Hyatt Globalist Requalification
This is my fourth year as a top tier Hyatt member. I first earned Hyatt Global Passport Diamond status through a generous match and was hooked. Since then I have worked hard to keep the status, but it has been tough. Well, that is until this year. Thanks to a number of changes, it is possibly easier now than ever!
Qualifying For Status Over the Years
Back under Global Passport I qualified for my top tier Diamond status by completing exactly 25 stays. The trick I often used was switching hotels in the same city while staying only one night at each. A 3 night stay in a city for example would yield 3 stays in the program if I switched hotels.
Of course that all went out the window when World of Hyatt steamrolled onto the scene last year. Suddenly my 25 stays trick was gone and I needed 60 nights! I’m not quite sure how I did it last year, but I barely got there. Yes, I did have to do a couple of mLife Vegas mattress runs and thankfully I had a decent amount of business travel as well. It was tough though.
Tough No More
But thankfully those struggles seem to all be in the past. I re-qualified for my status each of the last three years in the final days of December, but now I am on the verge of re-qualifying for Globalist status in October. So what happened? Hyatt made it SO MUCH EASIER!
Award Nights Count
In previous years, full award stays didn’t count towards qualifying for status. This forced me to often stay on Points + Cash rates, but I always had a handful of all points stays that I never got credit for. This year has been fantastic since I have not had to spend cash and have been able to get credit for all of my award stays.
Reduced Re-Qualifying Requirement
While I needed 60 nights to qualify for Globalist status last year, I only need 55 nights this year. Everyone needs to hit 60 the first time they qualify, but in future years re-qualifying requires less. It’s a nice little break and one that is making life a bit easier this year.
World of Hyatt Credit Card
The final reason it has been so easy to re-qualify this year is because of the brand new Chase World of Hyatt credit card. This card has a 60K bonus and gives me 5 qualifying nights just for having it, but it gets even better than that. It also gives 2 elite qualifying nights for each $5K in spend, plus a free category 1-4 night at $15K in annual spend. Obviously I hit that $15K in spend and ended up with 11 nights from the credit card overall. So worth it!
Did I Get Enough Value?
Each year I look at back at that past year’s Hyatt stays to make sure I have received enough value from the status to justify pursuing it again. For example, if I only stayed in limited service Hyatt Place hotels then it wouldn’t be worth it. Thankfully I have DEFINITELY received more than enough value this year. Here are some examples:
- Gorgeous Suite Upgrade & free breakfast for entire family at the Andaz Mayakoba
- Suite Upgrades & Free breakfast for the entire family in New York at the Park Hyatt & Andaz Wall Street
- Suite Upgrade and Lounge Access at the Grand Hyatt Taipei
- Suite Upgrade and free breakfast at the Park Hyatt Seoul & Grand Hyatt Incheon
- $1,500 per night Suite Upgrade and lounge access for entire family at the Hyatt Regency Maui
- $1,000 per night Suite Upgrade and lounge access for entire family at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
- Upgrades and free breakfast at the Andaz Scottsdale, Hyatt Regency Albuquerque & Hyatt Regency LAX.
- Huge suite and lounge access at the Hyatt Regency Orlando
While World of Hyatt made it more difficult to qualify, it also ushered in the era of suite upgrades. Yes, I still only get four confirmed suite upgrades per year, but most of the time I am upgraded to a suite even without using one. Add in the perks like lounge access or free breakfast plus early check-in and late checkout and it is sooooo worth it.
Should You Do It?
Obviously the answer as to whether or not you should pursue Hyatt Globalist status is going to vary based on your situation. For me, it makes sense since I travel enough nights to hit the threshold and I also earn a lot of Ultimate Rewards points from my various Chase cards. This means that I can enjoy the benefits, spend enough nights to re-qualify and most importantly have the currency to pay for those nights without denting my bank account.
If you are a huge Ultimate Rewards earner then I really think this is a no-brainer. If you have a lot of spend and value the perks of the status then using the World of Hyatt credit card is a easy way to get part of the way there. Yes, I think a lot of people who read this site should probably consider pursuing Globalist status but I think a lot of people probably shouldn’t.
Conclusion
While I still have one more night to go, I will re-qualify easily given the fact that I have a few nights planned through the end of the year. That means no last minute Excalibur or Luxor mattress runs. Yes!
I was admittedly skeptical about World of Hyatt in the beginning, but between the perks of Globalist status, the fact that award stays now count and the World of Hyatt credit card, I’m sitting pretty. Now let’s hope they don’t mess this all up and make things tougher again. 🙂
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Prior to January 1, 2019, a member who qualified for Globalist status (after March 1, 2017) by satisfying the minimum Tier-Qualifying Night or Base Point accrual standards had the opportunity to re-qualify for Globalist status for the following year by either recording a minimum of fifty-five (55) Tier-Qualifying Nights or by earning one hundred thousand (100,000) Base Points during the current Calendar Year. This benefit has been discontinued for new participants as of January 1, 2019. Members who earned (and retained eligibility for) this benefit prior to January 1, 2019, will have the opportunity to utilize this benefit for the 2019 Calendar Year earning period. However, this benefit will be discontinued entirely as of January 1, 2020. For the 2020 Calendar Year earning period and beyond, no Member will be able to requalify for Globalist status through the relaxed threshold described in this paragraph.
Correct. In 2020 everyone will need 60 nights. I’m not sure what the point of posting this is?
Hi Shawn,
Great article. For the spend for 2 night credit for $5,000 it’s only calendar year yes? I just upgraded to the World of Hyatt card but it’s impossible to put enough spend for me before the end of 2018 to get enough credits. It’s just calendar year yes not anniversary year?
Out of curiosity, which four stays you used the confirmed suite upgrade?
Andaz Mayakoba, Park Hyatt New York and the two Hawaii properties.
Thanks Shawn. Love your trip review. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the info, Shawn. It’ll help me to reconsider 5 nights of mattress running I have scheduled for next month
I believe that while it is true that you can re-qualify for Globalist with only 55 nights/year, it’s still necessary to stay 60 nights in a year to receive the 4 confirmed suite upgrade awards. OMAAT did an article about this matter.
There was a lot of speculation about this but I know many people who have already hit 55 and received their suite upgrades.
I’ll make sure to follow up to confirm when mine hit.
@tjp74 and Shawn — thanks
Total newb here. I have this card and I do earn Ultimate Rewards. I have yet to use anything yet. So what does earning a lot of UR points have to do with this card. Just converting the UR over onto this card and then using those points to help get to the tier status?
With enough UR points, you can enjoy the Hyatt status without paying cash. Even with Award Nights Count towards re-qualifying for Globalist status, it should not be your way to Globalist.
Shawn,
If you qualify for status in calendar year 2018, does that mean you have that status for all of 2019?
Yes. By qualifying in 2018 I will have status through the end of February, 2020.
@Byron, yes the new chase World of Hyatt card giving you 1 free night after meeting $15000 a year.
@Enjoy Fine Food, yes you have to play the upgrade card… I sometimes have gotten upgraded to more than a standard suite. Recent stay at Hyatt Regency, I was redeeming a free night and got upgraded to an executive suite upon arrival and I didn’t even ask to be upgraded. Another recent stay, at Hyatt GH Bali, I also too was upgraded to a huge executive suite without asking. But at other times, I’ve been kind of lied to that no suites are available for upgrade when I think there was an availability. As a family of 4, I redeem the cert where I have to get the suite and standard room won’t do (PH Vandome, Andaz London) and I just take chance where standard room (double queen) will be fine. But generally, your chance of getting the upgrade obviously depends on how busy the hotel is and what type of property it is. If it’s the property where standard room rooms are in high demand and suites go mostly empty, you bet you will get upgraded so they can sell the standard room at high walkup rate. On the other hand, if it’s a vacation resort where suites are booked out solid or it’s where a lot of elites show up (Andaz Maui), your chance of getting the suite upgrade will be slim to none. Also, you don’t want to burn the suite upgrade certificates on short stay. If you must get a suite, you can book it at a standard rate and use 6000 point per night. I recently did that at Andaz london for 2 night stay this December. We couldn’t take a chance as even the suites are officially for 3 person only.
Don’t forget this promo which people might qualify for
https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/wohpromotions/trialtier.html
In terms of the Chase Hyatt credit card – is there any reason not to apply through people on ebay who are *paying you* to apply through their link?
Do what you want and are comfortable with. That tends to be against the terms, but I don’t know if they will be enforced. You can of course just apply directly or we always appreciate when people use our links (our links also have the best public offer) since it does help to keep our content (like this post) free.
Is this the new Hyatt card that give you those free nights at certain levels of spend?
Shawn, I agree that the “perfect storm” that followed the World of Hyatt introduction has made reaching higher status (even though my goal is only Discoverist) much more relaxing than last year. One question. You said, “I still only get four confirmed suite upgrades per year, but most of the time I am upgraded to a suite even without using one.” Don’t you have to play the upgrade card when you make the reservation? How do you know when you make the reservation that you will be upgraded to a suite without a using one of your 4 upgrades? How do you decide not to use a suite upgrade? Thanks!
Sometimes I ask the property ahead of time which room I will be put in and they just upgrade me then. It is rare though that I contact them unless it is a special stay. Normally I am given a suite when checking in as long as a base suite is available. This is almost always done automatically, but I have occasionally had to ask. I generally check the Hyatt site before checking in to see if a suite is for sale.
When qualifying the next year at 55 nights, does that still give you 4 Suite Upgrade certificates?
Thanks
Yes, 55 night re-qualification gives you full benefit including 4 upgrade certs and 1 1-7 free night cert and 2 united lounge passes.
I am in a same boat… got hooked on back in 2014? through a fast track promotion and every year I go out of my ways to re-qualify. I don’t travel business… all my Hyatt stays have been for family trips often at nice resorts. Family of 4 (two 11 and 8 yo) and being able to have a free full breakfast for 4 of us alone is well worth the admission. I also got Hilton Diamond status through Hilton card but for us, it was an useless perk as you only get a basic breakfast unlike Hyatt and only for 2. Our recent stay at Hilton Waikoloa, to take advantage of that 2 free, we had to pay outrageous price for other two or give up on 2 free and have to go out to eat. All in all, we get at least $3000 or more in total value out of the program each year, some year spending as much as $1000 in mattress run to earn it. It’s getting easier to earn it though and I don’t want it to be any easier than it already is. I rather not getting but if I get it, I want to enjoy the exclusive benefit and treatment rather than get this useless watered down status (Hilton Diamond) that everyone and their mother can get just by opening a card.
Yeah I agree that if it gets too easy then it can become watered down!