toomanybooks

Agreed. I would add the Chicago Athletic Association, which often goes over $300 a night. Perfect if during your stay you will have activities around the Loop, Millennium Park, Art Institute, etc.

I doubt it will stay a cat 4 forever.

craz

Granted , but I meant where a person was simply looking to max out the value of the cert itself and otherwise wouldnt be going there. But then w/o a car in NY (or other makjor citys) theyd have to add in the cost of a Uber. I think an Uber to/from an airport might run close to $100 r/t if not more, so that would cut into the value one gets if only coming to blow the cert on a 1 nighter

Im sure some folks would do it even on a 1 nighter. It reminds of a friend who asked me several yrs ago to get the cheapest tkt NY-LHR. I did they called me up and ranted themselves silly how they got it for $50 cheaper, but only called m e a couple of days later, and they were correct it was $50 cheaper to come back on that Thurs instead of Weds and booked that Thurs. what they didnt figure in was the extra night in a hotel that would far outweigh the savings of $50. Point is you have to look at everything when determining whats the cheapest

Was looking to fly out to LA in a couple of weeks LAS was the cheapest fare wise, but rental cars are thru the roof, and then add in the gas driving back and forth, paid more for a tkt to SNA and when all is said and done its cheaper then going via LAS

So yea the Grand Hyatt Kauai or Andaz Maui are great hotels but, but its gonna cost alot more in miles or $$ to get there and need a car, so its 1 thing Im heading there for a vaca anyways not about to go there simply to max out the most I can using a cert

HoustonConsultant

The newly branded Hyatt Reserve in Puerto Rico seems like a steal for 12,000 points a night, but I'm not flying to PR just to use a certificate.

I think Hyatt Hill Country is San Antonio is still a Cat 4, and that is a great place to dump a couple certificates for a kids weekend, but I don't know that I'm going to fly there to use it.

drvannostren

Literally just use it for the time you need it. If it's a pain to use on a 4 night stay (I dunno the system involved) then use it when you need a 1 nighter somewhere. Alternatively just use it on the most expensive place you can find.

I have a 1 night Marriott cert, I have a 1 nighter in London between flights. Of COURSE I'm gonna use it there, I've looked at the hotels and I would never have paid their cash prices, not in a million years, so it would've meant just trying to crash in the airport or finding a lesser hotel way outta the way.

OhDoctor

I've found Gild Hall is often not accepting free night reservations for whatever arbitrary reasons.. so just because a hotel is a Category 4 doesn't mean it's an option.

laxmillenial

If they have base level rooms available for a one night cash stay and you really want to stay there; try Tweeting Hyatt support with your dates/property/issue.

projectmaximus

In the continental US, these are the hotels I am most interested in for this range. I'm relatively new to Hyatt and haven't stayed at any of them, just going by reviews and other information on paper.

The Confidante - Miami Beach
Andaz Savannah - Savannah
HR Jersey City - Jersey City
Gild Hall - NYC
The Bellevue Hotel - Philly
HR Washington on Capitol Hill - DC
GH Washington - DC
Thompson Chicago - Chicago
HR Seattle - Seattle
Motif - Seattle
Eliza Jane - New Orleans
HC French Quarter - New Orleans

mnredfox

Second vote for HP Keystone.

Dsm2m2

I have this hotel booked on CAT 1-4 Certs for two different reservations in 2020 already (June and August). Both done online.

Aventine

HR Jersey City went up to cat 5 and same for the HH next door.

drewp123

The HR in Tokyo and in Paris can both have very high rates. The GH in Melbourne can also be a good use. Hope this helps.

Side-note, as this comes up often maybe we could make a master thread with a wiki?!

Matt4200

HC Waikiki - Hawaii
Manchester GH - San Diego, CA
Gild Hall - NYC
HC Magnificent Mile - Chicago (anytime after March/April)

Don’t waste it in Texas, plenty of good Cat 1’s for 5k Points

I would recommend any and all of these for getting the most out of your Certificate.

jameswes

Other way around. They were both Cat 5 (20K points), but they both dropped to Cat 4.

downinit

If you are looking purely at cash value, the best use is definitely schedule-dependent. The key is to travel during a very popular event, where all the local rates inflated, such as the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, Comic Con, NYE, or any other peak demand date. Of course, you have to plan well in advance, as the reward inventory disappears quite quickly for these events.

Hyatt still has quite a few decent Cat 4 hotels (especially in San Diego), but Marriott cat 4 hotels are completely wretched. However, I still manage to get $400+ rooms by using my cert during music festivals with peak demand, because there are 3 suburban Marriott chain hotels within a couple miles of the venue. Of course, this trick will not work when they eventually switch over to a horrible revenue-based points system like Hilton has, where you could be charged 100k+/night for a 2.5 star hotel.

vj_rama

Thanks for all the advice. To clarify - I'm not a very frequent traveller but I enjoy Hyatt brands for vacation and happen to have the credit card (which i don't put much spend on outside of on properties). So basically my thought process is I'm paying 95$/year for the credit card so I want to get the most $ for my free night as possible. Also, I would not mind planning a vacation around a destination with a huge return like hawaii.