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I assume these are good in payment of all hotel taxes and gratuities?

jimmychang

Ok. This is what I figured out.
Let's say as a diamond, I spend at least $2500 a year at Hyatt worldwide ( 25 nights) .

With a 5% annual discount rate, 5% - in 1 year; 10.25% - in 2 years; 15.76%- in 3 years

I should buy at least $2500 *3 = $7500 of this and save (NPV):
1st year $500- 2500*5%= $375
2nd year $500-$2500*10.25% = $244
3rd year $500-$2500*15.76%=$106
Total: $725

236Dakota

How did you find out the # in stock at a particular store? I keep trying and it doesn't recognize the code.

Thank you

LilZeppelin

Costco inventory is not open for public to check, but Costco staff can retrieve the information in their system.

These gift certificates loos like a good investment, but there is a risk of loss, and you cannot register them like say Starbucks cards and get a refund if lost or stolen. Speaking about Starbucks, last year Costco were selling 80$ for 100$ of the latter's gift-cards. It was a seasonal item and this year it's not available. I have regretted not buying more ever since I ran out of them, and we only used them for plain black coffee....

William2005

.At HP and SS hotels I HAVE had a problem applying a gift card at check-in about half the time. The issue seems to be that the sole desk employee does not know how to do the (unnecessarily complicated) telephone procedure. Haven't tried it in a few months, and I expect at some point HP and SS staff will be able to apply a gift card by swiping the card like a credit card, which is how it works at Hyatt Regency hotels

srodr

It seems like everyone here is a Costco member. I am not. Is there any way to get a free short term membership (like BJ's is offering right now)?

Jeeves

Are these gift card purchases subject to sales tax? I suppose it depends on the rules for each state. If you lived in a state with a 9.5% sales tax and the gift cards were taxable, you would lose about half of the savings.

In Washington state, they don't tax groceries but they tax other items. Did anyone out there who purchased these Hyatt gift card have to pay sales tax.

imm2b

No sales tax for California.

Firewind

Is this because if you're charged sales tax when you purchase them, and then you're paying it again (tax is part of what they're covering) when you use them, it would be a double tax hit? (In California, where the sales tax is ~8.5%, depending on the county, that would be.....)

Jeeves

I think you are right. Good point.

peteropny

Good calculation - you must be in finance.

I agree which is why I'm considering buying perhaps about $2000 worth only. And we also need to keep in mind that we don't know what kind of promotions that Hyatt has coming down the line - like those tied to payment via a particular credit card (AMEX or MC like former FFNs) or bonus points for buying gift cards (like they did a few years ago).

This is probably the biggest hurdle for me since buying a Costco membership is $50 which eats up the savings on $250 of certs.

Also, there is the hassle factor in using these paper certs. I used to use some years ago and it usually created mass confusion at checkout (this was full service properties). I'm willing to bet that HP & SS properties won't have a clue how to work with these. So using these certs can cause checkout to take a lot longer.

OK - I think I've just talked myself out of taking advantage of these certs

DealDetective

Does anyone know if the Executive members would earn the 2% rebate on these purchases? If so, consider upgrading if you are making a significant purchase.

Firewind

To jummychang and others figuring this down to the finest points, keep in mind that in many cases, this won't be 20% off your bill, but $10 off - of the one $50 cert you use - say, on an $80 bill. Conversely, if you use two certs on an $80 bill, you lose the markdown of the last $20, as illustrated above. The certs are still nothing to sneeze at, and I'm headed over to pick up some. Wish I'd seen this before my last MR, in which I tried to use the gift card at the Hyatt Places...

DealDetective, I'm sure it would qualify. It doesn't seem to come in under any exclusion that I am aware of in the Costco scheme.

Peter, I strongly believe you'll find other things at Costco that appeal. I wouldn't go into them for years, not least because I don't need a closetful of toilet paper or 10 lbs of ground chuck etc. - and without going in for that reason, I just assumed their quality had to be bad, too. Then my son turned me on to them, and their quality (their "Kirkland" brand) turns out to be surprisingly good, IMO. To say nothing of the prices even on things that don't require you to buy a houseful. (All this said, brother still won't go into them because they're intimidating and maybe anti-union.)

...not to take this off on an OT tangent, and I'm not a shill for them.

Mary2e

You don't actually need a membership.

If someone buys you a Costco gift card, in any amount, you will be allowed in to shop.

Sweet Willie

Thanks for posting T&C's J.Edward^

Very strange, Mount Prospect IL Costco did not have the Hyatt Gift Checks, store mgr looked on his "system" and said that it looks like the Chicago area Costcos are not carrying them.

Got home and placed a call to the Glenview store (less than 10 miles from the Mount Prospect store) and voila, they have them. So I'd suggest if the Costco you normally visit doesn't have them, call other locations.@:-)

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