I recently stayed for three nights at the Hyatt Regency in Tokyo. The hotel was clearly Hyatt’s flagship property in Japan when built in 1980. And, while it has seen finer days and the rooms have not been recently renovated, it is a perfectly comfortable hotel in which to base yourself for a couple of days in Tokyo. The location is perfect for Tokyo, right in the middle of the Shinjuku neighborhood. There is a great pool and health club on the top floors that is free for guests to use.
All of the blogs about credit card rewards are filled with drivel about which Hyatt is the best in Tokyo – the Park Hyatt, the Andaz or the Grand Hyatt. And, while I am sure all three of those hotels are great, each of them is going to set you back between 25,000 and 30,000 Hyatt points a night. It is neat that the Hyatt Regency can be redeemed for less than half of the redemption value of any of these hotels, especially since the rack rate at the Hyatt Regency is about $600 which is not that much lower than the rack rate at these other Hyatts and which gives you a redemption value close to 5 cents per point.
In a major world class city, it is very rare to find great, cheap redemptions on Hyatts (or any hotels for that matter). You will not find a Hyatt in New York or London or Paris for less than 25,000 to 30,000 points. But, you will find one in Tokyo.
There of course are other great category 3 Hyatt hotels. I myself have recently stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Toronto and the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in New Mexico. The Hyatt Regency Tokyo, however, offers a better redemption value.
Bottom line: Save your Hyatt points for the other great redemptions that Hyatt offers and opt for the Hyatt Regency Tokyo when in Japan.
See and compare all of the credit cards that enable you to earn Hyatt points or points that can be transferred to Hyatt here.