Book Now or You'll Pay Triple for This Hotel

No one likes it when hotels raise their prices especially when there isn’t any advance notice. So it’s a good thing Hyatt is telling us to book now or pay triple for this hotel.

Racking up points for free hotel nights is faster when you focus on big bonuses from travel rewards cards. But if you’re at 5/24 (have applied for 5 cards in the last 24 months), it can be harder to get approved for new credit cards.

You have to come up with creative strategies to earn more points. Which means that every point you earn on your existing cards could be worth more.

When hotels change their award charts and raise their prices it can make it harder to redeem for free hotel stays.

Thankfully, Hyatt is giving us time to make advance reservations at the Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest before the rate change.

Book Now or You’ll Pay Triple for This Hotel

You should book now or you’ll pay triple award points for the Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest.

Currently, the Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest is a Category 2 hotel which costs 8,000 points per night for free night awards or 4,000 points + 50% of the standard rate for points + cash rates.

It also means that you can book standard suites for only 13,000 points per night and premium suites for 16,000 points.

Pro-tip: As a Category 2 hotel, you can use free Category 1 to 4 night award from the World of Hyatt credit card, the 5 Brand Free Night award for staying at 5 different Hyatt brands, and the Category 1 to 4 free night from Hyatt Milestone awards.

But that changes when the Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest becomes a Category 5 hotel at 10 AM CST on July 30, 2019.

When the Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest is recategorized you’ll pay:

20,000 points per night (12,000 more points, almost triple) for free night awards
10,000 points + 50% of the standard rate for points + cash rates
32,000 points for standard suites
40,000 points for premium suites

Category 1 to 4 free night awards aren’t valid at Category 5 hotels so you’ll lose out on a hotel where you can stay for free.

But all is not lost, here’s what you should do.

What You Should Do

You should book advance reservations at the Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest using points and your free night certificates now or before 10 am CST on July 30, 2019.

The World of Hyatt lets you book up to 395 days in advance, August 15, 2020.

By booking future reservations at the Category 2 rate you’ll save money (points).

Pro-tip: Any changes you make to your reservation are subject to the new award chart on July 30, 2019.

So if you aren’t sure of your exact schedule, I recommend you book single night reservations instead of a multiple night reservation.

For example, let’s say you want to stay at the Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest in July 2020 for 7 nights. But because most airlines only let you book 331 days in advance, your exact travel dates might not match up with your hotel reservation.

Instead of booking July 11 to July 18, 2020 as one reservation, book seven separate one night reservations: July 11, 2020, July 12, 2020, and so on.

Pro-tip: You’ll get 500 bonus points per night for stays through September 30, 2019. No registration required.

Conclusion

The Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest will undergo a rate change. It is currently a Category 2 World of Hyatt hotel but will change to a Category 5 hotel at 10 am CST on July 30, 2019. That’s why you should book now or you’ll pay triple.

A Category 2 hotel costs 8,000 points while a Category 5 hotel costs 20,000 points. When the hotel goes up in price you can’t use your free night award from the World of Hyatt credit card and Hyatt Milestone awards nor the 5 Brand Free Night award for staying at 5 different Hyatt brands.

So you should book future reservations now. You can book up to 395 days in advance so up to August 15, 2020.

Jeff and I are planning a trip to Europe next year so I’m booking the Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest now before it goes up in price.

How about you?

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