Purchasing travel products through online shopping portals is TPG’s favorite way to stack points and earn benefits. So imagine my delight when Hyatt quietly joined Rakuten last week and offered 3% cash back on completed hotel stays in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
It gets better. For Cyber Monday, Rakuten is now offering 15% cash back on Hyatt hotel bookings made through the Rakuten website. Since Rakuten also allows the option to earn American Express Membership Rewards or Bilt Rewards points instead of cash back rewards, that means you’ll also earn 15 points per dollar on bookings made on December 1, 2025.
In addition to only applying to North American accommodations, there are some restrictions to keep in mind. Cash back is not available for reservations paid with points, gift card purchases, or purchases made with gift cards. You also need to be patient. Your earnings will not be added to your Rakuten account until you complete your stay.
New to Rakuten? In addition to the increased cash back rate, you can stack the new customer referral offer and receive a $50 cash back bonus after spending $50 or more through Rakuten in the first 90 days.
Maximizing my earnings on my upcoming trip to New Mexico
When I saw the Cyber Monday cash back offer increased to 15%, I jumped at the chance to maximize my earnings on an upcoming last-minute trip to New Mexico this month.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the Willa Hotel since it opened in Taos Historic District last spring. Hospitality group Casetta transformed this 1960s motel into a charming boutique hotel with an artist-in-residence program led by the Paseo Project and Juliette, a farm-to-table restaurant. The hotel is now part of Hyatt’s partnership with Mr. and Mrs. Smith, so if I book a stay directly through the Hyatt website after opening bookings on the Rakuten Hyatt page, I can take advantage of Rakuten’s bonus rewards.
With a nightly price of $180 for a deluxe king room in mid-December, my two-night stay at the Willa Hotel came to $360, plus $51.05 in tax. Since Rakuten doesn’t typically offer tax or shipping incentives, I expected a 15% return on $360, or $54. I might choose to redeem the cash back for Bilt points, though, because based on TPG’s current valuation, which values Bilt Rewards points at 2.2 cents per Bilt Rewards point, 5,400 points would be worth roughly $118.
Hyatt is also a Bilt transfer partner, so once those 5,400 points are credited to my account, I can transfer them back to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, saving money on free award nights in 2026.
Stack my rewards
Speaking of Hyatt points because I made the reservation on my website World of Hyatt Credit Card (See Rates & Fees) I’ll earn up to 9 points per $1 spent on Hyatt stays – 4 bonus points per $1 spent on eligible purchases at Hyatt hotels, and up to 5 base points per $1 spent on Hyatt hotels as a World of Hyatt member, plus a 10% bonus as a Discoverist elite member. This means I will soon see an additional 8,820 World of Hyatt points added to my account.
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RELATED: 5 Reasons I Love My World of Hyatt Credit Card and Plan to Keep It Long-Term
All in all, I hope to earn 8,820 Hyatt points and 5,400 Bilt points from my two-night stay. Since standard points bookings at Hyatt Category 2 hotels start at 8,000 points per night, I can convert it to a free night or save it for a more luxurious redemption.
bottom line
Now that Hyatt is on Rakuten, I can stack my regular credit card and World of Hyatt membership earnings with bonus rewards from the online shopping portal, making it easier to accumulate points for my next redemption.
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