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The history of Hyatt Hotels & Resorts began in 1954 with a single motel called the Hyatt House that was built just outside of Los Angeles International Airport. By the end of 1968, Hyatt International was formed, taking the business outside of the United States. Today, Hyatt Hotels Corporation is one of the largest hotel companies in the United States, with a portfolio of more than 25 hotel brands and over 1,000 locations worldwide.
However, in recent decades, more and more hotel chains have begun to invest heavily in their loyalty programs as well as their brick-and-mortar assets. So, as the Hyatt portfolio has continued to grow, so has its World of Hyatt loyalty program.
This program allows members to earn a valuable rewards currency for completing stays at eligible Hyatt-owned hotels as well as in several other ways, including credit card spending, flying with American Airlines, booking experiences with partners and more. Additionally, by staying at Hyatt locations, you can work towards earning World of Hyatt elite status, which means you’ll be entitled to special benefits.
Hyatt points can be redeemed for free nights at Hyatt hotels. And, while there are other redemption options (such as car rentals, converting to airline miles, booking experiences and more), you’ll typically get the best value by using your Hyatt points to book award stays.
In this article, we’re going to discuss everything you need to know about the World of Hyatt program, including how to join, how to earn Hyatt points, how to redeem Hyatt points, which redemptions tend to offer the most value and the World of Hyatt elite status program.
What Is the World of Hyatt Loyalty Program?
The World of Hyatt, launched in 2017, is the latest version of Hyatt’s loyalty program. With this program, you can earn points and receive special rates and perks at over 1,000 hotels from more than 25 different brands worldwide. Here is the current list of brands under the Hyatt umbrella:
| Alila | Hyatt Centric | Park Hyatt |
| Alua Hotels & Resorts | Hyatt House | Secrets Resorts & Spas |
| Andaz | Hyatt Place | Sunscape Resorts & Spas |
| Atona | Hyatt Regency | The Unbound Collection by Hyatt |
| Breathless Resorts & Spas | Hyatt Studios | Thompson Hotels |
| Caption by Hyatt | Hyatt Zilara | UrCove by Hyatt |
| Destination by Hyatt | Hyatt Ziva | Vivid Hotels & Resorts |
| Dreams Resorts & Spas | Impression by Secrets | Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resort |
| Grand Hyatt | JdV by Hyatt | |
| Hyatt | Miraval |
Hotels from all of these brands offer the opportunity to both earn and redeem Hyatt points and will honor any World of Hyatt elite status perks that you’re entitled to.
Image Courtesy of World of Hyatt | Alila Napa Valley in Napa Valley, California
How the Program Works
It’s completely free to sign up for the World of Hyatt program. The sign-up process is super easy and only requires you to provide your name, address and email, and choose a password. Once you’ve created your account, you’ll receive a unique World of Hyatt membership number.
In order to earn Hyatt points, you’ll need to provide your World of Hyatt number while making your booking through the World of Hyatt website or when you arrive at the property. Once your paid stay is completed, the points will be credited to your account.
When you stay a night at a Hyatt hotel, earn Hyatt points or host a meeting at a Hyatt hotel, you’ll earn credit towards achieving World of Hyatt elite status.
Membership Tiers
When you sign up for the World of Hyatt program, you’ll immediately enjoy the perks of Member status, which include earning 5X points per $1 spent at Hyatt hotels and resorts (and 2.5X points at Hyatt Studios), Member Rate discounts on cash bookings and waived resort fees on free night awards.
Again, you can improve your status in the World of Hyatt program by completing paid nights at Hyatt hotels, earning Hyatt points or hosting meetings at Hyatt hotels. As you move up in membership tiers, you’ll enjoy improved benefits at all World of Hyatt hotels. Here are the five membership tiers in the World of Hyatt program:
- Member
- Discoverist
- Explorist
- Globalist
- Lifetime Globalist
We’ll discuss these benefits more in-depth later in this article in the “World of Hyatt Elite Status” section.
Image Courtesy of World of Hyatt | Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort
How to Earn Hyatt Points
Now that we’ve discussed the basics of the program, let’s take a closer look at how to earn World of Hyatt points.
Of course, the most obvious way to earn Hyatt points is to stay at qualifying Hyatt locations. However, there are quite a few ways to earn Hyatt points that don’t involve going anywhere near a Hyatt hotel.
Hotel Stays
To earn Hyatt points for your stay, you must book directly through Hyatt, whether that be online, over the phone, in person or via the Hyatt app.
All members of the World of Hyatt program earn 5X points per dollar spent on eligible purchases, which typically includes room rates, spa, dining and certain experiences. If you have elite status, you’ll receive a bonus on your points earnings. Here’s the points bonus you’ll receive at each elite status tier:
- Discoverist 10%
- Explorist 20%
- Globalist 30%
For instance, if you stay at a Grand Hyatt property for three nights at a rate of $200, you’ll earn 3,000 points without elite status. However, if you have Globalist elite status, you’ll receive a 30% points bonus on your earnings. So, with Globalist elite status, you’d earn 3,900 points on the same stay.
Image Courtesy of World of Hyatt | Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor in Germany
Credit Card Spending
You can also earn World of Hyatt points through credit card spending. There are two basic ways to do this: earning World of Hyatt points directly by signing up for one of the two World of Hyatt co-branded credit cards or transferring credit card points from Chase Ultimate Rewards (the only major credit card rewards program that allows transfers to World of Hyatt).
Both The World of Hyatt Credit Card ($95 annual fee) and The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card ($199 annual fee) allow you to earn Hyatt points for making everyday purchases. They also come with complimentary free night awards and more. We’ll discuss these credit cards more in-depth later in this article in the “World of Hyatt Credit Cards” section.
The other way to earn World of Hyatt points with credit card spending is to sign up for a Chase Ultimate Rewards credit card and then transfer your Chase points to the World of Hyatt program (at a 1:1 ratio). This is a great option, as it allows you to boost your Hyatt points balance when you need to, and it’s also one of the best uses of Chase points. These points transfer will be discussed in further detail later in this article in the “Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Transfers to World of Hyatt” section.
Partner Offers and Promotions
Aside from booking hotel stays and spending on credit cards, you can earn Hyatt points by booking experiences, travel and more through Hyatt’s partners.
FIND Experiences
FIND Experiences is a collection of more than 200 experiences curated by World of Hyatt. These experiences are available in more than 50 destinations around the world and range from things like hunting for truffles in Hungary to sailing in San Francisco to a jungle safari in Indonesia.
On top of being a great resource for finding incredible activities and experiences while on vacation, FIND Experiences is also a great way to earn a lot of Hyatt points. You’ll earn at least 10X points per dollar spent through FIND Experiences. Plus, if you purchase your experience with The World of Hyatt Credit Card, you can earn an additional 4X points per dollar.
American Airlines
World of Hyatt is also partnered with American Airlines AAdvantage. By linking your World of Hyatt and AAdvantage accounts, elite members with World of Hyatt can earn 1X Hyatt points per dollar spent on flights purchased through American Airlines. If you’re also an elite status member with American Airlines AAdvantage, you can also earn AAdvantage miles for stays at Hyatt properties.
MGM Resorts
You can earn 5X Hyatt points per dollar spent at MGM Resorts, the parent company of famous Las Vegas resorts such as The Mirage, Bellagio and Mandalay Bay. Plus, if you have elite status with World of Hyatt, you may be eligible for a status match with the MGM Rewards program.
Avis
World of Hyatt members receive 500 Hyatt points and 25% off base rates when booking rental cars through Avis.
Purchasing Points
Hyatt allows members to purchase up to 55,000 points per calendar year in 1,000-point increments. Occasionally, World of Hyatt runs promotions offering bonuses on points purchases. For instance, they might offer a 30% bonus on purchases of 5,000 points, meaning that you’d receive 6,500 points for the cost of 5,000.
Unfortunately, purchasing points, bonus or no bonus, usually isn’t a good deal. Normally, Hyatt sells 1,000 points for $24 (or 2.4 cents apiece). Considering that Hyatt points are typically valued around 1.7 cents each, buying points is rarely worth it.
If you have a specific redemption in mind and you need only a few thousand more points for it, you may want to consider buying points. However, even in that case, you’re probably better off just buying that redemption with Points + Cash.
How to Redeem Hyatt Points
While Hyatt doesn’t have quite as large a footprint as other U.S.-based hotel chains like Marriott or Hilton, there are still some valuable redemptions within their loyalty program. When it comes to redeeming your Hyatt points for free night awards, Hyatt divides its properties into categories, with Category 1 hotels being at the lowest end and least expensive and Category 8 being the most luxurious and most expensive.
While purchasing hotel stays may be the most valuable redemption method in most cases, it’s not the only redemption method. Let’s take a look at all of the different ways to redeem your Hyatt points.
Free Nights and Room Upgrades
When redeeming Hyatt points at Hyatt hotels and resorts, you can either use your points to pay for a free night award, a portion of the cost of your night with the Points+Cash option or you can purchase room upgrades.
Free Nights
Unlike other hotel chains that have eliminated their award charts for free night awards, Hyatt still uses an award chart to price their redemptions. The chart separates their products into categories and separates booking times into standard, peak and off-peak. Here is Hyatt’s award chart for every category and room type.
| Standard Room | Standard Room | Standard Room | Club | Club | Club | Standard Suite | Standard Suite | Standard Suite | Premium Suite | Premium Suite | Premium Suite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | |
| Category 1 | 3,500 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 5,500 | 7,000 | 8,500 | 6,500 | 8,000 | 9,500 | 7,000 | 10,000 | 13,000 |
| Category 2 | 6,500 | 8,000 | 9,500 | 10,500 | 12,000 | 13,500 | 11,500 | 13,000 | 14,500 | 13,000 | 16,000 | 19,000 |
| Category 3 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 14,000 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 |
| Category 4 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 | 18,000 | 21,000 | 24,000 | 21,000 | 24,000 | 27,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 36,000 |
| Category 5 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 | 24,000 | 27,000 | 30,000 | 29,000 | 32,000 | 35,000 | 34,000 | 40,000 | 46,000 |
| Category 6 | 21,000 | 25,000 | 29,000 | 29,000 | 33,000 | 37,000 | 36,000 | 40,000 | 44,000 | 42,000 | 50,000 | 58,000 |
| Category 7 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 | 44,000 | 43,000 | 48,000 | 53,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 70,000 |
| Category 8 | 35,000 | 40,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 | 50,000 | 55,000 | 56,000 | 61,000 | 66,000 | 70,000 | 80,000 | 90,000 |
In general, more upscale brands like Park Hyatt and Andaz will be in the higher categories while lower-tier brands such as Hyatt Place and Hyatt House will be in the lower categories. If you want to see what hotel is in what category, you can simply search for your desired destination on Hyatt’s website, and the results will display every Hyatt location in that geographic area along with its category.
If you’re willing to do some searching, you can find some outstanding redemptions within the World of Hyatt program, specifically on Category 1 hotels. For instance, you could book a room with a king bed at the Alila Manggis, a four-star hotel in Bali, Indonesia (one of the most desirable vacation destinations in the world) for just 3,500 during off-peak times. As you can see, not all Category 1 hotels are side-of-the-highway Hyatt House hotels.
The cash rate for the same room at the Alila Manggis on the same night costs $114 at the Member Advance Purchase rate, meaning that you’d be getting nearly 3.3 cents per point in value, which is good for Hyatt points.
If you’re interested in using your Hyatt points to book a stay at an all-inclusive resort, Hyatt has a completely separate award chart for redemption rates for all-inclusive resorts, which you can see below:
| Standard Room | Standard Room | Standard Room | Club | Club | Club | Standard Suite | Standard Suite | Standard Suite | Premium Suite | Premium Suite | Premium Suite | Additional Points per Person | Additional Points per Person | Additional Points per Person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | |
| Category A | 12,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 | 18,000 | 21,000 | 24,000 | 21,000 | 24,000 | 27,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 36,000 | 6,500 | 7,500 | 8,500 |
| Category B | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 | 24,000 | 27,000 | 30,000 | 29,000 | 32,000 | 35,000 | 34,000 | 40,000 | 46,000 | 8,500 | 10,000 | 11,500 |
| Category C | 21,000 | 25,000 | 29,000 | 29,000 | 33,000 | 37,000 | 36,000 | 40,000 | 44,000 | 42,000 | 50,000 | 58,000 | 10,500 | 12,500 | 14,500 |
| Category D | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 | 44,000 | 43,000 | 48,000 | 53,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 70,000 | 13,000 | 15,000 | 17,000 |
| Category E | 35,000 | 40,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 | 50,000 | 55,000 | 56,000 | 61,000 | 66,000 | 70,000 | 80,000 | 90,000 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 |
| Category F | 42,000 | 50,000 | 56,000 | 55,000 | 64,000 | 74,000 | 70,000 | 80,000 | 90,000 | 85,000 | 100,000 | 115,000 | 22,000 | 25,000 | 29,000 |
Finally, there is another separate award chart that applies only to free night awards at Miraval Resorts. Here is the award chart for stays at Miraval Resorts:
| Off-Peak | Standard | Peak | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard room (single occupancy) | 40,000 | 45,000 | 50,000 |
| Standard room (double occupancy) | 57,500 | 65,000 | 72,000 |
| Standard suite (single occupancy) | 65,000 | 75,000 | 85,000 |
| Standard suite (double occupancy) | 82,500 | 95,000 | 107,000 |
| Premium suite (single occupancy) | 95,000 | 105,000 | 115,000 |
| Premium suite (double occupancy) | 112,500 | 125,000 | 137,000 |
When booking a free night award at a Miraval Resorts location, you’ll be entitled to luxury accommodation, a $175 resort credit per person, gourmet cuisine, freshly prepared snacks and beverages and complimentary wellness activities, fitness classes and more.
Points+Cash
If you don’t have enough points in your World of Hyatt account to purchase a specific redemption, you also have the option to purchase that redemption with Points + Cash. Hyatt allows you to spend 50% of the points needed for a specific redemption and then pay 50% of the standard rate for that room in cash.
So, if you wish to know the price of a hotel room using the Points+Cash feature, you can simply refer to the appropriate award chart above and divide the required number of points in half. Then, you can take the cash price for that night and divide that in half as well.
For example, let’s say that there’s a Hyatt hotel room that you can book for either 5,000 points (as a free night award) or $200. If you were to instead use the Points+Cash option for that stay, it would cost you 2,500 points and $100 cash.
Room Upgrades
In addition to redeeming your Hyatt points for free nights, you can use your points to upgrade rooms on paid stays. Here’s how many points you’ll need for a room upgrade on an existing paid reservation.
| Room upgrade award | Points per night |
|---|---|
| Club | 3,000 |
| Suite upgrade | 6,000 |
| Premium suite upgrade | 9,000 |
Unfortunately, not all Hyatt reservations are eligible for room upgrade redemptions. On Hyatt’s website, it says, “Room upgrade awards may not be redeemed at all Hyatt hotel or resort locations and may have minimum room-type and rate requirements for the underlying reservation.”
To check whether your reservation is eligible for an upgrade and to confirm an upgrade redemption, you’ll need to call Hyatt’s customer service line at 1-800-544-9288.
Dining and Spa Experiences
Whether or not you’re staying at a Hyatt hotel, you can use your Hyatt points to purchase credits that can be used toward dining and spa experiences at participating Hyatt properties. Here are the prices for spa and dining credits.
| Points required | Dining and spa credit |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | $10 |
| 2,500 | $25 |
| 5,000 | $50 |
| 7,500 | $75 |
| 8,000 | $100 |
| 12,000 | $150 |
| 20,000 | $250 |
| 35,000 | $500 |
| 65,000 | $1,000 |
You don’t have to be staying at a Hyatt property in order to use these credits. However, if you are staying at a Hyatt hotel or resort, you can also use these credits for in-room movies, parking, transportation and more.
Other Rewards
While redeeming for stays at Hyatt hotels is surely the best way to maximize the value of your Hyatt points, there are several other ways to redeem Hyatt points that you should be aware of.
MGM Resort Stays
You can also redeem Hyatt point for stays at MGM Resorts properties and Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties.
If you want to book a stay at an MGM Resort or Small Luxury Hotels of the World property using Hyatt points, you can do so through the Hyatt website or by calling the Hyatt Global Contact Center. Both MGM and Small Luxury Hotels of the World locations are organized into categories and priced the same way as Hyatt properties.
Experiences
You can use Hyatt points to book experiences through Hyatt’s FIND Experiences portal. To do so, go to the FIND Experiences website. Prices for all of the different experiences are displayed in both cash rates and points rates.
You can also use Hyatt points to book experiences with Lindblad Expeditions. To do so, you can go to their website and search for experiences. All prices will be displayed in both cash rates and points rates.
Avis Car Rentals
As part of the partnership between Avis and World of Hyatt, you can use your World of Hyatt points to book intermediate car rentals at certain Avis locations worldwide. To clarify, an “intermediate” car is typically a mid-size sedan such as a Hyundai Elantra or a Chevrolet Cruze.
If you want to book an Avis car rental with Hyatt points, you’ll need to call the World of Hyatt customer service line. If there’s availability, the rental will cost 6,000 points per day. In many cases, this can actually be a fantastic deal. To rent a car with Avis using Hyatt points, call (800) 544-9288.
Meeting Credits
If you frequently hold meetings at Hyatt properties, you can redeem your Hyatt points for future meeting credits. Here are the redemption rates for future meeting credits:
| Points required | Future meeting credit |
|---|---|
| 15,000 | $200 |
| 30,000 | $400 |
| 45,000 | $600 |
| 60,000 | $800 |
| 75,000 | $1,000 |
As you can see, redeeming for future meeting credits can give you decent value per point, but you can definitely get more value by redeeming for free night awards.
Gift Points
World of Hyatt gives you the option to gift points to friends or family in increments of 1,000 points, up to 55,000 points per calendar year. However, you’ll have to pay $24 per 1,000 points, which is a pretty bad deal.
If you’re thinking about gifting points to someone else, you’d be much better off just purchasing a redemption for them instead to save on the transfer fees.
World of Hyatt Elite Status
By staying a certain number of nights, earning Hyatt points, hosting meetings at Hyatt properties or signing up for a World of Hyatt credit card, you can achieve elite status in the World of Hyatt program. This means you’ll be entitled to special perks. Lower-level elite status tiers come with small touches like free snacks to make your travel a bit more comfortable, while higher-level elite status tiers come with valuable perks like suite upgrades, free parking or waived resort fees.
Anyone who joins the World of Hyatt program will automatically have Member status. Beyond that, there are three elite status tiers you can achieve by completing qualifying stays at Hyatt properties or adding a Hyatt credit card to your wallet.
Tiers and Benefits
Let’s take a look at a quick breakdown of what the benefits of each elite status are.
Anyone with Member status in the World of Hyatt program will earn 5X points per dollar spent on eligible purchases, as well as access to member rates and waived resort fees on award nights. You’ll also receive special benefits at Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties, a boutique chain of hotels with more than 500 locations in more than 80 countries. Finally, those with Member status can request a status match to Sapphire status in the MGM Rewards program.
The following table includes the benefits you’ll be entitled to with Discoverist, Explorist and Globalist elite statuses:
| Elite status tier | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Discoverist | • All benefits included with Member status • 10% bonus points on eligible Hyatt purchases • Premium internet at all Hyatt-owned locations • Free bottle of water every day • Room upgrades to preferred rooms (subject to availability) • Elite check-in and 2 p.m. checkout • Ability to earn 1 Hyatt Bonus Point per dollar spent on qualifying American Airlines flights (in addition to earning AAdvantage miles) • Status match to Pearl status in the MGM Rewards program |
| Explorist | • All benefits included with Discoverist status • 20% bonus points on eligible Hyatt purchases • Room upgrades, excluding suites and rooms with Club Lounge access (subject to availability) • Guaranteed availability up to 72 hours • Status match to Gold status in the MGM Rewards program |
| Globalist | • All benefits included with Explorist status • 30% bonus points on eligible Hyatt purchases • Guaranteed availability up to 48 hours • Room upgrades, including suites • Either Club access or complimentary breakfast every day • Free parking on free night awards • 4 p.m. checkout • Waived resort fees on all eligible rates and free night awards • Priority access to rooms • Ability to share your in-hotel benefits with another guest • Status match to Gold status in the MGM Rewards program |
As you can see, earning elite status with the World of Hyatt program can make your stays at Hyatt locations much more comfortable and can also help you save money on resort fees, room upgrades and more.
Once you achieve an elite status tier, you’ll retain that status for the rest of the calendar year as well as 14 months after the end of that calendar year (until February). For instance, if you were to earn Explorist elite status in March 2025, you would retain that status until February 2027. If you were to earn Globalist status in December 2026, you would retain that status until February 2028.
Achieving Elite Status
Now that you’re familiar with the benefits of World of Hyatt elite status, let’s look at how you can earn these elite statuses. There are four basic ways to earn elite status:
- Completing eligible nights
- Earning eligible Hyatt points
- Hosting eligible meetings/events at Hyatt locations
- Signing up for a World of Hyatt credit card
Certain ways of earning elite status are easier than others, depending on how you interact with the Hyatt network most often. For instance, if you tend to rack up a lot of Hyatt points per night (probably because you’re staying at expensive hotels), then you’ll probably want to focus on earning Hyatt elite status through points.
Earning Elite Status Through Nights, Points or Meetings/Events
You can earn elite status in the World of Hyatt program either by completing a certain number of qualifying nights at Hyatt properties, earning a certain number of Hyatt points or hosting a certain number of meetings or events at Hyatt properties. Here are how many of each you’d need to earn per calendar year to achieve each status tier.
| Status tier | Nights | Points | Meetings/events |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discoverist | 10 | 25,000 | 3 |
| Explorist | 30 | 50,000 | 10 |
| Globalist | 60 | 100,000 | 20 |
Paid and award nights count toward your elite status. Only Base Points, not Bonus Points, count toward elite status. In general, Bonus Points are earned through elite status bonuses and promotions, whereas Base Points are earned through eligible paid hotel stays and incidental purchases, such as dining, spa, room service and other expenses.
For a meeting or event to count toward elite status, it must include occupation of no fewer than 10 paid guest rooms for the same night (among other requirements).
Earning Elite Status With a Credit Card
If you have your sights set on World of Hyatt elite status, you can get a headstart by signing up for The World of Hyatt Credit Card (annual fee of $95) or The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (annual fee of $199), which are both issued by Chase.
Just for signing up for either card, you’ll receive automatic Discoverist status. World of Hyatt Credit Card holders also receive five elite night credits every calendar year as well as two additional elite night credits for every $5,000 you spend on the card to help you reach the next status tier. The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card holders can earn five night credits toward elite status, as well as Milestone Rewards, for every $10,000 spent in a calendar year.
Although The World of Hyatt Credit Card has an annual fee of $95, you’ll receive a free night at any Hyatt hotel in Category 1, 2, 3 or 4 every cardmember anniversary, which will offset the annual fee easily.
Lifetime Globalist Status
The World of Hyatt elite status program has one other status reserved for members that earn 1 million qualifying Hyatt points over the course of their life: Lifetime Globalist status. Once you achieve Lifetime Globalist status, you’ll enjoy the benefits of Globalist status for the rest of your life without having to meet any annual qualification requirements.
Members with Lifetime Globalist status will still be able to earn Milestone Rewards for qualifying activity.
Milestone Rewards
World of Hyatt has another program called Milestone Rewards that’s available to anyone and is completely separate from their elite status program. The Milestone Rewards program rewards customers based on the number of nights that they stay at qualifying Hyatt properties each calendar year. Certain Milestone Rewards can also be earned by accumulating a certain number of Base Points per calendar year, but others can only be earned by completing a certain number of qualifying nights.
You begin earning rewards after you complete 20 qualifying nights at Hyatt properties and then continue to earn more rewards every time you complete an additional 10 nights (up to 100 nights). Here’s how the program works.
| Award | Required number of nights (or Base Points) |
|---|---|
| Two Club Lounge access awards | 20 nights (or 35,000 Base Points) |
| One Category 1-4 free night award and two Club Lounge access awards | 30 nights (or 50,000 Base Points) |
| 5,000 bonus points, a $100 Hyatt gift card or a $150 FIND experience credit | 40 nights (or 65,000 Base Points) |
| Two suite upgrade awards | 50 nights (or 80,000 Base Points) |
| One Category 1-7 free night award, two suite upgrade awards and access to My Hyatt concierge | 60 nights (or 100,000 Base Points) |
| 10,000 Bonus Points or one suite upgrade, plus Guest of Honor Award | 70, 80 or 90 nights |
| 10,000 Bonus Points or one suite upgrade, plus one Category 1-7 or Category A-D all-inclusive free night award | 100 nights |
All of the benefits listed above are in addition to benefits you would receive through the elite status program.
World of Hyatt Credit Cards
As mentioned, one of the best ways to earn Hyatt points quickly as well as achieve World of Hyatt elite status is to sign up for a World of Hyatt credit card.
Hyatt offers only two co-branded credit cards: one personal and one business, both of which are issued by Chase. The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card is only available to small business owners (however, this includes freelancers, gig economy workers and pretty much anyone who works for themselves in any money-making capacity).
Card Benefits
The following chart outlines the main benefits of Hyatt’s two co-branded credit cards:
| Card name | Annual fee | Spending bonuses | Notable benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card | $199 | • 4X points at Hyatt hotels • 2X points in your top three spend categories each quarter through Dec. 31, 2024, then your top two categories each quarter • 2X points on fitness club and gym memberships • 1X points on everything else | • Automatic Discoverist elite status • Ability to gift Discoverist elite status to up to five employees • Five night credits toward elite status and Milestone Rewards for every $10,000 spent in a calendar year • Up to $50 in Hyatt statement credits every cardmember year • Spend $50,000 in a calendar year and get 10% of your redeemed points back for the rest of the year (up to 200,000 points) • Complimentary Hyatt Leverage membership • Employee cards at no additional cost |
| The World of Hyatt Credit Card | $95 | • 4X points at Hyatt hotels • 2X points on flights purchased directly from the airline, local transit and commuting • 2X points on fitness club and gym memberships • 1X points on everything else | • One Category 1-4 free night award every cardmember anniversary • Ability to earn a second Category 1-4 free night award by spending $15,000 in a calendar year • Automatic Discoverist elite status • Five qualifying night credits towards your next tier status every year • Two additional qualifying night credits every time you spend $5,000 |
In addition to all of the benefits mentioned above, both of these cards offer generous welcome bonuses. Typically, to receive these bonuses, you have to spend a certain amount of money on the card in a certain amount of time.
Here’s the current welcome bonus for The World of Hyatt Credit Card:
The World of Hyatt Credit Card
Earn up to 60,000
Bonus Points
Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 more Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.
Annual Fee: $95
And here’s the most up-to-date welcome bonus for The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card:
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
60,000
Bonus Points plus Explorist status through 2/28/26
after you spend $7,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Offer ends 6/30/25
Annual Fee: $199
These welcome bonuses are some of the best ways to rack up a large balance of Hyatt points in a short amount of time.
Maximizing Points With Credit Cards
One of the best ways to quickly earn Hyatt points is by earning a welcome bonus on one of the two World of Hyatt credit cards. So, before you sign up for either card, you’ll want to be sure that you’ll be able to meet the spending requirement for that bonus.
If you’re trying to decide between the two cards, we recommend going with the consumer version of the card because of the automatic free night award. This free night award, which can be used in any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel, can easily offset the $95 annual fee. By contrast, the annual fee on The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card is $199, and it doesn’t come with a free night award.
Whichever card you decide to go with, signing up for a co-branded Hyatt credit card is one of the best ways to rack up a large balance of Hyatt points quickly. However, there are many hotel loyalty credit cards on the market, so you should consider your other options before signing up for a Hyatt card.
Hyatt Properties and Location: Maximizing Your Hyatt Points Value
Within the World of Hyatt program, there’s a lot of variety in terms of both types of properties and the amount of value you can get out of your Hyatt points by booking award stays at each property.
In the following sections, we’ll look at the different types of properties in the Hyatt portfolio as well as which properties tend to offer the most value per point.
Types of Properties
The Hyatt portfolio has all of the bases covered. There are Hyatt resorts for families, resorts for romantic getaways, super affordable budget hotels, Hyatt ski resorts and everything in between.
Hyatt also classifies all of the brands under its umbrella as either luxury, all-inclusive luxury or other. The following table shows which brands are included in each category:
| Luxury | All-inclusive luxury | Other |
|---|---|---|
| • Alila • Andaz • Atona • Grand Hyatt • Park Hyatt | • Alua Hotels & Resorts • Breathless Resorts & Spas • Dreams Resorts & Spas • Impression by Secrets • Secrets Resorts & Spas • Sunscape Resorts & Spas • Vivid Hotels & Resorts • Hyatt Zilara • Hyatt Ziva • Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resort | • Caption by Hyatt • Destination by Hyatt • Hyatt • Hyatt Centric • Hyatt House • Hyatt Place • Hyatt Regency • Hyatt Studios • JdV by Hyatt • Miraval • The Unbound Collection by Hyatt • Thompson Hotels • UrCove by Hyatt |
Since the Hyatt hotel search engine allows you to filter by hotel brand, knowing which brand fits into each category can help you find the perfect hotel even faster.
Best Redemption Options
The World of Hyatt program is known for providing, on average, higher value redemptions than any other hotel rewards program. However, within the World of Hyatt program, there are definitely some hotels and resorts that tend to provide more value than others.
1. Alila Ventana Big Sur
One excellent location in the Hyatt portfolio that consistently offers solid value is Alila Ventana Big Sur, an all-inclusive, adults-only resort. This property offers the finest luxury experience on the beautiful Monterey coast in California.
We found a Big Sur Suite at the Alila Ventana Big Sur for 66,000 points per night. In theory, you can find a Standard room at this Category 8 hotel for just 35,000 points per night on off-peak dates. However, we weren’t able to find any Standard Room availability. Nevertheless, redeeming points for this Big Sur Suite still offers great value.
If you were to book this same suite on the same night with cash instead of points, it would cost you $2,370 at the Member Rate.
Thus, this redemption would yield a value of about 3.6 cents per point, which is high even for the World of Hyatt program.
2. Park Hyatt Kyoto
Another one of the best properties in the Hyatt portfolio for maximizing the value of your points is the Park Hyatt Kyoto in Japan. Unfortunately, award availability at this hotel is very scarce. So, if you want to book a room at the Park Hyatt Kyoto with Hyatt points, you may have to do some searching.
We found a 2 Twin Room at the Park Hyatt Kyoto for 35,000 points per night (as this is a Standard Room at a Category 8 hotel on an off-peak date).
If you were to book this same room on the same night with cash instead of points, it would cost you $1,428 at the Members Advance Purchase rate.
3. Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
If you want to visit the Maldives while getting good value for your Hyatt points, we recommend looking into the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. You can typically find solid value on Standard Rooms at this location, and even better value on Suites.
We found a Beach Villa (Standard Room) at the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa for 25,000 points per night.
If you were to book the same room on the same night with cash instead of Hyatt points, it would cost you $855 at the Member Rate.
Thus, by booking this room at the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa with Hyatt points instead of cash, you’d be getting a value of about 3.4 cents per point.
Tips and Tricks
When trying to maximize the value of your Hyatt points, there are a few tips and tricks that can help you along the way.
Points Calendar
One of the best features of the World of Hyatt program is the fact that you can access a “Points Calendar” for each participating hotel and resort that tells you on which dates that property has award availability and the award rate for each night. This is an extremely useful tool if you have a specific hotel or resort in mind, and you want to find off-peak pricing or a date that works for your travel schedule.
To access this points calendar, search for your desired hotel and input any dates. Then, click on the page for that hotel and, just underneath that hotel’s phone number listing, you’ll find the link to the Points Calendar.
This feature is very easy to navigate and can help you identify availability and off-peak dates for specific locations.
Cancellation Policy
The majority of award reservations made through the World of Hyatt program are fully refundable. So, if you’re browsing through free night award availability and you see something that offers great value, don’t hesitate to make the booking, even if you aren’t 100% sure that you want to stay there. You should be able to get a full refund as long as you comply with the hotel’s cancellation policy (which you should read thoroughly).
Watch Out for Resort Fees on Points+Cash Bookings
While the Points+Cash option seems as though it would provide the same value as a free night award, this is not always the case. While you will only have to pay 50% of the normal cash rate for any given night, that doesn’t include the taxes and fees, which you’ll have to pay in full. And, while the World of Hyatt program waives resort fees for free night awards, this doesn’t apply to Points+Cash bookings.
So, if you’re booking a stay at a resort, you’ll be paying the resort fee in full as well as 50% of the normal cash rate and 50% of the normal points rate. In many cases, this makes Points+Cash a worse option than booking entirely with points or entirely with cash.
World of Hyatt Partnerships and Transfer Options
The World of Hyatt program allows members to convert Chase Ultimate Rewards points into Hyatt points, which is often a good idea as World of Hyatt is one of Chase’s most valuable transfer partners.
You can also convert Hyatt points to airline miles. However, you’ll receive an unfavorable transfer ratio when making these conversions. So, we typically discourage using your Hyatt points this way.
Nonetheless, let’s take a closer look at both of these options.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Transfers to World of Hyatt
Among the best ways to earn Hyatt points is to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points into the World of Hyatt program. Chase allows you to transfer points in increments of 1,000, and Chase Ultimate Rewards points convert to Hyatt points at a 1:1 ratio. Considering that Hyatt points are typically valued at 1.7 cents apiece, converting your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into Hyatt points is one of the best ways to use Chase points.
If you want to transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to the World of Hyatt program, you’ll have to have one of the following Chase cards:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
To transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt, log in to your Chase Ultimate Rewards account and go to the “Earn / Use” tab. Then, click on the “Transfer to Travel Partners” button and scroll down until you see World of Hyatt. Put in the name of the recipient of the points and their World of Hyatt membership number. Finally, input the number of points you want to transfer.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
60,000
bonus points
after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee: $95
Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
90,000
bonus points
after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Annual Fee: $95
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to yourself or to one household member who’s an authorized user on your Chase card. In most cases, transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt are processed instantly. Just be aware that these transfers are nonrefundable, so you should wait until you have a specific redemption in mind to transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt.
World of Hyatt Point Transfers to Airline Miles
Hyatt has partnerships with a number of frequent-flyer programs that allow transfers of World of Hyatt points. However, doing this usually provides little value per point. Nevertheless, if you have at least 5,000 Hyatt points, you can usually convert your Hyatt points to airline miles at a 2.5:1 ratio.
Additional points above 5,000 can be converted in increments of 1,250. If you convert 50,000 or more in a single transaction, you’ll receive a bonus of 5,000 miles. Here are the different loyalty programs that you can transfer your points to:
| Aeroméxico Club Premier | Emirates Skywards |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | Ethiad Guest |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | JAL Mileage Bank |
| ANA Mileage Club | Korean Air Skypass |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | Qantas Frequent Flyer |
| Asiana Club | Qatar Airways Privilege Club |
| British Airways Executive Club | Royal Brunei Royal Skies |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer |
| China Airlines Dynasty Flyer | Southwest Rapid Rewards |
| China Eastern Miles | Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus |
| China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club | United Airlines MileagePlus |
| Delta Air Lines SkyMiles | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
Hyatt points are typically considered more valuable than the frequent flyer miles of any of the airlines listed above. Plus, with the unfavorable transfer ratio, converting Hyatt points to airline miles is typically not a good idea.
Hyatt Leverage
If you’re a freelancer or small business owner, it’s worth looking into the Hyatt Leverage program. There’s no fee for enrolling in this program. However, Hyatt has made it clear that Hyatt Leverage is for companies that book at least 50 nights per year at Hyatt locations. However, if you have The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card, you may be approved for the program even if you don’t meet the 50-night threshold.
If you’re approved for the Hyatt Leverage program, you’ll receive discounts between 5% and 15% at Hyatt hotels when you book directly through Hyatt with your unique discount code, 5% off Oasis home rentals, access to the Hyatt Leverage portal (which is great for managing employee stays) and email templates that make it easy to share travel itineraries with your organization.
Unlock the Full Potential of Your World of Hyatt Membership
The World of Hyatt provides more value on average than any other hotel loyalty program out there.
Hyatt has 26 brands under its umbrella where you can quickly earn World of Hyatt points by booking paid stays. You can also earn points by signing up for a World of Hyatt credit card, booking experiences through FIND Experiences or Lindblad Expeditions and in many other ways.
On top of earning World of Hyatt points, signing up for a co-branded credit card or booking paid stays also contributes toward earning elite status. Additionally, Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards program offers valuable rewards such as free night awards or $100 gift cards every time you complete 10 qualifying nights, starting at 20 nights and going up to 100 nights.
When it comes time to redeem your World of Hyatt points, in general, the best ways to do so are booking free night awards or redeeming for upgrades on paid stays. With a little searching, you can find free night redemptions that provide outstanding value, particularly when it comes to high-category luxury hotels and resorts. However, if you want to be more practical with your points, you can still get solid value at Category 1 hotels (which can cost as little as 3,500 per night).
At the end of the day, it’s free to enroll in the World of Hyatt program, so there’s no reason not to even if you don’t stay at Hyatt hotels all that frequently. And, if you do stay at Hyatt locations frequently, you’ll definitely want to reap the benefits of this program.
New to the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best card to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. , 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
after you spend $7,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Offer ends 6/30/25
Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 more Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.
after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
after you spend $5,000 in 3 months
after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
bonus cash back
after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
miles
once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
bonus points
after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Membership Rewards® Points
after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
