World of Hyatt is a very strong hotel loyalty program. Points are easy to earn (largely through their partnership with Chase), and Hyatt’s generous award chart makes it possible to get huge value from those points. One sore spot is that the program offers relatively few perks with their mid-tier elite status. However, those who earn enough nights to reach the coveted top-tier status get access to the best perks around (free suite upgrades at the time of booking, free parking on award stays, no resort fees, etc.).
If you have any of the Chase Ultimate Rewards cards that allow point transfers to partners (such as Chase Sapphire Preferred , Sapphire Reserve , Ink Business Preferred ), it’s important to know the World of Hyatt program. Bilt Rewards also transfer 1 to 1 with Hyatt. You’ll often get great value by transferring your points to Hyatt and booking an award stay, especially considering that Hyatt waives resort fees on award stays.
The following chart shows current point prices for free nights. Resort fees and destination fees are waived when you book a stay with points and/or free night certificates.
Hyatt uses a peak and off-peak award price system. The chart below shows award prices for categories 1-8 standard rooms, club rooms, suites, and premium suites.
Award prices shown above for all-inclusive brands are for up to 2 people per room. Hyatt charges more for additional guests, as follows:
If you don’t have enough points for an award stay, you can choose to book Points + Cash instead. The points rate for Points + Cash awards is exactly half the points required for regular free night awards. The cash component is 50% to 70% off the standard cash rate. Hyatt has not explained under what circumstances they offer 50% off.
Poor Value
Hyatt’s Points + Cash Awards are usually a bad deal. Point awards offer the best value when cash prices are high; and cash bookings offer the best value when cash prices are low. Points + Cash strikes a middle-ground where you’ll generally get less value than by paying all in points or all in cash. Of course if you are short on points, these awards can still make sense, especially when the cash rate is 70% off.
Good Value Suites (Sometimes)
Sometimes the properties charge the cash component based on 50% of the cost of a standard room even when booking a suite or premium suite. When this happens, point+cash awards can offer good value, especially when the cash rate for a suite is disproportionately larger than the rate for a standard room.
Resort Fees not Waived
Hyatt waives resort and destination fees for rooms booked with points or free night certificates. Points + Cash awards, though, are treated like paid nights and so those fees are not waived (except as a standard benefit of top-tier Globalist status).
Hyatt purchased Mr and Mrs Smith (MMS), a hotel booking platform that specializes in boutique hotels. It’s effectively like a luxury hotel travel agency. Hotels booked through Mr & Mrs Smith provide an extra perk for your stay, such as a bottle of champagne, a free massage, a picnic lunch, etc. Properties are bookable through Mr & Mrs. Smith can also be reserved via other channels and sometimes through similar platforms like Small Luxury Hotels of the World (partnership with Hyatt ending soon), Preferred Hotels, etc.
Free night certificates can be earned through Hyatt credit cards, through Milestone Rewards, Hyatt’s 5-Brand Free Night Award, etc.
Once a free night award is in your Hyatt account, you can book a free night by searching Hyatt.com for a stay using points:
Then, simply click “Book Now” under “Free Night”:
Another way to book free night certificates is by searching for a paid stay and clicking “Pay My Way” to apply free night certificates and/or points to some or all of the nights.
World of Hyatt members earn a Free Night Award each time they complete stays at 5 new (to them) Hyatt brands. This is not an annual benefit but a lifetime member benefit. For example, you can stay at 2 different brands in one year and then 3 additional brands in a later year in order to earn a free night.
Number of possible free night awards: 5 (at the time of this writing, there are 28 qualifying brands)
Free night award details:
Valid for one night at any category 1-4 Hyatt (including during peak rates)
Valid for 12 months from issue
Do award stays count? Yes
Hyatt conveniently lets you book a single stay online with any combination of points, points+cash, free night certificates, or cash rates. To find this option, you must search for a paid stay, even if you intend to book entirely with points and free night certificates. In the search results for a paid stay, you should see a link titled “Use Pay My Way”. Click that link to proceed.
Not all Hyatt hotels have club lounges, but they are available in some Hyatt Regency and Grand Hyatt hotels. Club lounges usually include free breakfast, late afternoon canapés & drinks, and evening desserts. While you can always pay more (in cash or points) to book a room that includes club access, there are several ways to get upgraded to club access instead:
Globalist elite status : Those with top-tier Globalist status automatically get free club access on every stay.Guest of Honor award : If a Globalist member booked your stay as a Guest of Honor award, you are eligible for all Globalist benefits, including free club access.Club Lounge Access Awards : Through Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards (starting at 20 nights), it’s possible to earn Club Lounge Access Awards. On any paid or award stay, you can apply a Club Access Award to be upgraded to club access for the entire length of your stay (up to 7 nights). Note that you cannot apply a lounge access award to a night booked with a free night certificate.Club Upgrade Awards on Paid Nights : On qualifying paid rates, it’s possible to upgrade to club lounge access by paying 3,000 points per night.
Before upgrading or paying extra for club access, it’s recommend contacting the hotel to find out if the lounge will be open and offer full service during your stay.
Upgraded Casita at the Hyatt Royal Palms includes a peaceful front patio.
If you want to stay in a suite but you don’t want to pay full price for it (in cash or points), you may be able to get an upgrade instead. Hyatt hotels often have standard suites and premium suites. Most of the following options apply only to upgrades to standard suites, except where noted.
Here are your options…
Globalist elite status : Those with top-tier Globalist status are automatically eligible for suite upgrades at check-in, based on availability. While upgrades to standard suites are most common, it’s not unusual to snag a premium suite upgrade now and then.Guest of Honor award : If a Globalist member booked your stay as a Guest of Honor award, then you are eligible for all Globalist benefits during your stay, including free suite upgrades at check-in, based on availability.Suite Upgrade Awards : Through Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards, it’s possible to earn Suite Upgrade Awards (starting at 40 nights). On any paid or award stay, you can apply a Suite Upgrade Award to be upgraded to a suite for the entire length of your stay. One upgrade award can be used for a stay of up to 7 nights. Suite Upgrade Awards can be applied as early as the time of booking. To apply a suite upgrade award, a standard suite must be available for the entire length of your stay. Note that you cannot apply a suite upgrade award to a night booked with a free night certificate.Suite Upgrade on Paid Nights : On qualifying paid rates, it’s possible to upgrade to a suite using points. At non-resort hotels, the qualifying paid rate is for a standard room. At resorts, the qualifying paid rate is for a deluxe room. This option can offer amazing value when the price of a suite is far higher than the price of a standard or deluxe room:
Suite Upgrade: 6,000 points per night.
Premium Suite Upgrade: 9,000 points per night
Like most other hotel chains, Hyatt offers multiple levels of elite status. In general, only top-tier Globalist status is particularly rewarding. To make up for that, Hyatt also offers Milestone Rewards where you can earn valuable perks starting with 20 nights in a calendar year.
During our stay at the All-Inclusive Hyatt Zilaria in the Dominican Republic, my Hyatt Globalist status gave us access to premium restaurants and a butler!
The chart above shows the requirements to reach each level of elite status as well as the major perks that each level offers above and beyond the lower status levels.
Guest of Honor is a Globalist elite feature. The idea is that Globalist members can treat family or friends to award stays where they get the same elite treatment as the Globalist member even if that member isn’t joining them.
Guest of Honor Details
Guest of Honor (GOH) became a Milestone Reward (previously, it was a perk exclusive to Globalist status). It gives you the ability to give someone (including yourself) Globalist status for a single stay, up to 7 nights. This works with both paid and award stays.
Additionally, when given to another person, the giver will receive an elite qualifying night upon completion of the stay . Those who have earned Globalist status in 2023 for the 2024 elite year (or have lifetime Globalist status) started 2024 with 5 Guest of Honor Awards.
Those with lifetime Globalist status will receive 5 Guest of Honor Awards on March 1 of every year beginning in 2025.
Applies to paid or points stays
The recipient receives all in-hotel benefits due to a Globalist member
Not valid at Hyatt Residence Club resorts.
How to Gift a Guest of Honor Stay
Once you log in to your World of Hyatt account, under My Account, click on Awards. Then, you will find your Guest of Honor ” giftable ” award. All you need is the first and last name and World of Hyatt account number of the person you would like to give your Guest of Honor award. Then, the award will show up in that person’s World of Hyatt account, and they can apply it to their desired reservation.
Elite status levels can be earned each calendar year through Nights, Base Points, or Meetings. Unfortunately, they’re not stackable. You cannot get to a level of status by doing some of each: some nights + some base points + some meetings = no progress. Among those paths, earning status through elite nights is the only option that provides shortcut opportunities. Another option is to participate in a status challenge. Both options are explored below…
Shortcuts to elite status through elite nights
World of Hyatt Credit Card
Automatically earn 5 elite qualifying nights each year
Earn 2 additional elite qualifying nights with every $5,000 spend
Free category 1-4 night after $15K spend per cardmember year (when you use this free night, you earn an elite night towards status)
Free category 1-4 night every year upon renewal (when you use this free night, you earn an elite night towards status)
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card : Earn 5 elite qualifying nights with every $10,000 spend.Partner property stays : When you stay at a Hyatt partner property, you can earn Hyatt elite night credit.Free night awards: When you stay at a Hyatt or partner property on points or with free night certificates, you earn an elite night for each night of your stay.Meetings and events: For every $5,000 in eligible event spend billed to a Group Master bill, the event/meeting planner will earn two elite night credits (maximum of sixty elite nights per calendar year). Spend can be associated with only one member per event.
In addition to the elite benefits described in the previous section, Hyatt awards members with Milestone Rewards when they complete certain numbers of elite-qualifying nights each year.
World of Hyatt introduced a number of changes to their Milestone Rewards as of January 1, 2024. Here’s a summary:
Almost all Milestone Rewards are now shareable. This means, for example, that you can now share your Club Access Awards with friends.
More choices: Most Milestone levels now offer choices in addition to automatic rewards. Once you earn a choice reward, you have 90 days to make your selection.
More perks for very frequent guests: Milestone Rewards, which previously topped out at 100 nights, are now awarded up to 150 nights
More online capabilities. We are now able to gift Milestone Perks to other Hyatt members both online and in the app; and we are able to apply milestone perks to reservations. One exception: the ability to apply Suite Upgrade Awards online New/Changed Milestone Awards:
Guest of Honor : The ability to give someone (including yourself ) Globalist status for a single stay, up to 7 nights, is now a Milestone Reward starting at 40 nights, rather than an unlimited Globalist Perk. It now works with both paid and award stays. Additionally, the giver receives an elite qualifying night upon completion of the stay . Those who have earned Globalist status in 2023 for the 2024 elite year (or have lifetime Globalist status) will start 2024 with 5 Guest of Honor Awards. Additionally, those with lifetime Globalist status will receive 5 Guest of Honor Awards on March 1 of every year beginning in 2025.The Ultimate Free Night Award (earned at 150 qualifying nights): Good for one free night in any Category 1-8 hotel, Category A-F all-inclusive resort or participating Miraval resort.Miraval Extra Night (a choice beginning at 100 nights): Stay one night at a Miraval resort to receive a complimentary second night (in other words, this works like a “Buy One, Get One” coupon). This works with either paid nights or award nights.FIND Experience Credit : FIND credits up to $300 will be available as a choice at various Milestones. These can be used individually or combined on any FIND experience around the globe.2K Next Stay : Earn 2,000 Bonus Points on your next stay at a Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Caption by Hyatt or UrCove hotel. Your next stay must be within 180 days of selecting this award.
Milestone Reward limitations:
Club Lounge Access Awards and Suite Upgrade Awards are valid for the rest of the current calendar year and 14 months beyond.Free night awards are valid for 180 days from the date issued.FIND Experience discount must be used within 6 months of issuance.
If you get close to earning a Milestone Reward within a calendar year, but you won’t get there naturally, it may be worth booking a cheap stay or spending more on the World of Hyatt credit card or World of Hyatt Business credit card to get there. To decide whether it’s worth doing so, it’s a good idea to separately estimate how much you’d be willing to pay for the rewards available at the next level. You should do so if it would cost you that much or less to earn those extra nights.
The table below shows example values. It is a good idea to be very conservative in these estimates, especially if you don’t know how you’ll use each benefit. For example, you get a category 1-4 free night once you achieve 30 nights. There’s no doubt that it’s possible to use that cert for a hotel room that would have cost $250 or more. But it would be crazy to pay $250 for that certificate unless you know that you’ll use it for far more value. Since these free night certificates expire, and if you don’t have a solid plan for its use, you should estimate far less than $250 for how much you would pay since it’s possible that you’ll never use it at all.
Hyatt Privé is a program that makes it possible for travel agents to book Hyatt hotels at standard rates but with extra perks. Not all Hyatt hotels participate, but many do. When you book a stay through a Hyatt Privé agent, you get the following benefits:
Free breakfast for 2 each day (which consists of restaurant breakfast rather than just club lounge breakfast)
A 1-category room upgrade roughly at the time of booking based on availability (requested with the hotel right away and said to be confirmed within 24 hours; in practice it takes a couple of days for the hotel to confirm).
A welcome amenity
Early check-in (as early as 9am) subject to availability
Late check-out at Park Hyatt properties (as late as 4pm) subject to availability
A $50 or $100 property credit per stay (it’s always $100 at Park Hyatt hotels but can vary between $50 or $100 at other brands)
Full Hyatt elite credit.
Full elite benefits for those with status.
Waived resort fees at select properties.
If you’re thinking of booking a Hyatt for a paid stay, it makes a lot of sense to book through a Privé agent so that you can get all of these extra perks. One great way to take advantage of the confirmed upgrade is to book one level below the room you really want.
There are many ways to earn Hyatt points:
Hyatt credit cards (see the credit card section of this guide for details)Chase Ultimate Rewards : Points can be transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt as long as you have one of the premium or ultra-premium Chase Ultimate Rewards cards. These include: Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business Preferred, and Ink Plus. For details, see: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide .Bilt Rewards: Bilt Rewards is the program that rewards people for paying rent. Bilt points transfer 1 to 1 to Hyatt.Hyatt hotel stays : Earn 5 points per dollar (plus elite and promotional bonuses)Dining, Spa & More : Earn 5 points per dollar at participating locations. Points can be earned for these services even if you are not staying at the hotel as long as you provide your Hyatt account number at the time of service.Small Luxury Hotels of the World stays : Earn 5 points per dollarHost a meeting : Earn 1 bonus point per dollar spent, up to 50,000 points.FIND Experiences : Earn 10 points per dollar
Through FIND, you can use points to book experiences or earn points when paying cash.
Find and book FIND Experiences here .Redeem points : FIND awards are priced at 1.4 cents per point value. For example, a $140 experience costs 10,000 points.Earn points : Earn 10 points per dollar plus an additional 4 points per dollar if you pay with a World of Hyatt credit card.
At participating Hyatt hotels, regardless of whether or not you are staying at the hotel, you can earn Hyatt points or spend Hyatt points on dining, spa & more services. The following chart shows the point redemption rates:
If you choose to pay for these services instead, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar.
It’s possible to earn points and elite status by holding meetings at participating Hyatt hotels. It’s also possible to redeem points for meeting charges. Here are the details:
Earn one Bonus Point per eligible U.S. dollar spent (up to 50,000 Bonus Points) for hosting a qualifying meeting or event at Hyatt
Earn elite status by holding multiple qualifying meetings within a calendar year:
Discoverist: 3 meetings
Explorist: 10 meetings
Globalist: 20 meetings
For every $5,000 in eligible event spend billed to a Group Master bill, the event/meeting planner will earn two elite night credits (maximum of sixty elite nights per calendar year). Spend can be associated with only one member per event.
A qualifying meeting includes:
10 paid guest rooms, or
Meeting room or event space and purchased catered or banqueted food or beverages
You can also use points for meetings, at 1.3 cents per point value:
15,000 Points = $200 Credit
30,000 Points = $400 Credit
45,000 Points = $600 Credit
60,000 Points = $800 Credit
75,000 Points = $1,000 Credit
Hyatt members can earn or spend Hyatt points for Avis car rentals.
Earn Points
Earn 500 Hyatt points per paid rental
Get 25% off base rates with Avis Worldwide Discount (AWD) number K817700
Redeem Points
Redeem 6,000 points per day for an intermediate sized car. To reserve a Car Rental Award, call (800) 544-9288. Please note: 6,000 points per day usually represents poor value for your points. The exception would be if the rental would otherwise cost $90 or more per day.
Earn miles instead of Hyatt points
If you prefer to earn airline miles rather than Hyatt points for your stays, you can opt to earn miles according to the following chart. Earnings are per stay, not per night:
Point transfers to airline miles
You can transfer Hyatt points to airline miles, starting with 5,000 Hyatt points minimum. Additional points can be converted in 1,250 increments. You’ll also earn an extra 5,000 Bonus Miles when you convert 50,000 or more points.
5000 Hyatt points = 4,000 LATAM kilometers. With 10,000 bonus kilometers, 50,000 Hyatt points = 50,000 kilometers.
5000 Hyatt points = 4,000 Aeromexico® kilometers. With 10,000 bonus kilometers, 50,000 Hyatt points = 50,000 kilometers.
5000 Hyatt points = 3,200 Air China kilometers; or 3,200 China Eastern Airlines points. With 8,000 bonus kilometers, 50,000 Hyatt points = 40,000 miles.
5000 Hyatt points = 3,000 Virgin Atlantic Airways miles. With the 7,500 bonus miles, 50,000 Hyatt points = 37,500 miles.
5000 Hyatt points = 2,400 Southwest Airlines® points. With 6,000 bonus miles, 50,000 Hyatt points = 30,000 miles.
5000 Hyatt points = 2,400 Qantas Airways points. With 6,000 bonus miles, 50,000 Hyatt points = 30,000 miles.
5000 Hyatt points = 2,000 miles in other programs (AA, ANA, Delta, United, etc.). With the 5,000 bonus miles, 50,000 Hyatt points = 25,000 miles.
In most cases, point transfers to airline miles represent poor value.
Hyatt generously allows members to share points with others, for free! Simply fill out the form found here and email it to moc.t 1714337182 tayh@ 1714337182 ttayh 1714337182 fodlr 1714337182 ow 1714337182
Hyatt points expire after 24 months of inactivity. To reset the clock, simply earn points or redeem them.
There is currently one personal card and one business card available from Hyatt.
Up to 60,000 Hyatt points — 30,000 points for $3,000 spend in 3 months + up to 30,000 points for spend on $15,000 in 6 months
This is a two-tiered signup bonus with the first bonus being 30,000 points earned after spending $3,000 on the card within the first 3 months. The second bonus offer is dependent on how much you spend, where you'll earn 2x points per dollar spent in the first 6 months (on purchases that normally earn 1x point), on up to $15,000 spent.
60,000 World of Hyatt Points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months.
For the small business owner who loves Hyatt, this is an intriguing offer. If you have high monthly spending, this card will also help you earn Globalist status.
