Many airline and hotel frequent flyer programs offer lifetime status, whereby you can earn status for a “lifetime” (whether that’s your lifetime or the lifetime of the program is a different question). 😉
World of Hyatt Globalist is my favorite hotel status, and in this post I wanted to take a closer look at how you can earn lifetime Globalist status in the World of Hyatt program.
In this post:
Earning World of Hyatt lifetime Globalist status
While the World of Hyatt program has three elite tiers — Discoverist, Explorist, and Globalist — the program only offers lifetime status for the top Globalist tier. In order to earn lifetime Globalist status you need to earn one million base points:
- With Hyatt you earn five base points per dollar spent, so that’s the equivalent of $200,000 worth of “qualifying” spending with Hyatt
- The number of nights stayed is in no way considered for lifetime status, so it doesn’t matter if you reach that threshold after 20 nights or 2,000 nights
- In the past you had to have status in the program for 10 years as well in order to qualify, but that’s no longer the case; in theory you could spend $200,000 on a single hotel stay and earn lifetime Globalist status that way
What base points count toward lifetime status?
You earn five base points for each dollar of eligible spending with Hyatt:
- This includes money spent on qualifying rates when booking directly through Hyatt (this includes Hyatt Privé rates), as well as incidental spending at Hyatt properties
- Generally speaking, taxes, service charges, gratuities, and third party charges for certain items won’t count as eligible spending for the purposes of earning base points
- This doesn’t just include hotels managed directly by Hyatt, but it also includes everything from Small Luxury Hotels of the World stays, to MGM Rewards stays, to Lindblad Expeditions experiences
So yeah, if you were to book a $50,000 cruise to Antarctica through Lindblad Expeditions, that would qualify toward your lifetime Globalist status.
Can you earn lifetime Globalist with credit card spending?
While the World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) and the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (review) are useful hotel credit cards that can help you earn elite nights and status, the cards can’t help you earn lifetime Globalist status:
- The cards do offer elite nights, but elite nights aren’t considered for lifetime Globalist status
- Base points don’t include any points earned through credit card spending
How can you track your progress toward lifetime status?
Oddly the World of Hyatt website doesn’t actually show your qualifying lifetime base points (if anyone from Hyatt is reading this, I’m sure many people would like to see this feature added), so there are two ways you can figure out your progress toward lifetime Globalist:
- You can contact World of Hyatt by phone or through Twitter and ask
- The monthly account summary that World of Hyatt sends out to members lists “lifetime base points” at the top right
- When you’re within 25,000 base points of earning lifetime Globalist status, you’ll receive an email from Hyatt letting you know how close you are — this has the subject line “You’re So Close to a Lifetime of Rewards”
Benefits of lifetime World of Hyatt Globalist status
World of Hyatt Globalist status comes with all kinds of great perks, so which of those perks do lifetime Globalist members receive? What can make the World of Hyatt program confusing is that there are perks associated with elite tiers, and then perks that are earned as Milestone Rewards, which you earn when passing certain elite night or base point thresholds.
World of Hyatt Globalist members receive the following “basic” perks:
- Room upgrades at check-in, up to standard suites
- Club lounge access and/or restaurant breakfast
- Guaranteed 4PM check-out, except at resorts, where it’s subject to availability
- A 30% points bonus
- Waived resort fees on all eligible rates
- Free parking on award stays
- Access to the Guest of Honor program
On top of that, every single year lifetime Globalist members receive:
- Four suite upgrade awards (each of which can be used to confirm a suite upgrade at the time of booking for up to seven nights)
- A Category 1-7 free night certificate
- Access to a dedicated My Hyatt Concierge agent
That’s some pretty incredible value.
What happens if you also earn Globalist status annually?
What happens if a lifetime Globalist member also qualifies for Globalist status on an ongoing basis, by earning 60 elite nights or 100,000 base points in a calendar year?
Well, those members would still be able to pick Milestone Rewards and would receive standard Globalist benefits. All the lifetime Globalist perks are incremental, so you’d potentially receive eight suite upgrade awards, two Category 1-7 free night certificates, and more. That’s pretty awesome.
Are lifetime Globalist members treated better than “regular” Globalist members?
While hotels can tell if you are a lifetime Globalist member or just a “regular” Globalist member, it’s my understanding that there’s not any official differentiated recognition.
This means that at least officially, it’s not that lifetime Globalist members are prioritized for upgrades over “regular” Globalist members. However, it all comes down to the individual hotel and employee, I suppose. Many lifetime Globalist members do report receiving special treatment, including with upgrades.
Is it worth trying to earn World of Hyatt lifetime status?
The concept of earning lifetime status is always tricky. It obviously requires a significant amount of loyalty and a huge investment, but there’s so much risk. While management of the World of Hyatt program has been extremely trustworthy, in my opinion, I don’t love the precedent set by other airline and hotel loyalty programs when it comes to lifetime perks. For example, we’ve seen:
- Programs add higher elite tiers, so there’s nothing preventing Hyatt from adding a tier above Globalist in the future
- While you are promised lifetime Globalist status, the specific perks offered aren’t guaranteed to stay the same forever; it’s no guarantee that suite upgrade awards, free night certificates, etc., will be program perks in the future
- In many cases it can take a decade or more to earn lifetime status, so there’s a risk that eligibility requirements for lifetime status change at some point
- In the event of a merger or takeover, we could see a new program with new elite tiers introduced
With that skepticism out of the way, let me note that I did recently earn lifetime Globalist status, and I’m really excited about that. Having lifetime Globalist status offers significant ongoing value even if you’d otherwise earn Globalist status, since you’re getting incremental, tangible perks.
Even though I now have this status, my hotel elite status strategy won’t be changing anytime soon. I’ll keep qualifying for Globalist status the “normal” way, allowing me to double dip perks.
How does Hyatt compare to other hotel programs for lifetime status?
To compare World of Hyatt’s lifetime status to the lifetime status perks of competing programs:
- Hilton Honors offers lifetime Diamond status when you have maintained Diamond status for 10 years, plus have stayed a total of at least 1,000 nights or have accumulated at least two million base points since joining the program
- Marriott Bonvoy offers lifetime Silver, Gold, and Platinum status based on a combination of lifetime nights and years of status; earn Silver after 250 lifetime nights and five years of status, earn Gold after 400 lifetime nights and seven years of status (minimum Gold), and earn Platinum after 600 lifetime nights and 10 years of status (minimum Platinum)
I’d argue that Marriott Bonvoy lifetime status is easiest to earn, given that credit card elite nights count toward lifetime status. To compare Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt lifetime status, it really depends on your stay patterns. With Hilton you could earn lifetime status based primarily on award stays, while with Hyatt only paid stays count. To Hyatt’s credit, there’s no minimum number of years of status.
Bottom line
I’d argue that Hyatt’s lifetime Globalist status is the most valuable lifetime hotel status out there. Not only do you get all the standard perks associated with Globalist status, but you also get a free night certificate annually, as well as four suite upgrade awards you can use to confirm an upgrade at the time of booking.
Add in the fact that these perks can be stacked with standard Milestone Rewards earned by Globalist members, and you could be earning eight suite upgrade awards per year, or possibly even more.
To Hyatt loyalists, what do you make of Hyatt’s lifetime Globalist status? Are there any questions about lifetime Globalist status you still have?
I think we can all agree on one point…DCS probably the most pathetic commenter on OMAAT.
Want to talk about pathetic? Just look up: argumentum ad populum.
I agree with you on the World of a Hyatt program. Unfortunately, as someone else mentioned, Hyatt doesn't have a large enough footprint. I stayed in hotels about a 120 nights last year, but only about 15 of those nights at a Hyatt, because there were no Hyatt in the other locations that I stayed!
To add insult to injury, I'm a Titanium Lifetime Elite with Marriott and Hyatt treats me better with...
I agree with you on the World of a Hyatt program. Unfortunately, as someone else mentioned, Hyatt doesn't have a large enough footprint. I stayed in hotels about a 120 nights last year, but only about 15 of those nights at a Hyatt, because there were no Hyatt in the other locations that I stayed!
To add insult to injury, I'm a Titanium Lifetime Elite with Marriott and Hyatt treats me better with just Globalist status! Though I will say Marriott seems to have upped their game this past year and seems to be treating us better... At least that's what I observed, but I could be an anomaly...
Do Find's 10 base points count to lifetime Globalist?
Parting Shot
Well, then you have problems that have nothing to do with your being a LT Diamond status because I was upgraded at least 10 times more than that since 2018, and I was just a "regular" Diamond.
More to...
Parting Shot
Well, then you have problems that have nothing to do with your being a LT Diamond status because I was upgraded at least 10 times more than that since 2018, and I was just a "regular" Diamond.
More to the point is what I said, which was that "now is the time to travel if you are a HH LT Diamond because, at least for the time being, the program has rolled out the red carpet for its new exclusive top elite status...really."
Relating your experience from 2018 is irrelevant because it was not until very recently that HH LT Diamond explicitly became the program's top elite status. Prior to that, it was simply an "honorary" status, like it is in all the other programs. With HH (and AMEX) deciding to make LT Diamond the program's de facto top elite status and differentiating it from the 'standard'/'Aspire' Diamond, it's been a full court press to recognize LT Diamonds for their (our) long-time loyalty. That is what I referred to as "red carpet".
A recap and more...
First, I related my experience as a LT Diamond at Hilton Singapore Orchard.
Then, I linked to a photo of how my villa at WA Maldives Ithaafushi was painstakingly arranged to welcome me, with a message (done by hand with bamboo leaves!) that said "Greater than Diamond, Welcome to WA" (here's the link again in case you missed it: https://bit.ly/3QYwpWL).
Then after WA Maldives Ithaafushi, my next stay was at Hilton Pattaya, where it was almost literally a "red carpet" reception. As soon as I provided my passport and the agent (who happened to be a manager) pulled my reservation, she exclaimed excitedly "We have been awaiting your arrival as our LT Diamond!". It was like a rock star would be treated and I felt a bit embarrassed, especially after she asked me if I would honor them by having a photo of me taken with the hotel staff. I told her that I'd just arrived from a long flight and then taxi ride from BKK and that I needed to think about it and let her know later. I eventually declined as I was not sure how the photo would be used (I declined by SMS and have the text that I can provide privately to say, the forum host, as evidence of the veracity of the account).
As for the Hilton Pattaya stay itself, I was told that they'd considered me for an upgrade but noticed that I'd booked a "premium" room, which was true. I'd first outright booked a suite (a "premium" room reward) because it cost "just" 2K HH points/night more than a standard room. However, upon a closer look, I did not like that the suite did not have a full frontal ocean view. I searched again found a "King Exec Premium Ocean Front" room that cost just a bit more than the suite, so I booked it and cancelled the suite booking. That's a long way to explain why the manager told me that they'd considered upgrading me but noticed that I'd already booked a "premium" room. Oh, and the free full restaurant breakfast was nothing short of a "royal feast" (optionally, I could have had a continental breakfast in the Exec lounge, but it is unclear to me why I and anyone would).
After a 4-night stay at Park Hyatt Siem Reap, my next and last two Hilton stays during this 4-week Asian Escapade(TM) will be at WA Bangkok and at Conrad Hong Kong (added after HKG opened fully, by scrapping a return to and a 3-night stay in Singapore before flying with SQ back to EWR), so stay tuned as I will report whether or not the "red carpet" treatment continued.
Cheers from somewhere in SE Asia!
I just double checked and would like to correct the above. The suite cost a bit more than the King premium Ocean Front:
KING FAMILY OCEAN SUITE: 64K HH points/night
KING EXC PM OCEAN FRONT: 62K HH points/night
I am not sure anymore, but I believe that a standard room award cost 60K HH points/night, which is why it was a no-brainer going for a "premium room reward" in this case.
Currently lifetime titanium and diamond, and globalist seems like it would be a step above either. The only tangible benefit I get from Hilton or Marriott is breakfast and a points bonus, and lately both chains will give you coupons instead of a full breakfast at many properties, especially in US. (Marriott extremely convoluted breakfast policy is especially annoying) In theory, I'm also farther up the line for suite upgrades, but many properties at all...
Currently lifetime titanium and diamond, and globalist seems like it would be a step above either. The only tangible benefit I get from Hilton or Marriott is breakfast and a points bonus, and lately both chains will give you coupons instead of a full breakfast at many properties, especially in US. (Marriott extremely convoluted breakfast policy is especially annoying) In theory, I'm also farther up the line for suite upgrades, but many properties at all chains play games. And if I need a suite, which I often do, I'll buy it when I book, since neither chain has any way for a guaranteed upgrade at booking as a perk of status. (I've had poor luck with Marriott suite awards, and had them go unused multiple times.)
But for LT Globalist, the free cat 7 room and 4 suite awards annually could easily save me thousands. As someone who actually pays for suites on many stays, the Hyatt suite awards that can be used for up to 7 nights at time of booking are far and away the most valuable perk in the hotel loyalty game. Unfortunately, I'm still very far away from LT, and my point redemptions don't get me any closer.
Careful, your words are very triggering to some.
Incidental Alcohol charges do not count towards base points, which is extremely odd.
That’s due to local laws in many jurisdictions. They might be being overly cautious and just apply it across the system.
Whats that hotel in the title screen?
This is the Park Hyatt in Sanya.
Stayed there once years ago... the trick is to wait until closer in, and Villas go way down in price.
If only Hyatt had a better footprint . . .
@Ben do you happen to know if spend towards events and large booking would count?
I.e. booking a wedding through Hyatt, booking a corporate stay at Hyatt, etc.?
Or does it only extend to your room + 2 others booked under your WOH number?
Thanks
@ Daniel -- Generally speaking, rewards earned through Hyatt's meeting incentives program are redeemable points and don't count toward status. It's possible a hotel may let you somehow charge a large amount to one of your guest rooms, but I'd consider that to be the exception rather than the norm, and it's something that doesn't need to be negotiated.
No surprise there! Of course, you'd make that claim based on your own standards of "excellence", whose universal validity is debatable. Having experienced what I am now experiencing as a HH LT Diamond, I would say YMMV.
With the caveat that neither I nor anyone else making pronouncements about how their LT status is "the most valuable"...
No surprise there! Of course, you'd make that claim based on your own standards of "excellence", whose universal validity is debatable. Having experienced what I am now experiencing as a HH LT Diamond, I would say YMMV.
With the caveat that neither I nor anyone else making pronouncements about how their LT status is "the most valuable" has experienced other LT statuses to really be able to make an objective comparison, I'd say that I would not trade my HH LT Diamond status either for one in a program (WoH) with too limited a footprint to enjoy the status in, or does not correspond to the program's top elite status (top Bonvoy LT status is Platinum).
Now is the time to travel if you are a HH LT Diamond because, at least for the time being, the program has rolled out the red carpet for its new exclusive top elite satus...really.
You can’t be serious. No resort fees. No parking fee on award stays. FNC. Confirmed suite upgrades….
Yup -- the very essence nirvana is to regurgitate the kool-aid imbibed. Sort of like, raise your hand if you prefer 100K HH points to 100K WoH points, ignoring that the latter would cost ~$9K vs the former just ~$3K to acquire; or ignoring the 4th/5th award night free; or the small tiny footprint...
Sort of like suggesting that Hyatt's breakfast is "best" out there because only 20% of Hilton's 7K hotels offer full restaurant...
Yup -- the very essence nirvana is to regurgitate the kool-aid imbibed. Sort of like, raise your hand if you prefer 100K HH points to 100K WoH points, ignoring that the latter would cost ~$9K vs the former just ~$3K to acquire; or ignoring the 4th/5th award night free; or the small tiny footprint...
Sort of like suggesting that Hyatt's breakfast is "best" out there because only 20% of Hilton's 7K hotels offer full restaurant breakfast, but failing to realize that 20% of 7K Hilton hotels is 1.4K hotels, which is more than all Hyatt hotels around the world! But, hey, does it even matter when you have the "best" status with the "best" perks that you can enjoy at just a tiny fraction of the competitors' hotels!
While it is objectively true that Hyatt has a smaller footprint than Hilton or Marriott -- which is why I have higher status at both of those chains than I do at Hyatt -- those chains have larger footprints of hotels that barely acknowledge their elites anymore because there are so many of us. I mean, give diamond for getting a credit card. Why did I spend decades earning that status?
I don't know where...
While it is objectively true that Hyatt has a smaller footprint than Hilton or Marriott -- which is why I have higher status at both of those chains than I do at Hyatt -- those chains have larger footprints of hotels that barely acknowledge their elites anymore because there are so many of us. I mean, give diamond for getting a credit card. Why did I spend decades earning that status?
I don't know where you found the red carpet, because I've been upgraded at Hiltons twice since I became LT Diamond in 2018. (1) I hosted a 1000 person conference and received the upgrade that was IN THE CONTRACT and (2) when hurricane Ian hit the Keys. STILL didn't receive notification of a suite, but of a nicer room. Don't know what it was like because we cancelled, just like everyone else who was scheduled to arrive during a hurricane. But it was really thoughtful of them to upgrade us.
A $10-$25 per person breakfast credit. $25 goes a long way at a WA. NOT. And don't get me started on redemption rates. No standard rooms here, but for 400K pts per night you can have one shockingly similar to our standard room. There's a reason I'm sitting on 2.1M Hilton pts. Reasonable redemptions are rare.
I'm glad that you found the red carpet, but, apparently, they keep it out exclusively for you. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy my below average standard rooms like the rest of the LT Diamonds out there.
I believe the unilateral consensus is that if Hilton doesn't treat you like royalty, you must've done something wrong. (Or you're making it up)
It's not their job to make you happy, it's your job to make them bend to your will. Learning the T&C so they will bow to you in the end- that's your first priority.
You would have to be a mad man to favor 100k HH points over 100k WoH points... sounds to me like Hilton is extorting money for its points.
Agree Sel, the resort fees are huge plus to globalist. But at least Hilton waives them on point stays. (and I personally normally stay at resorts on points)
And confirmed suites at booking are hands down the most valuable perk in the game.
That is right. HH does not charge resort fees on award stays, and if one has the incredible Aspire card, which those who play the game with "a full deck" do, it covers not only resort fees up to $250 on revenue stays, but the resort credit, if any remains, will cover incidental charges at resorts as if they were resort fees! As a result, I do not pay any resort fees at all (in...
That is right. HH does not charge resort fees on award stays, and if one has the incredible Aspire card, which those who play the game with "a full deck" do, it covers not only resort fees up to $250 on revenue stays, but the resort credit, if any remains, will cover incidental charges at resorts as if they were resort fees! As a result, I do not pay any resort fees at all (in as much as I even stay at resort on non-award stays).
As for so-called "confirmed" suite upgrades that one must jump through hoops to try to confirm, and may end up not confirming at all, they, like any other type of room upgrade depend on availability and are at the discretion of each property, meaning that rather being "guarantee" as calling then "confirmed" would imply, they are a crap shoot like any other room/cabin upgrade instrument. At least Hilton Honors has now globally automated its upgrades (including to suites) to clear 72 hours before day-of-stay in the order: Golds < Diamonds < LT Diamonds. A potential benefit of automating room upgrades globally is that it may take individual properties out of the equation (how that pans out is still TBD), like automating airline cabin upgrades took gate agents out of the equation.
Again, what are claimed as unique perks that only Hyatt Globalists enjoy can be plausibly argued as simply YMMV.
For those who have never used a suite award, let me explain how simple they are:
1) Check website and see standard suite is available on target date
2) Book room
3) call and rep will confirm upgrade
The only hoop to jump through is the phone call.
There are some properties that don't participate, but other than that, if the property is selling standard suites, you can confirm them. It's...
For those who have never used a suite award, let me explain how simple they are:
1) Check website and see standard suite is available on target date
2) Book room
3) call and rep will confirm upgrade
The only hoop to jump through is the phone call.
There are some properties that don't participate, but other than that, if the property is selling standard suites, you can confirm them. It's that easy!
If you've never had the pleasure, it might sound too good to be true, but it's real. These alone are what make hyatt my preferred chain.
The forum host has written negatively about the experience of confirming a purportedly "confirmed" suite upgrade.
The confirmed suites are as guaranteed as any other reservation. I know DCS has no first hand experience, but if interested to read this OMAAT negative write up if anyone can find and link it. I've used them dozens of time without issues. Easy as booking a standard room over the phone.
Maybe it's related to the instances where they don't give you a confirmation in writing, but rather have the hotel block the room for you?
I could imagine human error could occur, and probably has. But indeed, unless you're playing some ridiculous game of semantics (I.E, it's not "guaranteed" because you might die before you get to go), you can bank on having the suite that you confirm in advance.
For instance, I'm headed...
Maybe it's related to the instances where they don't give you a confirmation in writing, but rather have the hotel block the room for you?
I could imagine human error could occur, and probably has. But indeed, unless you're playing some ridiculous game of semantics (I.E, it's not "guaranteed" because you might die before you get to go), you can bank on having the suite that you confirm in advance.
For instance, I'm headed to the PH Chicago in a few months, and the agent I spoke to spoke to the hotel, who blocked the Water Tower Terrace Suite for me. I have nothing in writing, but it is confirmed with them, and as such I view it as a guarantee.
OTOH, I'm also headed to the HR SOMA later this year, and when I applied a SUA to that, I received a confirmation email that my stay had been adjusted to a suite.
You would think after having SUA's explained 1000 times to them, someone would be able to understand them. But in this case, I guess it's just more convenient to play dumb.
I have a room I want to upgrade that I'll be staying in later in the year. I see a suite is available, I call to apply a SUA, and they now reserve a suite for me. I now know in advance that said...
You would think after having SUA's explained 1000 times to them, someone would be able to understand them. But in this case, I guess it's just more convenient to play dumb.
I have a room I want to upgrade that I'll be staying in later in the year. I see a suite is available, I call to apply a SUA, and they now reserve a suite for me. I now know in advance that said suite is secured for me, I can bank on it. And I've done it more than a dozen times without problem.
This as opposed to showing up at a hotel, having seen a suite available months and months ahead of time but not having any suite upgrade awards I can use to secure it. Even while I'm standing in line I'm still hoping to get that suite, only to have the guy in front of me ask and receive the last one. (Or any other number of situations that may have the same end result).
The latter, of course, could happen at either chain, the former is an option ONLY available at Hyatt.
Stop throwing around phrases like "playing dumb" because on scrutiny it will be revealed that "dumb" is what you are.
So-called "confirmed" upgrades have never ever been the "guaranteed" upgrades that they have been touted to be and no one knows that better than those pushing the "guaranteed" canard.
You say I "play dumb", well you do not play it, you are it.
This thread is now dead, as it should be by now.
Goodbye.
"Stop throwing around phrases like "playing dumb" because on scrutiny it will be revealed that "dumb" is what you are."
This isn't really an argument or discussion as much as it is "nuh-uh".
"So-called "confirmed" upgrades have never ever been the "guaranteed" upgrades that they have been touted to be and no one knows that better than those pushing the "guaranteed" canard."
This is like anti-vaxxing level denial.
F-all if I haven't gotten the...
"Stop throwing around phrases like "playing dumb" because on scrutiny it will be revealed that "dumb" is what you are."
This isn't really an argument or discussion as much as it is "nuh-uh".
"So-called "confirmed" upgrades have never ever been the "guaranteed" upgrades that they have been touted to be and no one knows that better than those pushing the "guaranteed" canard."
This is like anti-vaxxing level denial.
F-all if I haven't gotten the suite I've confirmed ahead of time every.single.time. Maybe you're playing a game a mental gymnastics to convince yourself something different, but "guaranteed", doesn't mean Hyatt is going to cram the upgrades up your butt to make sure you get them. You still have to actually make the booking, you still have to apply the booking.
Nobody is making a claim that the "guarantee" is that the hotel you want will have the suite you want no matter where/when you book it, the premise has always been that once you book the suite, that's what you're getting (or better).
As stated above, human error isn't out of the realm of possibility, but that doesn't invalidate the whole notion of the program. I know though, that by your made-up-specifically-for-Hyatt-standards, if the program works as intended 99% of the time, then the 1% it doesn't is grounds to dismiss the whole thing.
"This thread is now dead, as it should be by now.
Goodbye."
Glad you think so. Byyyeeeee.
Since anything good attached to Hyatt is lost on you, maybe it'll at least get through to someone drinking YOUR kool-aid, like Jill.
Cheerio.
To be fair, the top Bonvoy LT status is titanium, but they aren't giving that out any more and it has been so far from a valuable status for me and more of a headache, I just stay at Hyatt and Hilton's now.
Yes, LT Titanium was discontinued and now Bonvoy's highest LT status is Platinum (though it is tough to objectively differentiate Platinum from Titanium)