Last year World Of Hyatt announced a pretty nice offer: double status nights and triple points on all stays until February 28, 2021. While in itself this would be great value if you are trying to prequalify for elite status, for someone who’s a “Discoverist” by accident, it would still require a whopping 30 nights to get Globalist (Hyatt’s top tier status).
That all changed when World Of Hyatt announced a second promotion: half the required to reach the next tier of World Of Hyatt AND your status is valid for 2 full years. Wow!
Now we’re talking! By stacking the double nights and the reduced requirement to get top tier status, it means we can become Globalist with only 15 stays. For something that usually takes 60 stays, this pretty damn good!
I figured even with the current unknowns regarding international travel; it could be fun going for Globalist just to see what all the hype is about.
Friends and fellow travel bloggers always talk up the value of Globalist so here’s why and how I’m joining “lofty ranks”.
Note: to take advantage of the above promotion; you will need to register before January 15 via the Hyatt website and complete your stay by February 28, 2021. You can register via this page.
- New to World of Hyatt? Check out my full guide on their reward points and how to maximise them!
- Hyatt Hotel Reviews: Park Hyatt Paris, Hyatt Regency Sanur, Park Hyatt Bangkok.
In this post:
World Of Hyatt Globalist Benefits
World of Hyatt has 5 tiers; the first one is the standard member followed by Discoverist after 10 nights, Explorist after 30 nights, Globalist after 60 nights and Lifetime Globalist after spending US$200,000 on Hyatt Stays (it’s not linked to nights).
While you’re busy earning your Hyatt status, the program has something called Milestone Rewards. These are introduced after a certain amount of stays. Under normal conditions, one would need to stay 60 nights to become Globalist. This means you will also receive the following Milestone Rewards:
Since I won’t actually be staying 60 nights but only 15 (which translates to 30 on paper), I will miss out on one of the most valuable perks which are the 4 guaranteed suite upgrade rewards and the 1-7 category free night (can be redeemed at the Park Hyatt Sydney for example.
That said, I will pick up 4 club Lounge Access Awards and a category 1-4 Free Night Award.
Now let’s look at the actual benefits of Globalist.
Free Suite Upgrades
All the Globalists I talk to swear by the reliability of suite upgrades in the Hyatt program. Unlike Hilton Diamond and Bonvoy Platinum (where I usually have to strategically ask for a suite), Hyatt proactively offers the best rooms to its Globalist guest.
Free (Full) Breakfast
While Bonvoy only offers breakfast at certain hotels, and Hilton only offers a continental breakfast, Hyatt offers a full breakfast at all of its properties. To me, that’s a pretty valuable perk. Breakfast is either available through the club lounge, restaurant or sometimes as a room service.
Club Access
If the hotel has a club lounge, you get access to it as a Globalist. The club lounge will depend on the hotel, but one can expect complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks in the afternoon and breakfast in the morning.
4 PM Guaranteed Checkout
I love this perk since I don’t believe in the nonsense of “late checkout based on availability” most programs have to offer. 4 PM is very handy if you’re doing a staycation and just want to relax a little longer at your hotel or if you have an afternoon flight to catch for example.
Guest Of Honour
As a Globalist, you can redeem your points or certificates for family and friends, which automatically gives them your Globalist perks for their entire stay. It’s a pretty cool feature to get even more value out of Globalist status.
No Parking Fees On Reward Stays
When you book with points, parking fees are waived at all Hyatt properties around the world. This can be a pretty good deal if you’re self-driving to the hotel considering parking can often cost substantially.
Waived Resort Fees
This is not an issue in Australia, NZ, and Asia, but pesky resort fees are everywhere in the USA. Luckily these are waived for Globalists which can save you a few $$$
How I’m Doing My Mattress Run
I’ll start by saying that my method is far from the cheapest. However, I think I can justify it (maybe!). Considering we’re stuck in Australia, I set out to find the most affordable Hyatt hotel in the country.
As it turns out, it’s the Hyatt Regency Perth. A category 2 property which also doubles as a quarantine hotel for returned overseas travellers. It’s somewhat ironic that I’m doing a 2 weeks mattress run while others are “imprisoned” at the hotel.
I thought about splitting up my stay in 2 separate bookings as I figured I could earn more points once I would cross the line into Hyatt Explorist (one-tier under Globalist). However, the hotel had an extended stay promotion where they would upgrade you to a suite when booking 10+ nights and the long-stay rate wasn’t available on the 5 remaining nights I would then have to book.
So I decide to keep it simple and book 15 nights outright, giving me the suite upgrade, a bottle of wine, daily $20 breakfast credit, weekly laundry, waters and the Globalist status I was after!.
At a daily rate of AU$131.75, it’s definitely not cheap, but I figured, that over the next 2 years I will most likely be able to do at least 10 stays a Hyatt Hotel somewhere in the world.
If we assume that each stay is for 3 nights, that brings the cost down to around $65 per night. Of course, it would be my goal to upgrade from base rooms to a suite which would be an automatic saving of a few hundred dollars per night. Assuming breakfast is charged at $50 per person, that’s another saving of $300 per stay. And that’s before we even include the late checkout, increased ear rate, potential club access and other perks thrown my way.
To further offset the total outlay, I will also receive 1 free category 1-4 reward stay which I value at $200 + thanks to the current triple points bonus; I should also get 23,513 points for my total stay; this I also value at $200. To further justify and offset the cost of Globalist, you could subtract this in my cost analyses above.
Conclusion – Will it be worth it?
Only time will tell if I wasted my money on Hyatt Globalist, but as someone that’s in the business of talking about points and status, this seemed like a rare opportunity to get top tier status without putting in too much effort.
If you’re reading this outside of Australia, there are even better bargains to be had. I looked at many Hyatt Hotels worldwide, and Dubai has some insane pricing with certain Hyatt properties only costing AU$50 a night. Those in Asia can easily get good hotels for around $90-$100 a night. Unfortunately, I’m stuck in Perth, which also happens to have the cheapest Hyatt in Australia right now.
