Why I'm Changing My Credit Card Strategy To Avoid This 1 Hyatt Globalist Mistake

Over the past few years, most of my daily income has gone towards one main goal: unlocking World of Hyatt Globalist elite status by spending money on my World of Hyatt Credit Card.

Everything from monthly insurance premiums and doctor visits to home repairs and everyday expenses (which aren't already top bonus categories on other cards) are covered pretty well on my Hyatt credit card.

The reason I've been doing this is two-fold: to unlock World of Hyatt points and make progress towards earning Hyatt elite status at the rate of two elite nights for every $5,000 charged to the card.

To unlock Hyatt Globalist status and its key benefits, you need to earn 60 exclusive nights per calendar year. The benefits that Hyatt Globalist status gives you include free breakfast, suite upgrades, bonus points on stays, late check-out and early check-in. Although I earn a fair amount of those nights through paid stays and Hyatt awards, I use the nights earned from credit card spending to make up the gap.

Only this year, there is a problem. It made me surprisingly slow down using this card even though it was a big hit on my wallet.

You see, if you hit 60 Hyatt nights in a calendar year and officially earn Globalist status for the following calendar year, you also receive a number of other Hyatt Milestone Awards. The rewards are things like two Suite upgrade awards, two Honorary Guest awards and a Category 1-7 award certificate that allows you to stay “free” at any Hyatt up to its second highest award category.

That all sounds great, but there is a wrinkle.

Unlike most parts of Hyatt elite status, which are valid for the entire year you earn it and the entire following calendar year, the high-value Tier 1-7 award is only valid for six months after you earn it. Unlike other Milestone Rewards that don't fully activate until you choose them, the clock starts ticking immediately after you earn them.

Usually, I don't hit 60 nights and open Globalist status until December, but this year, I'm running (way) ahead of schedule. This is due to the higher cost of hitting that card earlier in the year, some of the Hyatt double elite promos and longer than expected Hyatt stays due to weather, illness and the like.

As I write this in late July, I've already stayed 51 eligible nights on my 2024 account, with another seven eligible nights for scheduled stays that occur in August (including another two-night elite stay in Florida).

That means I'll be knocking on the Globalist status door more in August or September instead of December as usual.

On the other hand, that's good news, as it means it's over again (and I need to switch to my United card, as I'm running behind there). On the other hand, it's bad news because I like to use my Grade 1-7 award for a summer trip when the kids get out of school in June; in my current way, that won't happen.

We like to use the certificate for short trips to New York City to stay at the Thompson Central Park New York or even the Andaz 5th Avenue, which can cost 35,000 Hyatt points per night.

If I lead the Hyatt Globalist position in late December as usual, that's the perfect timeline. But if I get it in September, then the certificate for Section 1-7 will expire in March. Because of how, when and where we travel, I won't have nearly as many opportunities to use this benefit in the months it is available as I will be on summer vacation. This means I'm diverting spending away from my Hyatt card and maybe even rethinking future Hyatt stays to try to slow down when I hit 60 nights.

It would be best if the Phase 1-7 award could share the same expiration date as most of the other Globalist status features and have a limited expiration status of at least one full year of validity, regardless of how early in the year it is earned. . Or, it would be nice if you could start the clock on expiration at a later date if you choose.

In fact, I may have gone too far to stop the train at this point and avoid qualifying for 60 nights until December. It might be better to lose the Stage 1-7 certificate upgrade and aim to stay 70 nights this year instead, as that will unlock a $300 Find Experience gift card that we can use to see Broadway shows.

Still, it's amazing (and a little frustrating) that Hyatt could create a system that doesn't show up to hit 60 nights early. At least until I fully admit defeat, I'm trying to delay opening what should be the year's biggest points and milestones.

Bottom line

We are often drawn to trying to unlock the benefits of a situation as quickly as possible, but sometimes it is worth looking at whether you can strategize and unlock them at a time that suits you and your lifestyle best. It is a good practice to check your progress and forecast periodically when you may reach certain limits so that you can plan well when you need more benefits.

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