World of Hyatt’s Discover experiences: Easy methods to earn and burn Hyatt factors

I lately had an opportunity to attend a five-course dinner on the Thompson Denver resort, a part of the Hyatt model’s A Style of Thompson: Chef Sequence. That is one among many actions obtainable via Discover, Hyatt’s expertise platform, the place World of Hyatt members can earn and burn factors.

This is every part it’s worthwhile to learn about Discover, what my expertise was like and why I believe Discover is value contemplating when planning your subsequent journey.

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What’s the Discover expertise platform?

Based on Hyatt’s web site, “FIND is a market that provides entry to fastidiously curated wellbeing experiences to assist encourage folks to be their greatest selves.” There are presently over 500 experiences in over 75 locations obtainable on the Discover web site.

If you happen to’re planning a visit (or on the lookout for one thing enjoyable to do at house), you possibly can search by nation or state to see what’s on provide in your vacation spot. You too can search by class (arts, tradition & neighborhood, exploration and restoration), or you possibly can enter key phrases to slim your search.

In contrast to some resort expertise platforms, which give attention to exhibits or sporting occasions, Discover’s choice runs the gamut. After all, your choices will rely upon the place you are headed — and large cities appear to have the most effective choice. Costs differ enormously, too.

Some examples embrace a beer tasting in Prague ($33 or 2,377 World of Hyatt factors), a snorkeling tour in Honolulu ($184 or 13,148 factors) and a half-day tour of Marrakech ($349 or 24,960 factors).

You too can discover tickets to exhibits and museums, letting you earn and burn Hyatt factors on one thing you will have already been planning. As an illustration, an entry ticket to the Nashville Nation Music Corridor of Fame and Museum prices $31 or 2,225 factors, or you would see “Aladdin” on Broadway for $110 or 7,849 factors.

Some experiences are “curated” by a Hyatt resort, however you typically do not have to remain on the resort to ebook the expertise. The exception is for experiences that explicitly embrace a resort keep, like a “Depraved”-themed night time on the Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor ($475 or 33,955 factors).

Anybody can view Discover experiences, however you have to be a World of Hyatt member to buy them. If you happen to log into your account whereas looking, you possibly can favourite particular experiences to save lots of them for later.

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My World of Hyatt Discover expertise

A Style of Thompson: Chef Sequence is a component of a bigger Chef Sequence occasion that’s obtainable on Discover as half of a bigger bundle, which incorporates tickets for 2 to the dinner, a meet-and-greet with the chef, a predinner cocktail hour and one night time’s keep on the resort — in my case, it was the Thompson Denver.

My expertise additionally included a number of goodies ready for me in my room: a signed copy of the chef’s recipe ebook, a field of three of his favourite spice blends, a Thompson water bottle, glowing wine and mineral water on ice, and house-made ganache bites (made specifically vegan for me).

The ganache bites have been as scrumptious as they appeared.

The five-course meal was equally scrumptious. Though the Discover web site states “no substitutes offered” for visitors with dietary restrictions or meals allergic reactions, the chef fortunately accommodated my vegan eating regimen — and it was probably the greatest meals I’ve eaten. It was not solely flavorful but additionally protein-packed and filling (a tough mixture to search out in vegan restaurant choices).

My omnivorous companions appeared to take pleasure in their normal menu simply as a lot. Everybody — from my husband, who will eat something, to seasoned culinary writers — appeared impressed with the meals.

This dinner on the Thompson Denver was a one-time occasion, however the Chef Sequence will proceed with comparable occasions at California’s Thompson Palm Springs in January and The Cape, a Thompson Resort in Mexico in February. If you happen to’re excited by attending and you’ve got particular dietary wants, I’d suggest contacting the resort to see if they’ll accommodate you earlier than reserving your ticket since this Discover expertise was nonrefundable.

The Thompson Denver Discover bundle price $832 or 59,428 World of Hyatt factors. Nonetheless, you would additionally purchase tickets to the dinner solely via Thompson’s web site for $135 per individual or $195 with wine pairings. This included the welcome cocktail hour and one of many chef’s signature spice blends however not the opposite objects included with the Discover bundle.

As a lot as I loved my Discover expertise, I want the tickets alone have been obtainable by way of Discover. The identical applies to Thompson Denver’s different occasions, together with a chocolate-making workshop, a vacation drag present and a New Yr’s Day pajama brunch — none of that are presently obtainable via Discover.

The extra choices Hyatt provides to the Discover platform, the higher as a result of Discover is a useful gizmo for Hyatt loyalists like me. This is why.

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Are World of Hyatt Discover experiences value it?

If you happen to redeem World of Hyatt factors for a Discover expertise, typically, you may get a worth round 1.4 cents per level. That is decrease than TPG’s December 2024 valuation of 1.7 cents every for World of Hyatt factors, nevertheless it’s not horrible for an expertise redemption.

I maintain the Chase Sapphire Most popular® Card, which lets me redeem Chase Final Rewards factors for actions via the Chase Journey℠ portal at a price of 1.25 cents every. Or, I may ebook actions with my Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card; in the event that they code as journey, I may use Capital One miles to reimburse myself at a price of 1 cent every. The Discover platform presents higher worth than both of those choices.

When you have your eye on a Discover expertise that might be prohibitively costly, otherwise you’re decided to plan a complete trip on factors and miles, it is a strong choice. Nonetheless, you possibly can most likely get extra worth out of your Hyatt factors by redeeming them for Hyatt resort stays, particularly at luxurious properties or throughout peak dates.

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If you happen to’d fairly save your factors for a extra aspirational redemption, you will have the choice to ebook Discover actions with money and earn Hyatt factors. In truth, World of Hyatt members earn 10 factors per eligible greenback spent on Discover — double what you’d earn on Hyatt stays as a fundamental member. You will earn much more factors for those who maintain Hyatt elite standing or pay with a Hyatt bank card, as much as a most of 17 factors per greenback. Plus, factors earned via Discover rely towards Hyatt elite standing.

Discover works in a different way than different resort platforms, like Hilton Honors Experiences and Marriott Bonvoy Moments. These require you to bid factors on experiences, so that you by no means know precisely what number of factors you may have to spend — or for those who’ll even get the expertise. And with most resort platforms, you do not have the choice to pay money and earn bonus factors.

Hyatt’s flat charges make it simpler to plan your trip, and I recognize which you can select between incomes or burning factors right here. If an affordable exercise catches my eye, I will most likely buy it with my World of Hyatt Credit score Card to spice up my Hyatt account steadiness. If I discover one thing costlier, just like the Thompson Denver Chef Sequence and mixed resort bundle, I might take into account redeeming factors for it as a substitute.

You too can reward Discover experiences to household and associates, a pleasant choice to have for those who’re on the lookout for a novel reward thought for a hard-to-shop-for beloved one. And, in 2023, Hyatt launched a brand new characteristic: A choose few Discover experiences are actually offered with factors at public sale, extra according to different resort platforms.

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Backside line

As a Hyatt loyalist, I believe the Discover platform is an thrilling and probably useful software. Actions are at all times an enormous a part of my trip plans, and I am thrilled to have a technique to both redeem factors for them or earn at the least 10 factors per greenback on them. If different Discover experiences are as high-quality because the one I lately attended, they stand to supply nice worth.