World of Hyatt loyalty program changes start today.
Hyatt’s Top Elite Status Has Become Tougher to Get But More Valuable to Have
It’s harder to reach top tier elite status — no more qualifying on stays, no more credit towards top status via credit card spend, and 60 nights instead of 50 to qualify — for those who reach “Globalist” status it’s the most generous top tier in the industry among major programs.
And it’s even better on net than Hyatt’s Diamond status was before. While there are some tradeoffs (like breakfast for 2 adults and 2 children instead of 4 adults, and no more check-in amenity), there are real improvements:
- My Hyatt Concierge – a dedicated agent to take care of all things related to Hyatt, similar to Starwood’s Ambassador (SPG requires 100 nights for this perk).
- Upgrades at check-in now include standard suites.
- Confirmed suite upgrades now valid on award nights, and you can earn more than 4 in a year — an additional suite upgrade or 10,000 points at 70, 80, 90, and 100 nights in a year.
- A free night at any participating Hyatt property upon reaching 60 nights, waived resort fees, and free parking on award stays.
Park Hyatt Siem Reap
I’m Giving Away Top Tier Hyatt Status to a Reader
Hyatt offered me a Globalist status to give away. I’m not going to do the usual ‘answer a question in the comments and I’ll pick at random’ method. Instead what I’d love is for you to share why or how you’ll benefit from Hyatt Globalist status, and we’ll pick one winner based on the comments.
I’ve got someone who is going to choose for me. I’d love for the Globalist status to go to someone who will get good use out of it and find it meaningful. Entries close Tuesday, March 7 at Noon eastern. All decisions are final and unappealable, you agree that I’ll have no liability for offering this contest. I’m just trying to help a reader here, so please don’t give me a hard time!
Club Lounge at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
What Gifted Globalist Will Get You — and What It Won’t
Gifted status doesn’t come with the perks that are earned based on night (or spend) thresholds. So it won’t come with the free night for reaching 60 nights, 4 confirmed suite upgrades, My Hyatt Concierge or reduced qualification requirements for the coming year (the need to stay 55 rather than 60 nights to keep status).
But you will receive:
- Upgrades including suites subject to availability, as well as club lounge access
- Breakfast in the hotel restaurant when no club lounge is available
- Free parking on award stays, and no resort fees on paid stays
- Guest of honor privileges, grant someone top tier status for their stay when you redeem your points for them
- Priority early check-in and guaranteed 4pm check-out (doesn’t apply at resorts or casinos)
- Daily bottle of water
- Ability to match to MGM M life Rewards Gold status
Buffet in the club lounge, Grand Hyatt Bangkok
All in all not bad.
So Enter Already!
Why or how would you benefit from Hyatt Globalist status if you’re picked?
headed out on our honeymoon, arriving at the Park Hyatt Maldives on 3/11. Would LOVE to get status for that, along with the upcoming work trips I have coming up, where I’d gladly stay at Hyatts (Philly here I come!). Thanks for the giveaway, so fun!
I will be getting married at the Hyatt in Danang in May. I am planning to use my Hyatt points to book a room at the hotel for my fiancee’s parents (who are from China and have never stayed at a Hyatt before) so with Globalist status I would use the Guest of Honor privileges to give them lounge access, daily breakfast, and a possible upgrade during their stay.
After the wedding. I am headed to Japan with my fiancee for our honeymoon and will be staying at the Hyatt Kyoto, Andaz Tokyo, and the PH Tokyo.
So in addition to helping me impress my fiancee’s parents and making sure they have a memorable Hyatt stay during my wedding, having Globalist status would allow me to have an extra special honeymoon (would be great to get upgrades, free breakfast, and happy hour at the Peak Bar at the PH Tokyo).
Thank you for offering this generous give away to your readers.
I’ve saved up a lot of Hyatt points over the years (at least by my standards) of over 200,000. But I’ve never had elite status with them. Since their new top-level status allows suite upgrades, I would love to start redeeming these for some of their resorts and be able to apply a suite upgrade. Senior year high school for my oldest and would love to have a memorable senior trip. Something amazing as a last official family vacation before he is out of the house.
My company recently partnered with Hyatt and I’ll be traveling at least 17-20 days a month for some special projects coming up until about October/November. Would be a mix of Hyatt, Centric,Regency, and Grand Hyatt brands. Would love this prize since I would be getting a ton of use out it and it would handy for personal trips as well. Thanks for the chance!
I’ve stayed at Hyatt Hotels for years and hardly a month goes by without staying in a Hyatt but because of our corporate policy for hotel reservations I will never reach status worth anything so it would be sweet to finally have status, must less Globalist status! For 20 years I have collected my meager Hyatt points from personal travel and am planning on blowing it all (with a top up from my CSR) to fulfill my wife’s dream of taking our family on a trip before my oldest son graduates high school and we lose the opportunity to have the whole family together. My wife endures so much with me traveling as she cares for our 4 children that I would love to treat her to the luxury afforded by Globalist status. Gary (and decider), thanks for considering us in this giveaway.
I have an award stay booked at the Hyatt Maui at Poipu Beach in July. The daily breakfast and waived parking fees would be a big bonus to my family. Also we are going to a wedding in June and will book the Hyatt Grand in Scottsdale if I can have Globalist . I currently have the Hyatt House booked for that trip but will switch if I have status.
I’m taking my family (wife and 2 sons) to Europe to celebrate our anniversary on points and I’m staying in Hyatts in Paris, Nice and Milan — it would be quite nice to enjoy the globalist benefits in such nice hotels
I travel enough for work to earn mid level status (which I also get via credit cards), however never enough for top tier. Combined with getting married this year and my honeymoon, I’d love to give top tier a try!
To show my mom the world like the VIP she is.
Planning an Asia trip this year and it would be very helpful
The benefit i love and enjoy about status with a hotel is a late checkout – to enjoy a 4pm checkout alters travel plans in such a positive way – planning a late flight out on checkout day to enjoy a city for brunch or a few hours to see a sight or two without having to check out and check luggage with the bellman. In addition to be able to go back to the room and grab a shower and change before departing. This is a major value and perk to me! Thanks for the great contests!
I had been Diamond for many years but not Globalist this year. Pick me, plz! so that I can use it for my Moscow trip in May, staying at Park Hyatt Moscow with exceptional Globalist benefits 🙂
Grand Hyatt Taipei and Hong Kong.
We are traveling this summer with at least 2 rooms for 12 nights and the breakfast benefit would help so much at managing out cost and the possible upgrades would be the icing on the cake.
My family of 4 been traveling around Asia with diamond status and I must say the experience have change the view of travels for the kids, now age 7 and 9. For the past fuve years we have been Thailand, Tokyo , Seoul , Saigon, Danang ,VN, And locally to Fl to LA. Without Hyatt diamond our travel experience would never be as excited and memorable as it was. But this Year we have lose our diamond. Kids has love going to hotel va being home, that tell you something about how great Hyatt has treated us and our family
We don’t travel for business, therefore do not earn the normal “business status” that the pros do. Having this status would make our pleasure trips an absolute dream come true.
Hi Gary,
I am a daily reader of the blog for the last few years and avid traveler and daily amateur contributor to the travel community (flyertalk, posting deals, etc., but all amateur non profit level). I travel about a third of the year, a good 4 months, all over the world. All my travel is personal, out of pocket cost, not for work or just the occasional vacation. I am a travel enthusiast and aficionado, I travel for the pleasure of travel itself. I do long weekend 4-day trips abroad (Asia, Europe, S. America) on good fares monthly and more extensive travel trips over breaks and summer, ranging from 1-4 weeks at a time. My travel is both spontaneous or planned, I do next day international trips when deals open and routinely book 11 months put, and I have open tickets originating from various cities around the world. Due to the extent of this travel I usually stay at Hiltons and Marriotts for the free breakfast and lounge access I get with mid-tier status, and I am only a “Discoverist” with Hyatt. I have a lot of travel booked domestic and internationally for the next year, about 10 days/month and the full July and August booked in Europe and Asia. Having Globalist status with Hyatt will be a great upgrade and will really help me and my partner in our travels and we’ll make great use of it, switching our stays to Hyatt. We will certainly appreciate such an opportunity and we will be very excited about it!
Keep up the good work!
I’d love to be picked for globalist status to share with my wife of 43 years. Breakfast and upgrades would be sweet.
This article starts with one of my favorite Hyatt properties- Park Hyatt Siem Reap.. and I want to continue exploring other Hyatt properties. Pacific Islands is my new home (after exploring SE Asia), and here even a 2 hour flights costs $500++, and hotel properties are marked at the highest possible tiers.
With passion for travel, I have started to explore this region (visited 2 countries in last 2 months). I plan to travel again in few weeks. With Globalist status, it would make things bit easier for my travel in this region, as the status will give me amenities that are really pricey here ! With almost 100,000 Hyatt points to spend this year, I am sure I can make great use of Globalist status, and get the priceless experience at my upcoming Hyatt stays !
Looking forward..
I care less about suite upgrades when traveling alone on business, but would love to exploit these on pleasure trips with my wife.
Well, this would be my first time doing heavy traveling in a number of years. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten Hyatt Diamond, so I definitely miss the perks like the suite upgrades, the free breakfast, and the late checkouts. And now that my sister’s kids are all grown up, her family is definitely traveling more, and she looks to me to get her the extra special perks. Although I don’t believe I’m more deserving than anyone else in this thread, getting the gifted status would make our travels a lot more pleasant.
As crazy as this may sound, when I was a Hyatt Diamond a few years ago (obtained via a generous status match to Hilton), I planned virtually all travel around places where I could stay at a top tier Hyatt hotel and get the most value from my status (regardless of how much value may have been sacrificed in the irrational pursuit of status “savings”!). My wife and I chose to travel to Paris so we could stay at the Park Hyatt and get the pricey (but very high quality, albeit limited) buffet. We traveled to Washington several times because we loved the rooms that we got when applying the annual suite upgrades to inexpensive base price bookings. We also loved the seemingly limitless breakfast at Blue Duck Tavern (we were never billed for additional breakfast outside of the Diamond benefit, despite ordering 3-4 dishes for 2 people). We travelled to Vienna, Hong Kong, and Tokyo because we thought we could get good value from a suite upgrade (after paying for the room using Points + Cash in many circumstances). The list goes on. Having status has caused me to visit many places that I would not have otherwise sought out, and I had some great experiences in the process. Since I lost Diamond status, my travel has been reduced greatly. Having Globalist would enable my family to continue our pursuit of new Hyatt experiences (and hopefully expose my daughter to travel adventures and cultures along the way). Thanks Gary!
Would love the suite upgrade!m for our honeymoon!
I need the Globalist status because I just can’t accept the fact that I have been downgraded from Diamond to Explorist! I am spoiled 😉
I would love to use Globalist status at PH Maldives to save a lot of cash on breakfast (well, brunch for us), and perhaps enjoy an upgrade to a pool villa. Thanks for considering! We would love to experience your favorite vacation spot, Gary!
I’d use those perks on my upcoming one month sabbatical!
I’m going to be quitting my job in April, and then traveling all around the world for the next 6 months! Plan right now is to go through Europe, Middle East, and then Southeast Asia. I’ve been a huge miles and points fan so hopefully I will have enough saved up to report back some awesome trip reports.
Anddd if I’m so lucky enough to get Hyatt status, then I will make it a mission to stay at as many Hyatt properties as possible! I will even write you blog posts about my travels 🙂
With Hyatt Globalist status, I would take my wife 4 daughters on vacation to the Andaz Papagayo Costa Rica. Maximizing the benefits of the elite status, I could use cash and points + suite upgrade certificates to a obtain large Suite for my family. Globalist status would also afford us the ability to have breakfast at the restaurant every morning. As this Andaz in Costa Rica has complementary childcare, my wife and I could get some much needed down time as well.
I’d love the opportunity to take my parents (who rarely travel or even fly) to a unique experience to enjoy Hyatt’s top tier Globalist status. They don’t travel in luxury so they’ve never experienced anything like this before so I’d say it would be a great 40th anniversary present!
I’d love Globalist status!
My family would benefit immensely from having Hyatt status. My husband was recently diagnosed with a rare disease and is undergoing medical treatment in NYC. We have been traveling back and forth between Chicago and NY, bringing our 1 and 3 year old sons with us as often as my schedule allows. Having the benefit of breakfast for a family of 4 would help us cut costs, but the real kicker would be upgrades to suites when available. It is so hard to cramp all 4 of us, especially when my husband isn’t feeling well, in to a small room where we are all basically forced to go to bed at 7:30.
I was a Hyatt Diamond member years ago (when I traveled for work) and I have stayed with the chain as my go-to even though I don’t have the chance to travel as much anymore. I’ll always appreciate the special way I was treated and would love to be able to experience that magic once again, although under a totally different set of circumstances.
wow, a lot of worthy people to gift this status to!
i would get a lot of use for this as 2017 will be a big travel year for us. Getting Globalist Elite status would be the clincher for us to spend our nights in Hyatts.
Thanks Gary!
I am going to be in my 4th year of medical school soon and will be going on interviews all over the country. Flights, hotels, and transportation racks up quick. The average student spends roughly $6,000 on the interview trail.
Having Globalist status will help provide me with some benefits such as the breakfast options and amenities. Additionally, it will be nice to have a nice room to relax and prepare for my interviews. I have not been able to qualify for Hyatt Diamond status before, but I would love to see how it is, even if its for a year!
For the first trip to Paris.
Why ? I would actually like to know the difference between Hyatt and SPG and see what the difference is for me (who is not top level). We all know SPG gold is nothing. Now I want to know if Hyatt treats their mid level the same.
How? I’d just stay in HK Grand Hyatt to let me know the WHYs. 🙂
As a family of 4 with 2 little ones, the most important factors choosing a hotel are space, space, and space. The new World of Hyatt Globalist can get a upgrade to suite which is I value most of being a Globalist. Free breakfast and lounge are helpful as well.
Breakfast! 5 upcoming trips with my wife and 2 kids.
I’m a co-founder of a charitable organization that uses points and miles to fly refugees to reunite with their loved ones. I’d like Globalist status to return some of that generosity by occasionally offering friends who have supported our efforts with Guest of Honor status during some of their hotel stays.
I could only skim this article, because Hyatt has become a “who cares” to me. Hyatt rooms are overpriced. Hyatt expires your points too frequently. Hyatt isn’t widespread enough.
I’m glad there are people who still value the Hyatt brand, but for the average traveling guest, Hyatt doesn’t want their loyalty and I won’t lose any sleep over it… there are tons of other places to visit!
I will be traveling to Park Hyatt Milan and Park Hyatt Vienna and I would love to make use of the breakfast offered to top tier members. I also have a stay planned for the Hyatt in Nice and would love lounge access there. I have other stays planned this year, but if I win, I will definitely look for Hyatt hotels at my destinations.
I’d like free status because I like free things 🙂 just being honest 🙂
Long time reader and fan of yours, taking the family to Australia for the first time this summer – I know there are some fantastic properties there, and would love the chance to enjoy the W O R L D O F H Y A T T with their top elite status. Thanks for the opportunity!
The one Diamond status benefit that I valued the most (I didn’t requalify and am now an Explorist) was the ability to extend the benefits of my status to my family back in the Philippines — when I would book for them an (award) room or two as gifts for specials occasions. The elevated experience they receive from the stays are priceless. It would be amazing to still be able to do that for them if I get chosen.
I have an upcoming stay at the Andaz Tokyo and the Globalist status will save me a lot of cash on breakfast. The room upgrade that comes with the status is great too!
Considering a Hawaiian vacation and Disney trip and Globalist would be the cherry on top. Appreciate the blog Gary.
We’re Zurich-bound. We plan to stay at Sheraton Neuss Schloss, just across the Park Hyatt. With the status, we would switch to Park Hyatt instead.
I’m living abroad right now and trying to travel as much as possible to see as much as we can with my 4 year old, who is a very light sleeper and could use those suite upgrades, and loves “hotel breakfast.” I think she’ll be a travel blogger when she grows up.
This year is an anniversary year for my whole family. Parent’s 30th anniversary, our 5th & my sister’s 1st. We are headed to the Hyatt Regency Maui for a family anniversary trip in May & would love to have status while we’re there! We also have a 3 year old & a 6 month old, so any extra space (suite) & snacks from the lounge would be greatly appreciated 🙂
Suite upgrades when I travel with my family are a superb value as they allow us all to stay in a comfortably large room and take advantage of complimentary breakfast!
Free breakfast is always a major perk.