Place all the hotel loyalty programs side by side, and you’ll find that the World of Hyatt program offers more value and benefits than the others. And the best part? It’s completely free to sign up! This means you can make use of the perks whether you find yourself staying at one of the Hyatt properties several times a year or only once or twice.
Come with me as we explore what the World of Hyatt loyalty program is all about, and how, exactly, being a Hyatt loyalist will pay off.
1. What is World of Hyatt, anyway?
Hotel chains typically run loyalty programs to reward their guests for choosing to stay with them, while also makingthem want to come back again and again. The more you stay at the hotels, the more loyalty points you earn, which can be redeemed in the form of hotel upgrades, discounts, and free stays among other perks.
World of Hyatt is one such hotel loyalty program run by–you guessed it–Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. The program is eligible for all of Hyatt’s 1,300+ properties spanning across the 6 continents.
2. World of Hyatt membership levels
The World of Hyatt programs offers 4 membership tiers: Member, Discoverist, Explorist, and Globalist. Everyone automatically starts off as a Member. The more milestones you reach (either by staying at Hyatt hotels or by using Hyatt credit cards), the more you move up the status levels.
Here are the different benefits that each membership level has to offer:
Hyatt Member Status
How to earn: It’s automatic when you sign up for the World of Hyatt program. No base points or a minimum number of night stays required.
Benefits:
- Earn 5 base points per $1 spend at Hyatt hotels and resorts
- Eligible for free nights and membership rates
- Resort fees waived on free award nights
Hyatt Discoverist Status
How to earn: Stay 10 nights at a World of Hyatt location, earn 25,000 base points, or get a World of Hyatt credit card. (Note that only base points, and not the bonus points, are counted towards this.)
Benefits: All the benefits offered by the Member status, plus:
- +10% bonus points on all eligible purchases
- Premium internet access
- Bottled water
- Elite check-in
- Your pick of rooms within the room type you booked
- Late checkout till 2 pm (whenever available)
- American Airlines AAdvantage Bonus
Hyatt Explorist Status
How to earn: Stay 30 nights or earn 50,000 base points
Benefits: All the benefits offered by the Discoverist status, plus:
- +20% bonus points on all eligible purchases
- Room upgrades whenever available (excluding suites and rooms with club lounge access)
- Guaranteed room availability even 72 hours before your stay
- 4 club lounge passes
Hyatt Globalist Status
How to earn: Stay 60 nights or earn 100,000 base points
Benefits: All the benefits offered by the Explorist status, plus:
- +30% bonus points on all eligible purchases
- Room upgrades, whenever available, including suites
- Late checkout till 4 pm
- Guaranteed room availability even 48 hours before your stay
- Welcome amenities
- Priority access to rooms
- Club access or breakfast
- Free parking during free award nights
Now that we’ve seen what the membership tiers have to offer, let’s look at how you can earn those qualifying base points.
3. How do you Earn Hyatt points?
Once you sign up for the free membership, you can start earning Hyatt points on a variety of things.
Through hotel stays, dining, and spa experiences
When you stay at one of the Hyatt’s participating hotels, resorts, private homes, and hideaways, you earn 5 base points per every $1 USD spent. This includes all the properties under the Hyatt name, as well as participating partner hotels such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith hotels. You can earn points for up to 3 rooms per stay as long as you hold the World of Hyatt membership, pay for all the rooms, and stay in one of these rooms.
Those with Hyatt Elite statuses also get bonus points in addition to base points. Discoverists receive 10% bonus points, Explorists get to walk away with 20% bonus points, and Globalists bag 30% bonus points! The only caveat is that you must book your stays through an official Hyatt channel–be it by calling them directly, booking via the website, or through their app.
Even if you don’t stay at the Hyatt properties, you can still earn 5X points whenever you dine at their hotels or use their spa and salon services.
It’s worth noting that if you booked a hotel stay by redeeming your existing points or by making use of the free nights award, you won’t earn any points for the room bookings. But you can still earn points for dining and other qualifying purchases during your stay.
By Using Hyatt Credit Cards
In partnership with Chase, Hyatt offers two credit cards with some amazing perks: the World of Hyatt credit card and the World of Hyatt business credit card. The former is for individual travelers, while the latter is for businesses. Let’s take a look at what the Hyatt credit cards have to offer!
World of Hyatt Credit Card World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
Annual fee
$95 $199
Sign-up bonus
- 30,000 points once you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months
- 30,000 extra bonus points for the first 6 months for a maximum of $15,000 spent (by earning 2 bonus points per $1)
- Up to 60,000 bonus points once you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months
Reward points
- 4X on hotel stays
- Up to 5X for being a Hyatt Member
- 2X for dining, airline tickets purchased directly from airlines, gym memberships, and local transit
- 1X for all other eligible card purchases
- 4X on hotel stays
- Up to 5X for being a Hyatt Member
- 2X for top 3 spend categories each quarter through 12/31/2024, then for top 2 spend categories each quarter
- 2X for fitness club and gym memberships
- 1X for all other eligible card purchases
Benefits
- Complimentary Hyatt Discoverist status
- One free night at a category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort after your cardmember anniversary
- 2nd free night on spending $15,000 in a calendar year
- 5-night credits towards your next elite status + 2 additional elite status night credits when you spend $5,000 on your card
- Complimentary Hyatt Discoverist status for you + 5 employees
- Up to $100 in Hyatt credits ($50 credit twice a year) when you spend $50 on more at a Hyatt property
- 5 elite night credits for every $10,000 you spend in a calendar year
- Get back 10% of the points you spend for the rest of the year (up to 200,000 points) once you spend $50,000 with your card.
- Hyatt Leverage membership where businesses can get a 15% discount at all Hyatt (and partner) hotels
Alternatively, suppose you have one of the Chase credit cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, or the Ink Business Preferred credit card. In that case, you can simply transfer the Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt at a 1:1 transfer ratio.
By Hosting Meetings/ Events
Whether you’re an event planner or a business person who likes hosting meetings outside of the office, you’re in luck! When you choose one of the Hyatt properties as the location of your next corporate meeting or social event, you earn 1 bonus point per every dollar spent (capped at a maximum of 50,000 points per event).
These points can be split among a maximum of 3 lead planners in the case of meetings or be used for booking future events and meetings. For every 15,000 points, you earn a $200 credit. If you stay at the same hotel after your event, you’ll also earn the normal base points for the rooms.
If you’re a travel advisor, you can bag free nights when your clients stay with Hyatt properties.
By Booking FIND Experiences
FIND experiences are one of Hyatt’s partners that offer more than 500 unique adventures across global destinations–perfect for unwinding and experiencing new things. Some of the experiences include private snorkeling with sea turtles in Mexico, cliff edge dining in Oman, and whale watching in Washington.
When booked through Hyatt, these experiences fetch you 10 points per dollar spent. But if you’re a World of Hyatt credit card holder, you get an additional 4 bonus points per dollar when you make purchases with your card!
From American Airlines flights
American Airlines AAdvantage is a Hyatt partner, which means that by linking both of these accounts, you can earn 1 bonus point for every dollar spent on American Airlines flights. This will be in addition to the airline miles you’ll earn as an AAdvantage member.
Have Elite statuses on both loyalty programs? You get to earn double the rewards! That is:
- 1 Hyatt bonus point for every $1 USD spent on American Airlines flights, and
- 1 AAdvantage base mile for every $1 USD spent on Hyatt stays and experiences
Through Travel Partners
When you book rental cars with Avis, you earn 500 bonus points and get a 25% discount off the rental rates. The best part is that you don’t even need a Hyatt stay for this. Keep in mind that you need to provide your World of Hyatt membership number when making the reservation.
World of Hyatt also has several major airline partners and gives you the option of earning miles instead of Hyatt points. All you need to do is set your preference at the front desk and give them your travel partner membership number, and you’ll be set.
All right, so we’ve seen how you can earn those valuable World of Hyatt points. Now it’s time to see how you can spend them.
4. How can you Redeem World of Hyatt points?
So you’ve earned a couple thousand Hyatt points. The only thing left is to use them to enhance your life. Here are the different ways in which you can spend them.
- For hotel stays: If you want the most bang for your buck, cashing in your points for free hotel stays is the way to go! This applies to all Hyatt hotels and all-inclusive resorts as well as participating partner hotels – such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hotels and Miraval Resorts. The points needed per room vary depending on the type of room and season. The best part is that the required points stay constant even if the actual room prices fluctuate! During an off-peak season, you can book a Category I room for just 3,500 points. Use Hyatt’s award chart to find this information. You can also use a combination of points + cash to book your stays.
- Room upgrades: If you want to add a bit more luxury to your stay, you can upgrade your paid stay for as little as 3,000 points per room.
- Meetings and events: If you’re planning on hosting an event, you can exchange 15,000 points for a $200 credit.
- Dining and spa credits: Use your points to pay for your dinner, spa treatments, in-room movies, parking, and other hotel credits. But the downside is that you only get a $10 credit for 1,000 points, which means that each point is worth only 0.5 cents. Booking free stays or upgrades using your points would give you a much better value at 2+ cents per point.
- FIND experiences: You can book a variety of experiences by redeeming your points.
- Avis car rentals: Cut down on your Avis car rental fees by using your points. 6,000 points will get you an intermediate-sized car for an entire day.
- Convert to miles: 5,000 World of Hyatt points will get you 2,000 miles with one of Hyatt’s airline partners. (Transfer value is calculated at 2.5 Hyatt points being equal to 1 Airline Mile.)
If you prefer staying at Hyatt properties, becoming a World of Hyatt member is definitely worth it!
