Tag Archives: Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

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Trip Report: Butler Suite at the All-Inclusive Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica

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I landed in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and was happy to see a Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall check-in desk inside the airport, just past immigration.  The employees were efficient and served drinks while they checked you in. Within minutes, the Hyatt hotel shuttle was there to pick us up.  The trip to the Hyatt Ziva was less than 30 minutes.

Ziva vs. Zilara

Hyatt offers two all inclusive products: the Ziva, which is for families, and the Zilara, which does not allow children.  In Jamaica, the properties are next to each other.  Both products share a common beachfront and you can go to any of the restaurants on either property.  Of course, if you have children, they are not allowed on the Zilara side, which includes the Zilara beach, pool, and restaurants.  The Ziva has its own beach, pool, and restaurants so this would probably not be a huge problem.

The Butler Suite

I was upgraded to a butler suite.  The room is large, as you would expect of a suite, including a mini-bar that was free, and the most unique feature was the butler service. This room would normally cost over $1,500 USD per night, but I didn’t pay anywhere near that.

a chair and table on a balcony overlooking the ocean

Butler suite with balcony overlooking the ocean at the Hyatt Ziva in Montego Bay, Jamaica

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My Wonderful 5 Night Stay at the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor

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One of my favorite cities in North America is Boston, and when I visit and play tourist, I stay at the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor. Prior to my recent visit, I’d stay there for only a few nights and then transit usually to Europe. It’s very close to the airport. But on my recent visit to Boston, when I wasn’t transiting to anywhere else, I stayed there for five nights as an experiment to see what it would be like to use it as a base for a Boston holiday. And though it’s not a hotel I’d recommend for everyone, it worked out really well for me. I enjoyed my stay there and would definitely recommend it. I’ll get to who I wouldn’t recommend it for, but first, let’s discuss the high points.

I mentioned this Hyatt as a possible North American choice for using your Chase Hyatt Credit Card free anniversary night certificate, and I stand by that recommendation, especially during the high season when Boston is busy with tourists, conventions, and weddings. Some people think this hotel needs to be refurbished, but I’m guessing they haven’t been there in a few years. The rooms were redone about two years ago and I like them. The standard rooms are on the large size, and the furnishings and color schemes work well. I don’t like a lot of artwork on hotel walls. These rooms have one big piece of artwork on the side wall with a sailing theme that fits the decor.

a hotel room with a large bed and a window

Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor Standard Room.
Image: https://bostonharbor.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/rooms/standard.html

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Visa Supplier Locator Can Find Hidden “5x Cash Back Restaurants”

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Good morning everyone, happy Thursday and happy Q3!  Since the Chase Freedom Credit Card and Discover It Credit Card both offer 5% cash back (or 5x Chase Ultimate Reward Points) for restaurants this quarter (July 1 – September 30), I thought it would be fun to see if there were any merchants that coded as restaurants, but might have an MS angle too.  I first wrote about the Visa Supplier Locator website in December 2013 (How are Merchants Classified? Use the Visa Supplier Locator to Find Out!).  Luckily, not much has changed on the website during the last 3.5 years, so that post is still relevant.

Let me step back a minute and explain what the Visa Supplier Locator is and does.  Every merchant has 1 or more MCC (merchant categorization codes) that tells the credit card company what type of merchant they are (grocery store, restaurant, charity, hotel, etc.).  Without the MCC, it would be impossible to categorize transactions and award bonus points based on certain categories.  The Visa Supplier Locator allows you to search for merchants that use a certain MCC or determine what MCC a merchant uses.

In my 5% cash back restaurant example, I wanted to see which merchants have restaurant MCCs.  Some of the merchants might surprise you.  On the Visa Supplier Locator website, I selected  “RESTAURANTS / BARS – 5812” and “RESTAURANTS / BARS – 5814” from the MCC dropdown menu.  Then I entered my zip code, proved I wasn’t a robot, and clicked the Search button.  I ran multiple searches with different zip codes because each results page only showed 50 merchants.

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My 2 Favorite Hotels for Chase Hyatt Credit Card Anniversary Free Night Certificates

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Last month, Ben at One Mile At A Time wrote a post about his choices for the best uses of your Chase Hyatt Credit Card anniversary free night certificates. But I think he left out two great choices in the states and one of them is a hotel I’ll be using mine at this year. As a reminder, each year Hyatt gives its cardholders an anniversary free night certificate. It can be used at any Hyatt category 1-4 hotel. There are some exclusions, but there are still plenty of awesome choices all over the world. He did list the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, which is one of my favorite hotels in Vancouver, BC.

a room with a window and a bed and a lamp

King room at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver.
Image source: https://vancouver.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel.html

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Trip Report: Hyatt Ziva in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (All-Inclusive Resort)

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a body of water with trees and buildings in the distance

The Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful resort.  I went at the end of August and booked a club room – I don’t have Hyatt Diamond status.  I greatly enjoyed my stay and I believe it being slow season, made it even more enjoyable. The all-inclusive resort costs 20,000 Hyatt points per night (for 2 adults) and an extra 10,000 Hyatt points per night for each additional person.

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