Over the last few years, Hyatt hotels have quickly grown into my favorite brand and definitely earned my loyalty. From breathtaking stays at Carmel Valley Ranch, to on the fly travel accommodations at Hyatt Place Santa Barbara, the brand continues to be my go to when hitting road. In addition to their nice collection of hotels and resorts, Hyatt’s loyalty program: World of Hyatt continues to provide great value and a nice slew of benefits for top tier members. In the last year and change, I have been holding Hyatt Globalist Status which has proved to be extremely valuable and rewarding
What is Hyatt Globalist Worth and How do I use it?
Hyatt Globalist comes with a slew of benefits. In this segment I will discuss the more important perks and try to place a monetary value for these perks. As a rule of thumb, my valuation goes off of roughly 20 nights a year at mostly higher end properties, since I don’t travel for work.
Complimentary Breakfast ($60 per day) $1200
One of my favorite perks with Hyatt Globalist status is the complimentary breakfast. This option is given at high end properties and you are able to order breakfast from the on property restaurant. In a few cases, I did stay at Hyatt Regency with a club and complimentary breakfast was served at the club which was a major downgrade. I’d value breakfast at Regency clubs to be about $10 per person. Meanwhile, when ordering from an on property restaurant, a meal for 2 typically runs about $60-$80 and when traveling with my parents I have had 4 meals comped as a Globalist.
When traveling, complimentary breakfast not only saves me a considerable amount of money, but I am also to get my caffeine fix in and start my day without having to worry about finding breakfast or coffee. This is one of my favorite things about being a Hyatt Globalist and keeps me loyal as other hotel chains migrate to a daily credit(Hilton)
4pm Late Checkout $80 per Stay
Another extremely valuable perk, Globalist for the most park are guaranteed 4pm late checkout. This allows me to essentially steal and extra day at a resort and continue to enjoy the amenities. On my past trips to Carmel, I was able to get another day of fitness classes and activities through this valuable perk. In addition, the 4pm late checkout is also extremely helpful for getting an extra day of fun before flying home. Imagine being able to spend a near extra day in Hawaii and checking out at 4, heading straight to the airport for your evening flight. This allows you got get almost an extra full day of fun without having to grab an extra night on your reservation.
I’m valuing this perk at about $80 per stay and in a full year with about 10 stays, this perk is valued at around $800 because I’m able to save on an extra hotel night while also extending my vacation. I also try to plan my trips around taking advantage of late checkout.
Complimentary Room Upgrades ????? Value Greatly Varies $600
One of the best benefits of top tier elite status with hotels is the complimentary upgrades to suites. While I have actually never gotten a complimentary upgrade into a suite(more on that later), I have booked the cheapest room at a few higher end Hyatt properties and received an upgrade to a larger room with a much better view, albeit not a suite this upgrade did make our stay more enjoyable. For example, when staying at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki beach last month, I booked Jen and I into the cheapest room available which no view what so ever. As a Hyatt Globalist, the staff was kind enough to upgrade us into an ocean view room which brought a new tranquil feeling to our getaway.
Small gestures from Hyatt like these continue to nurture my loyalty to the brand, but placing a monetary value becomes a extremely hard since I wouldn’t have paid of the upgraded room. As a result I think the best way to value this perk is to take the average cost of upgrades and divide be 2 as that would be around the ballpark of my willingness to pay. In 2021 with about 5 or 6 stays at Hyatt properties, I give this elite benefit about $600 in total value.
Other perks?
In addition to the mentioned perks, reaching Hyatt Globalist at 60 elite nights also comes with a plethora of upgrade certificates, free night certificates, and club access certificates. Here is how I value each certificate.
Suite Upgrade Certificate $1200 per year
At 60 elite nights, you will have earned 4 extremely valuable suite upgrade certificates. These certificates guarantee a suite upgrade for your reservation as long as you book the room via cash or World of Hyatt loyalty points. For me, these certificates will book you into a standard suite and can be only be used when there are standard suites available at the property. Each certificate can be used for a stay of up to 7 consecutive nights. Yes so by maximizing you’re certificates, you could be guaranteed a suite for 28 days.
I value each certificate at a more reasonable $300 a piece as I do believe they offer tremendous value, but I would hardly ever pay the sticker price for a suite. For example, on my most recent trip to Carmel Valley Ranch, I used one of the certificates to get upgraded into a standard Ranch Suite which costs about 3-400 dollars more than the base rooms. For our two night stay, I saved about $700(conservative estimate) but I divided the number by 2 due to the fact that the cost is something I would probably be hesitant to pay. All in all, these certificates are highly valuable if you can find top tier properties with availability as suites often go for upwards of $1,000.
Category 1-4 Free night Certificate $150
This certificate is similar to the free night certificate offered by the World of Hyatt Credit card except that this certificated expires much sooner(180 days). This certificate is earned with 30 elite nights in a given year. Hyatt has plenty of category 1-4 hotels around the world and I found myself using the certificate rather easily and getting value of upwards of $200. I feel that valuing this somewhere slightly under that figure is a sound estimate.
Category 1-7 Free Night Certificate $600
The big gem, this certificate is earned after 60 elite nights in a given year and while Hyatt recently announced more hotels moving to category 8, this certificate still provides astounding value. Using the certificate, you would be able to book into some of Hyatt’s most luxurious properties including Alila Napa Valley, Alila Encinitas, Carmel Valley Ranch, and many more. Since last year was the first time I reached globalist status, I will be using this certificate for a stay at the Alila Napa Valley, where a standard room is going for 1790 during the same dates. While I will not always be able to get exceptional value from this certificate, I value this certificate at about $600 since that is the minimum threshold of value I wish to get from this certificate. If I am unable to find an exciting resort, my fallback option would be to have a quick getaway to Carmel Valley Ranch.
Club Access Certificates $0
These are worthless. You are offered complimentary breakfast at all places and these certificates will get you entry into Hyatt Regency Clubs where breakfast will most likely be served. As a Hyatt Globalist I have never used these certificates and I don’t see a scenario where I can actually use them. Maybe this changes after the Pandemic?
Conclusion
Some might be wondering why I did not discuss other Globalist benefits like free parking on award stays, complimentary water bottles, or extra points per paid night. The reality is, most of my “vacations” are all award stays. Using a combination of Chase cards, I love to take advantage of their awesome partnership and redeem my Chase points with Hyatt. As a result, I don’t earn extra points. Subsequently, since I have never actually paid for parking at a property I am not quite sure how to value so I omitted this perk from my overall valuation. As for the water bottles, I always carry a refillable bottle so while it is a nice to have, I can’t value something I would never buy.
Overall, I think Hyatt Globalist (assuming you had 60 elite nights) is by far the best top tier hotel elite status. The combination of a friendly breakfast policy, guaranteed suites via suite upgrade certificates, and late checkout are simply amazing. As a Globalist, I have not only gotten tremendous value from the program, but I have also received excellent service and small thoughtful gifts from their hotels that speak volumes. I have thoroughly enjoyed being a Hyatt Globalist and I hope to continue to maintain this status for years to come.
How did you achieve the status by spending would interested to know thanks