Recently we stayed at Hyatt Place Montreal Downtown during our spontaneous trip to Montreal. While hotels in Montreal are typically very expensive (upwards of $300 per night depending on location and type of property), we were lucky enough to get a “Cash + Points” via Avios for our 3-night stay at Hyatt Place. All in all, we paid around 57,000 Avios + $295 for our stay which included a high floor room with fantastic views of Montreal’s gorgeous skyline.

The icing on the cake was the breakfast that was included within the room rate. A comparable 3-night stay at the Hyatt Place Montreal Downtown can be priced at $400 per night (on average), which could have resulted in a spend of approx. $1,200 before taxes. This results in a points value of 1.75 Cents Per Point.

As I’ve always maintained, rewards points are most valued when they’re flexible and can be transferred over to multiple rewards partners for hotel, flights, and combo bookings. I’ll go over our booking process to secure this hotel booking as well as a mini review of the Hyatt Place at Montreal Downtown.

Transferring Amex Membership Rewards to British Airways Avios

I transferred roughly 57,000 American Express Membership Rewards to my British Airways Avios Account on a 1:1 conversion ratio. Amex usually has rewards transfer bonuses for transferring Membership Rewards to its frequent flyer or guest rewards partners (such as British Airways). As a ballpark, earning 57,000 points on a 5x point scale (that of the Cobalt Card), would imply a $950 spend per month on dining, restaurants and groceries, for about 12 months. Easily achievable if you have a welcome bonus offer on the Cobalt Card.

That would have made the deal far sweeter. Currently, Amex has one such offer on transferring Amex Membership Rewards to Etihad Guest Points (see below).

Booking via British Airways Avios

Booking flights or hotels on the British Airways website is easy with the website’s user-friendly interface. Navigating through the Book with Avios link, we were able to find a list of hotels in Montreal that met our budget, travel requirements, and desires. You’ll see below the reward redemption rate for a long weekend stay at the same Hyatt Place Montreal Downtown at a randomly selected weekend about 2 months from now – replicating the same advance duration of our booking.  

You will see above Avios and Cash part payment prices, which are obviously reflective of peak summer travel as the period is selected as such. The Avios + Cash deal options listed above are still of value considering the average nightly rate in Montreal Downtown in peak summer.

Hyatt Place Montreal Downtown

The Hyatt Place in Montreal Downtown is a very conveniently located Hyatt Property at the Berri-UQAM interchange in Montreal. Getting to this hotel is very convenient from Montreal Airport with public transportation (bus 747) and ride share (such as Uber) easily available. Although check in wasn’t until 3 PM the hotel staff were kind enough to offer us water and did their best to get us into our suite as early as possible.

The suite was clean and extremely well done, with all essential amenities – toiletries, coffee machine, lock safe, and portable iron and board. Hyatt didn’t disappoint us with the quality of its rooms yet again! Over the course of our 3-night stay, we were also impressed by the breakfast spread which included eggs, sausages, pancakes/waffles, fruits, yoghurt, breads and bagels, cereal and a wide range of teas/coffees.

Connectivity to Old Montreal and other downtown attractions

One of the reasons we chose to live at this property was the proximity to Old Montreal, which is by far our favourite urban spot in Canada. Montreal subway is conveniently located within the food court of Berri-UQAM, with Old Montreal being a few subway stops from Old Montreal. Also to note, Downtown Montreal’s Eaton Centre and shopping districts are a couple of subway stops from Hyatt Place Montreal Downtown as well. Overall, very conveniently located.

Although I’ve been to Montreal quite a few times, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Time Out Market within Montreal’s Eaton Centre. Filled with restaurants and counters from local chefs and artists, we were always on our toes looking for a spot to sit after ordering our meals. This location is a must try on your next visit to Montreal. I’ve never had better Indian cuisine outside India than at “Taj” restaurant within the Time Out Market.

Overall, our visit to Montreal was made memorable by our redemption of Avios for our hotel stay, which significantly brought down our costs on the trip while also elevating our overall travel experience. As I was say – stick with flexible rewards!