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Hyatt just announced several new changes to its World of Hyatt program in a “reimaging” of the program that Hyatt representatives are unofficially dubbing “World of Hyatt 2.0.” This revamped program launches on January 1, 2024.
Overall, these program changes are positive for most travelers. World of Hyatt members will get more Milestone Rewards choices and more flexibility in redeeming or sharing rewards. Plus, frequent stayers will begin earning rewards beyond 100 elite night credits.
But perhaps the best part is the limited negative changes. The only true negative changes are a limitation on the number of Hyatt Guest of Honor bookings that Globalists can make and the elimination of earning World of Hyatt elite status through hosting many low-budget events.
Here's what you need to know about the changes to the World of Hyatt program for 2024.
Expanded Choices for Hyatt Milestone Rewards
The biggest change to the World of Hyatt program is expanding the Milestone Rewards program. Currently, Hyatt rewards members with perks starting at 20 elite night credits and then every increment of 10 elite night credits after that up to 100 elite night credits.
Starting in 2024, World of Hyatt members will get expanded choices at each Milestone Rewards level, plus the ability to earn Milestone Rewards up to 150 elite night credits in a year.
Simply put, we can't find a downside to these changes. At each threshold, World of Hyatt members can still choose the benefit that they're already used to getting (except for choosing the $100 Hyatt gift card option at 40 elite night credits). Instead, Hyatt is simply expanding the choices.
For example, World of Hyatt members currently earn two Club Access Awards upon achieving 20 elite night credits. Starting in 2024, you'll get a choice between three rewards:
- 2 Club Access Awards.
- 2K Next Stay Award.
- $25 FIND Credit.
Here's the full list of Hyatt Milestone Rewards tiers starting in 2024:
New Hyatt Milestone Rewards tiers
| Threshold | Members Receive | Choose One Option |
|---|---|---|
| 20 elite nights or 35,000 base points | -- | 2K Next Stay Award Two Club Lounge Access Awards $25 FIND Credit 2 Preferred Seat Coupons on American Airlines |
| 30 elite nights or 50,000 base points | One Free Night Award (Category 1-4) | 2K Next Stay Award Two Club Access Awards $25 FIND Credit 2 Preferred Seat Coupons on American Airlines |
| 40 elite nights or 65,000 base points | One Guest of Honor Award | 5,000 bonus points One Suite Upgrade Award $150 FIND Credit 2 Main Cabin Extra Seat Coupons on American Airlines |
| 50 elite nights or 80,000 base points | -- | 5,000 bonus points Two Suite Upgrade Awards $150 FIND Credit 2 Main Cabin Extra Seat Coupons on American Airlines |
| 60 elite nights or 100,000 base points | Two Guest of Honor Awards One Free Night Award (Category 1-7) Two Suite Upgrade Awards My Hyatt Concierge | -- |
| 70 elite nights, 80 elite nights, and 90 elite nights | One Guest of Honor Award | 10,000 bonus points One Suite Upgrade Award $300 FIND Credit AAdvantage Gold®Status |
| 100 elite nights | One Free Night Award (Category 1-7) | 10,000 bonus points One Suite Upgrade Award One Miraval Extra Night AAdvantage Platinum®Status |
| 110, 120, 130, and 140 elite nights | One Guest of Honor Award | 10,000 bonus points One Suite Upgrade Award One Miraval Extra Night AAdvantage Platinum®Status |
| 150 elite nights | Ultimate Free Night Award | 10,000 bonus points One Suite Upgrade Award One Miraval Extra Night AAdvantage Platinum®Status |
With this revamp, Hyatt is introducing a few new Milestone Rewards choices. Here's the definition for these new options:
2K Next Stay Award
Earn 2,000 bonus points on your next stay at a Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Caption by Hyatt, or UrCove Hotel. Must stay within 180 days of choosing this award to earn the bonus points.
Related: How To Earn Free Night Certificates With the Hyatt Brand Explorer Perk
Miraval Extra Night Award
Starting at 100 elite night credits, World of Hyatt members can choose to earn a Miraval Extra Night Award. This award grants a complimentary night at a Miraval resort when you book at least one eligible paid night or award night.
New Ultimate Free Night Award
If you earn a whopping 150 elite night credits, you'll receive an Ultimate Free Night Award — a free night award that's redeemable at any World of Hyatt property. That's any category 1-8 hotel or category A-F all-inclusive resort.
Related: Sweet Spots for World of Hyatt Award Redemptions
Sharing World of Hyatt Awards
In early 2024, Hyatt will roll out the ability for members to transfer awards to other World of Hyatt members online. Members will be able to transfer Free Night Awards, Suite Upgrade Awards, Club Lounge Access Awards, and even Guest of Honor Awards to any other member by entering their World of Hyatt number and last name in the forthcoming system.
Awards can only be transferred once and cannot be returned to the original World of Hyatt member. So, members should be sure before transferring awards to another member.
Changes to the Hyatt Guest of Honor Benefits
One of the biggest changes is Hyatt's revamp of the Guest of Honor benefit. Instead of being an unlimited benefit for Globalist elites, World of Hyatt members will begin earning single-use Guest of Honor Awards through Milestone Rewards.
There are so many nuances to these changes — including a one-time bonus of Guest of Honor Awards for 2024 Hyatt Globalists and an annual bonus for Lifetime Globalists — that we wrote a dedicated article about the changes to the Guest of Honor perk.
In short, the bad news is that this benefit is now a single-use award rather than an unlimited benefit. However, Hyatt made several positive changes:
- Available on paid stays, not just award bookings.
- Earn elite night credits. The member who originally earned a Guest of Honor Award will earn 1 elite night credit each time another member completes a Guest of Honor booking.
- Awards earned sooner. World of Hyatt members now earn their first Guest of Honor Award at 40 elite night credits. That means World of Hyatt members will earn a Guest of Honor Award before earning Hyatt Globalist elite status. Members can redeem this award to experience Globalist perks for themselves or…
- Giftable to other members. World of Hyatt members will be able to gift Guest of Honor Awards to another member. That means you'll no longer need to book a reservation at the time you want to gift the perk to another member.
Earning World of Hyatt Elite Status via Event Planning
World of Hyatt members can currently earn elite status by planning or hosting events. However, this elite status qualification method is independent of the standard elite night credit earning system. Instead, members can earn World of Hyatt status by hosting 3 qualifying events to earn Discoverist, 10 qualifying events for Explorist, or 20 qualifying events for Globalist.
The catch: This earning elite status method is all-or-nothing. If you “only” host 18 events, you miss out on the perks of Hyatt Globalist — unless you also earn 60 elite night credits.
Starting in 2024, Hyatt is folding events and meeting hosting into the standard elite status qualification system. Going forward, World of Hyatt members will earn two elite night credits for every $5,000 spent on a meeting or event — up to $150,000 in spending annually = 60 elite night credits.
Winners and losers of this new system
This is great news for infrequent and large meeting planners. Say you plan one corporate event annually with a $100,000 budget. Instead of effectively getting no elite status credit, you'll now earn 40 elite night credits for hosting that event at a Hyatt property. That's enough for Explorist status and a huge boost toward earning top-tier Globalist elite status.
Or perhaps you aren't a professional meeting planner, but you're hosting a family reunion, anniversary, or birthday party. You can get rewarded with elite night credits for hosting an event at a Hyatt with as little as $5,000 in spending.
Plus, World of Hyatt members will still be able to earn Globalist solely through events and meetings. By accumulating $150,000 in event spending in a year, you'll earn 60 elite night credits. And this transition to rewarding elite night credits means you'll also earn extra benefits through Milestone Rewards.
With that said, this change is bad for members who host many low-budget meetings and events. Say you organize 20 events annually with an average budget of just $2,000. Under the current program, you earn Hyatt Globalist. Going forward, hosting these 20 low-budget events will only net you 16 elite night credits.
Bottom Line
Hyatt is revamping the World of Hyatt program for 2024. But, instead of overhauling its program — as we've seen from other hotel loyalty programs — these changes feel more like tweaks to the existing World of Hyatt program.
Hyatt isn't rolling out new elite status tiers or changing elite status requirements. Instead, World of Hyatt members will get expanded Milestone Reward choices, the ability to earn Milestone Rewards beyond 100 elite night credits, and the opportunity to gift awards to other members. Meeting planners will earn elite night credits — and thus Milestone Rewards — based on event spending instead of needing to host a set number of events to earn status.
Globalists who took advantage of unlimited Guest of Honor bookings and small-budget meeting planners may not like these changes. But overall, these changes are positive for most members.
Full disclosure: Hyatt hosted the author for an event at its headquarters to highlight these changes to the World of Hyatt program and allow an opportunity to ask clarifying questions. However, all opinions are the author's, and Hyatt has not reviewed or approved any content.
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