We have made it a priority to earn Hyatt Globalist status for the last few years. It’s one of the most coveted hotel statuses out there, and for good reason. While it normally takes 60 qualifying nights with Hyatt to reach it, we have never stayed the entire 60 nights. Yes, we do have to spend a decent amount of nights in a Hyatt but when you pay with points and have status that gives you free breakfast, late check out and suite upgrades… It’s not a hardship :).
Here are 7 things we do to ensure that we get status year after year, that don’t involve actually staying in a hotel bed.
What is Hyatt Globalist Status
First, let’s recap some of my favorite Globalist status benefits:
- Complimentary full breakfast daily for up to 2 adults and 2 children
- Club lounge access
- Free parking on award stays
- Room upgrade based on availability at check-in (including standard suites)
- Waived resort fees on paid & award stays
- 4:00 pm late checkout
Status is earned by achieving 60 elite qualifying nights and can be earned a number of ways, as you’ll see below. Qualifying hotel stays include nights paid for with cash, points or free night awards.
Once status is earned, you’ll enjoy the benefits for the rest of the year in which you earn it, the entire following year, then the first two months of the following year.
7 Additional Things We do to Earn Elite Nights
Mattress Runs
What is a mattress run? This is when you book a low cost room (with points or cash), check in, then leave! We’ve had luck checking in from afar via the app, but there’s a slight risk involved here. So if you can physically go to the hotel and check in, you’ll have better luck ensuring that your nights credit to your account.
Open the World of Hyatt Credit Card
Just by having the World of Hyatt credit card we automatically get 5 nights toward status each year. This card has a $95 annual fee but it comes with a free night certificate at a category 1-4 Hyatt that will give you far more than $95 in value.
Spend Money on a Hyatt Credit Card
Both Hyatt credit cards (personal and business) reward you with elite qualifying nights for reaching a certain spending threshold. This operates on a rolling basis so the spending tracker doesn’t not restart when a year ends. If you have the personal card and spend $3,000 before a year ends and then spend an additional $2,000 in the new year, you will then receive 2 qualifying nights.
- Receive 2 qualifying nights for every $5,000 you spend on the card.
Chase World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
- Receive 5 qualifying nights for every $10,000 you spend on the card.
Tip: You can earn elite nights faster on the Hyatt business card but it does have a higher annual fee and does not come with a free night each year. However, it does have a credit of up to $100 when you purchase something with your Hyatt business card at a Hyatt property ($50 twice annually).
Work Travel
My husband occasionally travels for work so whenever possible he tries to stay in Hyatt hotels. These work trips in combination with our personal travel on points, really help when trying to hit 60 nights. And the best part? We don’t have to pay for it!
Double Night Promotions
Occasionally Hyatt will release a special promotion that awards you double elite nights for every night you stay in certain hotels. This past year we took advantage of a double night promo at Thompson and Dreams hotels. We spent 2 nights at the Thompson in Washington D.C. during the promotion period so instead of just 2 elite nights being credited to my husband’s account, he received 4!
You can find these promotions on the “Offers” page at Hyatt’s website.
Gifting Guest of Honor
This one really only applies to current Globalist members looking to extend their Globalist to the following year. When a Hyatt member reaches 60 elite nights in a calendar year they are given what is called a “Guest of Honor Award.” This enables the member to gift someone a Globalist experience for up to 7 nights.
When a Globalist gifts this award to another member they will receive 1 elite night when it is redeemed.
Status Challenges
Keep an eye out for promos each year that allow you to earn Globalist status by staying a set amount of nights within a certain timeframe. Last year Bilt, a credit card that allows you to earn points on paying rent, offered a promo that allowed you to earn Globalist with just 20 nights!
There are also corporate status challenges available to employees of certain businesses that allow you to earn Globalist status by staying just 20 nights in a specific time frame. The challenge will give you Explorist Status for 90 days and allow you to keep it even longer by staying 10 nights, or earn Globalist by staying 20 nights.
Tip: To see if you qualify for a corporate challenge, enter your World of Hyatt Membership number and employee email address here.
Our 2024 Elite Night Breakdown
To give you an idea of what a typical year looks like for us when earning status, here is a breakdown of all of the ways we earned Hyatt Elite Nights in 2024.
- 41 nights spent in hotels (a mix of personal and business travel)
- 5 nights for having the Hyatt personal credit card
- 5 nights for gifting 5 Guest of Honor awards
- 3 nights from double night promotions (stays that counted twice)
- 6 nights from spending on the Hyatt personal credit card (2 for every $5,000 spent)
Final Thoughts
For the last 4 years we have earned Globalist status with Hyatt using a combination of all of these methods! Relying on just one would be a real challenge, but the combination of contributing factors has made it an attainable possibility for several years.
Is chasing status worth it for everyone? Probably not. But if you already love Hyatt and you have a few extended stays coming up, then these tricks could help you get status more easily and completely elevate your next Hyatt stay! Globalist status can save you a lot of money and get you some amazing perks. We love using our Chase points for Hyatt stays because they offer oversized value, so Globalist status has been more than worth it for us!
To learn how to get even more value for your Chase points, check out this guide on How to Transfer Your Chase Points to Hyatt.
More on our families free travels!
Family vacations were a near impossibility for us not that long ago. But about 5 years ago we discovered credit card points and miles and now traveling several times a year is the norm for us! If you want to learn more about how our family travels for next to nothing, I would love for you to check out my Quick Start Guide to Traveling with Points and Miles. It is a hobby that has forever changed our lives and given us the opportunity to see the world!
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- Southwest Companion Pass Trick
- Hyatt Family Plan
- How to Travel for Free with Credit Card Points
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