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With a range of COVID vaccines now on the brink of being deployed, I’ve started to consider future travel again, properly, for first time since April. By the middle of 2021, there is every chance that the vast majority of people in at risk groups (in richer countries at least) will have been successfully vaccinated and travel will be bouncing back.

If you envisage yourself travelling frequently again sometime in the next couple of years, it might be wise to take a very close look at the latest range of promotions from Hyatt. To cut a long story short, if you stay 15 nights at Hyatt hotels between 1st January and 28th February, you will earn top-tier Globalist status until February 2023. You’ll get a load of bonus points too…

How does it work?

The usual number of nights required for the various elite status levels with Hyatt are as follows:

• Discoverist – 10 Qualifying Nights
• Explorist – 30 Qualifying Nights 
• Globalist – 60 Qualifying Nights

For 2021, those requirements have been cut in half:

• Discoverist – 5 Qualifying Nights
• Explorist – 15 Qualifying Nights
• Globalist – 30 Qualifying Nights

If you register for Hyatt’s current ‘Bonus Journeys’ promotion, you will earn double elite night credits until 28th February 2021 (as well as 3x the standard number of redeemable points). This reduces the number of nights needed to the following:

• Discoverist – 3 Qualifying Nights
• Explorist – 8 Qualifying Nights
• Globalist – 15 Qualifying Nights

Note that you do have to register here to earn double nights.

Is World of Hyatt Globalist status good?

Yes – it is widely regarded as the most lucrative of all the elite status options offered by the major hotel loyalty programmes. You can find the full list of benefits here, but it includes things like Club Lounge access, free breakfast, suite upgrades, 4pm checkout, etc.

In normal times, many frequent travellers (including InsideFlyer’s Craig) go out of their way to ensure they requalify for Globalist each year, despite the high threshold. Being able to earn Globalist from just a quarter of the usual number of nights is therefore an exceptional opportunity.

Hyatt status lasts for the year it’s earned in, the whole of the following year, and then until February of the year after that. So, you would effectively earn status for 2 full years. 

Can it be done cheaply?

Travel is unlikely to be anything like back to normal by the time the promotions ends in February, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities.

Perhaps the simplest option would be to do a ‘mattress run’ at the Hyatt Place West London Hayes. Rooms are widely available for £45 per night:

15 nights would set you back ~ £675, but since members earn 5 base points per US dollar spent, and those points are worth roughly 1.6-1.8 US cents each, the 3x promotion means that members can earn a 24-27% rebate on their pre-tax spend. In addition, a free night certificate for a Category 1-4 hotel (up to 15,000 points per night) would also be earned.

It is worth mentioning that award nights also count towards status, and that Hyatt has an overlapping promotion offering a 15% rebate when you book using points.

Bottom line

If you see yourself travelling again in the next year or two and fancy giving Hyatt Globalist a go, it is worth running the numbers on these promotions.