Quick Points: World of Hyatt members don’t pay any fees or taxes on award stays

World of Hyatt is one of our favorite hotel loyalty programs here at TPG.

Elite status in the program can provide unlimited complimentary room upgrades, free breakfast, early check-in, late check-out and even free annual nights.

We value each Hyatt point at an impressive 1.7 cents in our monthly valuations, which is amongst the highest of any hotel points. In addition to many other sweet spots, you can book award nights from just 3,500 points for a Category 1 off-peak property — far fewer points than you will need for the cheapest Hilton Honors and Marriott properties.

You might think these valuable Hyatt points are hard to come by unless you are doing a lot of paid stays at Hyatt properties worldwide. But don’t fear — Hyatt is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards where they transfer at a generous 1:1 rate.

And when you use points (or free night awards) for stays, you can avoid one of the most frustrating added costs in the travel industry.

Save on fees and taxes

Grayson Hotel entrance — SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY

If you’re a regular traveler, you’ve probably been hit with a daily resort or destination fee for a hotel stay that required you to pay extra for items you might not want or need, like a discount on beauty treatments at the hotel spa, or items you had assumed were included in the room rate, like internet.

If so, World of Hyatt has you covered.

There are no resort fees, destination fees or other fees, taxes or surcharges on World of Hyatt redemptions.

I recently booked a four-night stay at the new Grayson Hotel in New York at a cost of 17,000 Hyatt points per night as a Category 5 on off-peak dates. As a lowly Discoverist status member, I was upgraded (within the same category I had booked) to a room with an excellent view of the nearby Empire State Building.

Best of all, my four-night award stay had no cash charges, saving me the $30 per night destination fee, plus taxes.

Topping off your World of Hyatt points balance

Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt remains very lucrative. Here’s a look at some of the current Chase Ultimate Rewards credit card offers:

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening; $95 annual fee.
Chase Sapphire Reserve: 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening; $550 annual fee.
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card: 100,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening; $95 annual fee.

You might also consider purchasing Hyatt points, which occasionally comes with a bonus or discount.