks stunning (Source: Hyatt)

6. HOW CAN I GET THE FULL REPORT AND WHY DID YOU HIDE IT BEHIND A PAYWALL?

I love gathering and analyzing data. I work in Finance and most of my work is filled with data analyses and there is nothing that makes me happier than using these skills and apply them to my favorite hobby - traveling!

The feeling of staying at hotels at huge discounts due to the smart usage of points is just the best.

We recently stayed at the Alila Villas Uluwatu and had a blast!

And while I love to share and give back to the community with my articles, I also am hoping that I can turn this into a more permanent and sustainable work. Right now, I am spending most of my free time gathering data and building Excel sheets and tables. While this is something I do enjoy, it would be great if I can get something out of it for the time I invested.

Restaurant at the Fuji Speedway Hotel, an Unbound Collection (Source: Hyatt)

I do not want to get rich of this or even expect to make the money back that I am putting into this website, but it’s nice to feel that my work is being valued. Therefore, while yes, the full 39-page report and the full Excel data set are not free, I put a reasonable price which I’d argue anyone who is interested in this type of traveling can afford - and the savings from the insights should be much, much greater!

So if that sounds good to know, have a look at the preview of the three products below (or via the ‘shop’ button on the top right of the menu):