Update 11/18/14: Hyatt has now included e-gift cards in this promotion, eliminating shipping costs.
Hyatt is offering a 10% discount on gift cards. These cards are valid at participating hotels in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean. A $6 shipping fee currently applies. However, if you wait until mid-November to make your purchase, Hyatt will offer free shipping and extend the promotion to include e-gift cards.
Stacked with credit card category bonuses, cash back shopping portals, and the Hyatt My Elite rate, you can save a great deal on your Hyatt hotel bookings. Below are two simple steps to maximize the Hyatt gift card promotion, along with some tips if you’re just interested in point accrual:
Step 1: Combine a credit card category bonus with Amex OPEN savings
Be sure to enter promo code GPGIFT14 to get the 10% discount, which applies to the gift card amount only. Use an American Express business card that qualifies for the OPEN savings program to purchase Hyatt gift cards. This gets you 5% cash back.
If you prefer cash back, the SimplyCash Business Card from American Express offers 3% cash back in the category of your choice. Choose travel as your bonus category and you’re looking at 8% cash back on your Hyatt gift card purchase just for your credit card bonus alone. According to the terms, the American Express OPEN Savings discount is only valid at participating hotels. However, One Mile at a Time reports that when the promotion ran last year, the 5% discount was credited.
Step 2: Use a cash back portal
When you’re ready to book your Hyatt stay, go through a cash-back portal for additional savings. The highest current payout is 3% cash back offered by TopCashBack (my referral link). Combine this with the 10% gift card discount, 5% OPEN Savings rebate, and 3% credit card cash back, and the savings really add up.
Alternative: Hyatt My Elite Rate
If you’re a Hyatt Platinum or Diamond member and your stay is eligible for the My Elite rate, then skip the shopping portal altogether. The My Elite rate isn’t eligible for shopping portal cash back. And since the 20% discount is more substantial than 5% from a cash-back portal, it’s obviously the better rate to take advantage of.
This is a pretty generous promotion and absolutely worth taking advantage of if you have an upcoming Hyatt stay. If you’re looking to re-qualify for status next year or simply mattress run for the current bonus point promotion, stacking these extra savings can bring down the cost substantially.
This promotion is also a decent way to meet spending requirements via gift card churning. Currently, Cardpool is offering $85 for $100 Hyatt gift cards. They offer a prepaid shipping label, so you will not have to pay anything out of pocket. As for the $15 loss, it can be offset by the 15% discount that results when you stack the 10% Hyatt gift card promotion with the Amex OPEN Savings program. Of course, it’s best to hold off for another week or so, when the $6 shipping fee is waived.
Am I reading this correctly? If I am just interested in the best price on Hyatt GCs, the Cardpool deal is better than the current Hyatt promo.
I want some GCs to cover drinks and dining during an upcoming stay so wouldn’t be able to access portal deals on that.
Cardpool is actually buying them for $85 and selling them for $95. If you were just to utilize the 10% Hyatt discount, then buying them through Cardpool is cheaper – until, of course, Hyatt starts waiving the $6 shipping fee some time next week. If you’re going to use an Amex OPEN business card, then buying through Hyatt is a better option, since OPEN offers a 5% discount on purchases through hotels.
Just checked Carpool, Hyatt GCs are now being offered at a 5% discount so the 15% is gone.
That’s just the rate they’re selling them for ($95 for a $100 gift card) – they buy them from consumers for $85.
Hey Ariana! Does the SimplyCash count as an AmEx OPEN card? If I didn’t select travel as my 3% category, do I still get 5% at least? I logged into my account through your OPEN link and it said “We’re sorry. You have no Cards eligible for the Membership Rewards® program. You will continue to automatically receive discounts in the form of statement credits as your OPEN Savings® benefit. If you have any questions, please call the number on the back of your Card. SimplyCash: This Card is eligible for discounts only.” Can you explain what this means? Thanks!! 🙂
Amex SimplyCash Business does count as an OPEN card and you will still get 5% regardless of what your bonus category is. With some Amex OPEN cards, you can choose whether to earn discounts (i.e. 5% back at Hyatt) or extra membership rewards points instead. What message means is that your card doesn’t make you eligible to choose between the two – you only qualify for the discount. That’s actually not a loss, especially since in this scenario we’re aiming for the 5% Hyatt discount anyway.
I get it now, thanks for the super fast response! 🙂 I just purchased the gift card, but I was a little worried I wouldn’t get the 5% back at Hyatt since as I was going through the checkout process, I noticed that the URL was actually “merchant.sgiftcard.com” and not Hyatt. Have you noticed that? Does it still appear as Hyatt when it’s charged to the card?
It will still get coded as a Hyatt purchase, so you’ll receive the 5% cash back. At least last year that’s how it worked.
I can confirm that it all worked beautifully – got the statement credit, the 5% cashback, and applied the gift card to my Hyatt Kauai stay easily and paid the rest of the balance with the SimplyCash for another 5%. Thanks for sharing this, came in super handy for my Kauai trip!!
Glad to hear it, Star!
Per Giftcardplace.com Cardpool is offering 15% on Hyatt Cards. If you want to go with some other vendor, you can get a bit more discount.
Linky – http://www.giftcardplace.com/buy/hyatt-hotels-gift-cards
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