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Hyatt is cutting in half the number of nights required to earn elite status in 2021, and extending several promotions into early 2021. And even with reduced elite qualification requirements, they’re running double elite nights too!
You can start earning those 2021 elite nights now: elite qualifying nights from stays (not from credit card spend) currently earn a night both in the year in which it’s earned and a bonus night credited towards earning status in 2021. And for January 1 – February 28, 2021 checkouts you’ll earn double elite nights in 2021. Registration by January 15, 2021 required.
Earn Elite Status With Half The Nights In 2021
Hyatt is cutting in half the requirements for earning status in 2021 for the 2022 status year:
- Discoverist: 5 elite nights or 12,500 base points ($2500 spend)
- Explorist: 15 elite nights or 25,000 base points ($5000 spend)
- Globalist: 30 elite nights or 50,000 base points ($10,000 spend)
15 elite nights from stays in January or February (with promotion registration) are enough to earn top tier status for the rest of 2021 and all of 2022.
Reducing elite qualification thresholds does not change the number of nights required for Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards where every 10 nights (up to 100 nights per year) comes with additional benefits:
| # Nights | Or | Benefit |
| 10 | 25k base points or 3 meetings | Discoverist |
| 20 | 35k base points | 2 club lounge access awards |
| 30 | 50k base points or 10 meetings | Explorist, 2 club access awards, cat 1-4 free night |
| 40 | 65k base points | 5k points or $100 Hyatt gift card or 10k points off FIND experience |
| 50 | 80k base points | 2 confirmed suite upgrade awards |
| 60 | 100k base points or 20 meetings | Globalist, 2 suite upgrade awards, cat 1-7 free night, concierge |
| 70 | N/A | 10,000 points or suite upgrade award |
| 80 | N/A | 10,000 points or suite upgrade award |
| 90 | N/A | 10,000 points or suite upgrade award |
| 100 | N/A | 10,000 points or suite upgrade award |
In other words, earning Globalist with 30 nights will not also earn confirmed suite upgrades (though confirmed points upgrades will still be available of course).
Globalists do receive waived resort fees even on eligible paid nights (all Hyatt awards waive resort fees, unlike at Marriott); free parking on award nights (where the hotel manages its own parking); space available upgrades at check-in including to standard suites; club access or breakfast; and Guest of Honor gifting of status to a friend or family member when a Globalist redeems their points as a gift.
Credit Card Nights Count Towards This Reduced Status
The World Of Hyatt Credit Card comes with 5 elite nights per year, so 25 elite nights in 2021 would be enough to earn top tier status for cardmembers. Those nights can either be earned through stays or via credit card spend.
Moreover, Hyatt reminds me that “new cardmembers who apply and are approved for the card by December 31, 2020, will receive 10 Tier-Qualifying Night credits toward tier status in 2020 and 2021, making it possible to achieve Globalist status by staying as few as 20 qualifying nights.”
That means just getting the credit card before the end of 2020, then staying 10 nights (with promotion registration) in January/February is enough for top tier status.
Moreover every $5000 spent on the card will earn 2 elite nights, so $50,000 spent earns 20 qualifying nights. Each year cardmembers receive a category 1-4 free night on renewal, and also after $15,000 in card spend. Staying on free nights count towards elite status, too.
And since award nights count towards status, earning points from card spend or transferring points to Hyatt from a Chase Ultimate Rewards account can be used for free nights which help to earn status with 2021’s reduced requirements.
Hyatt Extends Triple And Quadruple Points And Award Redemption Rebate
Hyatt’s current promotion to rebate points on award stays and award up to quadruple points on paid stays is being extended to February 28, 2021. Both offers require registration by January 15, 2021. (These promotions were slated to end January 4, 2021.)
Award nights include free parking, and get 15% of points spent rebated, for stays through February 28, 2021. The World Of Hyatt Credit Card cardmembers receive an additional 10% of redeemed points back, for a total of 25% of points spent rebated.
Meanwhile paid stays earn triple points beginning with your first stay, while World Of Hyatt Credit Cardearn quadruple points at 350 resort locations. These offers apply to Hyatt brands and to participating partner properties such as MGM and Small Luxury Hotels.
- Base earning is 5 points per dollar
- Triple points is 15 points per dollar, quadruple points at resorts for cardmembers is 20 points per dollar
- Plus elite bonuses, Globalists earn 1.5 bonus points per dollar
- And points paying your bill with a rewards card, the World Of Hyatt Credit Card earns 4 points per dollar on Hyatt spend
Globalists with a Hyatt co-brand credit card earn 25.5 points per dollar on resort stays in the fourth quarter.
Based on my valuation of Hyatt points at 1.4 cents apiece this is about a 36% rebate on Hyatt stays, before factoring the value of elite benefits on those stays.
A little surprised they’re not adding a December promo. Like I currently have about 25 WoH nights for 2020. If they were to cut the 2020 Globalist requirement to 30 nights (like they’re now done for 2021) there’d be significant incentive for me to move some December stays to Hyatt to get to 30 nights (my biggest impediment to Hyatt stays is their smaller footprint; I sometimes have to sacrifice location to stay at Hyatts).Now I don’t really care if I get to 30 nights this year. Sure the nights will count toward my 2021 qualification, but that’s only a small incentive. The real incentive is to book Jan/February hard with the double elite night credit.
@chopsticks
They are offering the rollover nights as you mention, but they are also running 3X or 4X points, as well as the award nights point rebate promo. I’m really excited about everything Hyatt’s doing right now.
@CSR — Oh, I’m loving the Hyatt promos too (Globalist with 25 nights for 2021 if you have a WoH credit card is terrific), but I’m still surprised they’re not doing more to incentivize December travel. It’s more lucrative to stay with them in January! Seems like they missed an opportunity here. They certainly missed an opportunity to get a few more nights out of me.
BTW, I would think their 2021 Globalist offer will be extremely popular (at least among those who will actively travel in this Covid/potentially-post-Covid world). I’ve never been a Globalist because their footprint is simply not large enough to get me to 60 nights — they don’t have the geographical reach to capture “all” of my travel. Twenty-five nights is easily doable, and I will book Hyatt in 2021 wherever it makes any sense at all to me.
Hyatt definitely gets it! Smart move – but also some degree of cost control w/still needing to do legacy levels to get the TSUs.
(Meanwhile Marriott apparently still planning on Ambassador at $20K is beyond hilarious)