World of Hyatt Globalist Guide
by UntoldMiles
The World of Hyatt loyalty program is one of the most rewarding hotel loyalty programs out there. This program is ranked so highly due to how rewarding the benefits can prove to be. Globalist status is their highest tier and one of the harder statuses to earn out there. This is because you can’t “buy Globalist status” by opening a credit card or paying upfront for a similarly high status like some other hotel loyalty programs.
Globalist Benefits (some based on availability):
30% Bonus Points on all eligible purchases
Waived Resort Fees on Eligible Rates and Free Night Awards
Room Upgrade including Standard Suites and rooms with Club lounge access
Late Checkout at 4PM upon request and by availability
Guaranteed Availability
With 48 hours advance notice (black out dates apply)
Club Access or Breakfast
Private continental breakfast area and evening hors d'oeuvres daily or
Complimentary full breakfast for each registered guest if no Club lounge available
Free Parking on free nights
Priority Access to Rooms
Guest of Honor
Share Globalist benefits when gifting eligible awards
Property Specific Benefits
How Does One Earn Globalist Status?
To earn World of Hyatt Globalist Status you need to earn one of the following:
60 Qualifying Nights (QN)
100,000 Base Points
20 Meeting/Events
The majority of people will find that earning 60 Qualifying Nights will be the best route for them so that’s what we’ll focus on. If you’re an event planner, planning 20 Meetings/Events may be the best option. The 100,000 Base Points option is equivalent to spending $20,000 at Hyatt properties since you’ll earn 5x points per dollar if you’re a member. Bonus points do not count towards status.
What are Qualifying Nights (QNs)?
Qualifying nights are nights that count towards status, essentially a tracker, not nights that you can redeem for stays.
To keep it simple, there are three ways to earn Globalist status via Qualifying Nights: Spending, Hotel Stays, or a mix of both.
How to Earn Qualifying Nights
Having the World of Hyatt Credit Card
Having this card automatically gives you 5 Qualifying Nights
This card also comes with great benefits such as automatic Discoverist status as well as a free night award at a Category 1-4 property (easily covers the annual fee)
The World of Hyatt Credit Card will earn you 2 Qualifying Nights per $5,000 in spend
Using your World of Hyatt Credit Card or the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card for purchases
Using your World of Hyatt Credit Card or the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card for purchases
Stay at World of Hyatt properties via paid or award stays
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card will earn you 5 Qualifying Nights per $10,000 in spend
Each night that you stay at a World of Hyatt property will earn you 1 Qualifying Night
Paid stays, points redemption, free night certificates all count towards Qualifying Nights
When Is The Best Time To Work Towards Status?
Since you have one calendar year to earn the required Qualifying Nights for Globalist (or any other tier), it is best to start as early in the year as possible. This gives you more time to work on spending, stays, and maybe catch a few promotions that go on during the year. You have until 12/31 to complete your reservation (must check out by 12/31) to have the nights count towards status.
Note: You MUST checkout of any current reservation on 12/31 to have it count for the current year. If your reservation extends into the next year, check out and then check back in.
What Is The Most Optimal Method?
It’s hard to say what the “best” method to earn Globalist is when starting from scratch. Some people can afford to spend more money on their World of Hyatt credit cards, others can afford to spend more time on paid or points stays, while some are somewhere in between.
Most people will find a combination of spending on their World of Hyatt credit cards, points, and cash stays is the easiest in terms of earning Qualifying Nights.
The following are a few essential steps with a point of view of someone starting fresh with zero Qualifying Nights and no World of Hyatt cards. Adjust this to fit your needs.
Step 1: Make An Account
The World of Hyatt program is free to sign up for. You can sign up here. This will allow you to earn and track your points and Qualifying Nights. You will also be able to link your World of Hyatt Credit Cards to your account, manage your reservations, and more.
Step 2: Open the World of Hyatt Credit Card
This card will give you a good foundation since it’ll automatically give you 5 Qualifying Nights towards status
This specific card will also earn you a Free Night Award at a Category 1-4 property after spending $15,000 in a calendar year
You can then use the Free Night Award you earned to get you one more Qualifying Night
From Step 1 alone, you should have the potential to earn 12 Qualifying Nights:
5 QN simply by opening and having the World of Hyatt Card
1 QN if you use your Free Night Award which you earned from spending $15,000 in a calendar year on your World of Hyatt Card
6 QN from spending $15,000 (2 QN per $5,000 spent) on your World of Hyatt Card
Step 3: Open the World of Hyatt Business Card
After you spend $15,000 on your personal World of Hyatt card to earn the Free Night Award, you’ll want to transition all of your spending to this card
The World of Hyatt Business Card earns Qualifying Nights at a much better rate of 5 Qualifying Nights per $10,000 in spend
Put all your expenses on this card for the rest of the year to help your earn those QNs quicker if you’re not able to do actual hotel stays and need to focus on earning QNs via spend
Step 4: Utilize the Milestone Rewards
Milestone Rewards are awards given to members who reach certain thresholds of Qualifying Nights
At 30 Qualifying Nights, you’ll get another Category 1-4 Free Night Award and 2 Club Lounge Access Awards. Redeem this Free Night Award for another Qualifying Night
At 40 Qualifying Nights you’ll get three choices for awards to choose from. You’ll want to choose the 5,000 Bonus Points since you’ll be able to use this towards booking another stay to earn you more Qualifying Nights
Step 5: Brand Explorer
World of Hyatt has 26 different brands in their portfolio. Every time you stay at 5 different Hyatt brands, will earn a Free Night Award, which you can use for a stay to add additional Qualifying Nights to your total. You can find this in the “Overview” section in your World of Hyatt account if you’re using the app.
Step 6: Utilize Promotions
Throughout the year, World of Hyatt releases various promotions that can help you earn bonus points and Qualifying Nights. Keep an eye out for these in your email and your Hyatt app. You must register for these promotions before you start spending or staying for them to count. One promotion to keep an eye out for in particular is the Bonus Journeys - 2x Qualifying Nights Offer. This one really makes earning Qualifying Nights much quicker. However, check the terms and conditions as their may be limitations such as specific properties only which will earn 2x QNs.
Step 7: Utilize Status Challenges
In addition to various promotions, World of Hyatt may also offer Status Challenges. These Status Challenges are like promotions in that they are targeted and you need to register for them before you stay. These will not be offered to everyone.
However, if you are targeted, these are really easy ways to earn elite status. An example of a Status Challenge would be: Earn Globalist Status after earning 20 Qualifying Nights (from stays) within 90 days from registering for the challenge.
You can check to see if your account qualifies for a Status Challenge by calling the World of Hyatt, calling the number on the back of your Hyatt credit cards, or reaching out to their teams on social media such as Twitter. Some people have been successful in checking multiple times even if they were told “no” at first.
Additional Strategies To Earn Qualifying Nights
Mattress Runs
Mattress runs are a great way for those with time and some extra funds/points to spend. The idea is that you want to find a cheap Hyatt property, via cash or points, and stay as many nights as you need to earn Qualifying Nights. These won’t be amazing Andaz or Grand Hyatt properties but more of Category 1 Hyatt properties.
You can find Category 1 properties with rates as low as 3,500 points/night. To find a Category 1 Hyatt near you, just search for them here.
Las Vegas - Mattress Runs
Las Vegas is one of the most used locations for mattress runs since you can find really cheap cash rates at properties such as Excalibur and Luxor. This is possible because World of Hyatt and MGM properties are partners. As of the writing of this guide, I see rooms for as low as $24.65-$29/night +Taxes. The only downside is that if you do not hold MGM Gold status or higher, you’ll be faced with resort fees ($35/night for Excalibur), which can really add up. However, since the rates are pretty low, even with resort fees, this can still be a good method for some.
To do this, you’ll want to book your room via the MGM website or MGM app. You’ll want to attach your World of Hyatt account number to your MGM account AND make sure it’s attached to your reservation at the time of check-in and check-out.
If you wanted to earn all 60 Qualifying Nights at Excalibur at a rate of $29/night and are able to get the resort fees waived, it’ll cost you about $1,740 + taxes to earn Globalist status.
What Are Phantom or Ghost Stays?
Haunted Hyatts? It’s not as spooky as it sounds. Phantom or Ghost stays are when you book a hotel stay without any intention of actually showing up but hoping that they’ll count towards status. Individuals hope that the properties have online check-in and check-out and that they do not need to show up to the front desk for anything.
Issues with this strategy are:
Getting checked out involuntarily
Properties do not have online check-in/check-out
Some properties will automatically check you out if they find out that you’re not actually there. I heard that some properties in Las Vegas will check rooms every few days for security reasons or that housekeeping will let the front desk know that no one was there. There have been reports of people getting automatically checked out and not getting the Qualifying Nights even when they asked for no housekeeping.
This is a strategy that I do not advise unless you’ve done it before successfully or are willing to test it for yourself.
Phantom/Ghost Stay Alternative
If you have a Category 1 or are in Las Vegas, you can go check in, make sure you ask for no housekeeping, make the room look like it’s being used, and come back in a few days to physically check-out. This gives the illusion that someone is/has been there.
No Category 1 Or Far From Vegas?
If you don’t have any Category 1 properties nearby for a staycation, or aren’t near Las Vegas, hopefully you have some trustworthy friends or families who are willing to stay in a free hotel room for you. Make sure that you make the booking yourself and add them on as a registered guest. They’ll be able to check in, as long as they’re over 21, and have ID and a credit card for incidentals.
Third Party Bookings
Make sure you’re booking Hyatt or MGM properties directly. Do NOT book any stays through a third party since these will not give you Qualifying Nights.
World of Hyatt and American Airline Partnership
You can link your Hyatt and American Airlines account together to earn bonus points/miles respectively. The bonus points you earn can be utilized for additional stays to earn more Qualifying Nights. More info here.
Final Thoughts
Globalist status is not easy to come by and it is one that requires you to do some work. I believe that because of those reasons that the World of Hyatt Globalist status is much more valuable than many other elite hotel statuses out there. Being a harder status to earn means less people to compete with when looking for upgrades.
If you really want Globalist status, start as soon as you can. Make sure that you give yourself a good foundation with the World of Hyatt Credit Card and the World of Hyatt Business Card. Ensure that you’re putting as much spending on your Hyatt credit cards as you need to earn those Qualifying Nights. The more nights you stay at Hyatt or MGM properties, the less amount of money you’ll need to spend on Hyatt credit cards to earn Qualifying Nights.
For those with a budget, try to find local Category 1 properties near you and/or look into doing mattress runs at cheap MGM properties in Las Vegas (booking through MGM and giving them your Hyatt member number), especially during the middle of the week.