All 'bout that all-inclusive

Howdy, friends. And good morning from Dubrovnik, Croatia! 🇭🇷

I’m here on an overnight bus layover, and I’ve got some news and much-anticipated travel tips for you today:

• 🏨 All ‘bout that all-inclusive

• 😭 It’s that time of year again

• ✈️ Southwest’s 30% off Splash Sale

🏨 All ‘bout that all-inclusive

Last month, I shared the results from our 2024 Daily Drop annual survey.

We learned about your travel habits, points preferences, and… what you want more of this year.

And one thing (besides “everything”) came out ahead:

Y’all want some info on all-inclusive hotels.

And I have good news and bad news for yous… The bad news is that there aren’t a ton of ways to book all-inclusive with points.

The good news? That means the info you need is quite straightforward and simple.

Programs like Marriott and Hilton (and others) have some niche ways to book all-inclusive, but they’re just not very accessible to most people.

One famous property is Marriott’s Al Maha desert resort in the Dubai area.

At well over 100,000 points for ONE NIGHT, most people will just not care about or be able to take advantage of hotels like these.

Rather, I think most of you are more interested in the easy-to-find, easy-to-book, reasonably-priced beach resort vibes.

Thankfully, Hyatt has you covered.

Hyatt has a dedicated award chart JUST for all-inclusive properties:

Like Hyatt’s other hotels, this means that you’ll know exactly how many points you need to book a given stay, which is great.

The lowest prices for all-inclusive hotels are equal to the range of Hyatt Category 4 non-all-inclusive hotels, which is not bad.

For example, both of these all-inclusive resorts near Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic start at just 12,000 points per night:

That’s pretty solid, considering you just show up and don’t need to worry about paying for anything.

The other thing I like about Hyatt all-inclusives is that they have a pretty solid map that includes a ton of all-inclusive properties in Europe.

For example, I stayed at an Alua all-inclusive resort in Tenerife, Spain, a couple of years ago.

And the best part was that it was so damn cheap that I didn’t even need to waste points on it… and I stayed in July during peak travel season!!

$53 a night for me AND my friend was an insane deal, especially for a resort just steps from the beach.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you could get some insane value from the higher-end properties.

This extremely high-end all-inclusive normally costs over $700 per night but can be booked for just 42,000 Hyatt points per night.

It’s not the best value for Hyatt points, in my opinion, but the fact that you can book such a luxurious hotel with points is great.

And the all-inclusive factor definitely adds to the overall per-point value.

Of course, to do ANY of this, you’ll need Hyatt points.

To get them, you’ll want to get a card that earns UR Points, which you can transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio.

One solid welcome offer on a card like this one (which has a low annual fee) could mean a 5-night all-inclusive Caribbean vacation.

Not too shabby.

😭 It’s that time of year again

Alright, now for the dark side of Hyatt.

Around this time every year, Hyatt releases a list of properties that will be changing in category at the end of March.

Effectively, this means that some hotels will become more expensive, and some will become cheaper.

But mostly, they just get more expensive. 🙃

Or, in their words, it’s time to “prioritize your points.”

This year, it’s a mixed bag.

Overall, 151 properties are changing, including:

• 118 hotels going up in price

• 33 hotels going down in price

The key hotels to watch are ones that will move from Category 4 to 5 and from Category 7 to 8.

This is because these hotels will now no longer be bookable with Free Night Certificates, which have caps of either Category 4 or 7.

For those of you in the U.S., here are some notable changes to hotels in the U.S.:

• Hyatt Regency Newport Beach (Category 4 to 5)

• Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport (Category 4 to 5)

• Grand Hyatt Kauai (Category 7 to 8)

• Hyatt Place Atlanta Alpharetta (Category 1 to 2)

• Hyatt Place Chicago Oak Brook (Category 1 to 2)

• Two Hyatt Places in Detroit (Category 1 to 2)

That’s just a few… but there is a crap load of other Category 1 hotels that will now be Category 2, which is sad. 😢

But here’s the good news:

If you book these properties before March 25th, you can lock in the lower prices - even if your stay is many months away.

And here’s the other good news… there are some nice hotels that are also decreasing in price.

For example, the nicest hotel I’ve EVER stayed at, the Park Hyatt Jakarta, is going from Category 4 to Category 3, which is… beyond my comprehension. But I’ll take it.

Another interesting one is the Grand Hyatt in Amman, Jordan, which is going from a Category 2 to a Category 1, which means it will cost as few as 3,500 points per night.

I already have four nights booked here in April and May, so I’ll be eagerly waiting to rebook those nights next month to save some points!

So here’s the bottom line:

Hyatt is shaking up its pricing for over 150 hotels around the world.

Most of the price increases are in the U.S., so make sure you look ahead at your travel plans for the year and lock in the lower rates while you can.

Check out the full list of changes here.

✈️ Southwest’s 30% off Splash Sale

Apparently, Southwest is really craving summer because they’ve launched what they’re calling their Splash Sale which features up to 30% off base fares for travel in March, April, and May.

But… you have to book by TODAY, February 27th 😬

Here are some additional deets:

• You can receive up to 30% off for one-way or round-trip fares booked through Southwest’s website

• Use promo code 30SPLASH 

• This can be applied to continental U.S. travel between March 18 - May 21, 2025, or international, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico travel between April 28 - May 21, 2025

• There are some day-of-the-week restrictions, and you can find all other terms and conditions here.

So it’s as simple as using the promo code, searching your routes, and seeing the discounted price. Here’s an example of a hella cheap flight from Seattle to Las Vegas 👇

And remember, the airline’s personal co-branded cards are still offering a fantastic elevated welcome offer that includes earning the coveted Companion Pass! 😍

Phew, that was some heavy-duty Hyatt talk, eh?

I hope you learned a thing or two about booking all-inclusive hotels with points, and I hope that some of you can take advantage of Hyatt’s lower pricing before things change.

Until tomorrow, take care and have a great day.

Cheers,

42.6507° N, 18.0944° E