3 ways to earn Hyatt Globalist elite status
Editor's Note
Every year, the TPG Awards honor excellence in credit cards, loyalty programs and travel. Please click here to read more about our winner selection process and methodology for the 2024 TPG Awards.
Hyatt Globalist status is among the best hotel elite statuses you can earn. Many travelers — myself included — would argue it is the absolute best and prioritize requalifying for Hyatt Globalist status each year.
Hyatt Globalist won the Best Hotel Elite Status award at the 2024 TPG Awards due to its valuable perks, including waived resort fees, free parking on award nights, guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout at most properties and an assortment of other benefits like Guest of Honor certificates that you can choose through the Hyatt Milestone Rewards program.
However, qualifying for World of Hyatt Globalist status isn't easy, as you need 60 tier qualifying nights or 100,000 base points per calendar year. There aren't many shortcuts, but I'll discuss three primary ways to earn Hyatt Globalist status in this guide.
Hyatt tier qualifying nights
As mentioned above, you can get Hyatt Globalist status by staying 60 tier qualifying nights with Hyatt during a calendar year. Specifically, you'll earn Globalist status through February of the second calendar year following qualification.
Hyatt defines "tier qualifying nights" as when you stay at a hotel or resort, pay an eligible rate or redeem a free night award and associate your membership number with the reservation. However, the free night won't count toward your tier qualifying nights if you book a promotional rate that gives a free night — such as a "stay four nights and get a fifth-night free" rate. Likewise, if your stay is settled to a group master account, you won't earn tier qualifying nights.
You could stay with Hyatt for 60 tier qualifying nights within a calendar year to obtain Hyatt Globalist status. If these nights were each at off-peak Hyatt Category 1 hotels, you could snag Globalist status for just 210,000 Hyatt points each calendar year. Likewise, paying an average of $150 per night could get you Hyatt Globalist status for $9,000 each calendar year.
But, as I'll discuss in the following subsections, there are ways to decrease the number of nights you must stay with Hyatt each year if you want to qualify for Globalist status via tier qualifying nights.
Related: How much value does World of Hyatt status provide when you book directly?
Double elite night promotions
Hyatt occasionally offers promotions that let you earn twice as many tier qualifying nights. For example, Hyatt members could earn twice as many tier qualifying night credits at Thompson and Dream hotels in early to mid-2024. Hyatt also targeted some members — including TPG director Andrea Rotondo — with an offer to earn double elite qualifying nights on up to 10 nights at any Hyatt property earlier this year.
If you think you'll otherwise fall short of the 60-night requirement for Hyatt Globalist status, it can be worth rearranging your travel schedule to maximize a double elite night promotion.
Related: How I leveraged Hyatt's double elite nights promo to cinch Globalist status
Spend on Hyatt credit cards
If you want to get Hyatt Globalist status, consider adding a World of Hyatt card to your wallet. These cards let you earn Hyatt points on purchases and provide various benefits to Hyatt loyalists. They also let you earn tier qualifying nights.
With the World of Hyatt Credit Card, you'll get five tier qualifying night credits every calendar year. Plus, you'll earn two additional tier qualifying night credits every time you spend $5,000 on your card. (You'll get these nights credited to the calendar year the spend occurred.) As such, you could spend $140,000 on your World of Hyatt card each calendar year to get Hyatt Globalist status.
Meanwhile, the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card doesn't automatically give you any tier qualifying night credits. However, you'll earn five tier qualifying night credits for every $10,000 in purchases each calendar year. As such, you could spend $120,000 on your World of Hyatt Business card each calendar year and maintain Hyatt Globalist status without any stays.
However, as I'll discuss later in this guide, very few Hyatt loyalists will get Globalist status solely from credit card spending. Instead, most Hyatt loyalists will earn tier qualifying nights through a combination of methods.
Related: Why the World of Hyatt credit card is great for family travelers
Gift Guest of Honor awards
In late 2023, World of Hyatt announced changes to how its popular Guest of Honor benefit works. Now, Hyatt members can earn Guest of Honor awards through the Hyatt Milestone Rewards program, and lifetime Globalist members get five Guest of Honor awards annually.
Hyatt members who gift a Guest of Honor award to another member now earn one tier qualifying night credit when the stay for which the Guest of Honor award was applied is completed. So, gifting Guest of Honor awards is now a way to earn a few tier qualifying nights each calendar year.
Related: How and why you should maximize your hotel stays by using multiple loyalty programs
Spend with Hyatt to earn status
You'll also qualify for Hyatt Globalist status any calendar year in which you accrue 100,000 base points. You'll earn lifetime Globalist status once you accrue 1,000,000 base points over your lifetime.
Base points are different from bonus points. In particular, you'll only earn base points on eligible rates, eligible incidental charges and eligible nonstay charges at Hyatt properties. Specifically, on these eligible expenses, you'll earn 2.5 base points per dollar spent at Hyatt Studios hotels, 5 base points per dollar spent at other Hyatt properties and 10 base points per dollar spent on Find experiences.
You can earn base points on up to three rooms per night. However, you must pay an eligible rate for all the rooms and occupy at least one of them, and the rooms must all be within the same hotel or resort.
To get Hyatt Globalist status, you could spend $20,000 on eligible expenses at Hyatt properties that aren't Hyatt Studios hotels each calendar year. This spending could occur on one short but ultraluxurious stay or across many practical stays throughout the year.
Related: Best Hyatt hotels in the world
Hyatt status match
World of Hyatt doesn't usually offer public status match offers. However, in 2023, we saw a 90-day World of Hyatt trial and challenge for Bilt Rewards members that made it possible to get Globalist status after just 20 nights.
Meanwhile, American Airlines AAdvantage elite members got a Hyatt status challenge offer earlier this year through the AAdvantage and World of Hyatt partnership. Concierge Key members also get Globalist status once they link their AAdvantage and Hyatt accounts.
If you're looking for a shortcut to World of Hyatt status, it may be worth linking your AAdvantage and Hyatt accounts and participating in the Bilt Rewards program since we've seen previous opportunities via these programs.
Related: What are hotel and airline status matches, and how do you get one?
Decide how you will get Hyatt Globalist status
Unfortunately, there's no way to earn Hyatt Globalist status via a mixture of base points and tier qualifying nights. So, you'll want to consider early each year whether you plan to get Hyatt Globalist status via tier qualifying nights or base points.
If you plan to qualify via base points, you'll want to focus on paid Hyatt stays at eligible rates. You'll also want to ensure you charge all eligible expenses to your room to maximize the number of base points you earn. You may also want to book some paid Find experiences.
But if you plan to get Hyatt Globalist status via tier qualifying nights, you'll likely want to earn these nights through a combination of methods. For example, I requalified for Hyatt Globalist status this year with the following:
- Forty-seven tier qualifying nights from stays at Hyatt hotels and resorts
- Five tier qualifying nights as a World of Hyatt Credit Card holder
- Six tier qualifying nights by spending $15,000 on my World of Hyatt Credit Card
- Two tier qualifying nights from gifting Guest of Honor awards
Out of my 47 tier qualifying nights, I paid $2,445 for 15 nights, used free night certificates for six nights and redeemed 367,000 points for the other 26 nights. I've earned most of my Hyatt points through spending on my Hyatt credit card, utilizing Hyatt promotions and transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt.
Related: Why I aim to spend $15K on my World of Hyatt Credit Card each year
Bottom line
Hyatt Globalist status is valuable due to the perks it provides on stays. However, the status' required 60 tier qualifying nights or 100,000 base points can be difficult for loyalists to earn each calendar year — especially since the shortcuts for these requirements are minimal. But, with some planning and the World of Hyatt Credit Card or the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card in your wallet, the requirements for Hyatt Globalist can become more attainable.