World of Hyatt previously revamped the program for the 2024 membership year which included a different system for Milestone award choices at various thresholds, and I’d like to look over my own selection as well as see what our readers picked.
Hyatt announced changes to its guest loyalty program in late 2023 (read more here), including modifications to Milestone Rewards and extending them from 100 to 150 nights.
Overall, World of Hyatt is probably still the most solid program when it comes to benefits at the hotels and while I have more than a few problems with the earning scheme the whole package still makes it my primary program.
As such, I try to clock in at least my full 60 nights each year to requalify as Globoalist and just did my last scheduled nights for this calendar year:
I was actually already requalified for Globalist as I signed up for the American Airlines Platinum Pro Fast Track to Hyatt Globalist with 20 Nights back in September which I reached when I hit 52 nights.
However, with only eight nights to go and still a couple of stays left, I decided to stick with Hyatt for the extra suite upgrades, the Cat 7 Free Night Certificate, and the two Guest of Honor awards, which are likewise worth one qualifying night for my 2025 qualification.
But what did I pick as my Milestone awards throughout this year?
I decided to go heavy on points and don’t select any of the other awards when it didn’t make sense.
My 20 Night Choice:
I decided to pick the 2,000 points for the next stay at a Hyatt House/Hyatt Place because, as little as that sounds, 2000 points are still worth more to me than these Club certificates which I can only gift to someone trustworthy. I did that this year and it was usually a hassle for me, no thanks.
The “experience credit” is worthless.
My 30 Night Choice:
In addition to the automatic Cat 1-4 Free Night Award you get either way once you hit 30 nights, I once again decided to pick the 2,000 points for the next stay at a Hyatt House/Hyatt Place for the same reason outlined above.
My 40 Night Choice:
I decided to pick 5,000 bonus points here rather than a suite upgrade award. The reason for that is that in my case, I do a lot of 1-2 night stays, and those are usually at hotels where I’m a regular and get a suite anyway. I already have 4 suite upgrades for 2025, which I use for longer stays.
Mind you, I only selected it this week once it was sure I’d hit the 60 nights and get the extra two suite upgrades. Otherwise, had I been stuck at the 52 nights, I’d have chosen the upgrade rather than the 5k points. It’s really a wash in value, depending on how often you use these certificates.
My 50 Night choice:
It only made sense to pick the 2 Upgrade certificates here because that’s just an obvious choice since the points alternative would have been the same 5k as with the 40-night milestone. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t offer at least 10k points here, but I think I’d have taken the upgrades anyway. I’m comfortable with 4 Suite Upgrade Certificates for the year but two are a bit scarce for my taste.
The 60 Night Awards:
For 60 nights, there is no choice; all these awards are deposited into the member’s account automatically. As such, I now have a healthy amount of free nights sitting in my account (three) and also a couple upgrades (two that expire in FEB 2025 and four that expire in FEB 2026).
The Guest of Honor awards will give me another three nights for next year’s rat race and help friends out who stay at Hyatt throughout the year.
I like that I get an extra night, but in my opinion, the GOH program has become a huge scam magnet, which we have already covered several times here on LoyaltyLobby, and it should be discontinued in its current form. You see these awards (Club, Suite and GOH) in all kinds of marketplaces – especially in China – and that can’t be the spirit of a hotel loyalty program.
Yes, sure, I could very well pick the awards and exchange them for good money or points with other people, but that just makes stays at Hyatt less pleasant for everyone, is against the T&C of the program, and I don’t have any desire to link my account to strangers as it’s all done electronically. I’m eventually on track to Lifetime Globalist and don’t want any problems along the way, so participating in any illegal trades is off the table for me.
As the saying goes, you do you. I’m not telling anyone what to do, but this program is no longer a legitimate tool. It was fine before when you could only use Guest of Honor awards as points bookings for third parties. Now, every wheeler dealer on Weibo, Ebay, and Facebook Marketplace advertises his awards.
If you go beyond the 60 nights with Hyatt, you gain to earn even more this year as John covered previously:
My World Of Hyatt 70 To 100 Nights Milestone Reward Choices In 2024
The way they did it this year is more fair and balanced. Previously, once the Milestones were maxed out, there was no incentive for anyone to go above and beyond with Hyatt. This has now been fixed.
What were your choices this year? Comment below!
Conclusion
After this week, I will have 60 Hyatt nights for the year and maybe two more nights coming from a Christmas stay in Hong Kong and Seoul. I will probably do most of the remaining nights of the year with IHG, Hilton, or even Marriott. Not that I stand to gain anything with any of them status-wise, but at least IHG and Hilton currently have some decent points incentives to clock in a stay.
As we opined before, Hyatt should really end these Club Access and Guest of Honor awards, as they are ripe for fraud. The program has also gotten way too credit card heavy, allowing cardholders to generate large amount of points and elite nights while members who actually stay at hotels earn very little (5 points per USD plus elite bonus and promotions, IF there are any).
John will probably write up his own path to 150 nights soon as he’s currently on track for that and will (for the first time) get one of the Ultimate Free Night Awards for any participating Category 1-8 hotel, Category A-F all-inclusive resort or Miraval resort. Stay tuned!
