Why my favorite use of Hyatt points is a Category 1 airport hotel

15.11.2023 - 21:13 / thepointsguy.com

Hyatt points are my favorite hotel points to earn and redeem.

Many other major hotel loyalty programs have done away with award charts in favor of dynamic pricing, and seeing nightly award rates of 100,000 points or more isn't uncommon. However, World of Hyatt has kept its published chart, and redemptions across virtually the entire portfolio still offer great value.

The program has also added dozens of all-inclusive properties across Europe and Central America, giving you more ways to earn and redeem points.

Related: This is how you do a luxury all-inclusive: Zoetry Mallorca, bookable with Hyatt points

While I love a luxury property just as much as the next person, there is one hotel I have redeemed Hyatt points for repeatedly, and it's not glamorous.

Here's why my favorite spot at which to redeem World of Hyatt points is an airport hotel on a highway.

I live in North London, about 80 minutes from Heathrow Airport (LHR) during off-peak times, but my transit time can approach two hours during peak times. I fly out of Heathrow every few weeks, and from time to time have a flight departing early in the morning, before 8 a.m.

This means I may have to wake up as early as 3 a.m. to ensure I have enough time to get to Heathrow before an early flight. Even if I go to bed early the night before, I'm usually pretty exhausted from waking up well before dawn.

Related: The best ways to get from Heathrow Airport into London

My solution to these early starts is to consider staying at a cheap and cheerful airport hotel the night before. While I'm still up relatively early, my transit time to Heathrow drops to just five or 10 minutes, giving me at least an hour of extra sleep. More importantly, I feel much better for the rest of the day.

Heathrow has no shortage of airport hotels, with $100 being the average nightly price in my searches.

Plenty of these properties can be booked with hotel points, with Marriott options around 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night and Hilton options from 30,000 Hilton Honors points per night.

Instead of parting with this many points for a short stay at a forgettable hotel, I always choose the only Hyatt hotel in the Heathrow area: the Hyatt Place London Heathrow Airport.

Cash rates for this Hyatt Place are consistently around $120 per night for a base room, rising slightly to $140 on peak dates, such as the night before a holiday weekend.

This is a little higher than the average cost of a Heathrow hotel, but not by much.

Rather than spending at least $120 per night, I can redeem just 5,000 Hyatt points per night for this Category 1 property, with no resort or destination fees.

Technically, with Hyatt's off-peak, standard and peak pricing, a Category 1 property should be between