I not too long ago 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 in all many actions obtainable by Discover, Hyatt’s expertise platform, the place World of Hyatt members can earn and burn factors.
Here is every thing it is advisable find out about Discover, what my expertise was like and why I believe Discover is price 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 gives entry to fastidiously curated wellbeing experiences to assist encourage folks to be their finest selves.” There are presently over 500 experiences in over 75 locations obtainable on the Find website.
Should you’re planning a visit (or searching for one thing enjoyable to do at dwelling), you may search by nation or state to see what’s on supply in your vacation spot. You can too search by class (arts, tradition & group, exploration and restoration), or you may enter key phrases to slender your search.
Not like some resort expertise platforms, which concentrate on reveals or sporting occasions, Discover’s choice runs the gamut. In fact, your choices will depend upon the place you are headed — and massive cities appear to have the most effective choice. Costs differ significantly, too.
Some examples embody 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 can too discover tickets to reveals and museums, letting you earn and burn Hyatt factors on one thing you might have already been planning. For example, an entry ticket to the Nashville Nation Music Corridor of Fame and Museum prices $31 or 2,225 factors, or you possibly can see “Aladdin” on Broadway for $110 or 7,849 factors.
Some experiences are “curated” by a Hyatt resort, however you usually haven’t got to remain on the resort to e-book the expertise. The exception is for experiences that explicitly embody a resort keep, like a “Depraved”-themed evening on the Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor ($475 or 33,955 factors).
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Anybody can view Discover experiences, however you have to be a World of Hyatt member to buy them. Should you log into your account whereas looking, you may 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 package deal, which incorporates tickets for 2 to the dinner, a meet-and-greet with the chef, a predinner cocktail hour and one evening’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 e-book, 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.
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RACHEL CRAFT/THE POINTS GUY
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 food regimen — and it was the most effective meals I’ve eaten. It was not solely flavorful but in addition protein-packed and filling (a tough mixture to search out in vegan restaurant choices).
My omnivorous companions appeared to take pleasure in their customary menu simply as a lot. Everybody — from my husband, who will eat something, to seasoned culinary writers — appeared impressed with the meals.
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RACHEL CRAFT/THE POINTS GUY
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 Hotel in Mexico in February. Should you’re all in favour of attending and you’ve got particular dietary wants, I might suggest contacting the resort to see if they will accommodate you earlier than reserving your ticket since this Discover expertise was nonrefundable.
The Thompson Denver Discover package deal value $832 or 59,428 World of Hyatt factors. Nonetheless, you possibly can additionally purchase tickets to the dinner solely by Thompson’s website for $135 per particular person 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 package deal.
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 by 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. Here is why.
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Are World of Hyatt Discover experiences price it?
Should you redeem World of Hyatt factors for a Discover expertise, generally, you may get a price 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, however it’s not horrible for an expertise redemption.
I maintain the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which lets me redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards factors for actions by the Chase Travel℠ portal at a charge of 1.25 cents every. Or, I may e-book actions with my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card; in the event that they code as journey, I may use Capital One miles to reimburse myself at a charge of 1 cent every. The Discover platform affords higher worth than both of those choices.
In case you have your eye on a Discover expertise that may be prohibitively costly, otherwise you’re decided to plan a complete trip on factors and miles, it is a strong possibility. Nonetheless, you may in all probability get more value out of your Hyatt points by redeeming them for Hyatt resort stays, particularly at luxurious properties or throughout peak dates.
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Should you’d slightly save your factors for a extra aspirational redemption, you’ve got the choice to e-book 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 primary member. You may earn much more factors in case you maintain Hyatt elite status or pay with a Hyatt bank card, as much as a most of 17 points per dollar. Plus, factors earned by Discover depend towards Hyatt elite status.
Discover works otherwise 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 must spend — or in case you’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 admire that you would be able to select between incomes or burning factors right here. If an inexpensive exercise catches my eye, I am going to in all probability buy it with my World of Hyatt Credit Card to spice up my Hyatt account stability. If I discover one thing costlier, just like the Thompson Denver Chef Sequence and mixed resort package deal, I might contemplate redeeming factors for it as a substitute.
You can too present Discover experiences to household and buddies, a pleasant choice to have in case you’re searching for a unique gift idea for a hard-to-shop-for beloved one. And, in 2023, Hyatt launched a brand new characteristic: A choose few Discover experiences at the moment are bought 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 doubtlessly helpful software. Actions are at all times a giant a part of my trip plans, and I am thrilled to have a method 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 not too long ago attended, they stand to supply nice worth.
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