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Three hotel chains are Chase transfer partners: Hyatt, IHG and Marriott. But you might be wondering which transfer partner is the best.
The best way to use Chase points for free hotel stays is with Hyatt — Hyatt points go further than most other hotel points. And they have many terrific hotels around the world, like the Miraval Arizona, Hyatt Zilara Cancun, Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa and more. It’s great that you can book a free night for as little as 3,500 Hyatt points. Or you can splurge for a special occasion and use more points to stay at fancy hotels like the Park Hyatt Paris – Vendome.
Even better, it’s easy to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points with credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Here’s more about why Hyatt is the best Chase hotel transfer partner and how to transfer your points to your Hyatt account.
6 reasons Hyatt is the best Chase hotel transfer partner
Many folks on the MMS team prefer to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt over other hotel partners because it’s easy to get a lot of value from your points this way. We estimate Hyatt points value to be, on average, two cents each.
Here’s why.
Book award nights with fewer points
Standard hotel rooms currently cost between 5,000 and 40,000 Hyatt points per night. But beginning in March 2020, Hyatt is adding peak and off-peak prices to the Hyatt award chart. You’ll pay between 3,500 to 45,000 Hyatt points for a free night, depending on the category:
| Off-peak rate (coming 2021) | Standard rate | Peak rate (coming July 2021) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 1 | 3,500 | 5,000 | 6,500 |
| Category 2 | 6,500 | 8,000 | 9,500 |
| Category 3 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 |
| Category 4 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 |
| Category 5 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 |
| Category 6 | 21,000 | 25,000 | 29,000 |
| Category 7 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 |
| Category 8 | 35,000 | 40,000 | 45,000 |
Compared to other Chase hotel transfer partners, the Hyatt award chart offers the best deal by far.
For example, you can transfer 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt for a free night at the luxurious Park Hyatt New York. This hotel can easily cost $900 per night, giving you a value of 3 cents per Hyatt point (which is great, by the way!). Jasmin reviewed this hotel and had a fantastic experience.
Meanwhile, an award night at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park would require you to transfer 85,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to your Marriott Bonvoy account. It also prices near $900 per night, but costs nearly triple the points.
Similarly, you can book free nights at Category 1 Hyatt hotels by transferring 3,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to your Hyatt account. But a stay at the lowest category Marriott hotel costs 5,000 points for off-peak awards. And the cheapest free nights at IHG hotels cost 10,000 points, unless its a lowest-priced PointBreaks hotel, which costs 5,000 points.
Excellent all-inclusive options
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book award stays at these all-inclusive hotels:
- Hyatt Zilara Cancun
- Hyatt Ziva Cancun
- Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
- Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta
- Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall
- Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall
- Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana
- Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana
- Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Calala Island
A standard room for two people at a Hyatt Ziva or Zilara resort costs 20,000 to 25,000 Hyatt points per night, which covers:
- Unlimited drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and meals
- Gratuities
- Live bands and theater performances
- Wi-Fi internet access
Many of us on the team have stayed at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun for 25,000 points. This can be the best use of Hyatt points for an almost entirely free vacation, as well as an incredible beachfront location.
No blackout dates
Hyatt has a no blackout date policy. As long as a standard room is available for sale, you can book it using points. This isn’t the case at other Chase transfer partners.
For example, I found available award nights at the Grand Hyatt New York in over the Christmas holiday and New Years. This hotel is a short walk from Times Square where the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. It’s great that you can use points for a free stay during such a busy travel season.
Get more than 4 cents per Chase point in value
Because Hyatt has no blackout dates, you can get incredible Hyatt points value. This is especially true during peak travel season or when a special event is going on near the hotel.
For example, you could transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt and book two nights at the Hyatt Place Park City during the Sundance Film Festival when hotels in the area are very expensive. Using 15,000 Hyatt points per night is a phenomenal deal because rooms can cost over $600 at this time.
At that rate, you’re getting a value of 4 cents per point (~$600 cost of room / 15,000 Hyatt points for free night) for your Ultimate Rewards. It’s hard to beat that.
Never pay resort fees when booking a Hyatt award night
You won’t pay those pesky resort fees when you book an award night at Hyatt hotels, and these fees can add up. At some resorts, you’ll pay $30 or more per night. So if you’re looking to save money, redeeming Hyatt points for an award night is the way to go.
Stretch your points With Points + Cash
With Hyatt Points + Cash, you’ll use half the number of points you’d usually need for an award night plus a co-pay of 50% of the standard rate. For example, at a Category 1 off-peak hotel, you’ll pay 1,750 points + half the standard rate, instead of 3,500 points. This can be a good deal as long as the standard rate isn’t expensive. For pricey nights, you’re better off booking a regular award night.
You’ll also earn points and credit toward elite status when you book with Points + Cash.
How to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt
In just four easy steps you can transfer points and book an award stay. Here’s how:
Step 1. Confirm award nights are available
Hyatt has a no “blackout date” policy but a standard room must be available in order for you to use points to book an award stay.
So before you transfer points to your loyalty account, its a good idea to confirm award nights are available. Because once you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt, you can not transfer them back.
As long as you see a standard room available to book with cash, you can call Hyatt to see if you can book using points.
Step 2. Link your Hyatt account number to your Ultimate Rewards account
Now that you know how many points you’ll have to transfer, log into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account and link your Hyatt account.
Under the “Earn / Use” tab, click “Transfer to Travel Partners.”
Then, scroll down to the hotel transfer partner section. Next to Hyatt, click “Transfer Points.”
On this page, enter your Hyatt loyalty account number.
Once your Hyatt account is linked, the information will automatically save to your Chase Ultimate Rewards account. This means you can instantly transfer points in the future.
Step 3. Transfer points
It’s time to move your points to Hyatt! Just enter the number of points you’d like to transfer to your loyalty account. You must transfer your points in 1,000-point increments.
Remember, once you move points you can not move them back. So double check to confirm you’re moving the right amount of points.
Step 4. Book your Hyatt award stay
Chase Ultimate Rewards points typically transfer instantly to your Hyatt loyalty account. So once you complete your points transfer, log-in to Hyatt and book your award stay.
Find the hotel you want to book and enter your travel dates. Then, enter the required information to finalize your reservation.
Remember to check the hotel’s cancellation policy when booking. If you have to cancel within the eligible timeframe, you’ll get the points back into your account.
That’s it! Enjoy your free Hyatt award stay!
Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points with terrific sign-up bonuses on these cards
Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points is best way to earn Hyatt points. Below are three great cards to do just that. Keep in mind these cards are impacted by the Chase 5/24 rule. That is to say, if you’ve opened five or more cards from any bank (not counting certain business credit cards) in the past 24 months, it’s unlikely you’ll be approved.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred – 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This card comes with a $95 annual fee. You can read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred here.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve – 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This card has a $550 annual fee — but cardholders get amazing perks like up to a $300 statement credit each account anniversary year, which offsets travel purchases for hotels, airfare, car rentals, and much more. Read our detailed review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
- Ink Business Preferred Credit Card – 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This is the highest sign-up bonus currently available on any card earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points. This card has a $95 annual fee. Here’s our full review of the Chase Ink Business Preferred.
Bottom line
Hyatt points go further than most other hotel points. That’s why Hyatt is our top pick when it comes to Chase hotel transfer partners. Besides booking award nights with fewer points, transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt is fantastic because you can:
- Book free nights at excellent all-inclusive hotels, like the Hyatt Zilara Cancun
- Get incredible value of 4+ cents per point
- Stretch your points using Hyatt Points + Cash
It’s easy to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the sign-up bonuses on cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Business Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve.
To learn more about earning and using Chase Ultimate Rewards points check out these guides:
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