Qualified for another year of Hyatt Globalist

[CO-guy]

I’ve posted about hotel loyalty programs previously, but I requalified for Globalist for another year. The value we get from the program is truly exceptional. Globalist perks like free breakfast, free parking, waived resort and destination fees, and free night and suite upgrade certificates provided us with over $6000 in added value in 2025 on just over $6000 in total spend on accommodations at Hyatt last year. This is a new high mark in terms of annual value we’ve received from maintaining Globalist, but in most years, we still receive several thousand dollars in value from Globalist benefits.

For example, we recently used the luxury hotel certificate awarded to Globalists for a luxury ski getaway. Between the base room cost, free parking, free breakfast, dining credit and waived resort fee, that single Globalist perk provided nearly $1400 in value. In addition, we were upgraded to a gorgeous top floor mountain view room for our stay.

So, does anyone else get good value from hotel loyalty programs? Any stories of extraordinary value from perks like free night certificates or bargain points stays?

 

[COcheesehead]

Hilton resort stays give us bonus points. We use all our points for free nights.

 

[TripleLindy]

I have Platinum status for life with Marriott and it doesn’t do much for me. Early check-in and late check-out, along with the occasional suite upgrade. Free bottles of water. Meh. I don’t go out of my way to find a Marriott property, but out of habit, usually start with that brand if searching for just a regular hotel room. We long ago burned through our points and every now and then will have enough for a cheap room at a Springhill Suites or Courtyard-like property.

I kinda like that I’ve lost that “need” to stick with a specific brand to earn points/status and now go for the best option I can find, including VRBO. I do have to say, however, that we’ve stayed at several Hyatt properties over the past few years and have really enjoyed them. Don’t know that I’d want to spend the money with a single brand to earn the top tier, though. All of that “free” stuff requires lots of nights ($$$) to get to the exclusive level.

 

[Aerides]

I try to stick with marriott/bonvoy, but earn most of my freebees via the partner credit cards. Cycle through new sign up bonuses every couple of years, and the cards give high points for hotel charges, and extra free nights.

With platinum, breakfast is hit and miss (yes at St Regis, No at Ritz Carlton, etc., don't care what a Courtyard gives I'd rather skip it). Only really worth it at a place where the eggs are made to order and breakfast is going to run a few bucks. Room upgrades are "as available" but if you're traveling at popular times it's again, perhaps a better view? Suites are few and far between.

Their points are also worth less than they used to be. The highest tier properties used to cap at 80k redemptions, now those are usually over 100, 120. Still, it's nice to pick a hotel that would be $1200 and stay for free!

I'm a few years off from lifetime platinum, but will probably stick it out.

 

[CO-guy]

Hilton resort stays give us bonus points. We use all our points for free nights.

I believe I do extremely well at the "points game" with Hyatt. I treat the points like currency and use them when they're valuable compared to the equivalent cash rate as a form of arbitrage. I do so well that, when they go on sale, I buy the maximum number of Hyatt points allowed each year.

For example, last year I purchased 124,000 points at a cost of $2376 or $0.019/point. However, we redeemed those point along with another 174,000 points from stays, bonus offers, cobranded card, etc. (298,000 points total) for stays worth over $12,000. That's an average redemption value of $0.042/point.

Some points were redeemed for more and others for less. Everything is tracked on a spreadsheet along with a screenshot of the basic room price at the time of booking with points. For the points I purchased for $2376, I received $5252 in value on Hyatt stays last year or a 121% return on my initial points purchase in under a year.

 

[CO-guy]

I try to stick with marriott/bonvoy, but earn most of my freebees via the partner credit cards. Cycle through new sign up bonuses every couple of years, and the cards give high points for hotel charges, and extra free nights.

With platinum, breakfast is hit and miss (yes at St Regis, No at Ritz Carlton, etc., don't care what a Courtyard gives I'd rather skip it). Only really worth it at a place where the eggs are made to order and breakfast is going to run a few bucks. Room upgrades are "as available" but if you're traveling at popular times it's again, perhaps a better view? Suites are few and far between.

Their points are also worth less than they used to be. The highest tier properties used to cap at 80k redemptions, now those are usually over 100, 120. Still, it's nice to pick a hotel that would be $1200 and stay for free!

I'm a few years off from lifetime platinum, but will probably stick it out.

Mariott obviously has a much bigger footprint compared to Hyatt, but there are important differences between Hyatt and Marriott top tier loyalty perks.

For example, in addition to "as available" upgrades, several times each year I can secure a suite upgrade for up to a week with a single certificate at the time of booking.

I also have a dedicated "concierge" that will contact the hotel and try to fulfill specific room requests on my behalf. For an upcoming trip to San Diego, they were able to secure a balcony suite overlooking the Pacific for me. I'm traveling with a family member and having a place to hang out, enjoy some beverages, and watch the sunset is exactly what I wanted.

In addition, breakfast, club access, etc are guaranteed across all of Hyatt's top tier brands, while Marriott is brand specific. You should hear people bawling about paying for breakfast at the Ritz. It can really spoil the mood.

 

[Montecfo]

I have Wyndham Diamond status. I took that approach because of a WSJ article about hotel loyalty programs years ago that said Wyndham was best bang for the buck (though obviously most properties are not high end luxury.)

The way I use them is in situations where room rates have skyrocketed due to tourist season or local events yet the points required were not adjusted. So I redeem at 3-5 cents per point for a nice room at a college town on a big sports weekend, or when the room rate rises dramatically in a tourist location due to it being the weekend. And I often get room upgrades in the ordinary course.

It seems to work out, but there are no super lux perks but that's seldom my style of travel anyway.

 

[Aerides]

Mariott obviously has a much bigger footprint compared to Hyatt, but there are important differences between Hyatt and Marriott top tier loyalty perks.

For example, in addition to "as available" upgrades, several times each year I can secure a suite upgrade for up to a week with a single certificate at the time of booking.

I also have a dedicated "concierge" that will contact the hotel and try to fulfill specific room requests on my behalf. For an upcoming trip to San Diego, they were able to secure a balcony suite overlooking the Pacific for me. I'm traveling with a family member and having a place to hang out, enjoy some beverages, and watch the sunset is exactly what I wanted.

In addition, breakfast, club access, etc are guaranteed across all of Hyatt's top tier brands, while Marriott is brand specific. You should hear people bawling about paying for breakfast at the Ritz. It can really spoil the mood.

I do get 5 nights as available upgrades above the "maybe" types, but even then I have to request them to be used and the hotel can decline.

Yeah the breakfast...given you can't get out of a meal for less than $25 pp (coffee is $8, buffets around $40) it can be a thing. That's why I like amex FHR for nicer hotels. Doesn't matter if I rank or not!

 

[CO-guy]

Yeah the breakfast...given you can't get out of a meal for less than $25 pp (coffee is $8, buffets around $40) it can be a thing. That's why I like amex FHR for nicer hotels. Doesn't matter if I rank or not!

On this last trip, the buffet was $43pp. With tax and tip it came to $112 ($56/pp). All of it is comped, including gratuity. When staying at resorts for 12-15 days a year, that benefit really starts to add up.

 

[audreyh1]

I do get 5 nights as available upgrades above the "maybe" types, but even then I have to request them to be used and the hotel can decline.

Yeah the breakfast...given you can't get out of a meal for less than $25 pp (coffee is $8, buffets around $40) it can be a thing. That's why I like amex FHR for nicer hotels. Doesn't matter if I rank or not!

I had never heard of the Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts program. Very interesting.

 

[disneysteve]

We are lifetime platinum with Marriott and enjoy the perks. The best is the concierge lounges. We just spent a few days in Philadelphia earlier this month. We had breakfast every day in the lounge, dinner there two nights, and dessert every night. All free. They also had an honor bar so we had cocktails the one night for $18 which was way cheaper than the lobby bar. Plus we got soft drinks and snacks to take back to the room.

We were upgraded from a 200 sq ft room to a 700 sq ft suite. Early check in and late check out.

No complaints here. Loyalty does pay off.

 

[1242Vintage]

I travelled weekly for work and was a Marriott Bonvoy rewards program member. Usually stayed at a Marriott brand hotel and had tons of points.

Wife and kids sometimes came along. Best reward was on a weeklong work trip
when the kids were very little, all three under 5.

We rolled up to the valet at a very swanky West Hollywood hotel in my crusty crew cab construction 4wd work truck. Kids rolled out with sippy cups and blankets in hand. Valet gave me a “what the hell” look!

The huge multi-room view suite they gave us was amazing. It was nearly this square footage of our first little “starter” house and nicely furnished. And it was only steps away from the rooftop pool where the kids could swim and annoy the glamorous people who were tanning and sipping cocktails.

Was nice having wife and kids along for the week at a luxury hotel. I worked and they played all day in the warm southern CA weather.

Only issue we had was getting kid friendly meals. After a day the servers at the restaurant started bringing foods that the kids would eat. Apparently the “beautiful people” don’t eat chicken fingers but small kids love them! And the valet even gave us some hints on fun local family friendly activities.

 

[Aerides]

I had never heard of the Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts program. Very interesting.

It can be very good:
Rates are rarely more than a few bucks over the hotel direct, sometimes less! Sometimes with offers like 4th night free.
$100 property credit per stay (even if one night)
Free breakfast for two, which, at a 5 star place, is worth real money
Upgrades maybe
Early check in/late check out most places

IOW, all the benes you might take years to earn. Includes most Four Seasons too, which has no loyalty program.

 

[audreyh1]

It can be very good:
Rates are rarely more than a few bucks over the hotel direct, sometimes less! Sometimes with offers like 4th night free.
$100 property credit per stay (even if one night)
Free breakfast for two, which, at a 5 star place, is worth real money
Upgrades maybe
Early check in/late check out most places

IOW, all the benes you might take years to earn. Includes most Four Seasons too, which has no loyalty program.

It certainly looks like a great way to get elite status benefits without having to earn them via many stays at one brand or CC points. I don't care to track stays or points and we use cash back CCs.

It doesn’t match our travel style as we rarely stay at fine hotels or resorts via independent travel. We tend to travel to the boonies often away from major chains. For destinations we often use VRBO or park lodging. On the way we just stay where it is convenient/nice depending on the trip.

 

[Flieger]

I got Hyatt Globalist one year, but found it (and Explorist) to be disappointing. The Hyatt hotels are just not that great, and most of them don't have the Executive Lounge area (or whatever it was called) that you get free upgrades too so we never go to use them, even when staying at some of the higher end properties like Andaz and Grand Hyatt in NYC.

We switched to using our Chase card for most everything to use Chase Rewards which you can use for most anything. You can ofeten transfer to another "partner" if the benefit is better there as well.

Flieger

 

[CO-guy]

I got Hyatt Globalist one year, but found it (and Explorist) to be disappointing. The Hyatt hotels are just not that great, and most of them don't have the Executive Lounge area (or whatever it was called) that you get free upgrades too so we never go to use them, even when staying at some of the higher end properties like Andaz and Grand Hyatt in NYC.

We switched to using our Chase card for most everything to use Chase Rewards which you can use for most anything. You can ofeten transfer to another "partner" if the benefit is better there as well.

Flieger

In my experience, the difference between Globalist and Explorist is huge, particularly when it comes to waived fees. While upgraded rooms are nice, I don't even factor that into my Globalist valuation, since I'm unsure how. But, I always get the mountain view, ocean view, or whatever other top floor view usually comes at an additional cost. Also, hotels with lounges are wonderful, but there are properties where we prefer going to the hotel restaurant or ordering room service for breakfast rather than the limited offerings in the lounge.

I'm confused though, because there's no Grand Hyatt in NYC. There's a Hyatt Grand Central Station, but that's not a Grand Hyatt. However, I've stayed at the Park Hyatt NYC and the Globalist breakfast benefit there includes room service, so you can enjoy breakfast in bed free of charge.

As far as overall benefits, I pick up most of my "tier qualifying nights" at lower end properties (House/Place), but the value from Globalist comes from stays at higher end properties (Park/Grand/Andaz/Thompson/etc.). In 2025, I stayed 21 nights at higher end Hyatt properties where the breakfast benefit alone often comes to $100/night for 2 people.

 

[CO-guy]

We've been planning out travel for the rest of 2026 and I just reserved our final Hyatt stay for the year, a mid-Dec ski getaway to the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek, our favorite Colorado ski resort.

That trip will get us to the 60 nights needed to requalify for Globalist through Feb. 2028. Points were a bad deal for this stay, so I went with a cash rate. As a Globalist, I'll still get the resort fee waived ($71 w/tax included) and breakfast each morning ($168 w/tax and tip included). Combined, those two benefits are close to what I paid for the room minus the $100 resort credit included in the rate. Since our season pass gives us free access to the lifts, it's a surprisingly affordable way to enjoy our favorite resort in luxury.

 

[Aerides]

With Bonvoy, I am getting close to titanium this year, and more points than I will ever spend. Nights are more important to me. Realized I can book a local place for around 15k points a night. Just have to show up and check in, and I get the extra nights for almost no cost.

(15k is peanuts with bonvoy, any hotel I'd really want to stay at is 75k and up, so throwing 50k points away for a year of titanium is worth a try!)

 

[Flieger]

moved everything (CC spend wise) to Chase Saphire for their rewards program and much happier.

Flieger

 

[disneysteve]

With Bonvoy, I am getting close to titanium this year, and more points than I will ever spend. Nights are more important to me. Realized I can book a local place for around 15k points a night. Just have to show up and check in, and I get the extra nights for almost no cost.

(15k is peanuts with bonvoy, any hotel I'd really want to stay at is 75k and up, so throwing 50k points away for a year of titanium is worth a try!)

We are lifetime platinum. We were only a few nights short of hitting titanium last year but I didn’t bother. Other than earning more points per stay there wasn’t really any added benefit that I cared about.

 

[CO-guy]

With Bonvoy, I am getting close to titanium this year, and more points than I will ever spend. Nights are more important to me. Realized I can book a local place for around 15k points a night. Just have to show up and check in, and I get the extra nights for almost no cost.

(15k is peanuts with bonvoy, any hotel I'd really want to stay at is 75k and up, so throwing 50k points away for a year of titanium is worth a try!)

I've done similar in most years to pick up those final nights needed for Globalist.

Hyatt just had a major points devaluation go into effect on May 1st. I booked all of my points stays for the year before then, but going forward I've reduced my personal valuation of Hyatt points by 20%.