Reader Success Story: “I Booked 4 Nights, Hyatt Gave Me 4 More Nights For Free!”

I wanted to share a story from 1TP reader Sharice who has experienced various travel challenges during the coronavirus outbreak, but has (potentially) turned an unfortunate event into a rather lucrative one.

Sharice says…

Your daily emails always come at the right time! I have a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia scheduled in three weeks but due to the coronavirus I debated whether I should cancel my plans. I called the airline and was able to cancel my flight however, I had four consecutive but separate non-refundable nights booked at the Alila Bangsar. I paid about $60/night and after many failed calls to get a refund had resigned myself to the loss because it was not an affected region. Then I checked my email this morning and lo and behold my saving grace email from 1TattedPassport alerting me to Hyatts new policy.

40,000 points for canceling my non-refundable stay? Yes, please! I paid for 4 nights and Hyatt gave me 4 more nights for free! Guess what category the Alila is? Cat 1. It’s like Hyatt paid me to stay with them.

I know you don’t remember me or the conversation we had 3 years ago but I booked those nights separately based on a conversation we had in 2017 and it hasn’t failed me yet.

I’ve been sharing every post you write with the different travel groups I’m in because you provide great content. Keep writing J!

– Sharice

THOUGHTS

This is an amazing story. Let’s explore the math…Sharice paid ~$60 per night to stay at the Alila Bangsar which is a great hotel (I’ve stayed there previously). As mentioned in the email, the Alila Bangsar is also a category 1 hotel which means that it only cost 5,000 points per night.

As I said in my previous post, Hyatt is offering 10,000 World of Hyatt bonus points PER RESERVATION if you no longer wish (or can’t) travel as a result of coronavirus.

Granted, Sharice will not be receiving a cash refund but will be receiving 40,000 bonus points. In other words, there are enough points for 8 free nights at the Alila Bangsar should the desire to rebook at a future date apply.

I’m not familiar with the travel plans but there is the potential to parlay this into an even bigger experience. For example, the Park Hyatt NYC is a category 7 hotel (30,000 points) and rooms can easily fetch $1000+/night. Sharice could redeem 30,000 points for 1 night at the PH and still redeem the remaining 10,000 points for 2 nights at the Alila, all for a whopping total of $240. I think that is a great return on value!

Consider all the options…Park Hyatt NYC, Park Hyatt Sydney, etc…I don’t think you can go wrong with this many points.

FINAL STAMP

I’m a big fan of Hyatt. Although, they don’t have a sizable international footprint like their competitors, they have been acquiring and partnering with various boutique hotel chains around the world making it even more appealing for me.

Although, Hyatt will we moving to dynamic pricing in a few weeks, Hyatt has a good track record for being largely customer-friendly. I’m not suggesting that they are perfect but they are better than most other hotel chains out there.

I want to hear more stories and answer your travel questions. Tag me on IG or contact me if a blog has led to an amazing vacation …or you just want me to see you living your best life!