Hyatt makes elite qualification easier; top-tier Globalist status achievable without spending a dime

To everyone's surprised last week, World of Hyatt announced that they were halving their elite qualification requirements for 2021, meaning that you can achieve top-tier Globalist status with just 30 elite qualifying nights (EQNs) instead of the lofty 60 nights.  Although 30 nights is still no small number, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when business travel is at a standstill, Hyatt has further sweetened the pot with their Bonus Journeys promo, which gets you double EQNs on all stays through February 28, 2021  This means that top-tier Globalist status can be achieved with only 15 nights!  But read on, because it gets even better.

What is Hyatt Globalist?

Hyatt has traditionally had the most lucrative loyalty program, and their top-tier Globalist elite status is hands down the best in the industry in terms of benefits and treatment:

• Complimentary daily full breakfast
• Lounge access
• Room upgrades to club rooms and suites
• 30% bonus points earned
• Waived resort fees
• Waived parking fees on free night stays
• Guaranteed 4 pm late checkout

As Hyatt has some of the best luxury hotels worldwide, these benefits could easily add up to hundreds and even thousands of dollars in value for the frequent traveler.

Achieving Globalist status for 2021

As noted, Hyatt is halving the 60 EQN requirement to achieve Globalist status in 2021 to just 30 nights.  The status you earn in 2021 will be good through February 2023.  And with Hyatt's extended Bonus Journeys promo, you earn double EQN on all stays, including free night award stays, with checkout dates through February 28, 2021.  So 15 nights at any Hyatt property, including category 1 hotels which cost just 5,000 points per night, would get you Globalist status.  This means that you could achieve Globalist status without shelling out a dime with 75,000 World of Hyatt points, which are also a 1:1 transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR).  But read on as it gets even better.

15%-25% points back on award stays

Hyatt has another promo where World of Hyatt members earn 15% redeemed points back as Bonus Points on free nights when you stay on points by February 28, 2021.  And it gets even better for all Hyatt credit card holders, who get 25% redeemed points back.  So assuming you booked 15 free nights at a category 1 property, it'd only cost you 63,750 points (or 56,250 points as a Hyatt credit card holder) to earn Globalist.

Elite rollover nights

Under the Bonus Journeys promo, EQNs from October 1, 2020 through the end of the calendar year rollover to the 2021 elite qualification year.  So if you stayed 10 nights during this time period, those 10 nights would rollover to next year, and you'd then only need 20 nights to achieve Globalist.  However, I wouldn't recommend doing any mattress runs for this year, since stays starting on January 1, 2020 will double, whereas stays through December 31, 2020 would only rollover as 1 EQN and not 2.

Strategies for Hyatt credit card holders

World of Hyatt credit card holders automatically get 5 EQNs per year, so you'd essentially start off with only needing 25 EQNs to achieve Globalist starting on January 1, 2021.  So this means that you'd only 13 EQNs (13 x 2 = 26) in addition to the 5 EQNs that you're automatically issued to earn Globalist.  But the interesting this is that it gets better for applicants (current non-holders) of the World of Hyatt credit card, as Hyatt will be issuing them 10 EQNs for this year through December 31, 2020, and then another 10 EQNs after the new year.  This means that applicants for the World of Hyatt credit card through December 31, 2020 will start off the new year with 20 EQNs!  And another 5 EQNs would fulfill the Globalist requirement.  If you're not already a World of Hyatt credit card holder, you can apply through my referral link also get 50,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 within the first 6 months.

Credit card referral link

Is Globalist status worth it?

Without redeeming points and using cash to book 15 nights, I'd say that achieving Globalist won't be worth it for most as cheaper Hyatt hotels still run in the $70s and $50s if you're lucky.  So that means that you'd need to spend at least $750 out of pocket to earn Globalist.  But for Hyatt credit card holders and World of Hyatt and Chase UR point holders, this promo is achievable without spending a dime.  I would say that if you have category 1 or 2 hotels locally, it'd make sense to do mattress runs at the start of the new year to hit those 30 EQNs.  And even if you don't plan on doing that much travel next year assuming the pandemic still rages on, your status will be good for a full 2 years through February 28, 2023.  And of course, it'll also depend on how much you value benefits such as free breakfast and suite upgrades.  At luxury hotels such as the Park Hyatt, suites can easily be twice the cost (hundreds of dollars) per night compared to standard rooms.

Bottom line

From extending elite and free night expiration to offering bonus EQN and points promos, World of Hyatt has really set the standard during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Thanks to several combinable promos, Globalist status for 2021 is now more achievable than ever.  Are you going to be shooting for Globalist status next year?

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