It was only a matter of time until the revaluation took place. With the economy frozen and TPOL grounded (see The Covid Trip Report), companies are beginning to do anything they can to inspire travel. Whether it is huge credit card bonuses (see JetBlue 100k Business Card App: The Wait Begins) or extending status, incentives are percolating. This brings me to Hyatt which announced the 2021 version of the Hyatt Diamond Challenge where I have to stay 30 nights to reattain Globalist status (see That’s Me in the Corner Losing My Globalist Status). 25 used to be the magic number before Hyatt made it next to impossible for people like myself to qualify by moving it up to 60 nights (see Chasing Status in 2020: A Worthless Pursuit?, written January 2nd before Covid). While 30 would be manageable over a year, Hyatt has made it easy in 3 ways.
- 5 nights towards status simply by having the World of Hyatt Credit Card.
- Double qualifying nights towards status for all stays in January and February 2021.
- 25% rebate on points redemptions during those months.
Unfortunately, reaching Globalist doesn’t automatically come with Diamond Suite Upgrades like the old days. More stays are required to unlock those and other perks.
The question is how far will I go and how I will get there.
Let’s start with the first milestone: achieving 30 nights. I could stay at a Category 1 for 13 nights which would cost 48,750 points (5k*13=65k points minus .25*65k=16,250 rebate). This would give me 26 nights plus the five nights from the card.
Is this a good deal? If so, is it worth pushing it to 40 nights? For me, the answer is no and no. I do not like that I am throwing away 48,750 points for a mattress run to begin with and the extra perks aren’t inspiring.
I am willing to apply my current Hyatt balance of 30k towards this endeavor because I would’ve burnt them in 2020. Contrast those points with MRs and URs that I prefer to use towards flights.
Assuming I used the 30k points, I would be at 17 nights earned, leaving another 13. That’s still a ways to go to reach Globalist. To bridge the gap, I would spend 15k on my World of Hyatt Credit card. Every 5k spent results in 2 nights towards status. Not only does this bring me to 7 nights remaining but also I would receive a certificate for a Category 1-4 free stay.
Still, 7 nights requires a little bit of work to achieve, not to mention that those 7 nights would be at the Discoverist level. The solution is to transfer 5k points from Chase and stay one more night in a Category 1 before the end of February 2020, leaving me with 5 nights before Globalist.
For those nights, I will parlay my 4 Club Access Awards and my sob story about how close I am to reaching Globalist into a room upgrade, if not a suite upgrade.* For one of those 5 nights I will be using my stay certificate. For the remaining 4, I wouldn’t mind transferring URs because it’s for vacation, not for a mattress run.
*Charm is required to make this plan work. Sorry Gene, leave it to FCQ for this step.
Total Cost
35k points of which 25% is refunded: 8,750 balance
15k spend which is 1x points per dollar spent on daily purchases and 2x on restaurants. Assume I average $500 a month going out to eat: 12000 points + 9000= 21k earned
Resulting Balance: 29,750
That number should look familiar. It’s the 30k I originally had in my account.
Overall
- The credit card gives me 5 stays: 30-5=25
- The mattress run will be for 6 nights giving me 12 stays: 25-12=13
- One night stand mattress run gives me 2 more nights: 13-2=11
- The 15k credit card spend of 15k gives me 6 stays: 11-6=5
- A free stay certificate gives me another night: 5-1=4
- 4 club access awards makes staying as a Discoverist tolerable (see The Hyatt Regency Mexico City Review): 4-4=0
Now if I had a way to get back that extra 5k this would’ve been a true masterpiece! I have some ideas (see Have You Ever Not Complained?).
Oh boy. You are all over the board on this post. OUCH
Gjkutgb o r to your comment
The quality of your reply is only surpassed by the quality of your post. How long have you been attempting to blog?
Move onto the next blog if you don’t like my writing or quality. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.
What if i told u that it only takes 15 nights to get there lol
I’m listening
Hyatt lowered the 2021 qualifications by half! With the double nights promo, you just need 15 nights by end of Feb to get a Globalist status. Now, if you want to chase all rewards at 50 and 60n, that’s up for you. But for me, 15n for Globalist is definitely worth it even for a mattress run
I’m lost. Maybe your first comment was a joke. I know they lowered the req. That’s what the post was about.
What I have now:
– 134K Hyatt points
– Chase Hyatt CC
– One free night from CC
Here is my strategy for Globalist without the frills:
– Chase CC gets me 5 nights on 1/1
– 13 nights combo of points stays & the freebie before end of promo
Mission accomplished! 🙂
True but where you going to spend your 13 nights?
Hyatt Regency Sukhumvit – I already emailed the experience manager asking her for the best accommodations points can buy! 🙂
Before end of February?
Yes, first stay starts on 12/30 and ends on 1/2/21