There are many benefits I love about Hyatt’s top tier Globalist status, though arguably my single favorite perk is the suite upgrade awards that members can earn. In this post, I’d like to take a closer look at how this benefit works. How can they be used, what are the restrictions with redeeming them, and just how valuable are they?
To me this is such a spectacular benefit — while several hotel loyalty programs offer room upgrades subject to availability at check-in, World of Hyatt has the most valuable suite upgrades that you can use to confirm at the time of booking.
As a point of comparison:
- IHG One Rewards suite upgrade awards can confirm an upgrade up to 14 days out
- Marriott Bonvoy nightly upgrade awards can confirm an upgrade up to five days out and are capacity controlled
- Accor Live Limitless suite night upgrades have capacity controls and often require you to book a premium room category
- Hilton Honors is introducing a new Diamond Reserve tier (with an $18K spending requirement), which will offer one suite upgrade award that can be used to confirm an upgrade at the time of booking, and it remains to be seen what capacity controls will be like
Any frequent traveler can appreciate the significance of being able to confirm an upgrade at the time if booking — it allows you to lock in upgrades for the stays that matter most to you, without having to chance it.
Just to crunch some basic numbers:
- Someone earning 60 elite nights in a year could select up to five suite upgrade awards
- Someone earning 150 elite nights in a year could select up to 14 suite upgrade awards
- Those numbers don’t include the four extra suite upgrade awards you would receive if you’re a lifetime Globalist member
Even elite nights earned through Hyatt’s co-branded credit cards count toward earning suite upgrade awards. Suite upgrade awards post almost immediately after a member reaches a particular threshold.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
