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Over the past few days, I’ve received several questions about expiring free nights certificates and I wanted to speak, specifically, about the Hyatt free night certificate (FNC) because I am in the same boat as many of you.
I want to be clear by saying (again) we are in uncharted territory and in the grand scheme of things, there are more important things in life than an expiring FNC but I do understand the concern. Again, I’m in the same boat.
BACKGROUND
A few days ago, I wrote about how Hyatt was postponing peak/off-peak season award pricing and hotel category changes and have paused expiration of points through May 31. However, Hyatt has been fairly silent on free night certificates, while several other programs have extended theirs.
If you’re not familiar with Hyatt FNCs, this is the rundown:
- Receive one FNC annually for co-brand credit card members (redeem at any category 1-4)
- Receive one FNC for spending $15,000 on the card (redeem at any category 1-4); This applies to every $15k. In other words, if you spend $45k on the card, you will receive 3 FNCs
- Receive one FNC after staying 30 nights (redeem at any category 1-4)
- Receive one FNC upon staying 60 nights (redeem at any category 1-7)
- Receive one FNC for each five brands you stay at for the first time (redeem at any category 1-4)
As you can see, FNCs are abundant and depending on your spending habits, you may be able to stay at Hyatt properties with ease.
MY EXPERIENCE
Personally, I have a FNC (via my The World Of Hyatt Credit Card), that expires on 1 April 2020…yes, in a few days so I reached out to Hyatt to determine possible waivers given the pandemic right now and the inability to use it.
I was told, “we know adjustments will need to be made given the quickly evolving nature of the situation, and we are committed to communicating these updates as soon as we can.”
Generally, no news is good news but in this case an expiration date is looming and that phrase doesn’t seem to apply well to my situation.
FINAL STAMP
I did not press the issue given that there are far more important things in life right now but I have read several data points that suggest that Hyatt is offering 10,000 points for an expired category 1-4 award night and 20,000 points for an expired category 1-7 award night.
Several years ago, I had a similar situation where I simply forgot about the FNC (via the credit card) and upon request Hyatt was only been willing to offer points for expiring category 1-4 free night certificate.
We will have to wait until an official policy is issued but for now if you have an expiring free night, one possible avenue is asking Hyatt for points once it expires.
Although, I could’ve received a lot of value from the FNC by redeeming it at a category 1-4 property, I also did not plan on this pandemic but 10,000 points is an ok offer if I have to go that route. Personally, I plan to wait until the last minute.
Do you have an expiring FNC? What is your plan?
1TattedPassport 