2022 was one of my best years traveling(2019 was probably my best year ever). In 2022, I had the opportunity to stay at a variety of amazing properties with both the Hilton and Hyatt Brands. I had earned Hilton Diamond unknowingly during the pandemic via credit card spend and I continue to earn Hyatt Globalist with M.S. After a wonderful 2022, here’s my 2023 update and my hotel elite status strategy!
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2022 Elite Status Overview
In 2022 I held both Hyatt Globalist and Hilton Diamond. While you could simply receive Hilton Diamond status from holding the American Express Hilton Aspire Card($495 Annual Fee), I unknowingly earned the status via spend during the pandemic. I only had a pair of stays with Hilton: 1 Night at the Hilton Vancouver and 4 nights at the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabo Pedregal. I was able to take advantage of the complimentary continental breakfast at both properties and ended up getting over $500 of value from Hilton Diamond.
I stayed about 20 or so nights with Hyatt in 2022 including 2 nights at the Alila Napa Valley and Carmel Valley Ranch, 4 nights at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach and Hyatt Regency Seattle, 2 Nights at the Hyatt Regency Sonoma. I also spend a pair of nights with family in the United Kingdom at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham in a premium suite. Overall, my Hyatt experience was exceptional and the complimentary breakfast, waived resort fees, and late checkout got me over $4,000 in value.
At high end luxury properties, I was able to get complimentary breakfast which easily cost $150 to $200 for 2-4 people depending who I was traveling with.
What Status do I have for 2023
I currently have Hilton and Marriot Gold status from the American Express Platinum Card. In addition, I requalified for Hyatt Globalist with a combination of manufactured spending via the World of Hyatt Credit Card and stays.
I don’t stay in Marriot ever because of a poor experience back in 2019. I don’t travel enough to spread my loyalty across multiple brands, so I typically stay with Hyatt unless there is a Waldorf Astoria that Jen would like to check out. Here are the following elite benefits I’ll be getting this year:
Hilton Gold
- 80% Points earning Bonus on Stays
- Free Water
- Daily Food and Beverage Credit or Continental Breakfast (varies by brand and region)
- 5th night free on award stays
- potential for late checkout and room upgrades
Hyatt Globalist
- Waived Resort Fees
- Complimentary Breakfast (not capped as a daily credit like Hilton)
- Late Checkout 4PM
- Complimentary Room Upgrades including Suites(I can confirm that I have been upgraded to a suite on several occasions
- Access to Hyatt’s Guest of Honor and My Concierge Programs
- When getting to 60 Elite Credits, you also earn 6 Suite Upgrade Certificates, 1 Category 1-7 & 1 Category 1-4 Free Night Certificates
My Game Plan for 2023
My game plan for 2023 is rather simple. I will most likely have 0 Hilton stays this year and put all of my nights with Hyatt. Whatever I am missing, I will earn via M.S, but I should requalify for Hyatt Globalist by June as I will be spending about 14 nights at Hyatt properties in Europe.
The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers 5 Elite Night credits per year along with the ability to earn 2 additional elite night credits per $5,000 of credit card spend. I believe I should have earned 8 elite nights via M.S. in June which brings me to 13 elite night credits. I believe I should be spending about 15-20 nights in Hyatt properties this year. For numbers sake, lets be generous and say 21 nights. That leaves me with 34 elite credits before additional M.S. To earn the remaining 26 elite nights, I need to M.S $65,000 which should be a piece of cake!
How I plan on Using Hyatt Globalist
I already used 3 of my suite upgrade certificates for my trip to Europe. Jen and I will be splurging on a 3 night award stay in a corner suite at the Park Hyatt Zurich. We will also be using a suite upgrade certificate during a 4 day stay at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile. A standard suite at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile is just combined rooms, allowing us to ideally get two rooms for the price of one since we will be in Paris with friends. Standards rooms at the property during the time of our trip is about $200-$250 per night which represents solid savings.
Other Trips:
In addition to the planned trips, I am also hoping to travel to Asia later this year. I would also like to make a few smaller trips with Jen this summer which further allows us to utilize the benefits.
