How did I get 2 free hotel nights in Sonoma, CA?
The blog title says “FREE” but technically nothing is free right? I opened a Hyatt credit card by Chase bank a few years ago. After the minimum spend within certain months, I earned 60,000 bonus points. This is enough to get a few nights at any hotels. Typically, a decent hotel (category 4) is about 15,000 points. The question is…how did I get 2 free hotel nights in Sonoma, CA?
One option is to use the 60,000 bonus points I received for opening the credit card years ago which I still have. However, I chose to save the points for future travel plans. The Hyatt credit card has an annual fee of $95. The benefits include a Discoverist status, free night award each anniversary year and another free night award after spending $15,000 in a calendar year. Unlike other credit cards where you get a free night award after opening (ahem, Hilton Aspire credit card), this one entitles you to the free night award a year later. The award is good for Category 1 to 4 Hyatt hotels and expires a year later.
Theoretically, the higher the category, the nicer/more expensive the hotel. In essence, I try to use my free night award on Category 4 hotels to get as much value as I can. In order to search for the Category 1-4 hotels, I use the Hyatt app (obviously, you can look it up on the web as well) and search like I normally do when I want to book hotels at certain places. For example, I typed in Sonoma, CA for May 29-31. A number of Hyatt branded hotels popped up including a Category 4, Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country.
Due to the pandemic, Hyatt extended the expiration date on the free night awards so I had one from 2019 and 2020 I haven’t used. Luckily, the Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country had plenty of standard award availability and I was able to snag the two nights I needed on a holiday weekend. I didn’t screenshot how much it would have cost me on the days I went last year. However, a similar two night stay on a holiday weekend at this hotel could costs over $850 including tax for two nights.
Wow! Here’s how I see it. Even if I didn’t use my Hyatt credit card and earn additional points just by spending during the year, I still had a total cost of $190 ($95 annual fee X 2 nights) vs $850, a savings of $660. I’ll take it. The lesser the spend on the hotel room, the more on wine. haha!
To summarize, earning a free night can be done by obtaining a Hyatt credit card with bonus points, use the points earned from spending during the year, or use the free night award certificate. If you’re looking to get the Hyatt credit card, click here to apply.
Do you have tips on getting free nights at a Hyatt hotel or other resorts? If so, please comment below.
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