A complete guide to World of Hyatt
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Key takeaways
- The World of Hyatt rewards program has over 1,300 properties across 76 countries.
- Members can earn points through hotel stays, spending with Hyatt partners, hosting meetings or events and credit card spending. Points can be used toward free night stays, room upgrades, hotel credits and with Hyatt partners.
- The program offers various levels of elite status, each with its own benefits and requirements. The tiers include Discoverist, Explorist and Globalist.
- World of Hyatt points are valued higher than most other hotel loyalty programs.
With more than 1,300 properties across 76 countries, Hyatt has a lot to offer frequent travelers. And its rewards program, World of Hyatt, has plenty of ways to save money and earn rewards on your stays.
World of Hyatt offers members benefits like elite status, free nights at Hyatt hotels, room upgrades, credits, experiences and more.
If you prefer staying at Hyatt properties and are looking to maximize your future stays, here’s everything you need to know about the World of Hyatt rewards program.
Who is World of Hyatt best for?
The World of Hyatt loyalty program is a great choice for any frequent (or occasional) traveler who prefers staying at Hyatt hotels and properties.
While you’ll earn more the more you spend and stay at Hyatt, the program offers great savings at any membership tier.
How to earn World of Hyatt points
Hotel stays are the best way to rack up rewards with World of Hyatt, but there are a few different ways you can begin earning points — even when you’re home.
Eligible hotel stays
As a World of Hyatt member, you’ll earn 5X base points for every dollar you spend on stays at Hyatt hotels and properties (2.5X base points at Hyatt Studios), as well as on dining, spa and salon services at hotels. When you earn elite status with Hyatt, you’ll earn boosted points on your eligible spending.
Hyatt partners
You can also earn World of Hyatt points on purchases you make with Hyatt’s partners.
The same 5X base points per dollar spent applies to purchases you make at Home & Hideways by World of Hyatt and participating Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hotels.
You’ll earn 10X points per dollar on spending with FIND Experiences. This Hyatt partner offers experiences and excursions across the world, from chef-taught cooking classes in Bali to tours on horseback in Texas. If you have a World of Hyatt credit card, you’ll get another 4X bonus points per dollar spent with FIND Experiences.
Host a meeting or event
If you’re a business owner or event planner, you can benefit from bonus points on meetings and events at Hyatt locations. You’ll earn one bonus point for every eligible dollar (on top of base points) when you host an eligible meeting or event, up to 50,000 bonus points. You can also earn two elite night credits towards tier status for every $5,000 spent (up to $150,000).
Credit card spending
A surefire way to boost your World of Hyatt points is with one of the hotel’s co-branded credit cards.
You can choose between either The World of Hyatt Credit Card* or The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card*. Both offer bonus points on Hyatt stays and spending, as well as World of Hyatt points in other everyday bonus categories.
You can find more information about how to maximize these cards below.
How to redeem World of Hyatt points
After you’ve earned your World of Hyatt points, here are your choices for redeeming them:
Free night stays
Redemption values vary, but one of the best ways to use your World of Hyatt points is toward free future stays at Hyatt hotels.
You can use Hyatt’s award chart to find the best options for your trip and when you’re looking to travel. There’s a wide range of points required for free nights, starting at 3,500 for a standard room on an off-peak night in Category 1, all the way to 90,000 for a peak night in a Category 8 premium suite. You can also use points to book Hyatt’s all-inclusive resorts, which have a separate award chart.
Room upgrades
If you want to make an upcoming stay more comfortable, you can also use your points for a room upgrade at participating locations. Upgrade to a club room for 3,000 points per night, a suite for 6,000 points per night or a premium suite for 9,000 points per night.
Hotel credits
While you’re staying at a Hyatt property, you can redeem your points toward eligible hotel purchases, including dining, spa experiences, parking, transportation and more. What classifies as eligible may vary by property.
For this redemption, you’ll need to redeem your points as hotel credit at participating locations in eligible increments between 1,000 and 65,000 points.
Hyatt partners
Hyatt has plenty of airline and travel partners with which you can redeem points. This includes FIND experiences, American Airlines and Avis.
If you’re a loyalty member with one of World of Hyatt’s airline partners, you can choose to earn miles instead of points on your eligible stays and even transfer your points to airline miles. Generally, transfers have a ratio of 5:2.
World of Hyatt elite status
While even basic membership can offer great savings, moving up in elite status with World of Hyatt can unlock even better deals and high-value benefits for frequent travelers.
As a baseline, membership will get you 10 percent off on eligible Hyatt bookings, the ability to earn points on Hyatt spending, the option to book with points, waived resort fees on free night awards, a free night award after staying with five Hyatt brands and more.
When you earn higher status, you’ll get these benefits plus more:
Hyatt Discoverist
To qualify for Discoverist status with Hyatt, you’ll need to spend 10 qualifying nights at a World of Hyatt hotel or earn 25,000 base points. You’ll automatically get Discoverist status if you have a World of Hyatt credit card.
Discoverist status gets you 5X base points per dollar spent with Hyatt plus a 10 percent bonus on eligible spending (for a total of 5.5X). You’ll also get complimentary premium internet access, a preferred room within your booking type when available, a dedicated check-in line, free bottled water, a 2 p.m. late checkout and all the benefits of basic membership.
You’ll also qualify for a bonus with American Airlines, where you’ll earn one World of Hyatt point for every dollar spent on American Airlines flights in addition to your usual AAdvantage miles you’d already earn.
Hyatt Explorist
Hyatt Explorist status requires a total of 30 nights at Hyatt hotels or 50,000 base points earned in a calendar year.
Explorist tier members earn the standard 5X base points per dollar, plus a 20 percent bonus on eligible purchases (for a total of 6X). In addition to previous tier benefits, you’ll get a room upgrade when available (excluding Suites and Club lounge access rooms) and guaranteed availability with 72 hours’ notice.
Hyatt Globalist
Finally, Hyatt’s highest tier is Globalist. To earn this status, you’ll need to stay at a Hyatt property for at least 60 nights or earn 100,000 base points in a calendar year. You can alternatively earn Lifetime Globalist status with 1 million lifetime base points.
As a Globalist, you’ll get the baseline 5X points per dollar spent and another 30 percent on eligible purchases (for a total of 6.5X). As the highest elite status tier, you’ll get everything that other tiers offer, plus complimentary breakfast daily for you and registered guests (up to 2 adults and 2 children), Club lounge access, waived resort fees on both free award nights and eligible rates, room upgrades (including suites), a 4 p.m late checkout time, guaranteed availability within 48 hours, free parking on free award night stays, priority access to rooms when checking in early and the option to share your benefits with a guest when you use a Guest of Honor award.
Milestone Rewards
While you’re on your journey towards qualifying for elite status, you’ll earn Milestone Rewards after every 10 nights (starting at 20 nights). Some benchmarks give you automatic rewards, some offer a choice for a reward, and some offer both. Here’s what you’ll earn and have to select from with each milestone:
| Nights/Base Points | Choose 1: Selections Available | Automatic Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| 20 or 35,000 points |
|
N/A |
| 30 or 50,000 points |
|
|
| 40 or 65,000 points |
|
|
| 50 or 85,000 points |
|
N/A |
| 60 or 100,000 points | N/A |
|
| 70 |
|
|
| 80 |
|
|
| 90 |
|
|
| 100 |
|
|
| 110 |
|
|
| 120 |
|
|
| 130 |
|
|
| 140 |
|
|
| 150 |
|
|
As you progress, your options improve. You’ll have options for bonus points, suite upgrades, awards to give a friend or family member your status benefits for a stay and various levels of free or extra night awards to select from.
Brand Explorer Award
You’ll also earn a free night every time you complete a stay at five Hyatt brands that you’ve never stayed at previously. This is a lifetime benefit, with 30 possible brands to choose from. The free night is good for 12 months at a category 1-4 property. Award stays count, and there’s no limit to how long you can earn an award.
How much are World of Hyatt points worth?
World of Hyatt points are worth about 2.3 cents per point, according to Bankrate’s latest valuations.
This is much higher than even some of the most popular hotel loyalty programs out there — Marriott Bonvoy points, for instance, are valued at about 0.7 cents and Hilton Honors points are valued at about 0.6 cents.
Just keep in mind that your points value can vary a lot depending on when you redeem and your destination. Hyatt uses an award chart for free night rewards that can vary depending on room type, hotel category and whether you book peak, off-peak or standard.
World of Hyatt partners
Hyatt has a significant number of airline, hotel and other travel partners. With your World of Hyatt membership, you can earn miles or points on your Hyatt stays toward other programs, transfer your points and, in some cases, even get a status match. The minimum required for transfer is 5,000 Hyatt points, going up in increments 1,250. You’ll also get a bonus when you transfer 50,000 or more points (usually 5,000 miles for most programs). However, we don’t recommend transferring your hotel points this way, as it’s often a poor value.
Each of the partner benefits and transfer ratios vary, although most have a rate of 5:2. With the standard rates, you can turn 50,000 World of Hyatt points into 25,000 miles in the chosen currency, with the exceptions listed below. World of Hyatt’s partners include:
Best credit cards for World of Hyatt points
World of Hyatt’s two co-branded card options can be a great way for Hyatt loyalists to boost rewards, but they’re not your only option. Here are the best Hyatt credit cards:
World of Hyatt Credit Card
The World of Hyatt Credit Card has an annual fee of $95 per year and a welcome bonus worth up to 60,000 bonus points. You’ll earn 30,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening, then up to 30,000 more bonus points when you earn 2X points per dollar on purchases that normally earn 1X points per dollar (on up to $15,000 spent) within the first six months.
As for ongoing rewards, you’ll get 9X points per dollar spent at Hyatt hotels (5X points for being a World of Hyatt member and an additional 4X points for card spending) and 2X points for every dollar spent on dining purchases, airline tickets purchased directly from an airline, local transit and commuting and fitness club and gym memberships. For all other purchases, you’ll get 1X points for every dollar spent.
You’ll also get automatic Discoverist status, one free night each year at any Category 1 through 4 hotel after your cardmember anniversary and a second free night each year you spend at least $15,000. You’ll get five elite night credits every year, and you’ll earn an additional two elite night credits for every $5,000 you spend on the card.
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card has a higher $199 annual fee and a 60,000-point welcome offer after spending $5,000 within three months of account opening.
With this card, you can earn 9X points for Hyatt stays and experiences, 2X points on fitness club and gym memberships and 1X points on all other purchases. You’ll also earn 2X points on your top three spending categories each quarter (through Dec. 31, 2024, then 2X points on your top two spending categories each quarter). Eligible categories include dining, shipping, airfare purchased directly from an airline, local transit and commuting, social media and search engine advertising, car rental agencies, gas stations, and internet, cable and phone services.
You’ll also get automatic Discoverist status for you and up to five employees, plus up to $100 in Hyatt statement credits each year ($50 statement credits up to two times per year when you spend at least $50 at any Hyatt property). Other benefits include five qualifying night credits every time you spend $10,000, Hyatt Leverage membership and 10 percent of your redeemed points back the rest of the year after spending $50,000 in a calendar year (up to 200,000 points redeemed).
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
If you’re not enough of a Hyatt loyalist to commit to a co-branded card, a more flexible travel card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card can help you earn points toward future stays and more.
For a $95 annual fee, you’ll get 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards; 5X points on Lyft rides (through March 2025); 3X points on dining, select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs); 2X points on general travel; and 1X points on all other purchases.
You can also earn 60,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 in your first three months from account opening. Other benefits include up to a $50 annual credit for hotel stays purchased through Chase TravelSM, a 25 percent points redemption boost for travel purchased through Chase Travel and more.
World of Hyatt is also a Chase transfer partner, so you can transfer points earned with the Sapphire Preferred to your World of Hyatt account at a 1:1 ratio. Other Ultimate Rewards-earning cards that can transfer directly to World of Hyatt include the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
Transferring to World of Hyatt is one of the best values for using Ultimate Rewards. We value World of Hyatt points at around 2.3 cents each, while Ultimate Rewards are worth around 2.0 cents each.
Bilt Mastercard®
The Bilt Mastercard® offers another flexible point-earning option if you don’t want to commit to a World of Hyatt co-branded card. You can earn 3X points on dining, 2X points on travel, 1X points on rent (up to a maximum of 100,000 points per year), and 1X points on all other purchases. Also, on the first of the month, you can earn double points with Bilt’s Rent Day promotion (up to 1,000 bonus points per month). You’ll need to use the card five times each statement period to earn points. (Rewards & Benefits)
You can transfer points directly to World of Hyatt at a better value. We value Bilt Points at around 2.1 cents each, while World of Hyatt points are worth around 2.3 cents each.
Here’s what our expert says about World of Hyatt
Ryan Flanigan, Bankrate credit card writer, prefers to stay with World of Hyatt every chance he can, thanks to the program’s excellent value:
World of Hyatt properties are almost always my first choice when available for my travel needs. I get such amazing value for my World of Hyatt points compared to the cash rates. I’ve been a Globalist for a few years now and the perks and treatment of elite members is top in the industry, in my opinion. I’ve been lucky enough to stay at some of the finest hotels in the world that I’d never be able to afford, thanks to maximizing World of Hyatt points.— Ryan Flanigan, Bankrate Credit Cards Writer
The bottom line
The World of Hyatt program offers exceptional value and variety thanks to its extensive properties and partnerships. Even basic program members can redeem World of Hyatt rewards for special stays, but members who earn Discoverist, Explorist or Globalist status are in for an impressive slate of boosted rewards earning, valuable perks and special treatment.Use a World of Hyatt credit card to speed up your rewards earning or opt for one of several general travel rewards cards with rewards that can be transferred to the program.
*The information about The World of Hyatt Credit Card and the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
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