The Milestone Rewards program offers perks for passing certain thresholds each calendar year with World of Hyatt. There’s one Milestone Rewards perk that tends to cause confusion among Globalist members, so in this post I wanted to shed some light on that.
In this post:
World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards basics
World of Hyatt’s elite tier thresholds are as follows:
- Discoverist status: 10 qualifying nights or 25,000 base points (equivalent to $5,000 of spending)
- Explorist status: 30 qualifying nights or 50,000 base points (equivalent to $10,000 of spending)
- Globalist status: 60 qualifying nights or 100,000 base points (equivalent to $20,000 of spending)
Separate from qualifying for status, there are Milestone Rewards at the following thresholds, which get you additional perks:
- 10 qualifying nights or 25,000 base points — earn Discoverist status
- 20 qualifying nights or 35,000 base points — earn two club lounge access awards
- 30 qualifying nights or 50,000 base points — earn Explorist status, plus earn two club lounge access awards, plus a Category 1-4 free night award
- 40 qualifying nights or 65,000 base points — earn 5,000 bonus points, a $100 Hyatt gift card, or a $150 Hyatt FIND experiences credit
- 50 qualifying nights or 80,000 base points — earn two suite upgrade awards
- 60 qualifying nights or 100,000 base points — earn Globalist status, plus two suite upgrade awards, plus a Category 1-7 free night award, plus access to My Hyatt Concierge
- 70 qualifying nights — 10,000 bonus points or a suite upgrade award
- 80 qualifying nights — 10,000 bonus points or a suite upgrade award
- 90 qualifying nights — 10,000 bonus points or a suite upgrade award
- 100 qualifying nights — 10,000 bonus points or a suite upgrade award
World of Hyatt club access awards basics
While most World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards perks are pretty straightforward, club access awards can cause some confusion. Each club access award can be used to access a hotel’s club lounge for a stay of up to seven consecutive nights.
Club access awards are valid on eligible paid rates (including Hyatt Privé rates), as well as free night awards, and Points + Cash bookings. They’re not eligible on bookings with free night certificates or non-eligible paid rates, though. You can apply these in advance of your stay by contacting Hyatt reservations, as there’s no way to redeem these through your online World of Hyatt account.
How can Globalist members use club access awards?
World of Hyatt Globalist members can earn four club access awards per year through the Milestone Rewards program, which can cause some confusion.
Why? Because Globalist members already receive guaranteed club lounge access. On top of that, these club lounge access awards aren’t transferable, so you can’t use these for a stay in someone else’s name.
Contrast that to suite upgrade awards, which are valuable, since they allow you to confirm a suite upgrade in advance, when as a Globalist member you’d otherwise only get room upgrades subject to availability at check-in.
What value are club access awards even supposed to have for Globalist members? Well, there are two circumstances under which they could come in handy:
- When a Globalist member books two rooms, a club lounge access award can be used to secure lounge access for the second room; so you can use this for friends and family, but only if they’re traveling with you
- Globalist members can use club lounge access awards to secure lounge access for themselves in the event they don’t requalify for status, and they have some club lounge access awards that are valid for longer than their status
Like I said, club access awards can’t just be given to friends and family traveling alone, so they do have fairly limited value.
Lastly, keep in mind that as a Globalist member you can make a Guest of Honor booking for others using your points, and then they receive Globalist benefits. So this is only potentially valuable when someone is traveling with you on a paid stay, and not a points stay.
It would be quite nice if Hyatt let these awards be used to instead get free breakfast, given how many hotels don’t have club lounges (and even hotels that do have club lounges largely haven’t reopened them post-pandemic).
Bottom line
The World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards program offers valuable perks like suite upgrade awards, bonus points, and free night certificates. The perk that tends to cause the most confusion for Globalist members is the club access awards, since Globalist members are already guaranteed club access.
Obviously these are valuable for other elite members who wouldn’t otherwise get club lounge access, while they’re less valuable for Globalist members. I know I have several of these sitting in my account right now, and have dozens expire over the years.
Hopefully the above explains the relatively few circumstances under which you can get value out of them as a Globalist member.
Typically when traveling with others and staying at Hyatt I’ll make a Guest of Honor booking for the second room, but on a paid stay I could also see myself using a club access award for the second room, so my friends and family can get access as well.
If you’ve used World of Hyatt club access awards, what was your experience like?
These are crap because they can't be combined with free nights. Even if you make 2 separate reservations it will be treated as a "continuing" reservation and they will not allow you to use them. Besides that, there aren't many clubs anyway.
Neither of those options applies to me, like most Globalists.
What I dislike most about these awards that unlike suite upgrades, they don't actually move you to a club room. So when booking a Hyatt Regency Tokyo base room, you can't use these to get a guaranteed upgrade to a club room. It just gives you access to the club and if the hotel is sold out, you're in your original room.
I find this oddly cheap of the program, and poor for club capacity management...
I think if you are currently a globalist they should have at least $20 credit to be applied to food, drinks or spa, otherwise these are pretty worthless.
Its BS, I haven't seen an open Club in the US in 3 years, they should at least give $15 credit in the Market (like Hilton does).
I've seen them open. HR San Francisco Embarcadero and SOMA both have them.
That said, US lounges are kind of like airport lounges. Snack towers of sadness, paltry non-dry offerings, honors bar at best.
My bigger issue is non-compliant hotels with Hyatt. "Globalist breakfast unless Hyatt Centric Waikiki wants to cheap out then 500 points is enough."
I believe these can have some value internationally for Globalist. Lounge access is not guaranteed for Globalists based on occupancy levels internationally.
That's not correct. Globalists receive lounge access when there's a lounge, period.
I stay monthly at Hyatt Regency Coral Gables. I would rather have a coupon for a couple drinks at the bar as a replacement for not having a club.
I find them useless too, and this time they wouldn’t exchange them for points
Earn
See in Account
Wait until Expiration
Rinse and Repeat
It was nice when Hyatt offered 3k per expired certificate but not expecting that to return.
Unfortunately I find these useless
Luckily last couple of years I got points for them going to be expired
In February they wouldn’t give me points. I had 4 expire.
I have heard you can convert them to points. Is it true?
I think club access awards, should also have the option for a $20 F&B credit for Globs.
It's weird as hotels are taking revenge on us travellers for the couple of years where most people stopped traveling that they are limiting cleaning, raising rates and CLOSING lounges.
I am pleased that "Club Lounge awards" is still a perk and milestone benefit and is still there as I am optimistic that one day the lounges (which is my motivation for Globalist) will reopen.
It seems like most club lounges in the us have closed.. It is nearly impossible to use these.. what am I missing?
@ Sam -- Unfortunately you're not missing anything. Indeed many club lounges have just never reopened since the start of the pandemic.
Can these certificates be used for breakfast in hotels that do not have club lounges?
@ Julian -- Unfortunately not, though that sure would be nice.