Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach on Points!
Perched on Florida’s stunning Gulf Coast, the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach offers the perfect blend of family-friendly luxury and unbeatable value—especially when booked with points. With spacious suites featuring kitchenettes, a rooftop pool overlooking the ocean, Camp Hyatt for kids, and direct beach access, it’s an ideal redemption for a relaxing yet activity-filled getaway.
We have decided to take our kids on a solo 13th birthday trip! This is completely doable because of credit card points. It's so much fun to spoil them and know we aren't breaking the bank. For our oldest daughter's birthday she picked Clearwater Beach, Florida where we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa.
She kept telling us all she wanted was a beach and to swim in the ocean so this was the ideal fit for us. This amazing hotel is right across from the beach and so easy to get too.
This property is currently a Award Category 6 for Hyatt and the points needed for off-peak is 21,000 and go up to 29,000 for peak stays. Standard rooms feature two queen beds and a kitchenette making it ideal for families.
The Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa features a rooftop pool, ocean view dining and is just stands away from the sugar sands of Clearwater Beach. There is a free pool snack each day on the rooftop, receive free beach and pool chairs, plus get 50% off beach chairs and umbrellas on the beach!
We took advantage of the beach towels and the beach chairs every day. It was so handy. You get a card at check in to turn in for beach towels at the hut by the beach. Then walk out to your beach chair that's set up and a person will come over and you can charge it straight to your room (Get those extra Hyatt points by charging everything to your room!).
I sent an upgrade request email to the hotel about a week before check-in letting them know we were celebrating Kinzee's birthday and when we arrived we had balloons and a gift card to their Market!
Below is the view from our room balcony! I booked a 1 Bedroom Suite with 2 Queen Beds and Full Kitchen. I used a suite upgrade award I got from a milestone level with Hyatt, so I paid the same amount of points as a regular room (2 Queen Beds with Kitchen), but you can also spend a few extra points and book the suite with points if you don't have a Suite Upgrade award. Once again, Globalists have these and can gift them if you know one!
How to get to Clearwater Beach, Florida
We recommend flying into Tampa Bay International Airport (TPA). It is a highly rated, efficient hub serving major domestic and international airlines including Delta, Southwest, American, United, JetBlue, and Air Canada.
We booked a nonstop flight on Delta from MSP. We choose to book this using Virgin Atlantic Points, which is a partner of Delta, because there was a transfer bonus of 30%. Essentially you use the Virgin Atlantic portal which can be less points than Delta to book a Delta flight. If you are just beginning this might get confusing quickly. We transferred flexible points from our Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card to Virgin, then booked a Delta flight on through their portal. Not ALL Delta flights are released to Virgin, so this doesn't always work. When it does I like to do it this way because I find it's usually the same price or cheaper, plus we have more Capital One miles than Delta Miles.
Not ready for that complex of a strategy? I would recommend grabbing a Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to start earning points for free flights, plus you will get a free checked bag with this card! Remember American Express Membership Rewards points are the only flexible points that can be transferred to Delta so the American Express® Gold Card is another great option here!
Another great option with Southwest and grabbing one of Southwest credit cards and possibly even earn that companion pass that offers you buy one get one free flights with a companion!
Rental Car
The hotel is a quick and easy 30 minute drive. We rented a car onsite, but honestly you could totally uber there and back if you'd like. We parked our rental and never used it until it was time to drive back. Now, if you are looking to explore the area and different beaches grab a rental car. We stayed for four nights and walked to restaurants each night.
Car rentals are hard to cover with points unless you book directly in a credit card travel portal.
Another option is to reimburse yourself for the car rental by charging it to your Capital One Rewards Credit Card and reimbursing yourself for the charge with miles. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a great option if you want to do this!
We have the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card which has a yearly $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Travel so we booked through Capital One Travel and used this credit.
All information about Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, The World of Hyatt Credit Card has been collected independently by Plan Pack Go. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Onsite Dining
SHOR American Seafood Grill is their main restaurant that is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is where we were able to eat breakfast for free due to our Globalist status and it was amazing! You can choose from ordering off the menu or eating at the breakfast buffet. We did both. The breakfast buffet was good, but when we ordered off the menu it was far better. Kinzee still talks about her French Toast Bites that she dipped in chocolate!
We slept in, then hit up breakfast right before it closed because it was so hearty a lot of the time we ate a big breakfast, spent time on the beach with some snacks then ate supper. We also ordered a couple fruit platters which we didn't finish, then boxed them up and saved them for an afternoon snack after the beach!
This saved us $100 a breakfast on average. If you don't have Globalist try to find a friend with Globalist (hint send me a email!) and get a Guest of Honor certificate if they have extra which means you get Globalist benefits! You can also earn GOH certificates as you earn milestone rewards from Hyatt. This is done by number of nights you stay in Hyatt hotels or by spend on Hyatt Credit Cards.
They also have Tropico Rooftop Cantina that is located by the pool and you can eat on the terrace looking out over the ocean. We did not eat here.
The also have the Market where you can grab snacks, drinks etc. It's right where you walk in/out to go over to the beach. I don't know why, but when we came off the beach one afternoon after being hot that Uncrustable tasted amazing!!
There are TONS of restaurants around the area that I recommend eating at too. We enjoy Frenchy's, Crabby's, Sandbar at Opal Sands Resort (you sit right on the water so cool!), and. They were all great and I recommend!
Things to do in Clearwater Beach
We honestly parked our car and didn't move it again until we left for the airport! We spent most of our time at the beach.
Kinzee did ask to do a private fishing charter which there are a ton of options. The one we did was subpar and I would not recommend it. We've done different ones in the Florida gulf that were way better. Fishing charters are great, just not the one we did!
There is the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which we also didn't do because of time restraints, but next time we go this is on my list. The dolphin from Dolphin Tales was kept there and the movie was filmed there, so before you go make sure to watch the movie. My kids were obsessed with this movie when they were younger!
Other things that are popular to do are dolphin tours, Captain Memo’s Pirate Cruise, Parasailing, and more!
Credit Cards to Open to Travel for Almost Free!
Wondering how I covered our hotel rooms for FREE? Or how to cover your flights for almost free? Here are the cards I would open.
Points for Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach
If you do not have our FAVE beginner card make sure you have the first!
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is our #1 card and the perfect card for beginners just getting started on their points-and-miles journey. Check out our full review of this card!
If you open this card you'd have enough to cover at least two nights. If you have a Player 2 that doesn't not have this card I would recommend referring them to this card. They would get 60,000 bonus points after they met the spend of $4,000 in the first 3 months and you'd get a bonus from the referral giving you enough points for 4-5 nights for free.
Already have that card? I would recommend the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Another option is Ink Business Cash® Credit Card which currently has an offer of 35,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional 40,000 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening. This card is marketed as a cash-back card, but you’ll actually earn Ultimate Rewards® points. Pair it with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to open up the transfer partners. Wondering if you qualify for a business card we have an entire post about it!
These are flexible points that can be transferred from Chase to Hyatt and that makes them so valuable. Another option would be to open up a The World of Hyatt Credit Card with a standard welcome offer of 60,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. This offer can vary.
Learn how to Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards in to Hyatt in this article!
The Wrap Up
We had a wonderful stay at Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach and it's perfect for families or a couple that wants to get away for a bit! It's hard to beat the easy access to the beach and walkability to restaurants and activities. Kinzee is asking to go back as a family so you know it was a hit!
Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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