Three all-inclusive nights in Jamaica, and a flight that cost $488 out of pocket for two
Two people, three all-inclusive nights at Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall in Montego Bay, and round-trip flights from Miami: total out of pocket, $488.22. The room cost nothing because it went on a World of Hyatt free-night award. The flights were $738.24 before 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points knocked $250.02 off in the Chase Travel portal. That's the entire trip cost — May 2023, straight off the confirmations.
People assume a Caribbean all-inclusive means dropping a couple thousand before you ever leave the house. Here's the actual breakdown, nothing rounded to make it look better than it was.
The flight
The hotel
The flight: how 20,000 points knocked off $250
The nonstop from Miami to Montego Bay is short, a little under two hours. We booked on February 18 for a May 8 departure — seventy-nine days ahead, which is roughly the window where Caribbean fares stop being silly. Both tickets went through the Chase Travel portal, and 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points came off the total.
That's the number worth remembering: in the Chase portal, points from a Sapphire Preferred card are worth 1.25 cents apiece. So 20,000 points came off the bill as $250.02, not $200. The $738.24 fare for both of us dropped to $488.22 charged to the card — $244 a head, round trip, to the Caribbean. Same flights, same seats. The points just did a quarter of the work.
For the record, in case you want to price the same routing: out on AA 1501, Miami 10:07 a.m. to Montego Bay 11:00 a.m. Back on AA 2763, 3:29 p.m. to 6:17 p.m. Main cabin both ways. We did move the return up a day after booking, and the portal rebooked it — but change rules depend on your fare and the airline, so don't assume yours is flexible. Read the fare rules before you count on it.
The room: an all-inclusive on a free night
Zilara Rose Hall is the adults-only side of Hyatt's resort in Montego Bay, and it's genuinely all-inclusive — the food, the drinks, the beach, all of it folded into the room. We stayed in a king room with a private balcony, a little under 500 square feet, from Monday the 8th through Thursday the 11th of May.
The confirmation doesn't list a nightly rate, because there wasn't one. Where the rate normally prints, ours read STANDARD ROOM FREE NIGHT. The stay went on a World of Hyatt free-night award, booked the same February morning as the flights.
What does a night there cost when you're paying? Here's a screenshot I took in the Hyatt app while poking around dates a few weeks past ours — an ocean-view junior suite, $834 a night average.
That's a bigger suite than the one we had and a different week, so it isn't our rate. It's the honest version of the comparison anyway: this is a resort where cash nights land in the high hundreds, and the award covered ours. The flight was the only real spend on the whole trip.
What the status actually got us
There's a version of "hotel status" that's just a line in an email. This wasn't that. We checked in as World of Hyatt Explorist members, and the resort left a printed letter in the room listing exactly what that got us. I photographed it, so you don't have to take my word for the details:
- Complimentary upgrade to the best available room, one-bedroom suites excluded
- Five base points per eligible dollar, plus a 20% bonus on eligible purchases
- Complimentary 2:00 p.m. late checkout, on request and subject to availability
- Complimentary premium internet
- Daily concierge service and a signature drink at the bars
- 30% off cabanas · 15% off massages, room upgrades, wine and lobster · 10% off the gift shop and private candlelit dinners
Two caveats the letter prints in small type and I'd rather you hear from me: the discounts don't stack with current promotions or already-discounted items, and the late checkout is availability-based, not a guarantee. Ask at check-in, not at 11 a.m. on your last day.
None of it is life-changing on its own. Over a few days at a place where a cabana or a massage isn't cheap, it adds up to real money you simply never spend.
The two cards that built this trip
A Chase Sapphire card is what turned everyday points into a discounted flight. A World of Hyatt card is what turns nights into free stays like Zilara — and Chase points transfer straight into World of Hyatt at 1:1, which is what ties the two together. Here's where we keep our current picks.
See the cards we use New to points? Start hereHow to copy it
You don't need our exact trip. The pattern travels: put your flights on a Sapphire card and book them through the Chase portal so every point is worth 1.25 cents, and save your World of Hyatt nights for the places that are painfully expensive in cash — resorts, all-inclusives, big-city hotels. The cheap nights you pay for. The costly ones you don't.
We'll keep posting these as we take them, receipts and all. If you want the next one when it lands, the newsletter is the place.
Questions people actually ask about this
Can you really book an all-inclusive resort with hotel points?
With Hyatt, yes. The Ziva and Zilara all-inclusive resorts are bookable on World of Hyatt points and free-night awards, and the food and drinks are part of the room rather than a separate bill. Award pricing moves by resort, season and date, so price your own dates in the World of Hyatt app before you plan around it.
Is redeeming in the Chase travel portal actually a good deal?
It's the simple option, not always the best one. A Sapphire Preferred gets 1.25 cents per point in the portal, which is a fixed, predictable discount on any flight you can find. Transferring the same points to an airline or hotel partner can be worth considerably more — or considerably less. Compare both before you redeem; if the transfer math isn't clearly better, the portal is a perfectly good answer.
How do you get World of Hyatt points if you barely stay at Hyatt?
Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, which is why Hyatt punches above its size for people who mostly earn on Chase cards. The co-branded World of Hyatt card also earns nights and points directly. Current earn rates and benefits are set by the issuer — check their page for what's live today.
Did the free night cover absolutely everything?
It covered the room, which at an all-inclusive means the food and drinks too. It doesn't cover what you buy on top: the spa, the cabanas, the private dinner on the sand. Taxes and fees on award stays vary by property and country, so read your own confirmation rather than assuming ours matches.
More from the trip
Shot on the ground in Montego Bay — no stock, no filters.
