WHERE TO USE THE CATEGORY 1-4 HYATT FREE NIGHT CERTIFICATE

HyattRedeeming Points
Written By Stacy Mantellini

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We’ve used our Hyatt FNA five times at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile

Hotel credit cards don’t get quite enough attention in my mind. While I recommend that the bulk of your points should be flexible or transferable points, I also teach that you should diversify your points. That means you want a variety of points from different banks, airlines and hotels.


We love our hotel credit cards. My husband and I have over 10 hotel cards between us. Each card gives us a free night award every year that we keep the card and pay the annual fee. That’s almost two weeks a year of discounted hotel nights. 


IT’S NOT REALLY A FREE NIGHT THOUGH, IS IT?

The banks call it a free night award (FNA) as an incentive for us to keep the credit card and pay the annual fee each year. So that doesn’t really make it a ‘free night award’ because we’re paying $95 a year to keep it. But, if you plan it right, you can get much greater value out of that FNA. We consistently use our FNA’s for rooms that book for greater than $450-$500 a night.


HOW TO EARN THE HYATT FREE NIGHT AWARD

Hyatt has one of the most popular hotel programs among points travelers because redemptions are low. You can book a free night at a Hyatt for as low as 3,500 points a night or a $400 a night room for 15k points. Hyatt is also a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards (our favorite points currency) which makes it easy to earn a lot of points for. 


There are two Hyatt credit cards but only one of them earns the annual free night award. This card is a keeper. My husband and I have each held ours since 2015.


The World of Hyatt Credit Card - Limited, increased offer! Earn 35,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Annual Fee: $95.

  • Receive one free night at any Category 1–4 Hyatt hotel or resort every year after your cardmember anniversary.

  • Earn an extra free night at any Category 1–4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year.


OTHER WAYS TO EARN HYATT POINTS

We often book longer stays by combining our FNA’s with point stays. I’ll book two free nights with both of our free night awards and then extend our stays by transferring points from our Chase account to Hyatt.

These cards all earn points that transfer to Hyatt:

  • World of Hyatt Business Card - Earn 60,000 Hyatt points after spending $5,000 in the first three months of account opening. This card has a higher sign up bonus than the personal Hyatt card, but it doesn’t have an annual free night unfortunately. You’ll earn enough points to book 2-4 nights at a Hyatt with this sign up bonus. 

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Earn 60,000 Hyatt points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.

  • Ink Business Cash® Credit Card - Earn 75,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first three months of account opening. No annual fee.


HOW TO FIND YOUR FREE NIGHT AWARD

 

Desktop view

 

On the desktop:

  • Log into your Hyatt Account

  • Click the arrow beside your name on the top right

  • Select “My Awards”

  • Your FNA should be here, with the expiration date


On the Hyatt app:

  • Log into your account on the App

  • Click on the Account ‘face’ icon on the bottom right

  • Click on Awards - your FNA will be here

 

On the Hyatt app: Log in, click on ‘Awards”, you’ll see your free night cert here if you have one

 


HOW TO BOOK YOUR HYATT FREE NIGHT AWARD


Just because you have a free night award doesn’t mean you will always find award availability. Just like normal award bookings, these ‘free night’ awards can also sell out quickly.


When conducting award searches, you must see “Standard Room Free Night” in the booking window in order to use your FNA for that night. These rooms typically book for 12,000-15,000 a night. 

 

You must see “Standard Room Free Night” in order to redeem your Hyatt FNA

 

Booking Tips:

  • Use the “Find your Hyatt” feature where you can sort by category and location. You want to search for Category 1-4 properties.

  • Search one night at a time 

  • If you don’t see availability for four people, try an occupancy of three, then two, and so on. Most Hyatts in Europe and Asia only fit two people.

 

You can filter your search by Category in the “Find your Hyatt” tool

 


Pro Tip: I love the hotel award search tool maxmypoint. It shows availability and really saves me hours of searching. It doesn’t update in real time so there may be cases where you see an open date on maxmypoint.com and not on hyatt.com. I still think it’s a great place to start. 


CATEGORY 1-4 HYATT PROPERTIES THAT WE HAVE STAYED AT


Since we have held our Hyatt credit card for over eight years, we have been able to use our FNA’s at some pretty amazing properties. Remember, the FNA can only be used at Category 1-4 Hyatt properties. 

Sadly, some of our favorite Category 4 properties like The Hyatt Regency Amsterdam, Hyatt Place Moab  and the Hyatt Place Old Port in old town Portland, Maine, have gone up to a Category 5 this past year. 

UNITED STATES

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

California:

  • Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina  - San Diego. Cash rates start around $350/night. We stayed here while we attended our son’s graduation from Marine Corps Boot Camp. Rooms were spacious. Close to the beach and Sea World.

  • Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego - I actually used both of my FNA’s at this property last year on two different occasions for my son to use. Fantastic location, big rooms with great views. I have no status and always get upgraded to a high room with a ocean view just by asking. 

Connecticut:

  • Hyatt Place Mystic -Cash rates can run over $500/night at this property during popular leaf peeping season. Located just down the road from Historic Mystic and the fabulous Mystic Seaport Museum.

Massachusetts:

  • Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor - Located by the airport (free airport shuttle), this is a fantastic property to stay at before an early morning flight or after arriving from a late flight. In my opinion it’s too far from Boston to stay here during a multi-day visit. The views of Boston are wonderful.

Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor

South Carolina:

  • Hyatt House Charleston/Historic District - This property is connected to the Hyatt Place Charleston and they share a breakfast area/bar and swimming pool.  Rooms are big enough for families of five and within walking distance to Historic Charleston. 

Texas:

Washington, D.C.

Rooftop pool at the Hyatt Place Washington, D.C./National Mall

EUROPE

France:

  • Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile - My favorite Hyatt hotel. I’ve stayed here over five times. Each stay we used our annual free night awards. You can’t beat staying in Paris for just 15k-18k points a night. 

Tokyo:

  • Hyatt Regency Tokyo - Cash rates start around $350/night. We used our two FNA’s here on our last trip to Japan. Great location - just a short walk to Shinjuku Central Park, the Tokyo Met Government Office (free overlook) and the Golden Gai. Free airport shuttle. Walking distance to Shinjuku Station


OTHER TOP CHOICES 

Views from the swimming pool at the Hyatt Vacation Club at Pinon Pointe in Sedona, AZ

United States

Arizona:

  • Hyatt Vacation Club at Pinon Point - Sedona, AZ - The FNA can only be used on their studio units that have a queen and sleeper sofa. Each unit has a kitchen.

  • Hyatt Place Scottsdale/Old Town - Perfect homebase for visiting Phoenix/Scottsdale. Close to Spring Training and my favorite Desert Botanical Gardens

  • Hyatt Place Page/Lake Powell - This is a perfect spot if you're visiting Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and continuing on to Zion or the Grand Canyon. Rooms sleep five and cash rates in summer start at $270/n.

California:

Chicago:

  • Thompson Chicago - This property gets a lot of hype. It’s gorgeous. I think it’s a little far from everything if you’re taking a family vacation

  • Hyatt Regency Chicago - We love Chicago. Our faves are the Shedd Aquarium, Skydeck Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Field Museum, etc. So much to do.

Hyatt Regency Chicago

Colorado:

District of Columbia:

Florida:

Use your Hyatt FNA at the Hyatt Place Panama City Beach, Florida resort

Georgia:

Oklahoma City:

  • Fordson Hotel - Gorgeous boutique hotel, part of the Unbound Collection.

The Fordson Hotel in Oklahoma City is a hidden gem

Hawaii:

  • Hyatt Place Waikiki - Located a block or so from the beach, this property is a great option for families as it sleeps up to five people. Award nights are difficult to find. You want to find and book a year in advance

Texas:

Rooftop pool at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk

Washington:


INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY 1-4 HYATT PROPERTIES

Australia:

Canada:

Hyatt Regency Vancouver

France:

  • Hyatt Place Rouen - Coming soon - keep your eye out for this property. We love Rouen and stay there while visiting Normandy. The historic city center is lined with half-timbered buildings and is so charming.

Greece:

  • Grand Hyatt Athens - with views of the Acropolis from the rooftop pool this is a popular property for those visiting Greece.

Views of the Acropolis from the pool at the Grand Hyatt Athens

Hong Kong:

Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong

Italy:

Indonesia:

Istanbul:

Mexico:

Thompson Playa del Carmen Main House

Taiwan

Thailand

Tokyo:

United Kingdom:

  • Hyatt Regency London City East - Cash rates start at $300 a night for this property. While not located in city center, this is a fabulous value for your annual FNA


GOOD TO KNOW

Hyatt FNA’s are good for twelve months beginning at the card member anniversary after you have paid your second annual fee. They cannot be extended

Hyatt FNA’s cannot be topped off with points like Marriott or IHG free night certificates


If you are a World of Hyatt member (it’s free to join) you will not have to pay resort fees when you book with points or use your FNA.


Don’t forget to search for Category 1-3 properties. Many of these properties have cash rates over $250 a night which I think is still a great value for our $95 FNA.


Do you have a favorite Category 4 Hyatt?


Happy Travels!



Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

 
 
 
Stacy Mantellini
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