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The World of Hyatt loyalty program is among the most lucrative hotel programs out there. With valuable points and a number of ways to earn them, the hotel brand has a lot to offer.
But on the flip side, Hyatt has a rather small global footprint compared with bigger hotel brands like Marriott, IHG, and Hilton, so you may be limited in where you can use your hard-earned rewards and perks. Here’s everything you need to know about the World of Hyatt loyalty program.
What is the World of Hyatt loyalty program?
The World of Hyatt program is a robust system of hotels and resorts located around the globe. The Hyatt brands include over 25 different brands that you may be familiar with. These hotel chains include Alila, Alua, Andaz, Breathless, Caption by Hyatt, Destination by Hyatt, Dream Hotels, Dreams Resorts & Spas, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt House, Hyatt Place, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Studios, Hyatt Vacation Club, Hyatt Vivid (coming soon), Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Ziva, Impression by Secrets, JdV by Hyatt, Miraval, Park Hyatt, Secrets Resorts & Spas, Sunscape, Thompson, The Unbound Collection, UrCove, and Zoetry.
Across those different Hyatt brands are more than 1,250 properties worldwide where you can use your Hyatt points to book free stays and take advantage of elite status perks. That means you're in luck whether you want to stay in New York, Las Vegas, or many other vacation destinations around the world.
Hyatt recently launched Hyatt Homes & Hideaways, a short-term vacation rental platform that features private and/or remote homes across the United States. Members have the opportunity to earn elite night credits and points in the World of Hyatt program when booking vacation rental homes through the Homes & Hideaways platform.
While that 1,250 figure is eclipsed by some of the larger hotel brands — including Marriott/Marriott Bonvoy (with over 7,000 properties), IHG/IHG Rewards Club (with over 5,600), and Hilton/Hilton Honors (with over 5,700) — the value that the World of Hyatt program provides can make up for the limited selection.
Joining the World of Hyatt loyalty program is free. Simply go to the World of Hyatt website and fill out the enrollment form.
How Hyatt points work
The first thing to learn about the Hyatt loyalty program is how you earn points and how you can redeem them.
How to earn World of Hyatt points
There are several ways to earn World of Hyatt points, but the most prominent way is through the hotel’s co-branded credit card, The World of Hyatt Credit Card. While this rewards card does have an annual fee of $95, this is easily offset by the annual free night award. Cardmembers also receive automatic elite status in the World of Hyatt membership program at the Discoverist level. This status gets you benefits like free Wi-Fi and a free bottle of water daily at participating Hyatt hotels.
Check out our World of Hyatt Credit Card review.
You can also earn points with any of the best travel credit cards that allow transfers to the Hyatt loyalty program. Chase Ultimate Rewards can be earned with a number of cards and then transferred to your Hyatt program account. Chase credit cards we recommend include:
Note that you can also indirectly earn Hyatt points with the Chase Freedom cards and the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, as long as you have one of the other cards listed above and transfer your points to that card’s Ultimate Rewards account, then to your Hyatt account.
But a credit card isn’t required to earn points. Here are some other ways you can rack up World of Hyatt rewards:
- Stay at Hyatt properties: You’ll earn five base points per dollar you spend on stays, dining, spa experiences, and more at Hyatt hotels and resorts.
- Stay at partner hotel brands: You’ll earn five points per dollar spent on qualifying purchases with Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt.
- Book flights with American Airlines: If you have a frequent flyer account with American Airlines connected to your World of Hyatt account and are an elite World of Hyatt member, you’ll receive one point per dollar spent on qualifying flights — and that’s in addition to the American AAdvantage miles you earn on your booking.
- Book rental cars with Avis: For each qualifying rental with Avis, you’ll receive 500 points plus up to 25% off your reservation. You’ll need to include your World of Hyatt membership number during the booking process and a discount code provided by Hyatt.
- Purchase points: You can buy between 1,000 and 55,000 bonus points at a rate of 2.4 cents per point. While that can be a quick way to earn, the purchase price is likely more than what the points are worth when you redeem them. As such, buying points is usually best if you just need a couple thousand when you’re short and want to book a stay.
What World of Hyatt points are worth
World of Hyatt points are some of the most valuable hotel points around. While values can vary based on your specific redemption, they’re worth roughly 1.5 cents to 1.7 cents on average, depending on where you look — and that’s assuming you’re using your rewards to book hotel stays.
How to redeem World of Hyatt points
Here are the number of points you need per night:
| Category | Standard room | Regency/Grand Club room |
Standard suite | Premium suite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3,500-6,500 | 5,500-8,500 | 6,500-9,500 | 7,000-13,000 |
| 2 | 6,500-9,500 | 10,500-13,500 | 11.500-14,500 | 13,000-19,000 |
| 3 | 9,000-15,000 | 14,000-20,000 | 17,000-23,000 | 18,000-30,000 |
| 4 | 12,000-18,000 | 18,000-24,000 | 21,000-27,000 | 24,000-36,000 |
| 5 | 17,000-23,000 | 24,000-30,000 | 29,000-35,000 | 34,000-46,000 |
| 6 | 21,000-29,000 | 29,000-37,000 | 36,000-44,000 | 42,000-58,000 |
| 7 | 25,000-35,000 | 34,000-44,000 | 43,000-53,000 | 50,000-70,000 |
| 8 | 35,000-45,000 | 45,000-55,000 | 56,000-66,000 | 70,000-90,000 |
If you don’t have enough Hyatt loyalty points to book your stay, you can mix points and cash. The rates can vary based on room type and category, and you typically won’t get as much value per point as you would booking entirely with World of Hyatt rewards.
Other redemption options include:
- Suite upgrades: If you paid for your stay in cash, you can upgrade to a better room with a certain number of points per night, depending on the upgrade award type.
- Stay at all-inclusive resorts: You can stay at any of Hyatt’s six all-inclusive resorts starting at 20,000 per night, plus 10,000 or 12,500 points per person per night, depending on the resort.
- Dining and spa experiences: You can get credits toward dining and spa experiences, as well as other expenses, when you stay at participating Hyatt properties. With this redemption option, however, your points are typically worth between 0.5 cents and 0.83 cents apiece.
- Transfer to partner airlines: If you need to top off one of your frequent flyer account balances, you can transfer your Hyatt points to more than 20 partner airlines. In most cases, you can transfer a minimum of 5,000 Hyatt points for 2,000 airline miles.
The World of Hyatt tiers, explained
As a World of Hyatt program member, you’ll earn base points on every stay, free breakfast at participating Hyatt Place hotels, and a special member rate at participating Hyatt hotels and resorts. You'll also have resort fees waived at participating locations when you use your free night awards.
If you want more perks, however, you’ll need to move up to one of the program’s three elite status tiers: Discoverist, Explorist, and Globalist. Once you’ve met the requirements to earn your tier status, you’ll maintain it through the remainder of the current calendar year, the following calendar year, and through February of the year after that.
Here’s what you need to do to gain each elite status tier and what benefits come along with them.
Discoverist
The first elite status tier, Discoverist, requires members to complete 10 qualifying nights, earn 25,000 base points, or hold three qualifying meetings or events in a calendar year. You’ll also receive automatic Discoverist status if you have the World of Hyatt Credit Card.
Special perks include all the ones you get as a standard member, plus:
- 10% bonus points on eligible purchases with Hyatt
- Premium internet and a complimentary water bottle every day
- A dedicated check-in area and 2 pm late check-out (as available)
- Room upgrades within the same type booked, when available
Explorist
You’ll achieve Explorist status after you complete 30 qualifying nights, earn 50,000 base points, or hold 10 qualifying meetings or events in a calendar year. Once you reach this level, you’ll get all the same perks as Discoverist members, plus:
- 20% more points on eligible purchases with Hyatt
- Room upgrades to the best room available (excluding suites)
- Last-minute guaranteed availability if you book at least 72 hours in advance
Globalist
Hyatt’s top elite status tier is Globalist. Globalist members reach this level once they’ve completed 60 qualifying nights, earned 100,000 base points, or held 20 qualifying meetings or events in a calendar year. You can also earn Lifetime Globalist status once you’ve earned 1 million base points total.
Globalist status includes all the perks of Explorist, plus:
- 30% bonus points on eligible purchases with Hyatt
- Room upgrades to the best room (up to standard suites), when available
- Club lounge access or free breakfast
- Priority access to available rooms when checking in early, plus 4 pm late check-out (as available)
- Complimentary parking on award nights
- Last-minute guaranteed availability as long as you book at least 48 hours in advance
How to qualify for elite membership tiers faster
Unless you stay at Hyatt hotels regularly, you’ll probably have a difficult time achieving elite status through conventional methods. There are, however, a few shortcuts that could get you there faster.
The first is by using the World of Hyatt Credit Card regularly, which is one of the best hotel credit cards for Hyatt. Each year, you’ll get five qualifying night credits toward your next elite status level, plus two additional qualifying night credits for every $5,000 you spend on the card.
Since you already get Discoverist status with the card, the next status is Explorist, which requires 30 qualifying nights. If you spend $65,000 in a calendar year, you’ll earn 26 qualifying night credits. Add that to the five free credits you get each year and you have 31 credits total.
To earn Globalist status, you’d need to spend a whopping $140,000 to earn 56 qualifying night credits — add the five free credits and you have 61 total credits.
While it’s likely not feasible for many credit card users to spend this much on a credit card each year, using the card regularly combined with other efforts can make gaining Hyatt elite status easier.
Milestone Rewards
Starting January 1, 2024, World of Hyatt members have the opportunity to earn these Milestone Rewards based on your number of qualifying nights or base points.
- 20 qualifying nights or 35,000 base points: Your choice of 2K Next Stay Award, two Club Access Awards, or $25 FIND Experience Credit.
- 30 nights or 50,000 base points: You receive one Category 1-4 Free Night Award and your choice of 2K Next Stay Award, two Club Access Awards, or $25 FIND Experience Credit.
- 40 nights or 65,000 base points: You receive one Guest of Honor Award and your choice of 5,000 bonus points, one Suite Upgrade Award, or $150 FIND Experience Credit.
- 50 nights or 80,000 base points: Your choice of 5,000 bonus points, one Suite Upgrade Award, or $150 FIND Experience Credit.
- 60 nights or 100,000 base points: You receive two Guest of Honor Awards, one Category 1-7 Free Night Award, two Suite Upgrade Awards, and access to My Hyatt Concierge.
- 70, 80, and 90 nights: You receive one Guest of Honor Award and your choice of 10,000 bonus points, one Suite Upgrade Award, or $300 FIND Experience Credit.
- 100 nights: You receive one Category 1-7 Free Night Award and your choice of 10,000 bonus points, one Suite Upgrade Award, or Miraval Extra Night Award.
- 110, 120, 130, and 140 nights: You receive one Guest of Honor Award and your choice of 10,000 bonus points, one Suite Upgrade Award, or Miraval Extra Night Award.
- 150 nights: You receive one Ultimate Free Night Award (good for one free night in any participating Category 1-8 hotel, Category A-F all-inclusive resort or Miraval resort) and your choice of 10,000 bonus points, one Suite Upgrade Award, or Miraval Extra Night Award.
World of Hyatt FAQs
As we’ve researched the World of Hyatt loyalty program, we’ve come across several questions from interested consumers. Here are some of the more common ones, along with their answers.
Do World of Hyatt rewards points expire?
Yes, World of Hyatt rewards points expire after 24 months with no activity on your account. The only exception is if you have the World of Hyatt Credit Card, which keeps your points from expiring as long as the account is open. If your points are about to expire, you can restart the clock with any earning or redeeming activity.
Can I transfer Hyatt points?
World of Hyatt members can transfer points to friends or family members by calling or submitting a request form through the website. You can also transfer your rewards to several airline partners, including American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and many more.
How much are Hyatt points worth?
On average, Hyatt points are worth about 1.5 cents to 1.7 cents apiece when used to book free hotel stays. That said, the value of your points can vary based on how you redeem them. As you look for Hyatt hotels at your destination, run the numbers to see how much value you’re getting out of your stay.
For example, if one night costs $160 or 8,000 points, you’re getting two cents per point out of the redemption, which is above average. If, however, the cash price is $100, the redemption rate is 1.25 cents per point, which may not be worth it.
How does Hyatt’s Points + Cash program work?
In addition to allowing you to book free nights with points, you can also combine points and cash. To book, you spend half the amount of points you would if you were booking with points only, then pay half of the standard rate in cash.
This can be worth considering if you don’t have enough points alone for the stay. However, be sure to run the numbers to ensure you’re getting good value out of your points.
How do I join the World of Hyatt?
Joining the World of Hyatt loyalty program is free. Simply go to the World of Hyatt website to join. You will be asked to provide your full name, email address, country and state (or region and province), and a secure password.
Bottom line
The World of Hyatt loyalty program provides a lot of value to its members. But with only one co-branded credit card, a limited global presence, and high bars for its elite status levels, it may be best to avoid putting all your eggs in this basket.
Instead, consider diversifying your hotel rewards across multiple hotel loyalty programs to ensure you have options wherever you go.
Big bonus points on Hyatt stays
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The World of Hyatt Credit Card
Current Offer
Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points: earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening, plus up to 30,000 more Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent
Annual Fee
$95
Rewards Rate
up to 9X points at Hyatt (4 bonus points per $1 on qualified purchases at Hyatt hotels plus up to 5 base points per $1 from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member); 2X points on restaurants, airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships; and 1X points on all other purchases