Wow, I didn’t see this coming. During the pandemic Hyatt made it super easy to earn top tier elite status by cutting in half their elite requirements and then doubling elite earnings (see: Ludicrously easy path to Hyatt Globalist status). That made sense because travel had come to a near standstill and so hotel chains were bending over backwards to get people back. Now that travel is booming, I did not expect to see opportunities anywhere close to what we saw then. I was wrong! Two overlapping promotions make this year’s opportunity almost as good as the pandemic path to top tier Hyatt status! I think that Hyatt’s reason for this is that while personal travel is booming, business travel has fundamentally changed thanks to Zoom. So, without Hyatt’s usual base of elites (business travelers), Hyatt needs to turn to the rest of us…
Overlapping Hyatt promos
I previously wrote about how Hyatt’s spring promotion makes it possible to earn top tier elite status through “mattress running” with cheap award stays (see: Mattress running Hyatt’s Q2 2023 promo). And now, Bilt (which is free to join and doesn’t require getting their credit card) is offering a complementary Hyatt promotion: register by April 1 to enroll in a 90 day challenge where you’ll earn top tier Globalist status after staying 20 nights during the promotion period. The spring promo (register by April 30, 2023) is for stays between March 20 and May 26, 2023. The Bilt/Hyatt promo is for stays between April 17 and July 16. In other words, stays between April 17 and May 26 will count towards both promotions. And in both cases, award stays count.
As a reminder, the spring promo offers 3,000 bonus points after every 2 nights, but only after your first stay during the promo period. So, to make the math easy, let’s say you do a 1 night stay during the spring promo, but before the Bilt promo begins. Then, if you stay 20 nights between April 17 and May 26, you’ll earn 30,000 points from the Spring promo and Globalist status from the Bilt promo! Considering that our current Reasonable Redemption Value for Hyatt points is 2.1 cents per point, that’s like a $630 rebate! If you also have a Hyatt credit card, and if your stays are in hotels in qualifying areas, you’ll earn an additional 500 bonus points per two nights, for a total of 5,000 additional points.
One way of accomplishing all this is to book your stays entirely with points. Hyatt’s category 1 hotels cost only 3,500 points per night off-peak, 5,000 points per night standard, or 6,500 points peak. Will all category 1 stays, your total cost should range from 73,500 points for all category 1 off-peak nights, to 105,000 points standard, to 136,500 points peak. If you manage to do all off-peak, the bonus points from the spring promo can cut your total point cost nearly in half.
If you have questions about the spring promo and/or mattress running, see Mattress running Hyatt’s Q2 2023 promo. For more on the Bilt/Hyatt status challenge, see: Hyatt Globalist fast track through Bilt Rewards for Rent Day.
Hyatt elite status overview
In my 2022 post “Which hotel elite program is best?” I compared Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott. Hyatt came out on top in nearly every category. More recently, via our podcast, we took a broader look at “Which is the most rewarding hotel loyalty program?” Again, Hyatt blew away the competition.
Hyatt’s low and mid-tier elite status levels aren’t very exciting, but top-tier Globalist status is. Top tier status offers free parking on award stays (that’s huge in cities like New York!), free breakfast, waived resort fees on paid stays (all Hyatt members get waived resort fees on award stays), and more.
| Elite Status Level | Requirements Per Year | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Member | Free to Join | Member rates Waived resort fees on award stays SLH Benefits 5-Brand Free Night Award |
| Discoverist | 10 Nights or 25K base points |
10% point bonus Free Premium Internet Elite check-in Free bottled water 2PM late check-out Earn Hyatt points w/ AA spend |
| Explorist | 30 Nights or 50K base points |
20% point bonus Room Upgrade Fast track to AA elite status |
| Globalist | 60 Nights or 100K base points |
30% point bonus Waived resort fees on all stays Room upgrade, including suites 4PM late check-out Club access or free breakfast Free parking on award stays Book awards w/ insufficient points |
| Lifetime Globalist | 1,000,000 Base Points | All of the above |
Tier qualifying nights are often referred to as "elite nights". With many hotel chains, you can earn elite status by acquiring a number of tier qualifying elite nights each year. For example, Hyatt requires earning 30 elite nights per year to achieve mid-tier Explorist status, or 60 elite nights for top-tier Globalist status. Additionally, Hyatt offers "Milestone Rewards" which are perks like free lounge access, free nights, bonus points, etc. Milestone Rewards are earned within a calendar year when you achieve 20 elite nights, and every 10 elite nights after that up to 150. Read more about Hyatt elite status and Milestone Rewards in our World of Hyatt Complete Guide.
If you status match to earn Globalist status, keep in mind that there are still a number of elite benefits (Milestone Rewards) that you won’t get unless you actually earn the required number of elite qualifying nights:
| Elite Nights Earned | Milestone Reward |
|---|---|
| 20 Nights (or 35K base points) | |
| Automatic: | N/A |
| Pick 1: | 2K Next Stay Award |
| 2 Club Access Awards | |
| $25 FIND Credit | |
| 30 Nights (or 50K base points) | |
| Automatic: | 1 Cat 1-4 Free Night |
| Pick 1: | 2K Next Stay Award |
| 2 Club Access Awards | |
| $25 FIND Credit | |
| 40 Nights (or 65K base points) | |
| Automatic: | 1 Guest of Honor Award |
| Pick 1: | 5K Bonus Points |
| 1 Suite Upgrade Award | |
| $150 FIND Credit | |
| 50 Nights (or 80K base points) | |
| Automatic: | N/A |
| Pick 1: | 5K Bonus Points |
| 2 Suite Upgrade Awards | |
| $150 FIND Credit | |
| 60 Nights (or 100K base points) | |
| Automatic: | 1 Cat 1-7 Free Night |
| 2 Suite Upgrade Awards | |
| My Hyatt Concierge | |
| 2 Guest of Honor Awards | |
| 70, 80, 90 Nights | |
| Automatic: | 1 Guest of Honor Award |
| Pick 1: | 10K Bonus Points |
| 1 Suite Upgrade Award | |
| $300 FIND Credit | |
| 100 Nights | |
| Automatic: | 1 Cat 1-7 Free Night |
| Pick 1: | 10K Bonus Points |
| 1 Suite Upgrade Award | |
| Miraval Extra Night | |
| 110, 120, 130, 140 Nights | |
| Automatic: | 1 Guest of Honor Award |
| Pick 1: | 10K Bonus Points |
| 1 Suite Upgrade Award | |
| Miraval Extra Night | |
| 150 Nights | |
| Automatic: | Ultimate Free Night Award |
| Pick 1: | 10K Bonus Points |
| 1 Suite Upgrade Award | |
| Miraval Extra Night |
Completely separate from elite status, Milestone Rewards are available to everyone and are based on the number of nights you stay in a calendar year. Most awards are valid for the rest of the calendar year in which they are selected and 14 months beyond. Free Night awards, the Miraval Extra Night Award, and the 2K Next Stay Awards are good for only 180 days.
If everyone’s elite, no one’s elite (not true!)
When promotions make it easy to achieve top level elite status, we usually hear grumbling from those who earn elite status the hard way year after year. The worry is that a huge influx of elite members will dilute the value they get from status. Let’s take a look at Globalist benefits and see which ones might be hurt if there is a big influx of elite members:
- Waived resort fees on all stays
- Room upgrade, including suites
- 4PM late check-out
- Club access or free breakfast
- Free parking on award stays
- Guest of Honor
- Book awards w/ insufficient points
Is a hotel going to run out of free parking, free breakfast, or waived resort fees if too many Globalists show up? No, of course not. Most of the benefits on the above list are totally safe. The only perks that are likely to be affected by having more Globalist members are as follows:
- Room upgrade at check-in, including suites: Competition could make it much harder to score a great upgrade at check-in.
- 4PM late check-out (subject to availability at hotels with a casino, Destination Residences, and Hyatt resorts): This perk tends to be most valuable at resorts. If there’s more competition for late check-out at these “subject to availability” properties, there will likely be fewer granted requests.
- Club access: Sometimes hotel club lounges can be overcrowded. An influx of Globalist members can certainly make that worse.
So, OK, the three perks above might be impacted IF the hotels you stay in are swamped with top tier elite members. But will you be? Consider that the people who earn status through promotions like the ones described above do not travel as much as you do (where “you” are the person who stays in hotels at least 60 nights per year). My guess is that three of these new elites altogether barely travel as much as one “old-school” elite. My point is that you shouldn’t worry about it. Your chance of encountering a legion of Globalist members at check-in probably won’t go up… Except with hotels popular with the points & miles crowds. You probably will run into an overabundance of elite members at the Grand Hyatt Kauai, the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Alila Ventana Big Sur, etc. If it’s a great hotel that everyone’s talking about, then you can bet that the “new-school” elites will show up.
For more thoughts about why it’s okay if Hyatt’s elite ranks swell, see my pandemic-era post: Hyatt’s Elite Devaluation (On My Mind).
My plans
Amazingly I’ve already earned 32 Hyatt elite nights this year and so I feel pretty confident about re-upping my Globalist status the old-school way with 60 total nights. I can, of course, also earn nights through spend on my World of Hyatt card (every $5,000 gives me 2 elite nights). So, I probably won’t try to complete the status match. Yes, I signed up — that way, if I change my mind it’s still an option, but I highly doubt I’ll go for it. Most of my travel over the next few months is already accounted for and surprisingly little of it is through Hyatt.
If I didn’t already have Hyatt Globalist status, and didn’t already have 32 nights in the bag, it would be a different story. There are five category 1 Hyatt hotels within driving distance for me in southeast Michigan and the closest one has a number of off-peak dates available. I absolutely love Hyatt Globalist status and so if I needed it, I’d go for it.
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I seem to have stays that straddle the effective dates of every one of these Hyatt promos! And I have lost points by not reading the T&Cs very carefully – I still get a little nervous plunking down hard-earned points to meet a challenge, so I can sure identify with folks doing this for the first time.
For Bonus Journeys, you must check out between March 20 and May 26. For the Bilt promo, you must check out by July 16. The Bilt April Rent Day Terms, though, read for the beginning of the promo: “Stays that have begun or which are completed by a member prior to April 17, 2023 will not count,” indicating you can check in on April 17
Any reason to believe that stays at Hyatt Residence Clubs wouldnt work towards earning nights for the promo? I know the HRC I was looking to book at doesn’t honor the status benefits, but just want to make sure the nights there would count as eligible towards the challenge
Those nights will count
Thanks Greg!
I too am in Southern California, and there are no cheap options around…the Vegas stuff is creative, but with two kids in school and sports, getting to and from vegas a few weeks in a row is a no go.
So what about having a friend in IL, MI, GA, etc. check in on my behalf? Make the booking in my name, my CC, my WoH. List the friend as a secondary guest, who of course “checks in early”. I’d call the hotel in advance to notify of plan, but my friends could swing by the cat 1 property to/from work on my behalf.
Also, what about promos at some locations which list “Stay 2 Nights, 3rd Night Free”. I’ve found one for $105/night with that promo, and I’m wondering if that would count as eligible nights, and if so, would it be one, two, or three nights?
I recently did a third-night-free promo through FHR. Initially, I was credited for only two elite nights. I emailed my concierge and she updated my account to credit the third night.
Officially the free night shouldn’t earn elite credit. Sometimes it does anyway automatically. Sometimes you can do what JC suggested. I wouldn’t count on it definitely working though.
This is something of which “we” do not speak in published spaces. YMMV
Are there any category 1 Hyatts for 3500 points anywhere (in the world?) I haven’t been able to find any with some random spot searches….
We’re staying at Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica next February which I booked with Hyatt points earlier this month. Does Globalist status get us anything there? Thanks!
Being out here in California there are like no category 1s anywhere. What are your thoughts on mattress running booking Vegas stays at MGM properties? I was thinking you book a Sunday through Thursday and get the cheap weekday rates then once over the 10 night hurdle you could get explorist and match it in order to get MGM gold and waive resort fees for a second mattress run.
FWIW, I’ve successfully done it. It’s probably the single cheapest (cash) mattress run in the Hyatt ecosystem, especially when the resort fee is waived.
Yea I’m debating doing that. Only thing that kinda sucks is that afterwards the lounge access awards are kinda pointless. Unless you book multiple rooms I guess.
Don’t get me started on the club level “awards” LOL. They’re worthless and annoying. Most worthwhile US clubs are permanently closed. I have plenty if you can actually use them, not kidding.
Your plan is a good plan. Just make sure the run is worth it…that you’ll have enough Hyatt stays through Feb ‘25 that Globalist provides enough value for the cost of the run.
The suite certs are very valuable. International and Hawaii travel (excluding Papagayo) generally gives the best payoff (upgrade, lounge, breakfast) See if you can consolidate enough stays in a year to earn some of those.
Lol dang say it ain’t so. Maybe they will change the lounge access rewards to something else. I do plant to go-to Seattle and Hawaii later this year potentially. The Vegas runs would be somewhat organic. I have to meet a friend and a family member in May and June. I normally stay at ceasars since I’m diamond but don’t mind spending roughly 300 over 2 4-5 day stays to book mgms Luxor or Excalibur. Figure if that gets me 8 nights the other 12 will be cake to get from natural weekend trips. Sadly I have a 4 day trip planned that ends on April 16 lol. I almost booked this the weekend after but didn’t oh well.
Sounds like a worthwhile run to me!
FWIW, I recently asked both my concierge and Hyatt corporate if I could trade in the club certs for something, anything (points, 6:1 for a suite upgrade) but the answer was no. I asked corporate for a list of properties that had active clubs. They coldly said they don’t keep that (short and dwindling) list.
WOH is often above average. Dwindling clubs definitely detract from the program though. I opted to get an AirBNB with a pool this summer instead of Lost Pines (closed club). We would have had three rooms, family gathering but having a big house/pool with our own snacks/drinks > no club resort.
I’m not familiar with mattress runs. I just need to know one thing, if I book 10 nights or 20 nights in a row with points/cash (ideally a category 1), is it considered 10 nights or is it only 1 stay? Trying to figure out the fastest way to do it without doing random mattress runs and keeping count
Do the research please. Just read the site.
I’ve read it. I also said I don’t do mattress runs and I asked a simple question. If you don’t know the answer, move on.
https://frequentmiler.com/mattress-running-hyatts-q2-2023-promo/
Found a post explaining this if anyone is interested in learning more about mattress runs
Good work
Right. You want spoon feeding so you don’t have to do sixty seconds of reading on how mattress runs work. That’s on you, not anyone else here. Instead of being lazy or angry just be productive. You could have had the answer already.
Derrr ThAnKS foR tHE ExPlAnAtiON. YoU ArE SO ClEvEr.
Friggin id**t. That’s why people ask. I didn’t ask you to dumb down everything and explain the whole process. I just asked a simple question and you’re too uptight to even figure out how to answer it and instead you go on a tangent.
Thanks for your contribution James!/s
“… is it considered 10 nights or is it only 1 stay?”
This question is nonsensical. There is literally no correct answer to this question. You offered a binary outcome but the real answer isn’t actually mutually exclusive, per your defined parameter. This shows that you don’t know what you’re asking and you need to read up on how mattress runs work so you don’t do something stupid and miss your target.
I know how they work. Getting angry and calling strangers names because you don’t understand what you’re asking doesn’t help you. Take some wise words…read up on how they work. There are nuances. You’re welcome for good advice.
This game isn’t for everyone. I don’t mean that as a slight. I mean that as a genuine caveat emptor for your own good.
This would have been a better answer than the response you gave initially. I clearly didn’t know how they worked, hence I was asking? I thought that was clear. A simple link would have sufficed instead you went to great lengths to undermine me and others wanting to learn how mattress runs work. If you can’t contribute, don’t waste everyone’s time being a keyboard warrior.
Good Day
I think I helped more than you realize. You found the link for yourself (nice work). You’re (hopefully) going to read the entire post for yourself, which you need to do.
There are nuances you needed to know beyond what you thought you were asking. You may not like it, but I probably helped you way more by pushing you to look it up.
You’re welcome.
James, even though you don’t realize it, some people have lives and actual hobbies outside of this. Some people want free travel but don’t want to nitpick and maximize every little thing. Some people are just lazy or too dumb as well. You can ignore these people instead of posting these snarky comments like your shiot doesn’t stink. Stop being like this and get a life outside of travel hacking.
Get off the thread my dude
Both: it is 10 nights AND 1 stay.
Some promos are based on number of stays and some are based on number of nights. The Elite challenge is based on nights.
Are you able to book multiple hotels on the same night? Say there are several category 1 hotels in my city, is it possible to book and get credit for multiple stays that occur on same day?
No
It is not permitted by the program terms. I’ve heard of people doing this and getting the additional nights posted but I don’t think it’s common.
Am I the only one that feels like this seems too good to be true? Globalist until 2025 for 20 nights during a period where they have an additional promo going on? Like what’s the catch here? Don’t get me wrong..I signed up for the promo and I’m going for it, but like why do we have to wait until the 17th to get confirmation of explorist status? I worry they will clarify later it is only for bilt card holders. Or maybe Hyatt will be ending their relationship with chase in the next couple years and wants us all to cozy up to bilt?
All the consipiracy theories floating around in my head right now.
I’d abandon Chase UR if they lost Hyatt. Hyatt is the only UR transfer partner I use (outside of the occasional Southwest transfer).
Well, I certainly wouldn’t put any spend into Chase cards… but I’d still get SUB’s when they are high enough. They would still be useful to top off Aeroplan, Virgin, Avios if you’re short for a redemption.
Yeah question is does Bilt go under before then?
Hyatt has done stuff like before. They must need to goose their loyalty program. Some blogs speculate business travel is down.
Most people don’t read points hacking blogs or consider mattress runs. Heck, most people don’t even know what a category 1 even is. We are a small segment. And 20 nights is not insignificant.
Would a stay booked at an mgm hotel in Las Vegas work if booked through Hyatt?
Yes.
Would I get Hyatt elite credit if I book Bellagio from Amex FHR and add my Hyatt number there?
Does it count if you book through MGM?
If you book through MGM and ask the agent to add your Hyatt number when you check in, it should work most of the time. Doing it other ways is more spotty.
Yes. You need to make sure your Hyatt number link to your mgm stay when you check in
I should add that you might want to avoid booking MGM properties in Vegas through Amex’s FHR program, but I can’t verify if this is still the case now. In 2022, the terms of FHR program for bookings at MGM Vegas properties prevented elite stay credit from being applied to WoH.
For example, if you booked a stay at the MGM Grand using the Amex FHR program, your stay credit wouldn’t show up in your WoH account. However, if you booked the same stay through Hyatt or MGM’s sites, you would earn the stay credit as expected. This was confirmed on another travel site.
However, I don’t know if this is still the case in 2023. You may want to book with Hyatt or MGM directly to avoid any issues (which is a shame, because FHR is great). Please correct this if I’m wrong, and I apologize if this is no longer the case.
When I try to link Hyatt, I get the following error message since yesterday:
“Sorry, we did not find that membership. Please make sure your credentials are correct.”
Now it’s changed to: “An error has occurred. Please close this window and try again later. Unable to register membership.” The only help I’ve found on the Bilt app is a chatbot or option to submit a ticket, haven’t heard back.
Is there a way to link back to Bilt from the Hyatt end?
I’ve run into this exact same issue. The chatbot was completely unhelpful, so I sent an email to support. I’m currently in an email conversation to try to get this resolved.
Just to follow up on what worked for me. It turns out that I had incorrectly entered a number zero for my World of Hyatt account number instead of a letter “o” when trying to link to Bilt Rewards. Leticia at Bilt Rewards helped to steer me in the right direction.
Hey, thanks! I had been making the same mistake. But even with that corrected, am still getting “an error has occurred”. Currently also working with Leticia and the engineers to figure this out
I have a good question Greg! Do I actually have to stay at the hotels I’m booking or can I just book them to earn the nights ?? Reason I am asking because I have 20 nights booked within the period but I won’t actually be staying at most of them as they are in different cities. I did this to maximize 3500 points per night for my 20 stays.
How are you going to check in?
You usually do have to go in person to check in. See details in the FAQ in my post about mattress running Hyatt
With respect, that’s not a good question at all. Do some reading.
Lol get a life loser, not everyone has read the full encyclopedia for mattress running. You must have cause you have nothing better to do with your life
The comments for FM are the best in the entire points space. I value that highly but even I am getting exasperated. They have gone so far out of their way to respond to the same questions over and over, which their posts already cover in detail, that we are running the risk of trying their patience. I don’t know why, but this promo is really bringing out people who need excessive hand holding.
With FM, everything you need to know is in their posts. If they miss something, a helpful reader will point it out, and they will edit very quickly. If they are vague about something, there is a reason, which they have almost certainly explained elsewhere.
I am not the comments police, but there are a million places on the internet where you can post “lol get a life loser.” Why don’t you take that crap somewhere else?
Yes! This X100. It’s like these people hit a redirect from MMS? The handholding being asked and childishness on this particular post is wild FM has the best posts in the game if people will just take the time.
Peter, if you believe five minutes to search a post and read it is equivalent to reading an encyclopedia then I urge you to reevaluate engaging in this hobby.
FM has made this ridiculously easy but you need to read for your own good. Get personal with me if that helps you manage emotions, but that’s good advice and you should take it.
Hello Greg,
For bonus journeys Hyatt promos,you said booking with point will count. The Hyatt faq’s say redeem a free night award. Is it the same redeeming points for complete booking(not points+cash),sorry for newbie question.They did not mention anywhere explicitly about booking with points.
Yes, a room booked with Hyatt points = a free night award.
Thank You Nick!
Will Destination hotels count toward qualifying nights on this promo? Also what about Zilara AI stays?
Yes. Any stays at any property that ordinarily earn tier qualifying nights count toward the promotion.
I’m always just so close, so far on making the run for Globalist. I have very take-it-or-leave it breakfast habits, often stay in cities where I do not arrive via car, and live in the C1 vacuum of the west coast where Hyatt Places are often C4 fodder. These promos always come juuuust close enough to get my pencil moving, but ultimately don’t pencil.