Good afternoon everyone, happy Easter! I’m down in Orange County this weekend to celebrate Easter with my family, but it always seems like I plan more trips while I am on a trip. Does anyone else do that? Anyway, I was looking for a cheap weekend trip from San Francisco in July or August and Google Flights found some cheap flights to Seattle. After booking my flights, I started searching for hotels. By using Wandering Aramean’s Hotel Hustle tool, I saw that there were a few Hyatt hotel options available.
I also had an anniversary free night certificate compliments to my Chase Hyatt Credit Card. You can view details of your anniversary free night certificate by logging into your Hyatt account, clicking My Account, and clicking My Awards. It shows that my anniversary free night certificate expires on November 30, 2016, so I must book and complete my stay by the expiration date.
Since the anniversary free night certificate can only be booked for category 1-4 hotels, I looked for good hotels in Seattle that fit within those categories. You can get to this page by clicking here or by going to the Hyatt Gold Passport page, then click Redeeming Points, and then click Free Nights.
Coincidentally, both the Grand Hyatt Seattle and Hyatt at Olive 8 are category 4 hotels. Both hotels are about 1-2 blocks away from each other, equally easy to get to from SeaTac airport, and both have award nights available for my dates of travel.
I asked on Twitter which hotel I should stay at and got several recommendations for both hotels. I then checked on TripAdvisor and decided to go with the Grand Hyatt Seattle since the ranking is higher.
Looking at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, the hotel is going for $400+ for the night I want.
By checking the Hyatt Gold Passport box, I can see the promotional award (anniversary free night certificate) and book the stay.
If you do not have an anniversary free night certificate linked to your account, or if you are trying to book a hotel that is category 5-7, you will only see the redeem points option or the club upgrade option. I believe if Cash and Points award space is available, you will see that option listed too.
Booking the anniversary free night certificate online is super easy. Before, the process was not as seamless and required you to search for each hotel property and night separately. I’m not 100% sure, but I think I had to call Hyatt the last time I wanted to book my anniversary free night certificate. After booking, you can view your reservation by logging into your Hyatt account, clicking My Account, and clicking My Reservations. Depending on the hotel, the cancellation policy may differ, but this hotel will let me cancel by 3pm PT 24 hours before checking in.
If you have any questions about booking your anniversary free night certificate, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone and happy Easter!
They used to be available to book online until the system change last year. They said it would eventually come back online and it is good to hear that it is available again! While it is not too hard booking them over the phone/twitter, it is certainly much easier handling it online.
Have fun with the family!
I must have missed when they were originally book able online. I’ve looked at Hyatt awards a few times, but this was the first time I saw free night certificates book able online.
They used to be bookable right from the award page on the profile. From there, you would search for your city to travel to. This way is better!
For sure, I don’t miss the old method to book anniversary free nights.
Just went through the same decision myself: Olive or Grand Hyatt in Seattle. I went with the Olive because it’s newer and looks sleeker. I really enjoyed my Andaz experience in Japan so I was looking for something with a modern feel. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow when I arrive =]
I can always try out the Olive 8 on my next trip to Seattle. Have a great time and let me know what you think.
Just got back. I enjoyed my stay at the Olive 8. For a Category 4 I can’t complain. I didn’t partake in the spa, gym or pool but i checked them all out and wish i had the money to go to the spa =]
I walked over to the GH since its just a block away to see what it was like and after walking around I think I’m happy for picking the Olive 8. It just wasn’t my style there.
Thank you Corey, I’m surprised both of the hotels are category 4 properties. I will try to book the Olive 8 hotel next time I visit Seattle.
I tried Olive 8 about 2 years ago and was impressed with their breakfast amenity for Diamonds, and their corner suite was pretty awesome with great views. I will be traveling this summer with the family and picked the Grand Hyatt because they have a club lounge… crossing fingers for free suite upgrade (apparently they’ve been really friendly to Diamonds)
Cool, let me know if the Grand Hyatt Seattle and which one you preferred. Have a great time in Seattle!
When booking free anniversary nights, why is it allowing me to select category 5-7 free nights? Is it a glitch and should I roll the dice and book it?
Go for it, if you can!
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Ya I am showing many places that are above cat 4 but I was not able to complete my reservation. It errors at the end. The system seems very glitchy.
I would call Hyatt for help.
I too am looking at these hotels for a stay. However the free night is in my wife’s name and I am traveling without her. Anyone had any issues using a spouses free night? I just used my free night in Indy.
Book the reservation in your wife’s name and then add yourself as a guest to the reservation. You can call Hyatt or the hotel directly to verify that your name is on the reservation.
To clarify, this is the annual award night. Does that make a difference? I’ve been told it’s hit or miss on whether the front desk will allow me to check in without my wife there, even if my name is on the reso. I appreciate the help!
It shouldn’t matter what type of reservation it is.
The website lets me book a reservation using the anniversary free night for check in beyond the expiration date (by just a few weeks). Will this work, or will I end up paying rack rate when I check in?
If you have a confirmation number/email from using your Hyatt free night certificate, you will not have to pay when you check in.
Do you have experience with this when your check-in date is beyond the expiration date of the anniversary free night certificate? Usually these are refundable reservations, so my concern is not being “charged” until check-in, so pulling the expired free night wouldn’t work when the front desk tries to check me in
I haven’t tried, but you might be able have them extend the expiration date by a few weeks.
hmm this is strange, not sure if its just me or if something has happened after the new World of Hyatt updates — but you can no longer see your available free nights (from CC signup or anniversary) or even DSUs for Diamond members.
do you have any insights Grant? just wanted to check to make sure what the expiry dates on my free nights were but that info is no longer even available to view online. so weird esp cause I know it was viewable just a few wks ago. I even checked the mobile app & that is completely useless as well when it comes to tracking your detailed acct info. not sure why Hyatt would cripple their end-user facing IT ;/ but this is disappointing. I hope I havent lost my nights/upgrades for good in some sort of transition.
Hi Adam, you are right, Hyatt buried the free night awards deep in their new layout. I found a work around, which would make a great blog post, but long story short, go here: https://goldpassport.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/my-account/account-details.html?#/my-reservations
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Hi Grant, Like Adam above I too could not locate my 2 free nights online back in October. I searched and searched and eventually concluded I must not have met spending requirement for the 2 free nights. (I opened Chase Hyatt Jan 2016). So today im looking for my annual Cat 1-4 pass and discover 1 of my 2 missing free night certificates. I call Cust Service and am told only one is showing up online because their system is glitchy. So I DO have 2 free nights any property but they expire next week and I cannot use by then. I have asked for extension but was told no. Only option I was given was a policy that I have 90 days after free night expiration to request points. . . and thats at 10K per night. Obviously a huge loss from my original expectation but better that total loss.
My question to you is: Have you ever heard of a work around to get these soon to expire certificates to extend?
Thanks and love the guest columns you now include!
Tim
I don’t think there is a work around, but maybe you can barter your Hyatt free night certificate with someone else in exchange for something that you can use?
Hey Grant, thanks for the tips!!! I do have a free night and would like to give it to my friends. He is in Seattle but I am not. Can he check in by himself if I add another guest in the confirmation? Thanks
Yes, I’ve done that many times, as the person booking the reservations and as the person checking in. I try to add a note to the reservation and call the hotel directly a few days prior to checkin, to ensure the name is on the reservation.
does the anniversary night award include breakfast?
I think it depends on the hotel and on your elite status.