World of Hyatt Globalist members who qualify for their tier with a full 60 nights receive an annual free night certificate that Hyatt used to advertise as “good for any Hyatt worldwide” but that’s no longer the case.
Hyatt has now classified many good properties as Category 8 and the certificate that Globalist members receive after 60 nights is applicable to properties in Category 1-7.
This takes a lot of highly desirable properties off the table and unfortunately, the number of hotels that are in category 8 has grown steadily.
You can find the Free Night Certificate in your online account under “Awards”
What’s important to know is also, once the award is deposited after the 60th-night posts to the account, it is valid for just six months before it expires.
This also creates quite a few problems as suddenly you have to find a purpose for the award within these six months which might not exactly align with your personal travel schedule.
These are the terms for the award itself:
Free Night Award must be redeemed in connection with a reservation with a checkout date before the award expiration date. Free Night Award is valid for one (1) night in any available standard room at a Hyatt hotel or resort, Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotel, or MGM Rewards destinations hotel designated on worldofhyatt.com as Category one (1) through seven (7) or as category A-D in Hyatt’s award chart for all-inclusive properties. Not valid at hotels or resorts classified by Hyatt in a category higher than 7 in the standard award chart, higher than D in the all-inclusive award chart, or not covered by either of these award charts, Miraval resorts, or any of the Standard-room Award Ineligible Properties. Hyatt reserves the right to reclassify any hotel or resort at any time for any reason in its sole discretion (provided that reclassification of a hotel or resort will not affect a previously booked award reservation). Free Night Award applies only to available standard rooms as defined by each hotel or resort and is not subject to blackout dates at Hyatt hotels and resorts. Subject to occupancy limitations as set out in the World of Hyatt terms. Free Night Award cannot be redeemed for packages. Free Night Award may be applied only to the guest room and does not apply toward food, beverage, incidental expenses, service charges, or hotel-specific charges. Free Night Award reservations must be made in advance via your My Awards page, or by calling 800.544.9288 or a Hyatt Global Care Center. For complete terms and conditions of the World of Hyatt program, including additional terms applicable to the use of this award, see worldofhyatt.com/terms.
You can access Hyatt’s website and search hotels by category here.
A few highly desirable hotels that immediately come to mind when talking about free night certificate use are Park Hyatt Paris, Park Hyatt Sydney, Park Hyatt Kyoto, Park Hyatt New York, and Andaz Maui.
Not only has Hyatt increased the points requirements for hotels over the years (remember when a night at Park Hyatt Tokyo was 18,000 points?), but they have also introduced these new award categories plus seasonal awards on top of it all.
Not only can’t the Park Hyatt Kyoto be booked with the free night certificate, it’s also 45,000 points per night when you want to stay next week for example. That’s simply obscene, especially considering how difficult it is to earn Hyatt points with regular hotel spending.
On the positive side, you can use the Cat 7 Free Night no matter what season it is, meaning even if a hotel is in peak season and would cost 35,000 points, you can apply the certificate. I will probably just burn my certificate for a birthday stay next week. It wouldn’t really be necessary as we live nearby but my cert will expire by the end of January, and this way, at least, I get some use out of it.
In the past, members have sometimes been able to get Hyatt to exchange the Free Night into points when they couldn’t find use for the free night in time. This seems to be at the discretion of the agent/concierge, though and I wouldn’t count on it. The best is to find a good use for the certificate in due time.
Conclusion
Once you qualify for World of Hyatt Globalist with 60 nights, the program will deposit a free night certificate, good for categories 1-7, into your account. This certificate has a validity of only 6 months and a lot of desirable properties within the Hyatt portfolio are now excluded as they have been moved to category 8.
The free night is a new feature ever since Hyatt Gold Passport was changed into World of Hyatt and the requirement for Globalist (formerly Diamond) was changed from 25 stays/50 nights to now 60 nights per year. Some people like the new system, and some hate it. I feel it has gotten better for me under the new scheme but 60 nights are a lot to stem.
Did you have any problems properly utilizing your Globalist Free Night?
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