The World of Hyatt program is seldom covered in Australia, mainly due to its modest footprint outside the USA.

However, the robust status benefits offered and savings available via its reasonably-priced award chart mean that it should be on your radar. Many AFF members find that Hyatt offers consistently better elite status recognition than other hotel loyalty programs. You can also get some very good value on hotel nights by buying World of Hyatt points.

Hyatt acquired Mr & Mrs Smith in 2023, and has just begun to go live. Hyatt is gradually adding Mr & Mrs Smith properties to their website, as not all will join Hyatt. However, there are already 28 new properties in Australia/New Zealand available via Hyatt!

Hyatt also revamped its Milestone Reward program at the start of 2024, giving better benefits all the way up to 150 nights.

If you’re new to World of Hyatt, this comprehensive guide will show you how to maximise the benefits from this very valuable hotel loyalty program!

Which hotels are in World of Hyatt?

World of Hyatt is the loyalty program of Hyatt Hotels. The company has a diverse portfolio of over 1,000 hotels, catering to a variety of travellers. These include (but are not limited to):

• Budget-conscious select service offerings such as Hyatt Place and Hyatt House
• Full-service conference-style brands, including Hyatt Regency and Grand Hyatt
• Lifestyle brands such as Thompson and Hyatt Centric
• Luxury, headlined by Park Hyatt

Hyatt also offers a growing selection of all-inclusive resorts. It recently added Apple Leisure Group’s AMR collection to its own Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara and Miraval brands.

In addition, Hyatt acquired Mr & Mrs Smith in 2023, and has a long standing partnership with American Airlines AAdvantage. The Mr & Mrs Smith partnership replaces the long-standing Small Luxury Hotels of the World partnership.

World of Hyatt members can book at participating Mr & Mrs Smith properties and receive the usual Hyatt points on their stays. They are also able to use their points on Mr & Mrs Smith hotels, although this is subject to dynamic pricing.

The American Airlines partnership simply allows for World of Hyatt or American elite members to earn points with the other partner. There can also be status matches between the two, including an upgraded Instant Status Pass offer for Hyatt elites.

World of Hyatt status tiers

World of Hyatt offers three elite status tiers: Discoverist, Explorist and Globalist. To earn status with Hyatt, you would need to stay a minimum number of elite qualifying nights or earn a certain amount of base points over a calendar year.

Hyatt also gives perks to members for every 10 nights you stay (or after earning certain amounts of base points) known as Milestone Rewards. These provide extra benefits as you get part-way towards reaching a higher status tier or continue to stay at Hyatt hotels after attaining the top-tier status.

This table shows the full suite of status tier and Milestone Reward benefits with World of Hyatt:

Status is retained for the rest of the calendar year when it is earned, plus an extra 14 months. Milestone Rewards process within a few days of earning them, unless a choice is required, which you will have 90 days to make.

There is also a lifetime Globalist tier, which is achieved after earning 1,000,000 base points. This gives the benefits of Globalist, and the milestone rewards from all the tiers below the 60 night threshold every year regardless of the number of nights spent at Hyatt hotels.

You can read real-world experiences of how different hotels honour these status benefits, and share tips, on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum’s “How do Hyatt treat you as an Elite?” thread.

Obtaining Hyatt points

There is a variety of ways to attain Hyatt points. In Australia, the most common ways are staying at Hyatt hotels and buying points.

Hotel stays

Earn 5 points per US Dollar (USD) spent on room charges, plus any applicable tier bonus.

Note that only the 5x points count as “base points” towards your lifetime status. For example, if an Explorist spent USD200 at a property, they would earn 1,000 ‘base points’, and 200 ‘bonus points’. All points can be redeemed for stays.

Hyatt also often runs promotions for hotel stays, offering extra bonus points for achieving a certain number of stays or nights within a specific timeframe. 

Buying points

You can buy points from Hyatt anytime for USD24 (~AU$36) per 1,000 points at full price, but it is worth waiting for a regular promotion. This can take the form of a discount (up to 30%) or bonuses (previously up to 40%), with the lowest cost per 1,000 points we’ve seen recently being USD16.80 (~ AU$25) during a 30% discount.

Hyatt has a purchase cap of 55,000 points per year, not factoring any bonuses in.

Buying points could be worthwhile if the cost of the points needed for a Free Night Award is less than you’d otherwise pay to book a room at the same hotel. For example, I’ve stayed at Park Hyatt Sydney on points and saved a significant amount of money.

It costs 35,000 points per night for an off-peak room at Park Hyatt Sydney. At a 30% discount, you could buy those points for USD588 (~AU$899). That’s still a fair bit of money, but not bad when you consider Park Hyatt Sydney’s standard rate is generally over $1,300 per night.

Points.com process Hyatt points purchases. As Points.com processes transactions in USD, you may wish to use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees.

Using Hyatt Points

Hyatt uses categorised award charts to determine the points cost of a room. It reserves the right to change the category of a hotel up or down to reflect demand (although often with a few months’ notice). World of Hyatt points can be used as Free Night Awards for various room types (standard rooms, club rooms, standard suites and premium suites). Additionally, points can also be used at all-inclusive resorts, as Points + Cash Awards, or for room upgrades.

Importantly, there are no black-out dates on Free Night Awards. Also, all types of stays, whether using cash or points, count towards your yearly night tally for status accrual.

Free Night Awards

World of Hyatt does not utilise dynamic award pricing, offering consistency with its award charts. The award charts consist of eight categories (1-8), with off-peak, standard, and peak periods. Redemption rates range from 3,500 points per night for off-peak Category 1 properties, to 45,000 points for a peak-period Category 8 property.

Here is the standard room award chart from the World of Hyatt website:

Redeeming for club rooms, standard and premium suites can be done exactly the same way as for a regular room. The extra points required is approximately 25-50% for club rooms, 60-66.6% for standard suites, and 100% for premium suites. See the World of Hyatt website for the full list of award charts.

Hyatt has separate award charts for its all-inclusive properties, which use categories A – F. Standard rooms (double occupancy) for an off-peak category A property cost 12,000 points. A peak category F property will cost 58,000 points.

Points + Cash

Points + Cash awards allow members to combine points and cash for hotel stays. This redemption option allows for 50% of the standard points requirement for any particular room/suite to be used, and provides a 50-70% discount on the cash portion of the specific room type compared to the flexible rate.

Room upgrades

You can also use your Hyatt points for a room upgrade, which is simply a fixed cost added to the flexible rate of a standard room. You have the option to book these upgrades on the Hyatt website, or you can call Hyatt to upgrade a stay you’ve already booked through them.

Maximising your Hyatt Points

The beauty of World of Hyatt redemptions is that you can get outsized value for your points! Here are some ways to maximise your points, and some specific redemptions I’ve made which have saved me considerable money.

Save your points for Free Night Awards

You will generally get more value by using points to cover 100% of the night, rather than a Points + Cash award. This is because you can only use Points + Cash towards the standard flexible room rate – not the member or advance purchase rates which are often 10-15% cheaper.

Use points in peak travel periods

Despite Hyatt’s introduction of peak/off peak pricing, redeeming during a peak period can still be good value. That’s because the increase in points compared to a standard night is 20-25% in a peak period, but room rates in peak periods may increase by more than that.

Use points if the property has high taxes/resort fees

Hyatt doesn’t show the taxes and fees before getting to the final confirmation screen, but this won’t matter if you pay with points! This particularly applies to dreaded resort fees. Even though you continue to enjoy the “benefits” that the resort fees cover, Free Night Awards waive them.

Use your points for either aspirational properties or bottom-rung hotels for best value

You should always crunch the numbers on each hotel to determine whether to use points or cash for the stay. However, the best value redemptions tend to occur at the top and bottom of the award chart, with Category 7 & 8 hotels, and lower Category 1 & 2 hotels. This is especially the case if you’re buying the points outright.

Upgrade those stays important to you

Hyatt is unique in allowing for easy booking of higher-tier rooms such as suites using your points. If you don’t have many points this can be especially valuable, allowing you to still use your points effectively and get access to the club lounge or a premium suite.

Examples of valuable redemptions I’ve made

Here are some more examples of World of Hyatt redemptions I’ve made that were especially valuable:

• Grand Hyatt Bali – 7 nights in a Grand Executive Suite King for 12,500 points per night. The suite retails for around $650 per night including taxes and fees.
• Hyatt House Jersey City – 2 nights in a 1 Bedroom Suite for 6,000 points plus $186 per night. The standard rate for the same suite is $1070 per night, including taxes and fees.
• Andaz Singapore – 1 night in a 1 King Bed room for 17,000 points, compared to the standard room rate of $556 including taxes and fees.

Of course, your travel patterns and objectives may dictate uses of Hyatt points in other valuable ways, such as upgrading for a club room to get access to complimentary breakfast. Ensure that you always crunch the numbers on whether it is better to buy points for a stay or to use cash, bearing in mind that you do get points on your cash spending as a return.

Conclusion

Although World of Hyatt may have a smaller presence globally, its considerable status benefits and potential for substantial savings via an attractive award redemption system make it an attractive choice. Working out whether to buy points or to pay cash is critical, but if the numbers work out, the World of Hyatt program can be a gateway to luxury stays for less.

Wilson McTaggart

Wilson's love of travel started from a young age, but his love for points developed after figuring out ways to travel on a gap year for less - leading naturally towards Australian Frequent Flyer! Wilson's hobbies include skiing, cricket and planning trips, both with and without points.

Wilson posts on the AFF forum as @WilsonM.