Showing posts with label Milenomics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milenomics. Show all posts

April 23, 2017

A Week in Japan: Flight Milenomics

Last week, I published the Planning & Booking segment of the trip report for our upcoming trip to Japan and Hong Kong.  I included the mileage and cash cost of each flight segment and I've receive some questions around how to value the redemptions.  I figured I'd write a post around the flight valuations and can follow-up with hotels if interesting.

Valuing miles is definitely more art than science but I personally value the vast majority of airline miles between 1.5 and 2 cents a piece.  I wouldn't redeem unless I'm getting really close to 2 cents and one of the newest benchmarks is the ability to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points (with Amex Business Platinum) for 2 cents against airfare - which to me is essentially as good as cash.

Here's a recap on the miles redeemed (for 2) for our upcoming trip:
  • United Polaris Business Class DEN - KIX for 130,000 United MileagePlus miles
  • Cathay Pacific First Class HND - HKG for 55,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles
  • Singapore Airlines First Class HKG - SFO for 140,250 Singapore KrisFlyer miles
And the cash costs when I looked last week:
  • $9,276 for United to Osaka
  • $8,168 for Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong
  • $16,392 for Singapore Airlines to San Francisco
  • $212 for United home to Denver
  • $268 in taxes/fees

In total, that is 325,250 miles redeemed for $34,048 in flights.  Note that is the retail value and if you were going to purchase the flights, you could likely do somewhat better with discounts, credit card bonus categories, and mileage earning.  Let's assume that all in, that would amount to a 20% rebate (would vary wildly based on status and fare class but I think a fair assumption) valued as cash knocking the retail value down to $26,970 (including taxes/fees).

At that rate, the blended rate for each mile redeemed would be 8.3 cents.  Still amazing.  But how much would you actually pay for these flights?  That question is totally subjective but this is our fifth anniversary and I'd consider a splurge.  The best I could do to mimic the flights (combination of United and ANA) in economy priced out at $1,323 each.  No thanks.  

I think premium economy fares would be a fair comparison as I think a lot of you would be willing to pay a premium to be a bit more comfortable for a big trip like this for a special occasion.  How do those flights price out?  $3,238 each on Orbitz.  Since this is not a premium fare, booked from an OTA, and unlikely to earn as many miles, I'll discount the rebate to 15% which brings the fare to $5,505 for 2.  

See what I'm talking about in terms of the art?  That brings the redemption per mile to 1.7 cents - right in the middle of my valuations.  Another factor to consider is that I'm mileage rich and it's not that big of a deal to burn 325,250 miles on a balance of +1,000,000 miles.  It's a different story when considering paying $3,000 - $6,500 for two tickets.  I'd much prefer to spend the miles which require a bit of time and ingenuity to acquire and save the cash for other experiences.  In addition, there are both comfort and enjoyment factors that need to be considered.  We'll arrive rested (on both ends) and enjoy our vacation and make the transition back to work a lot easier.  We also love flying - especially on these carriers and wouldn't be able to do it without miles.

Overall, this is a great set of redemptions regardless of your valuation.  

February 18, 2017

Hyatt Points + Cash a Great Deal at the Park Hyatt Seoul

I'm headed to Seoul in July for a couple of nights and based on reviews, am really excited to stay at the Park Hyatt.  I'm even more exited about using a combination of points and cash to make it a great deal.


Standard rates (not prepaid) with tax are running $389 per night.  I had three options:
  • Pay $389/night 
  • Burn 20,000 points per night
  • Burn 10,000 points per night and $140/night 

While $389/night isn't horrible for a Park Hyatt in a big city, it's a lot of money.  Hyatt points are relatively easy to acquire (transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards) but I still want to get the most value out of them if possible so burning 40,000 points wasn't ideal.  That would have given me a return of 1.95 cents/point.


I decided to book the points + cash rate which requires 20,000 total HGP points and $140/night.  This equates to a value of 2.49 cents/point given the $389 AI rate.

I'm pretty happy with that as Hyatt redemption given my goal of trying to redeem them for 2 cents per point.  

I'm looking forward to my stay and will post more details in the lead up to the trip in a few months.

October 9, 2016

The $500 Aloft

I'm working on a November trip to the UAE to head back to Al Maha and spend a bit of time in Dubai.  I'll have more on the trip soon but we'll be flying back from Abu Dhabi aboard Etihad's 777 first class.

We needed an overnight in Abu Dhabi and hotel rates are insane.  All three Hyatt properties are sold out.  Both St. Regis properties are selling for $700 and $1200 respectively.  The city is crazy that week due to the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix.  I would have loved to return to the Park Hyatt given our stay earlier this year essentially was rained out.

Cash or points?
We settled on the Aloft Abu Dhabi given the proximity to the airport and a couple of sites that we'd like to check out during our overnight.  Rates were insane.  The Aloft was selling for more than $500 with tax.


And this is why points open up the world.  3,000 SPG points (actually 9,000 Marriott points instantly transferred) scored us a hotel room worth $500.  Is it the most aspirational use of points?  Definitely not.  But we need a hotel room and it should do.  Full trip details coming soon.

June 11, 2016

Getting the Most out of Hyatt Gold Passport Points

I've booked several iterations of a trip to Tokyo over the past few months.  Based on changing schedules, we've had to make a few changes and now Emily is going to join me!

I was waffling on where to stay given so many great options.  Patience won out and the Andaz opened up with Points + Cash availability a few days ago.  I quickly booked the reservation and couldn't be more excited to stay in what is supposed to be the best Andaz in the world.


Even though the date of the trip changed, the price remained roughly the same.  The two nights will run me roughly $388 and 25,000 HGP.  As a Platinum member paying with the Hyatt Chase card, I'll earn roughly 2,712 points which I value at around $54.  That brings my total "cash outlay" down to $334.

If I paid cash, the total outlay would be around $1,080 and I would earn 7,560 points valued at around $151.  That brings down the total "cash outlay" to $929.

So the 25,000 points are replacing $595 in cash.  That's a point value of 2.38 cents.  Redeeming points straight (50,000 total) and you receive a point value of 2.16 cents.  Either way, it's a great redemption and above where I value HGP points.  But the vast majority of the time, Points + Cash is going to result in a higher per point valuation.

If you are points rich and cash poor, than the calculation may be a bit easier.  But if you can afford to pay $155/night ++ than it's worth taking a look at the C+P valuation to see if you come out ahead.

April 10, 2016

How to Value Starwood SPG Points

One of the most challenging concepts in travel is how to value loyalty points.  Each time you opt to use miles/points earning credit card over a cash back card, you're "giving up" around 2%.  That's because there are several cash back cards on the market offering 2% back on all spend.  So at a minimum, you should be getting at least 2 cents in value for each mile/point acquired.

If you are using your Chase Sapphire Preferred and redeeming those points for merchandise, that is a bad deal no matter what.  If you are using your United miles to fly domestic economy, that isn't a "bad deal" per se but you're certainly giving up the opportunity to receive an outsized return on your everyday spend.

As I'll explain in a moment, that is why I use my miles and points for international first class and luxury hotels.

Watching the sunset

March 22, 2015

Paying Federal Taxes With a Credit Card

Earlier in the year, I posted about paying local property taxes (here in Denver) with a credit card.  But what about federal taxes where most of us owe the bulk of our tax bill?  While most people likely shy away from paying their taxes with a credit  card, it can make sense in a bunch of situations.  I've been paying my estimated taxes with a credit card for the past few years and after doing the math, I feel like I've come out ahead each year.

There are several options to pay your taxes (personal or business, estimated, etc...) with a credit card.  The cheapest "convenience fee" you'll find on any of the federal tax sites is 1.87% at payUSAtax.  There are really three situations where paying this fee makes sense.  Keep in mind in both situations that having the cash to pay off the credit card bill is paramount - if you're paying interest and fees on top of the 1.87%, you are not going to come out ahead.

Pay federal taxes at payUSAtax for 1.87%

March 7, 2015

Back to Basics: What's the Point?

I've been writing this blog for about 15 months (slacking lately but promise to pick it up) and I often get questions from friends and colleagues regarding "the best credit card" and "how does this whole thing work?"

I wrote a handful of introductory posts last year (getting started page) but figured I'd reprise the series a bit in the hopes that I can answer some of your questions (Doug - read this).

The whole concept of "travel hacking" is relatively new to me.  Maybe three years.  I've always been interested in travel, aviation, and loyalty programs.  But it takes a bit of research, experience, and trial and error to really put it all together.

At this point in my life, I want to see new places and experience new things.  And I don't really want to stay in a Holiday Inn Express.  I don't really want to sit in the back of the plane (but I will) and I've found that my travels/vacations are WAY better if I a) enjoy the journey and b) arrive rested and ready to go.  And I've found that by being strategic in managing my credit card spend, applying for new credit cards, learning the airline and hotel loyalty program award chart and redemption options that I can do exactly what I want.

I could put all of my spending on one 2% cash back credit card.  They are readily available.  But there's no "leverage" in that.  Even if I put $3,000 in spend on a card per month...that's only $720 in cash back PER YEAR.  That's really only going to pay for a couple of domestic flights.

So I take advantage of the sign-up bonuses that the card issues are offering.  Emily does the same thing.  We buy stuff online (that we need) through shopping portals.  We both use the "right" cards for the "right" purchases based on the bonus categories those cards offer (i.e. 2x points for travel and dining on Chase Sapphire Preferred).  Doing this, we easily rack up one million points and miles per year.

Now we could leverage those points and miles for domestic coach travel.  And that would totally be cool.  But we're still young and have (generally speaking) very little obligation and we want to see the rest of the world.  And let's be honest, sitting in the back of a metal tube next to a stranger for 15 hours isn't anyone's idea of fun.

This is much more fun:

Singapore Airlines A380 Suites "Double Bed"

With a little organization and knowledge (which hopefully you can gain from this blog) we're able to turn those points and miles into premium cabin flights and stay in hotels that we would never pay for with cash.  So I'll gladly give up 2% cash back on my everyday spend so that I can experience new places and things with my wife (and my brother this summer).  135,000 miles would get me 5+ domestic coach roundtrips on United or American.  That is a lot.  Or I could fly Cathay Pacific First Class roundtrip between the US and Asia.  Since it's not that hard to earn 135,000 miles, I prefer to see the other side of the world.  No judgement to anyone that just wants to leverage their points and miles to go home, see family, or some new part of our beautiful country.  If I can help you do that...awesome.

Before I got into this hobby, we traveled a fair amount but it was to New York, Vegas, LA, Phoenix, Mexico, etc... In the last three years, we've been to 14 countries on 3 Continents.  This year we'll go to at least 5 although several our repeats...we're going back to our favorite places to see more of them.  We're creating memories that will last forever.

The point is that you can do this (whatever "this" is) as well.  Part of figuring out how to make things work for you is to figure out what your goal is.  I'm going to dedicate an entire post to this but that's really the first step.  Do you want to see another part of the world in a premium cabin or do you want to fly home to see your childhood friends?  Do you want to stay a week in a super nice resort or do you want to stay a month in a perfectly acceptable but not luxurious hotel?

Here's to a great year of travel - whatever that means for you.

February 7, 2015

Is Upgrading to Hawaii a Good Deal?

Generally speaking, premium cabin flights to Hawaii from the lower 48 aren't anything special.  Unless you're flying on a handful of United flights, you're not getting a lie-flight bed, amenity kit, fancy Champagne, etc...That said, the flights can be pretty long.  Even from Denver, you're looking at  7+ hours westbound and nearly that coming home.

You are off to Hawaii after all (so in theory you should be pretty stoked) and the airlines know this.  So first class fares are exorbitant.  For our trip to Maui in October, we found relatively cheap coach fares (~$800 each) with a stop in San Francisco on the way there and the direct flight home.

Andaz Maui

Upgrading coach tickets to first class using miles used to be a decent use of miles.  But now it is so easy to earn a massive amount of miles that it's far better "value" wise to book an award ticket in a premium cabin.  Obviously this reduces the cash outlay as well.

One exception I've found is Hawaii.

  • Our cash fare cost $800 per ticket
  • Had we purchased a first class fare for the outbound (coach home) the fare would have been ~$1,800
  • Basically United is selling the first class upgrade for ~$1,000

Cash upgrade

Since the upgrade doesn't mean a ton to me, I figured I'd check to see if there was availability using miles.  It is 8+ hours in the air so I'm willing to "pay something" for an increase in comfort.

Mileage upgrade

There were a couple of seats available (I took the screenshot after I upgraded one of us) for 25,000 miles each way.  We are sitting on a boatload of United miles so this was a pretty easy decision.  The inbound redeye is pretty uncomfortable either way so we'll both take our chances on the back of the bus.

While I wouldn't pay $1,000 cash each for the upgrade, the fact that 25,000 miles is "buying" $1,000 in cash value is pretty good ($.04/mile).  I would imagine this is the way United sells the majority of it's upgrades prior to departure.  Hawaii is also a good use of a United Regional Premier Upgrade (RPU) if you are sitting on any of those.

November 22, 2014

How to Build Your Own "Cash & Points" Redemption

One of the best uses of hotel points is the "cash and points" redemption.  Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and Starwood, all offer some sort of cash and points redemption opportunity.  Often times, you can get "more value" out of your points redeeming this way vs. redeeming points outright for a room.

That said, it can be challenging at times to find availability.  So sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands.  Em and I are presently in New York for the weekend and wanted to stay at the W Union Square.  When we first made the reservation, rates were going for $400++ so I booked two nights at 20,000 SPG points a piece.  That's a steep price to pay but getting 2.25 cents a point isn't bad either.

Friday night in Union Square

Over the last couple of months, rates dropped from $400 to $350 and finally down to $270.  But I could only secure that rate for the first night of our stay.  The second night was going for $370.

So I made my own "cash and points" rate by booking the first night at $270 and the second for 20,000 points.  If you average the two nights, that's $135 and 10,000 points per night.  Compare that to the Starwood Category 6 cash and points rate of $180 cash and 10,000 points per night and I'm actually coming out ahead.

I was able to quickly chat with SPG Platinum customer support and they linked the reservations together.  Upon check in, we were upgraded to a suite (two categories) for the first night but they only had availability the second night at a one level upgrade.  We opted to "downgrade" the first night so we didn't have to switch rooms on Saturday night.

That was a good choice as our Spectacular room is spacious (as far as NYC rooms go) and has a great view of Union Square.

September 14, 2014

Why International First Class is a Steal

Emily and I both love Hong Kong.  We were there for the first time in 2012 on our Honeymoon and loved the city.  So we've been itching to go back but dates/flights just haven't worked out.  Until now. Yesterday, I was able to change a speculative award (that was booked under the old United award chart) to an award that we actually plan on using.

First Class availability on United's SFO - HKG route has been hard to find...especially for two seats.  But it opened up yesterday and we pulled the trigger.  United First Class certainly isn't as cool as Lufthansa or Singapore but it's still 15 hours in the nose of a 747.  Hard to complain about that.














But here's the thing - the two award tickets (one-way) cost 140,000 MileagePlus miles.  Had we paid cash, the tickets would have set us back $19,125.  While I certainly wouldn't pay that (or really anywhere near that) price, that is an unreal value.  Maybe the best award I have ever booked at 13.7 cents/mile.

And this is why leveraging your miles and points for international first class is such a "deal."  You'll never get anywhere close to this type of value out of your points if you just book coach tickets to Vegas, Miami, or Chicago.

Even if you use your miles to book international coach or business class tickets, you still won't get anywhere near 13.7 cents/miles because the premium to book first class tickets (especially on United metal) is so small.  A first class saver ticket costs roughly 2x the amount of miles as a coach ticket.  But the cash cost is more likely to be 6x or 8x a coach ticket.

So we are pretty stoked to be heading back to Hong Kong.  We hope to spend a few days in Taipei as well over New Years.  I will keep you posted as we make progress on putting the trip together.

Now on to the next challenge...finding a flight home!

April 13, 2014

One Credit Card Signup Bonus Can Get You to Europe

One card I consistently put spend on is the British Airways Chase Visa.  The current offer provides 50,000 Avios after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days of cardmembership.  The $95 annual fee is not waived for the first year.

The current is offer is good but you can do better

But from time to time, Chase and British Airways sweeten the offer.  Last November, I applied and was approved for the card with this offer:

  • Spend $2,000 in the first 90 days and receive 50,000 Avios
  • Spend $10,000 in the first calendar year and receive an additional 25,000 Avios
  • Spend $20,000 in the first calendar year and receive an additional 25,00 Avios
  • $95 annual fee which was not waived for the first year
  • Earn 1.25 Avios for each dollar spent
  • After spending $30,000 in any calendar year, receive a "travel together" ticket which is essentially a BOGO.  The certificate can even be used on an award ticket!  This benefit effectively "doubles" your mileage balance

I have hit the first two thresholds earning 75,000 bonus Avios already.  Let's look at a hypothetical example of someone who applied for the card on January 1st.
  • Total spend of $30,000 in a calendar year earns 37,500 Avios
  • Bonuses earn 100,000 Avios
  • Travel together ticket doubles the effective balance to 275,000 Avios

Yes, you will still have to pay the taxes/fees if you redeem the travel together ticket.  But 200,000  Avios gets you two (2) roundtrip business class tickets from the US to Europe.  Taxes and fees will probably set you back around $1,000.  In this example, you would have enough points to get you to Europe and back and an additional 75,000 Avios.  From one card!

My bet is this offer comes back later in the year.  I will be sure to post when it does.  In the meantime, I am still working on getting to $30,000 in spend on this card using a couple of tricks I've laid out previously.  If you want to go to Europe in style, this is one of the best all around cards to help get you there.

March 23, 2014

Paying Taxes With a Credit Card to Earn Points & Miles

I'm in the unfortunate (or fortunate since I did not give a "free" loan to Uncle Sam) position of owning money on both my state and federal income taxes.  Several people have asked me if there is value in paying taxes with a credit card.  The good news is that the short answer is yes.  But the answer can be a bit more complicated depending on your particular situation.

All of the Federal IRS tax payment vendors charge a "convenience fee" of between 1.88% and 2.35%.  The convenience fee is a payment card industry term and an easy way of passing the actual cost of processing the card on to the customer (in this case...you).

So let's say you owe the IRS on your taxes this year.  You have a few options.  You can pay the IRS via direct debit from your checking account, write a paper check, or pay with a credit card.  If you pay with a credit card, you will incur the ~2% fee but you will gain extra time to pay because your credit card statement won't due on 4/15.  And you will earn points if you put the charge on a points earning credit card.

January 18, 2014

How Many Miles Did We Earn in 2013?

I keep a pretty organized (happy to share if you'd like just let me know below) spreadsheet containing a ton of information about my mileage earning.  It also helps me keep track of our credit card applications, minimum spend required, etc...this is very much a team effort as Emily earned roughly 48% of the total.

I looked back at the spreadsheet this morning and summarized it below.  We earned almost 1.7 million miles and points last year with almost 90% of that coming from credit card bonuses.  We applied for (and were approved for all but one) 24 credit cards in 2013.  Read this post first if you are new to the concept of earnings points/miles through credit card bonuses.

The rest of our earnings were a mix of goodwill from service issues, promotions and other random sign-up bonuses.


We earned over 500,000 Hilton points which (enough after their devaluation) is good enough for 6 nights at the Conrad in the Maldives.  This property can retail for over $1,500 per night so that is almost $10,000 in value!

We have already burned the 321,500 American Express Membership Rewards points we earned to fly Singapore Airlines Suites Class back from Bali in July.

Conrad Maldives

This doesn't include the miles we earned by flying/staying which amounted to another 225,000.  We also purchased a handful of miles (25,000) during a couple of promotions across the year and earned around an additional 150,000 or so miles and points for our "everyday" spend including category bonuses and shopping portal bonuses.

All in, that is over 2 million miles and points generated during 2013!  So where do things stand in terms of point balances now?  According to Award Wallet, we have over 1.6 million miles "in the bank."  We are planning a few trips for later in the year so hopefully we'll be able to put them to good use very soon.  All in all, it was a very good year in terms of earning and burning!

January 11, 2014

Miles & Points vs. Cashback

A lot of people have asked me why they should switch from a cashback (or a debit card) to a miles/points earning credit card.  Everyone is in a different situation but generally speaking, all of us like to travel in some capacity.  You might like to travel to weddings, family gatherings, business travel, domestic vacations, international vacations, or all of the above.  Here are my thoughts on why you can derive so much more value from leveraging the variable valuation of points and miles cards for your everyday spend.

The top cashback card on the market right now is the Barclays Arrival(TM) World MasterCard.  The annual fee is waived for the first year ($89 thereafter) and offers a 40,000 point sign-up bonus and 2% cashback on everyday spend.  In addition, you can get an additional 10% back on your travel "redemptions" effectively making the rebate 2.2% back on spend.  So once you're received the signup bonus, you are capped at a 2.2% return on your spend because cashback is cashback.  You can't redeem the "points" for something that varies in cost like a plane ticket or a hotel night. And that is the best deal on the market (ignoring periodic 5x bonuses that Chase Freedom and Discover cards offer in specific categories).

January 9, 2014

How to Get 25% off at Starbucks

Like most people, I need coffee in the morning.  Like most people, I get a significant percentage of that coffee from Starbucks.  Since our new office is a 4 minute walk instead of a 2 minute walk, I've reduced the frequency of my trips but I still go quite a bit.  It can definitely get expensive so here's a quick overview of how to easily save 25% on your coffee this quarter.  This might seem complicated at first but it's really pretty simple...

  • If you haven't already, sign-up for the Starbucks Rewards program.  You can download the app on  your phone, reload your card on the fly, and even pay with your phone.  It is awesome.  You can even keep track of your "points" within AwardWallet.  When you get to 30 purchases within a year, you get "Gold" status.  Many of you probably have already achieved this level of addiction  

Starbucks has a great rewards program


5x points on gas, movies, and Starbucks this quarter

  • Load your Starbucks card with your Chase Freedom card and go get some coffee!
  • As long as you are Starbucks gold, for every 12 purchases, you get a free one.
  • Redeem your free Starbucks reward for something better...like an Evolution Juice which is $5
  • Transfer your 5x "cashback" from your Freedom card to your Ultimate Rewards account

Here's how the math works:
  • 5 points per dollar x 2 (two cents per point) = 10% back
  • Spend $3 per coffee x 12 = $36...get a free drink worth $5 = 13.9% back
Total rebate = 23.9%

Obviously this depends on the price of the coffee you purchase and what you get with your free reward but it's a nice discount on something you all likely purchase several times per week.  Let me know if you have any questions!

January 7, 2014

Why I Love the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The most "abused" card I have in my wallet is the Chase Sapphire Preferred(R) card.  Beyond the awesome look (name on the front, numbers on the back) and feel (this card is heavy) the CSP has some outstanding benefits.  There are certainly more benefits but here are my top 10:
  1. The current sign-up bonus is 45,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
  2. 2x points on travel and dining
  3. 3x points on dining on the first Friday of each month through the end of 2014
  4. A 7% annual dividend on all points earned including the sign-up and category bonuses
  5. $0 annual fee for the first year, $95 thereafter
  6. The ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards points between accounts (super useful for couples/families to consolidate balances)
  7. Access to the Ultimate Rewards Mall for additional earning opportunities
  8. Awesome transfer partners including United, Marriott, Hyatt, British Airways, and Korean Air
  9. Most points transfer instantly so you can locate your award and then transfer the points
  10. No foreign transaction fees when traveling abroad (typically 3%).  You can also get the card with a chip (like mine below) so you can use it in Europe.  Many places won't accept the card without the chip.
My "abused" CSP

If you don't already have this card, you should get it right away (post on getting started) and put it in your wallet.  For most people, these are the most lucrative category bonuses.  Approximately 50% of my spend falls into the travel or dining category.  Travel is pretty broad and includes airfare, hotels, rental cars, parking, etc...I have this card linked to my Uber account as those charges count as travel.

Here's a quick example if you get the card today:
  • Spend $2,000 per month, 50% on travel and dining
  • You would earn 3,000 points per month in spend (36,000 total for the year)
  • 45,000 bonus points in month three for hitting the new cardmember bonus
  • The 7% dividend would pay out 5,670 points at the end of the year

In total, you would earn 86,670 Ultimate Rewards points.  This doesn't take into consideration the 3x "First Friday" or any additional points earned through the Ultimate Rewards Mall.  Those points could be transferred to a variety of different partners but let's use a real world example.  You could transfer the points to Hyatt and redeem for 4 nights at the Park Hyatt Istanbul where we stayed in November.  When we stayed, the hotel was selling for $380 USD per night.  The hotel is a Hyatt category 5 and requires 20,000 points per night or 80,000 total.

So you would be getting $1,520 in "value" from $12,000 in spend.  That is a 6.33% return!  Pretty solid redemption and a great way to get a luxury hotel stay for managing your everyday spend efficiently.