And now $50 Hyatt certs are back, but not other amounts. Why do the reward options change so easily? tls

Available inventory? Once they run out of something, they possibly order more. Or they may wait until the vendor (UA or Hyatt) runs a special pricing for the prize, or try to negotiate a better price based on their volume.

How do you decide to value your MyPoints? I've been going back and forth on whether to cash mine in for United miles or for gift cards. Just wondering what logic others use in making this decision.

I'll admit that I'm a geek, and created a spreadsheet listing all merchants I'd use, the points for each level, the amount of the award, and then the points/$ or miles.

It really depends on how much you value United miles, which depends on how you use them. Personally, I use them mostly for transatlantic travel, and I value them at 2 cents per mile. Therefore, I redeem MyPoints exclusively for United miles.

On the other hand, if you typically use United miles for domestic US travel, you might value them at around 1 cent per mile, such that the gift cards may be a better value for you.

+1 .... except I do domestic travel so I usually redeem for $50 (or higher) gift cards.

Entertainment Book - 2000 points
 

My Points is currently offering 2000 points for a 2011 Entertainment Book. The local one we use is selling for $21 with free shipping. I think this is one of the best offers I have seen at My Points.

While the Entertainment Book does not have as many good offers for us as previous editions have had, we can certainly find $21 worth of deals between now and November. That basically means 2000 free points. And there is no limit to the number of books you can order.

I felt the previous offer of 1500 points was a good deal, so obviously I think this one is even better.

Posted
 

5k miles posted.

And now Hyatt is gone again ... tls

Awards go in and out of stock frequently. Been discussed on this forum a number of times. Lots of examples -- not just Hyatt, but others as well. Frequently, only one denomination (e.g., $25 Amazon gift cards) goes out of stock while another (e.g., $50 Amazon gift cards) remains available. Wait a few days or a week or two, and your desired reward is likely to be in stock again.

Going out of stock for the Hyatt certs is probably a good thing if you aren't sure when you're going to use it or if it's for a gift (unless you need your cert tomorrow :) )--it means the cert you will later order has a decent expiration date, probably a year or more out. One time I ordered a Hyatt cert when they had been "in stock" for a long time and the expiration was then only 8 months out...

I didn't see this until it was too late, but hopefully someone else can take advantage: MyPoints is offering points for filing taxes through TaxAct, from 200 points for the free federal return to a max of 1000 points for using TaxAct for both federal and state returns. In my case, I would have earned points for something I was planning to do anyway.

Hope that helps someone! :)

I can understand that for things where they have physical inventory that they mail out, but not for everything. For example, why would UA miles go out of stock, as they did recently for the 10k Mypoints/5k UA miles option recently? It's not like they're mailing you a gift card. tls

I suspect that they buy miles from United in bunches and once they run out then they have to buy more (once they are motivated / have enough money).

Hmm, maybe that's it. Well, I've got 9300+, so hopefully the higher UA reward will stick around a little while longer. tls