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How I leveraged Hyatt’s double elite nights promo to cinch Globalist status

Sept. 06, 2024
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14 min read
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In the past, it felt like I was never targeted for the coolest frequent flyer or hotel loyalty promotions that were randomly handed out by the points and miles gods. Even my recent Amex Offers seemed skimpy in comparison to the cool deals many other TPGers reported. For whatever reason, the algorithms just weren't showing me the love.

But, my ship finally came in by way of two lucrative World of Hyatt promos. As I anticipate all of my elite qualifying nights and bonus points flowing into my account, I feel like Scrooge McDuck rolling around in a big ol' pile of money. People, it feels good!

Along with leveraging two World of Hyatt promotions as a fast track to securing Globalist status, my recent Hyatt getaways have also helped me:

  • Rack up World of Hyatt points and American Airlines AAdvantage miles
  • Get closer to AAdvantage Platinum Pro elite status for 2025-2026

When all is said and done, I will have visited five new-to-me hotels and three destinations, requalified for World of Hyatt Globalist with 20 elite qualifying nights added to my account, and earned more than 30,000 Hyatt points and more than 30,000 American AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points. Keep reading to find out how I did it.

Related: Current Hyatt promotions: Earn bonus points, double elite night credits and more

The main promo: Double Hyatt elite night credits at any property

I couldn't believe my eyes when the registration email for this summer promotion landed in my inbox: Double elite qualifying nights, up to 10 nights, at any property in World of Hyatt's portfolio.

HYATT

*Note that registration for this targeted promotional email ended on July 6.

Honestly, I'm not sure why Hyatt targeted me to receive this promotion. I was already on track to make Globalist again through February 2026. I normally earn elite status through a combination of stays and spending on my World of Hyatt Credit Card (earning two qualifying nights for every $5,000 spent) and World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (earning five qualifying nights for every $10,000 spent). I can only surmise that I have a spending profile that Hyatt wants to reward.

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Related: World of Hyatt elite status: What it is and how to earn it

I tend to use my earned points or Guest of Honor awards to book room nights for family and friends, thus introducing them to the World of Hyatt program. The last two family reunions I've planned and hosted were at Hyatt hotels (the Hyatt Regency Maui and Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere).

Even though I'm a Globalist and have access to suite upgrade awards, which confirm me into standard suites (pending availability) at booking, I also often pay cash for suites. I do this mostly for premium suites. If I want a specific room or suite, I just book it with cash. I'll earn points and can spend those at hotels where I don't have a specific room preference.

For hotels that don't accept suite upgrade awards, I often contact the reservations team via email to inquire about paid room upgrades. All in all, while I love booking hotels on points, I'm not shy about using cash if it gets me the experience I want.

It's possible Hyatt wants to reward customers with this MO. Of course, that's just a wild guess. There is no way to know why I was targeted and others were not. Maybe Hyatt wants more Globalists who live in my state or who are in my age bracket. Your guess is as good as mine.

Related: Everything you need to know about World of Hyatt

Double dipping with the Latin America and Caribbean bonus points offer

But wait, there's more!

HYATT

Hyatt sent an email to members inviting them to earn 5,000 bonus points for every three eligible nights (up to 20,000 total bonus points) at hotels in Latin America and the Caribbean. You must register by Sept. 30 to earn on nights completed between July 15 and Oct. 14.

I'm booked for six nights in Mexico during the promotion's eligibility dates so I will receive 10,000 bonus points via this promotion. Score!

How I'm leveraging the Hyatt offers

Always read the terms of the offer before you click on the button to register. In the case of the offer of double elite nights, the promotion stated that I'd have 90 days from registration to use it and that I had to register no later than July 6. Once I read that, I immediately opened my calendar to check to see what I had already booked.

Stay No. 1 for 3 bonus qualifying nights

My first already-booked stay at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in New Mexico was set for June 22, which meant that I didn't initially want to register for this deal until June 21. I figured I'd give it an extra day as a buffer in case something went wrong technically and I needed to loop in my World of Hyatt concierge. I set a calendar alert to make sure I didn't forget.

Then, I'd be able to stretch other Hyatt stays through Sept. 20 and have them count for this promo. This stay was three nights, so with the promotion, I netted six elite qualifying nights: three per usual and three bonus nights.

While the terms of this promotion stated that bonus nights may take up to four weeks to post, mine showed up in my account just two days after my stay concluded.

HYATT

The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort is a Category 4 hotel, so I booked this stay with three Category 1-4 free night certificates. You can earn these awards with a World of Hyatt Credit Card or by completing certain Hyatt milestone activities.

Related: These are the best Hyatt Category 4 hotels, according to Globalists

During my stay, I only spent cash on food and drinks, so I only added 3,524 Hyatt points to my account. That's enough to redeem for a one-night stay at a Category 1 hotel during off-peak dates — not bad.

I earned 1,723 points from Hyatt on $265 of qualifying spending (5 base points per dollar on $265 equals 1,325 points, plus a 30% bonus thanks to my current Globalist status).

I paid for the stay with my World of Hyatt Credit Card, so I earned 1,801 points from Chase (4 points per dollar on the total of $450.25). Therefore, 1,801 points plus 1,723 points equals 3,524 points.

Related: How to earn, use and make the most of your Hyatt free night certificates

Stay No. 2 for 4 bonus qualifying nights

The Cape, A Thompson Hotel. MELANIE LIEBERMAN/THE POINTS GUY

Prior to the promotion, I had a tentative mid-September booking at a hotel but was already pretty much convinced we'd cancel and find something else. (A case of husband and wife not necessarily seeing eye to eye on the vacation destination.) This promo allowed us to examine that plan and change it.

The Cape, A Thompson Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, has been on our "must-visit" list for a while. I'd also been hoping to visit the Zoetry Casa del Mar Los Cabos and add another Brand Explorer credit to my account, so this seemed like a fantastic opportunity to knock two hotels off my list during one trip.

I booked two nights at each, which will net eight elite qualifying nights: four per usual and four bonus nights. This recent stay brought the total number of bonus elite qualifying nights earned via this promo to seven.

Zoetry Casa del Mar Los Cabos

I paid cash for the Zoetry stay and earned 12,710 Hyatt points: 5,945 points on the room rate, an additional 30% bonus because of my current Globalist status and 4 points per dollar spent by paying with my World of Hyatt Credit Card.

The Cape, A Thompson Hotel

I used 60,000 points to book a room for two nights at The Cape and then applied my suite upgrade award for the Thompson Suite. While our bill only came out to $388 in qualifying spending, I still earned 7,519 World of Hyatt points. I earned 2,519 points through a combination of qualifying spending and my elite status bonus. Plus, I earned 5,000 bonus points for staying three nights in Mexico. Finally, I paid the hotel bill with my World of Hyatt Credit Card and earned a combined total of 10,335 World of Hyatt points for my stay at The Cape

Stay No. 3 for 3 bonus qualifying nights

Numu Boutique Hotel in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. HYATT

When thinking about where to go to earn the last three bonus qualifying nights to secure Globalist status, I settled on San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It's somewhere my husband and I have wanted to go for a while; we heard it's a popular retirement destination, and since we're of a certain age, we're more interested in investigating these places.

Due to the way flight schedules worked out, we'll fly to Dallas and stay overnight at the Grand Hyatt DFW and then fly out to Queretaro, Mexico, early the next morning. Then, it's two nights at Numu Boutique Hotel San Miguel de Allende, part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt.

I'm redeeming points for a night at the Grand Hyatt DFW, so I won't earn any points there unless we dine at the hotel restaurant.

For Numu, I'm paying $332 per night, so I'll earn about 6,972 Hyatt points for my two-night stay (5 base points per dollar spent with a 30% bonus for Globalist status, plus an additional 4 points per dollar spent when paying with my World of Hyatt Credit Card).

Through a combination of Hyatt promotions and planning my Hyatt stays accordingly, I'll reach 62 elite qualifying nights, which is not counting the stays I have reserved for after this promotion ends Sept. 20. You only need 60 elite qualifying nights to make Globalist status. At this rate, I will hit more than 70 nights this year and be eligible for another Milestone Reward.

Hyatt-American Airlines dual accrual

There's one more Hyatt benefit I want to discuss because it will boost both my Hyatt and American Airlines balances: the Hyatt-American dual accrual program.

By linking your Hyatt and American accounts, members can earn 1 World of Hyatt bonus point for every $1 spent on qualifying American Airlines flights. That's in addition to the American AAdvantage miles you earn as an AAdvantage member. And, vice versa, you'll earn American AAdvantage miles for your eligible spending with Hyatt. It's a win-win!

Look on your hotel folio under the World of Hyatt Summary section to find your eligible spending — you will receive that many miles in your American AAdvantage account.

HYATT

I'm trying to requalify for AAdvantage Platinum Pro, so I appreciate any extra Loyalty Points I can earn. The chart below shows how many Hyatt points I earned from my American Airlines flights.

My points and miles haul after these promotions

HYATT REGENCY TAMAYAZOETRY CASA DEL MARTHE CAPE, A THOMPSON HOTELGRAND HYATT DFWNUMU
HYATT ELITE QUALIFYING NIGHTS EARNED32212
BONUS HYATT ELITE QUALIFYING NIGHTS AWARDED32212
HYATT POINTS FROM STAYS1,7237,7292,519PENDINGPENDING
HYATT POINTS FOR PAYING WITH THE WORLD OF HYATT CREDIT CARD1,8014,9812,816PENDINGPENDING
HYATT POINTS FROM AA FLIGHTS (DUAL ACCRUAL)1,4859720 (same flights as Zoetry)PENDINGPENDING
BONUS HYATT POINTS FROM LATIN AMERICA PROMON/AN/A5,000N/A5,000 PENDING
AA MILES FROM HYATT SPENDING (DUAL ACCRUAL)265PENDINGPENDINGPENDINGPENDING
AA MILES EARNED FOR PAYING FOR FLIGHTS WITH Citi?/AAdvantage? Executive Wold Elite?Mastercard? 3,2863,1070 (same flights as Zoetry)2,1010 (same flights as Grand Hyatt DFW)
AA MILES EARNED FOR FLYING AS A PLATINUM MEMBER11,8807,7760 (same flights as Zoetry)PENDINGPENDING

As you can see, the travel connected to these two promotions will net me 20 Hyatt elite qualifying nights toward Globalist status, more than 30,000 World of Hyatt points, and more than 30,000 American Airlines miles and Loyalty Points.

Make your loyalty program profile more 'target friendly' for promos

There is no surefire way to get targeted for super-lucrative promotions in any frequent flyer or hotel loyalty program. Sometimes, a program rewards its most loyal members with promotions, while other times, it's about luring nonloyalists further into the program.

However, you can do a few things to ensure that you receive notifications for promotions that anyone can register for:

  • Check your account profile, and if there's a section asking about your travel preferences, fill it out. Some programs use that data as a filter to send region-specific offers to its members.
  • Make sure you've opted in for program and marketing messages.
  • Register for promotions, even if you may not use them. Sometimes adding some promos to your account will increase the number of promotion emails that land in your inbox.

Related: The secret to getting more — and sometimes better — Amex Offers on your card

Bottom line

When a fantastic promotion does land in your inbox, read the rules carefully and then hatch your plan to make full use of it — if it makes sense. But don't be afraid to ignore promotions that aren't a great match or if you simply don't have the time or money to take advantage of them.

I was also targeted for the offer of double elite nights at Hyatt properties in Florida. While I live in that state and could do a few stays, I won't need the bonus nights to make Globalist this year. There also aren't any hotels in the state that I have a burning desire to go out of my way to visit right now. So, it's a pass for me — even though it's a fun and potentially lucrative offer.

Review your promotional offers and work on the ones that make sense for you while leaving the others on the table.

Featured image by HYATT
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.