9 Things I Learned After 5 Years Being a Hyatt Globalist

I am a fan of Hyatt World the show goes back to when it was called the Golden Passport. However, I was quite late to become a Hyatt Globalistonly achieved it 5 years ago.

I have made obtaining Globalist status an integral part of my travels and I have learned a lot about this program over the past five years.

So, if you’re on a mission to be a Globalist before the end of the year, read this first. Here are nine things I’ve learned about Globalist status and how it changed the way I travel.

The perks of being a globalist

Globalist is the highest level among three elite floors of the World of Hyatt program, with Explorist as the middle level and Discover as the entry level.

However, I find the gap between Explorist and Globalist to be wide, which makes perfect sense when you need 60 credits for an overnight stay or 100,000 basis points for Globalist status. That’s more than twice as much as is required to achieve Discoverer status.

Perks received by the Universalist for the Discoverer:

• Complimentary resort for all stays, not just bonus stays.
• Room upgrades include standard suites, when available.
• Late check out 4pm, if available.
• Free breakfast or club lounge access.
• Priority for early check-in.
• Guest of Honor benefits.
• Access to My Hyatt Concierge (technically a key perk to achieving a 60-night stay).

These are extremely valuable benefits if you travel a lot. Free parking during award-winning stays and breakfast for all stays can easily add up to $500 worth of extended stays in expensive cities. Plus, upgrading the suite can make the experience more enjoyable, especially if you’re traveling with family. And if you’re booking a trip for a friend, you can even share your benefits with them using Guest of honor.

Related: 7 Strategies You Can Leverage To Win Valuable Hyatt Globalist Status

9 Lessons I Learned as a Globalist

There’s no shortage of extra perks and I’ve been taking advantage of them for the past 5 years. Here’s what I learned along the way.

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Being a Globalist changed the way I plan my trips

When you can park for free during award-winning stays, free breakfast and resort fee is freeyou can rethink how you plan your award trips.

For example, on a family trip to Seattle, we initially decided it would be more economical to stay at Hyatt Place in the suburbs. But once we realized that we wouldn’t incur any extra costs if we stayed downtown, we decided to stay at Thompson Seattle.

We certainly wouldn’t stay there if we had to pay $54 per day for parking, $25 daily “destination fee” and buy our own breakfast, for a total of over $100 each day. And by using Kit upgrade confirmedOur family of five could comfortably stay in one room.

Related: Which hotel has the best free breakfast? TPG eats 10 meals to find the winner

Take advantage of your instructors

While I’ve held the top spot with several airline and hotel programs over the years, I’ve never had an experience quite like having My Hyatt Concierge.

My travel plans tend to be very flexible and a huge time saver so I quickly emailed my concierge and asked her to make, cancel or change my booking, rather than having to do it online or by phone. And I was also able to learn quick email request answers to questions like which properties in Paris can accommodate a family or what days of the month standard prizes are available. This advice can save frequent travelers like me countless hours of research.

Related: Hyatt Globalist Concierge may offer to automatically enroll elites in new promotions

Use a World of Hyatt credit card to stay on track

You need 60 credits for an overnight stay to qualify or qualify for Globalist status. I love that you can earn these credits from a salaried stay or an award, but honestly, I can’t be away from home for nearly a sixth of this year.

Thankfully, I start each year with five night stay credits from World of Hyatt credit cardand I earn two extra credits for overnight stays for every $5,000 spent. I guarantee to use the card with spending at least $15,000 per year to receive Award Certificates Grades 1-4, bringing my total annual overnight stay credits to 11 before I booked the single room. And if I wasn’t anticipating a 49-night stay at the Hyatt, I could narrow the gap down to 60 nights using World of Hyatt corporate credit card to earn five overnight stay credits for every $10,000 spent, a slightly higher rate than a personal card.

Related: How to Earn, Use, and Make the Most of Your Hyatt Free Nights Certificate

Book now, pay later

Perhaps my favorite perk of being a Globalist is having my concierge reserve a room with points, but only to pay later. All I have to do is have the points in my account two weeks before my arrival and the booking will go through. This is an important advantage when booking in advance during high season or around major events, and it’s easy to ask Hyatt’s concierge to complete.

Try asking for standard prize availability

One of the weaknesses of the World of Hyatt program is that the properties have the ability to fool the system by blocking the availability of the standard prize.

For example, I’ve seen downtown hotels classify most of their rooms as substandard because they have “city views”. If you see a hotel that sells rooms that appear to be the norm, but don’t offer them as awards, you can sometimes successfully repel Hyatt. I asked my concierge to contact the property and ask the hotel to allow me to book the property with the points. It doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a try.

Check your bill again

Always a good idea look at your bill before you check out of the hotelbut it’s a particularly good idea for a Hyatt Globalist.

This is because you’ll sometimes be charged for things like breakfast or free parking during rewards stays that will be waived. As a Globalist, you don’t always get free parking with a bonus stay, but you should go to any property that can pay for your room directly. And don’t forget that the terms of breakfast benefits offered to Globalists include bonuses.

Sometimes you have to request an upgrade

I’ve noticed that I don’t often get an upgraded room if I don’t ask for it. And when I’m traveling alone, upgrading isn’t usually that important to me. But when I want to upgrade, my best strategy is to try to check in earlier in the day, if possible, and look up available rooms on the World of Hyatt app. If the upgrade request was not accepted, I was successful by showing the front desk staff the room I wanted on the app and by politely asking “It is not the Hyatt that has a policy to upgrade Globalist members to suites Is the standard available?”