How much is Hyatt Globalist status worth?
Hyatt is about to launch a promotion. Though the exact terms and conditions haven’t been released, word is that from October 1, 2020 through January 4, 2021 for every night, you will earn one Elite Qualifying night credit for 2020 AND one Elite Qualifying night for 2021. After registering for the promo, this offer will stack with the other Hyatt promotions of 3x points earning and 15/25% back on points stays.
There has been a lively debate about this promo over at FlyerTalk. It appears that should you stay over New Years, you would get two Elite Qualifying night credits per night. If you stayed 30 nights starting December 2, you could have Hyatt Globalist status for all of 2021, 2022, through February 2023.
Someone questioned the value of Globalist status. It got me thinking and trying to calculate a valuation.
What is Hyatt Globalist elite status?
Globalist is the top tier status of Hyatt’s World of Hyatt loyalty program. With it come the following benefits:
- Club access/free breakfast
- 4pm late check out as available
- Waived Resort Fees on all stays
- Room upgrades – up to a standard suite as available
- Free parking on points stays
- 6.5 points per $1 spent (30% bonus) – I value Hyatt points at about 1.5 cents, so this essentially means about 10% back on every stay
- All other benefits of lower tiers
In addition to the benefits, Hyatt offers Milestone Rewards as you earn your way to Globalist status. Once you hit a “milestone” of a certain number of nights during a calendar year, you get the reward.
- 4 Club Lounge Access awards (2 at 20 nights, 2 at 30 nights)
- 4 Suite Upgrade awards (2 at 50 nights, 2 at 60 nights)
- 1 Free Night Certificate Category 1-4 property (30 nights)
- 1 Free Night Certificate Category 1-7 property (60 nights)
- $100 Hyatt Gift Card OR 5,000 points (40 nights)
How to value Hyatt Globalist status?
The question, then, is how much are these benefits worth? It HIGHLY depends on the person. If you are only staying at Hyatt House or Hyatt Place properties, Globalist is not worth very much. But if you are staying 100 nights a year in high end properties, you might get quite a value out of it.
The Points Guy® values Globalist status at $5,190. Value Penguin says $4,350. So what is it worth?
First I’d like to define “worth” and “value”. For me, it is the amount of money I actually save by having the status. How much less money would come out of my pocket. Or another way to think of it, how much cash would I pay for the benefits?
Imagine if Hyatt Globalist status with all the perks came with a credit card. How much of an annual fee would you pay to get that credit card?
I have heard some people say that they value the Category 1-7 Free Night Certificate at $1,000 because they were able to use it at the Park Hyatt Sydney during a busy season when the room rate was $1,000 per night.
For me, I would never pay $1,000 for a night in a hotel. So the Free Night Certificate is not worth $1,000 to me. However, if I was visiting Sydney, I could see myself splurging on a $300 room for a night given the right circumstances. So that is a more reasonable valuation to me. I might even be persuaded to value it at $450 since I value 30,000 points (the cost of a points night at a Category 7) at roughly that amount, though I would be hard pressed to actually spend 30,000 points on a night at a hotel.
Another example is the free breakfast. Let’s say you have breakfast at a Globalist in the restaurant, and that breakfast would cost someone paying out of pocket $50. Are you getting $50 value from Globalist? I would argue no, as if it wasn’t a benefit coming to me due to status, I wouldn’t eat there. Instead I might get a $20 breakfast at a restaurant across the street or grab a $4 muffin. For a family of 4 traveling, however, the breakfast benefit might save that family more than me. Again, the value is really dependent on the the individual.
So, how much is Hyatt Globalist status worth to you?
First of all, I think there is an overall limit to the amount I would actually pay for anything related to travel; and that is around $1,000. I once paid just under $1,500 for a flight to Argentina, but that is the most I have ever paid for a flight and I probably wouldn’t do it again. The most I have ever paid for a night in a hotel is $409/night, but it was a Privé rate at the Andaz Napa over Valentine’s Day & Presidents’ Day weekend and included a $100 credit and breakfast for two. I could imagine a deal so amazing I would pay more than $1,000 for it. Say an unlimited flight or hotel pass for a year. But for me there is a psychological barrier around $1,000 that is extremely hard to overcome.
The most valuable parts of earning Globalist to me are the following benefits. I am including how I value (or what I would be paying out of pocket if I didn’t have status) each benefit.
- Free Breakfast/Club Lounge Access ($300) – I mostly travel solo (hence the name of my website). I would rarely spend more than $15 on breakfast while traveling, so I value this benefit at about $15 per night. I typically spend a number of nights in Hyatt Place/House properties, where breakfast is included. I’d say I really get a good use of Club lounges and breakfast about 20 nights a year.
- Waived Resort Fees ($60) – I hate resort fees. I think they are a scam and I avoid giving my money to properties that charge them. However, it seems like once or twice a year I end up at a property where I would have to pay them. So I’ll give them a value of $60 for two nights.
- Upgrades ($60) – I am including here both the Suite Upgrade Certificates and complimentary upgrades. It is nice to be upgraded, but I typically book the cheapest rooms in hotels (my one exception is in Hawaii where I like a view of the ocean). I’m also traveling solo most of the time, so I don’t need a suite most of the time. It is great to have, but not something I would pay for most of the time. For the rare occasion once or twice a year I’d pay for an upgrade, I am giving this a $60 value.
- Free Parking on award stays ($60) – When I travel, I rarely have a car. When I do have a car, I am often staying at properties that have free parking. When there is a parking fee, often I am not on a points stay. So maybe I can use this benefit 2-3 times a year.
- Category 1-4 Free Night Certificate ($200) – Typically I am able to get a good value out of my Cat 4 Free Nights. A free night can replace a hotel stay where I would pay $200.
- Category 1-7 Free Night Certificate ($300) – I rarely spend $300/night on a hotel, but the odds are I am going to at least once during a year, so I think $300 value is fair.
- $100 Hyatt Gift Certificate ($95) – I can easily spend this at its value. The only downside is you don’t get the credit card points.
- 30% Bonus Points ($30) – This is is 1.5 extra point per $1 spent. However, anyone can get Discoverist status just by having the Hyatt credit card. I have Explorist through status match. I am going to say this is actually only an extra 0.5 points per $1. On a big year, I might spend $4,000 staying at Hyatts. Other years less. If I spend $4,000, that is an extra 2,000 points that I value at about $30.
Other benefits that are nice but don’t have a monetary value to me:
- 4PM Late Check Out ($0) – While this is a great benefit, I wouldn’t ever pay for this. Instead I would check out as assigned and store my luggage with the bell desk if I had to. Might cost me a couple dollars in a tip.
- Club Lounge Access Awards through Milestone Rewards ($0) – These are tricky as they are worthless as a Globalist since you already have access. But if you aren’t already a Globalist, working your way to them, they do have value. But since we are talking specifically about the value of Globalist status, I am going to say these have no value.
- Benefits of lower tiers are nice (daily water bottle) but don’t really have a monetary value to me.
So when I add up these benefits, including the benefits earned through Milestone Rewards, and I come up with a valuation of $1,105. Without the Milestone Rewards (in other words, with just the benefits of Globalist status), I would value status at $505.
This actually seems very reasonable to me. I would consider keeping a credit card that gave me Globalist status and came with an annual fee of $500. If someone offered me Globalist status for a year AND the Milestone Rewards, I would probably pay $1,100 cash for it if I knew I was going to be traveling a lot in the coming year.
What value do you place on Hyatt Globalist status? Share in the comments below.