World Of Hyatt Launches Hyatt Homes And Hideaways

Despite Hyatt’s launching of the platform, offerings available to the public are still slim. Properties are now listed in six states: California, Colorado, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and Oregon. In those markets house selection varies from small condos to vacation homes suitable for a family reunion. Hyatt plans to grow the platform to eventually feature destinations around the globe.

This addition to Hyatt fits nicely within its current offerings and puts the brand on par with Marriott Bonvoy’s Homes & Villas, a similar platform that allows earning and redeeming points on vacation rentals. World of Hyatt currently allows members to earn and redeem points on timeshare rentals through the Hyatt Vacation Club. Homes & Hideaways further builds its vacation rental options while offering customers the same loyalty program perks.

On the logistical side of things, a real estate company known as Lowe has acquired Hyatt’s existing vacation rental management business, known as Destination Residences Management. Lowe will now operate this business through an affiliate, managing the new platform’s properties.

Perhaps the most exciting part about the new Homes & Hideaways platform is how it will integrate with the World of Hyatt rewards program. World of Hyatt already offers its members a variety of ways to earn and redeem points, and its Homes & Hideaways platform will expand these opportunities.

Homes & Hideaways member benefits will include earning points, tier-qualifying night credits and standard tier bonuses on stays, as well as the ability to redeem points for stays at home rental properties.

Earning Points With World of Hyatt

World of Hyatt is a user-friendly program when it comes to earning points that a member can eventually redeem with Homes & Hideaways. For starters, World of Hyatt members can earn 5 base points per dollar spent when reserving a stay directly through a Hyatt booking channel.

If a member wants to enhance their earnings, Hyatt offers a co-branded hotel credit card with Chase, called The World of Hyatt Credit Card. With this card, a member earns 9 points total per dollar spent at Hyatt - 4 bonus points per dollar spent at Hyatt hotels and 5 base points per dollar from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member. Earn 2 bonus points per dollar spent at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

On top of enhanced earnings, the card comes with a significant welcome bonus: 30,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening, plus up to 30,000 more bonus points by earning 2 bonus points per dollar spent in the first 6 months on purchases that normally earn 1 bonus point on up to $15,000 spent.

Combined with its annual complimentary night, the points earned with The World of Hyatt Credit Card could help you book a multiple night stay for free. Although Homes & Hideaways properties do not fall into for World of Hyatt award night redemption categories, there are plenty of luxury Hyatt stays that have historically been bookable for under 30,000 points a night.

Even more, World of Hyatt members can earn elite-tier status after staying a specific number of nights at Hyatt properties. With The World of Hyatt Credit Card, Discoverist status is automatically granted. Elite-tier status allows you to earn even more points on eligible Hyatt purchases in addition to receiving a variety of perks that can enhance your stay.

Redeeming Points With World of Hyatt

While there is sure to be some variance from property to property, our preliminary tests show World of Hyatt redemptions to be around 1.2 cents per point in value. Some will call that on the low end of what to expect from a World of Hyatt point, but having the flexibility to book into homes may make the lower redemption rate worth it to many.

Considering the many ways customers can earn points, the ability to redeem World of Hyatt points on Homes & Hideaways bookings is a strong perk. Hyatt is a transfer partner with both Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, meaning certain cardholders with either of these issuers can transfer their points to a World of Hyatt account at a 1:1 ratio. Simply put, this new platform gives Bilt and Chase cardholders the chance to book new and innovative stays.

Hyatt’s new Homes & Hideaways platform enhances the stay options available to World of Hyatt members and the hotel chain’s customers. The platform will fit into the World of Hyatt rewards program by allowing members to earn and redeem points on stays, making this a platform worth exploring if you hold a Hyatt, Bilt or Chase credit card.