2 Nights in Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort with 46K Chase UR Points

We spent 46,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points to stay two nights in Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort for the perfect weekend getaway. Not only would the stay otherwise have cost approximately $1,000, but because we paid with points, the resort also waived away close to $150 in resort fees.

Like us, if you are looking for peace and serenity, you are in the right place! I will walk you through two easy credit card strategies that will help you replicate our trip.

Before going deeper, let me tell you got this post is structured

Trip Basics (hotel names, room type, perks, etc)

Redemption (points total, CPP, transfer partners, credit cards used, etc)

Credit Card Strategies (easiest ways you can do the same trip with minimal cost)

Trip Highlights (what we loved, some highlights, best food, etc)

Now, let's get started.

Basics - Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort

The resort is beautifully nested on a mountain in the heart of North Lake Tahoe. It's surrounded by stunning vistas - mountains, lakes and the little town of Incline Village.

Upon check-in, we were assigned a 1 King Bed standard room with resort and pool view. The front desk also gave us a pamphlet with a list of the myriad of free activities, from archery to kayaking, available on property.

The resort had a couple of restaurants, but they were either overpriced or mediocre in quality. During our stay, their private beach was closed due to renovations, but the resort offered free shuttles to nearby beaches. Not only that, but the resort also provided shuttles to visit nearby Incline Village town center.

All these perks and amenities are included in their daily $50 resort fee. However, as a perk for booking with points, resort fees are waived. That meant during our 2-night stay, we saved $100.

The Redemption - 46,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

To book the resort, we transferred 46K Chase UR points to Hyatt.

If paid in cash, the stay would have cost us approximately $1,000 for the two nights. Instead, we spent 46K UR points, resulting in a very high 2.32 cents-per-point or CPP.

This is yet another example why Chase UR points are best used on Hyatt properties.

Now, how did I accumulate 46K Chase UR Points?

Easy - strategically spending around $9,000 in the Chase Freedom Flex 5X categories. In the last 2 years, Chase had some quite attractive 5X categories, which could go as high as 9X with stacking opportunities:

Q1 2025 - Groceries, Fitness Clubs

Q2 2025 - Internet / Cable / Phone, Amazon

Q3 2025 - Gas Stations

Q1 2024 - Groceries

Q2 2024 - Restaurants

Q3 2024 - Gas Stations

When Chase gives us categories like Amazon and Dining, it's easy to accumulate Chase UR points.

Although it took me $9,000 spend to accumulate 46K UR points, you can do the same significantly faster, if you want to go on this amazing trip in the next few months.

So, let's talk about strategies next.

Strategies - Chase & Bilt Credit Cards

For starters, there are only two reward currencies that transfer to Hyatt.

Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR)

Bilt Rewards

Naturally, both our fast and slow point accumulating strategies will use some combination of these two.

Through Everyday Spending (Slow Approach)

Unfortunately, earning Chase UR points can be slow and tedious. Yes, you can rely on Chase Freedom Flex's 5X categories, but you might not be as lucky where Chase gives us categories like Amazon and Dining.

Here's one card setup you can aim for:

5X Rotating Categories using Freedom Flex

3X Dining, Drugstores using Freedom Flex

1.5X Everything Else using Freedom Unlimited

Unlike American Express and Capital One, Chase doesn't have bonus categories on common spend categories, such as, grocery and gas.

Although, you can supplement a Chase setup, with a Bilt card, if you are a renter. With the Bilt card you get 1X points on rent. If you live in a major city where you earn 1X points on rent, you can accumulate 46K points in no time.

Through Sign-up-bonuses (Fast Approach)

Now, let's imagine you want to do the trip in the next couple of months. Instead of waiting for $9,000 spend in 5X categories or $23,000 spend if you average 2X, you can get 75K points by signing up for one card.

Enter: Chase Sapphire Preferred.

You earn 75,000 UR points after spending $5K in 3 months. That's enough for not two but three nights!

There's also a no annual fee strategy you can take by signing up for 2 cards and making up the difference by spend.

Chase Freedom Unlimited - 20K UR points after spending $500 in 3 months

Chase Freedom Flex - same as above

That's a combined 40K UR points for $1,000 spend. It won't take you a lot of spend to earn the remaining 6K UR points.

If you are already paying rent through Bilt, you can even make up the difference by transferring 6K Bilt points to Hyatt, and combining them with the 40K UR points transferred from Chase to Hyatt.

Trip Highlights - Emerald Bay State Park, Bike Rentals

Hands down, some of the best views during our whole trip was in Emerald Bay State Park. Last time I was here, we did the hike down towards Vikingsholm. However, this time we kept it low key and didn't venture down. Instead, we sat by the rocks and absorbed the immense beauty surrounding us.

When it comes to food, I couldn't find a lot of good restaurants. There's only one I would highly recommend if you are looking for fresh ingredients - Sprouts Natural Foods Cafe. Close to the resort, I had one of the best Almond Toast in this cozy local cafe called Drink Coffee Do Stuff.

Now, onto the biggest highlight of the trip - biking through Tahoe East Shore Trail.

We rented e-bikes from the resort, then biked all the way down to San Harbor Beach, a total of approximately 2.6 miles. The views you get from the bike trail far exceeds anything you will see driving. The trail is fully paved with very little foot traffic early morning.

If you are coming to Lake Tahoe to do one thing only, I would make that biking the various bike trails in both North and South Lake Tahoe.

Closing Thoughts

All in all, we absolutely loved our Lake Tahoe trip!

It was all the more sweeter given our out-of-pocket hotel cost was literally $0. Instead of paying $1,069 for two nights, we spent 46K Chase UR points resulting in cents-per-point (CPP) of 2.32.

If you are planning to do the same, check out the recommended Chase cards - Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited and Chase Sapphire Preferred.