Each year at the 40-night mark, World of Hyatt members can select another Milestone Award which is either a US$100 gift card, 5000 points or a 10.000 points discount on an Experience Package.
I just received my email making that selection and decided to go for the $100 gift card as it’s the most logical and valuable choice given that I’m currently in North America to use it but what about the other options!?
When Hyatt revamped their loyalty program into World of Hyatt they also introduced Milestone Awards which reward members on their way up the status ladder throughout the membership year. I found this new system to be very profitable especially the free night awards in between.
You can access World of Hyatt Benefits and Milestones schedule here.
The 40 nights threshold is one of the few where you can actually choose which award you’d like to have deposited into the account.
The email that reached me last night offers the same choices as listed:
I consider only option one and two as worthwhile alternatives here and decided to choose between either the 5,000 points or the US$100 gift card. The issue here is to determine which selection provides the best value.
If you don’t want to lose much time over it then either way it’s pretty much a wash as it’s almost always possible to find a 2 cent per point redemption value when redeeming Hyatt points in a sensible manner. It’s also a very universal currency that can be used worldwide while the gift card has strict geographical limitations on it (available to use in the Americas only):
Hyatt eGift Cards are issued by Hyatt Fulfilment of Maryland, Inc. and can be redeemed at participating Hyatt hotels and resorts in the Americas
Hyatt Gift Card (valid at participating Hyatt hotels in the Americas, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean)
If this limitation creates a problem for you then the choice is clear to pick the points as your award choice.
In my case I chose the $100 gift card as I’m staying to the U.S. this month where I have to option of redeeming the $100 for pretty much a free night at one of my usual hotels where I like to stay. Those would cost me at least 12,000 in points per night so I feel like the gift card gives me the best value here. Especially since I’m earning additional points for the entire revenue of this stay.
Conclusion
It’s a nice extra to be able to pick pretty much a free night at a medium range property just for hitting 40 nights with WOH, especially as with 30 I already received a free night at a Cat 4 property. The next free night Cat 1-7 would be be at 60 nights when re-qualifying for Globalist but since that’s not required this year I adjusted my stay profile this year and reached 41 nights in total.
As far as the gift card is concerned, there are a few properties at the 5,000 and 8,000 points level where it’ll be easy to exceed the $100 value by selecting the points. For myself I’ll just make the giftcard work as outlined above.
What did you pick?
These are the terms & conditions for the awards:
5,000 World of Hyatt Bonus Points: These Bonus Points are subject to the full World of Hyatt program terms available at worldofhyatt.com/terms.
$100 Hyatt Gift Card: Hyatt electronic gift card (“Hyatt eGift Card”) in the amount of one hundred US dollars ($100 USD). Use of Hyatt eGift Cards is subject to the terms and conditions set forth at www.buyatab.com/custom/hyatt/?page=termsandconditions. Hyatt eGift Cards do not expire. PLEASE NOTE: Hyatt eGift Cards are issued by Hyatt Fulfilment of Maryland, Inc. and can be redeemed at participating Hyatt hotels and resorts in the Americas, but they are not accepted at Hyatt locations outside of the Americas. A list of participating locations is available at www.hyattincentiverewards.com/ParticipationLocations.aspx.
10,000 points savings on a FIND experience: Member will receive a code redeemable by the Member within six (6) months of issuance for a one-time discount of 10,000 points off of any FIND experience booked using points through experiences.worldofhyatt.com in accordance with the terms of the FIND program, available at worldofhyatt.com/findterms. A FIND Voucher must be redeemed for an experience that will be completed prior to the expiration date. Awards not used prior to the expiration date of the award and any unused portion of an award will be forfeited. The code will be sent by email; Member must have a valid email address associated with his/her account. We value your privacy and will only use your information in accordance with our Global Privacy Policy available at privacy.hyatt.com.
