There are about to be a lot of very happy World of Hyatt members, as Hyatt has just announced some generous extensions of status, free night awards, and more. They’ve also extended their change and cancellation waiver.
Here’s what you need to know about this announcement from Hyatt:
In this post:
Hyatt suspends forfeiture of points
World of Hyatt is suspending the forfeiture of points through December 31, 2020. Ordinarily World of Hyatt points expire after 24 months of inactivity (among the most generous policies in the industry), but even that won’t be enforced for the rest of 2020.
Hyatt points won’t expire for the rest of 2020
Hyatt extends elite status
World of Hyatt is extending all active elite status by a year. Current elite members have status through February 28, 2021, though that status will now be extended through February 28, 2022.
Whether you’re Discoverist, Explorist, or Globalist, your status will automatically be updated to reflect the new expiration date no later than April 15, 2020.
Note that this doesn’t do anything for those who had status that expired in February 2020 (in other words, those who didn’t qualify for status this year). This is clearly intended for those who are currently loyal to Hyatt.
Hyatt is extending elite status by a year
Why it could still make sense to earn status
While World of Hyatt is extending elite status, keep in mind that some elite perks are tied to Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards, which are based on how many elite nights you earn.
While your status will be renewed, you won’t be getting some of the additional benefits unless you at least earn a certain number of elite nights.
Here are the noteworthy Milestone Rewards:
- 20 qualifying nights or 35,000 base points: two club lounge access awards
- 30 qualifying nights or 50,000 base points: two club lounge access awards, plus a Category 1-4 free night award
- 40 qualifying nights or 65,000 base points: 5,000 bonus points, a $100 Hyatt gift card, or 10,000 points off a FIND experience
- 50 qualifying nights or 80,000 base points: two suite upgrade awards
- 60 qualifying nights or 100,000 base points: two suite upgrade awards, plus a Category 1-7 free night award
For example, if you’re an existing Globalist member your status would be extended through February 2022, but if you want to earn an additional four suite upgrade awards, an additional two free night certificates, a $100 gift card, and more, you’d need to still earn qualifying elite nights.
While Hyatt is already being generous here, my hope is that Hyatt lowers Milestone Rewards thresholds this year, or offers double elite nights for the rest of the year.
To me that would be smart business on their side, since it would encourage people to actually spend money on the World of Hyatt Credit Card, and to stay at Hyatt hotels.
I’m thrilled to have my Globalist status extended through February 2022, and I could certainly be talked into earning elite nights through the Hyatt Card if it makes sense with the Milestone Rewards.
If you want to earn additional suite awards you’ll still have to earn elite nights
Hyatt extends all earned awards
World of Hyatt is extending the expiration of many earned awards, including:
- Free night awards, whether earned through status, qualifying activity, or through Hyatt’s co-branded credit card
- Suite upgrade awards, which are issued to Globalist members
- Club upgrade awards, which are issued as a Milestone Reward
How are they being extended?
- If they were supposed to expire between March 1 and December 31, 2020, they will now expire on December 31, 2021; that’s right, they’re extending expiration by anywhere from 12 to 22 months
- All unused awards will be updated with the new expiration date by the 20th day of the month in which they were supposed to expire
- Awards that expired between March 1 and March 31, 2020, will be replaced with new awards on April 20, 2020
Unfortunately this means that the suite and club awards due to expire in February 2021 won’t be extended any further. Though I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hyatt still extend those at some point.
All free night awards are extended through the end of 2021
Hyatt continues waiving change & cancellation fees
In addition to the above generous World of Hyatt changes, Hyatt is also extending their waiver of change and cancellation policies through June 30, 2020, for those who booked directly:
- All existing reservations (including advance purchase rates) for travel through June 30, 2020, can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before scheduled arrival
- New reservations booked through June 30, 2020, for any future travel date, can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before scheduled arrival; the only exceptions are Destination Residences, Special Events Rate reservations
Hyatt is continuing with their flexible cancellation policy
Bottom line
World of Hyatt is extending elite status by a year, and is also extending all free night awards through December 31, 2021. That’s an extremely generous policy, and I think Hyatt’s approach here is exactly right.
That being said, for many there will still be value in earning status the “hard” way, to get perks like additional suite upgrade awards for next year, additional free night awards, and more. Once things normalize, I hope we’ll see Hyatt offer double elite nights (or something similar), so that members can still earn Milestone Rewards.
In fairness, we also have to give credit to Hilton Honors, which several days ago extended status for all members by a year. Perhaps the distinction is that generally Hilton status is easier to earn.
What do you make of Hyatt’s status and award extension?
Ben, regarding that last comment (from Hyatt), that’s a total load. If we can’t reasonably stay in hotels in 2020, how are we supposed to use Suite upgrade certificates? Especially since they can’t be scheduled past 2/28/21?
I have a Tokyo stay in March 2021, which is a postponed trip from March 2020. Guess I’ll stay in Four Seasons.
As a promised update, Hyatt has clarified that they don't plan on extending the expiration of suite upgrade awards and club upgrade awards that expire as of February 2021. As Hyatt explains it, "the lengthy validity period for these milestone awards does not require an extension at this time under our standard practices."
Lucky,
As a globalist I’m very happy for this customer friendly move by Hyatt. I wish Bonvoy followed suit.
Was hoping you could offer some advice . I had locked in JW Maldives at the old rate for 5 nights at 280k. JW Maldives cancels the Rez because of corona. I FB messaged Bonvoy and they refuse to let me rebook to new dates keeping the old rate. And when I brought up the...
Lucky,
As a globalist I’m very happy for this customer friendly move by Hyatt. I wish Bonvoy followed suit.
Was hoping you could offer some advice . I had locked in JW Maldives at the old rate for 5 nights at 280k. JW Maldives cancels the Rez because of corona. I FB messaged Bonvoy and they refuse to let me rebook to new dates keeping the old rate. And when I brought up the notion that the entire concept of locking in old rate goes out the window if hotels can just cancel these old rate rezzies this was their response “ Hello Al, Thank you for sharing your feedback we will share this with leadership. Thank you.”
Do you have any advice for me? Thanks.
Hyatt seems to be the leader in all this madness.
We will get out of this soon- I hope.
@Lucky.... thank you for this great coverage and communication.
@MDA that would be great. had 3 club upgrades (29FEB20) which disappeared. Would be great if they will come back. Explorist so really could use those ! :-) we will wait and see. If not still happy with Hyatt, but will make a difference in my travel if things open up again.
@Kate according to TPG, you cannot. Once you converted the certificate for 10,000 Hyatt points, it will be considered used.
@Lucky very good news if they would also soon extend the club access awards for a year for those expiring in February 2021. I look forward to your follow up post. @Lucky any updated news with IHG in terms of the Chase Anniversary free nights as well as those with Ambassador Membership?
Why is Hyatt ignoring new elite members?
After a lot of planning, I was able to earn Globalist status on March 11 (last month) just before the lockdown happened, meaning the status is valid until Feb 2022.
Of course, I am completely unable to use the status until, likely, at least July. Who knows?
Anyone knows why Hyatt is not extending the status for new elite members, like myself, whereas we are unable to...
Why is Hyatt ignoring new elite members?
After a lot of planning, I was able to earn Globalist status on March 11 (last month) just before the lockdown happened, meaning the status is valid until Feb 2022.
Of course, I am completely unable to use the status until, likely, at least July. Who knows?
Anyone knows why Hyatt is not extending the status for new elite members, like myself, whereas we are unable to use our benefits like everybody else (and while everyone else gets an extra year)? Is it an oversight or on purpose? Feels a bit unfair.
Wow people started status challenge in early March? That’s not very smart. Did y’all think CoViD was fake news?
What about some club awards that expired on 2/29/20? Can I revive them? :)
What about changing reservations for stays which have changed tiers? I booked a hotel in Budapest when it was 10,000 points per night. Now its 25,000 points. I still want to go, but would they honor the original point cost? This is not clear.
Any help in answering this would be great! Thanks!
@MikeL. Like you I wonder if it’s intentional or a mistake. Seems sort of irrational to create the donut hole but it took IHG a long time to backtrack when they did it. The language to do it right seems pretty simple: All unused free night certificates expiring by their terms on or after March 1, 2020 and prior to Dec 31, 2021, will be extended to expire on December 31, 2021.
I am one of the people in Asia that has already been extended, let me share with you what has happened. I am a globalist.
As at Feb 29 2020.....I had:
(1) 4 club access 9 (exp Feb 28 2021)
(2) 2 remaining suite upgrade exp (Feb 29 2020)
(3) 4 suite upgrades (exp feb 28 2021)
(4) Globalist status exp Feb 28 2021.
On March 12 my status...
I am one of the people in Asia that has already been extended, let me share with you what has happened. I am a globalist.
As at Feb 29 2020.....I had:
(1) 4 club access 9 (exp Feb 28 2021)
(2) 2 remaining suite upgrade exp (Feb 29 2020)
(3) 4 suite upgrades (exp feb 28 2021)
(4) Globalist status exp Feb 28 2021.
On March 12 my status was extended and I the following happened:
(1) My 4 club access NO CHANGE - ie still exp Feb 28 2021
(2) 2 suites that expired on Feb 29 2020 disappeared all together
(3) my suite upgrades still exp Feb 2021 ie NO CHANGE
(4) Status extended to Feb 28 2022.
As at today (Sat 4th April)
1,3, 4 above remain the same. Point 2 ie the 2 remaining suite upgrades that expired on Feb 29 2020, have come back and have an expiration date of Dec 31 2021.
For me, by now I would usually have retained globalist and received additional free nights etc and additional suite upgrades.
It means I now have 6 suite upgrades to use by Feb 2021 - highly unlikely I will do this given the current environment. Also means unlikely to have any in Feb 2022.
I never used the Club Access so not fussed.
Nerd that I am, I have been taking regular screen shots of my account at regular intervals.
Hope this helps.
So if your not globalist but want to try to obtain it this year they are doing nothing to incentivize people staying with Hyatt? They really should cut the requirements in half or do a double elite night promo.
@ Troy -- I imagine they'll still offer some sort of expedited status opportunities, but I would give them time, since we're not yet at the point where people should be traveling.
I'm also curious about TSUs expiring Feb 2021. Please let us know if you get clarification on this, Lucky.
When is Marriott going to follow suit with Hyatt and Hilton by extending status and certificates??!!
Same here @msd2179, this has to be an oversight. It is just silly.
Ugh. This is all great, but I have 2 free night awards that expire in January 2021--right after the December 31, 2020 cut-off for the expiration extension. Most of this year's planned travel has been called off, so I'm not sure I will be able to actually use the certs, and I'm just outside the period for getting an extension.
It would been nice if they extended last year's status which I know for a fact they did for some Globalists. Anyhow, when this policy will go into effect? My free upgrades still showing 2021 expiration:
Club Access Award
Total Earned 4
1 Redeemed
3 Available
Expiration Date Feb 28, 2021
Terms & Conditions
In the same boat as @MikeL. Reminds me of the donut hole that IHG created with their free night certificate restrictions/response a couple years ago. That said, I’ve never received anything but exceptional customer service when I call Hyatt (despite mere Discoverist status) so I’m comfortable that it will work out if I can’t find a use by the expiration date.
@Ben: Understood we don't get to have the status extended for those on challenge, but can I extend the time frame for my challenge or restart it??
Stupid question, but if im a Globalist and have club access awards, what can i do with them? I always have club access right? Can i gift them?
@ Ryan -- Great question, see here:
https://onemileatatime.com/hyatt-club-access-awards-globalist/
Suite night and Club access awards expire on the same date your previous year’s status expires — the final day of February. So by definition, World of Hyatt is actually not extending these. There are none scheduled to expire between 3/1 and 12/31, ever. Maybe they’ll update this to coincide with the new status expirations. I certainly hope so, but not too concerned anyway. Members already get at minimum 14 months to use these, and often much more.
Regarding the topic of suite and club upgrades expiring in February, I think there may be an oversight here, and that Hyatt intends to extend those as well. I've followed up with Hyatt on this, and hope to have an answer soon. I would expect these to be extended as well.
@Paul: +1
Thanks for extending the status to feb 2022! The part that is confusing is they are extending the club and suite night awards to dec 2021, but the ones we just earned for getting status for until feb 2021 (the same suite and club awards that would expire feb 2022) are not getting any extension??
Ben - they've also updated awards that were earned in 2020 i.e. if you earned a club upgrade award in February, they now expire in Feb 2022
So if I have 20 nights so far in 2020, will those 20 nights carry-over on 2021, towards 2022 status?
@ Sean -- No, they don't carry over. They would still count towards Milestone Rewards for this year, but wouldn't help you with qualifying for status next year.
This was inevitable, especially after Hilton took the lead, and around mid-year, with the pandemic situation still unresolved, airlines will also be begin adopting similar policies with respect to points expiration and status expiration.
My free cat 1-4 was expiring on 3/30. I contacted WOH around 3/13 and they said they cant extend it, but deposited 10K points to my account as a courtesy but the certificate still was not 'removed'. It did officially expire on 3/30. So, would be intresting to see whether they extend it until 12/21 on 4/20.
I think your post is wrong they are not extending all suite night awards. Those that we got this year would not be within the rules. Read the release again. #fakenews
So my award that expires 2/21, stays 2/21, but if it was 12/20, it would go to 12/21??? That just doesn't make sense, just extend them all to the end of 2021.
Great job Hyatt! You always treat us like we matter!!!!
You have the best loyalty program!
well done Hyatt!
Anyone else already convert one to 10,000 points? Think we can undo?
I have always said that Hyatt's is the only frequent traveler program worth going out of your way to qualify for. Nobody else (hotels or airlines) treats their members better. They have just proven that to be the case again.
I have been loyal for years and intend to continue doing so.
Can technically use 3 credit card award nights together in late 2021. One from 2019, one from 2020, and one earned in 20021.
I am currently on a globalist trial (until May 31, 2020). DO you think I get the status till Feb 2022? That would be pretty awesome
Same situation as Lucy here. Globalist challenge started March 1 and ends May 31, 2020. I hope the challenge can be reissued once travel resumes. Do you think they will extend or reissue these challenges?
For those asking about the status challenge, here's what Hyatt tells me:
"In order for a member to have their elite status extended, they have to actually have the status on 3/31/20. For our current Quick Qualify offer with AA, members who register and activate the offer have 90 days to complete qualifying activity to achieve a higher World of Hyatt tier. If they had yet to complete the qualifying activity by 3/31/20, they did...
For those asking about the status challenge, here's what Hyatt tells me:
"In order for a member to have their elite status extended, they have to actually have the status on 3/31/20. For our current Quick Qualify offer with AA, members who register and activate the offer have 90 days to complete qualifying activity to achieve a higher World of Hyatt tier. If they had yet to complete the qualifying activity by 3/31/20, they did not earn that tier status and therefore would not qualify for this extension."
So if you completed the challenge you're good, while if you didn't, you're not.
all suite upgrades awards now is existance expire either Feb 2021 or Feb 2022. an extension of suite awards with 2020 expirations is wholly meaningless because no one has any. they are going to need to clean this up.
Just to confirm: 1) If you earn 60 nights before July 1st, the cat 1-7 certificate will be valid for 18 months. If you earn 60 nights after July 1st, the cat 1-7 certificate will be valid for 6 months only? 2) A current globalist who won’t earn 50 nights before Dec 31 will not have any valid suite upgrades after Feb 2021?
Kudos to Hyatt with an affirmation to its members in an uncertain world. Hyatt shows loyalty to its members, remembering them at a time when it counts a lot and costs so little.
Some of us are planning and dreaming about traveling again, that includes where we will stay...nice to think that some places will be there with a bigger "Welcome"
Pretty slick- going to have two CC free nights to use for a single booking.
Any policy for those currently participating in Hyatt status challenges? I started a 90 day Globalist challenge last month and have not even been able to travel one night since (business travel all on hold).
No One Cares Anymore.