How to Enjoy Top-Tier Globalist Benefits with World of Hyatt's Guest of Honor Awards

As a World of Hyatt Globalist member, you can indulge in a variety of perks including complimentary breakfast, 4 p.m. late checkout, waived parking and resort fees, club lounge access, and suite upgrades when available. But what if you lack this coveted Globalist status yet still wish to enjoy these fantastic benefits? Thankfully, there’s a solution.

Previously, Hyatt permitted all Globalist members to share their elite benefits when booking award stays for others. However, starting January 1, Hyatt introduced significant changes to its loyalty program, including the much sought-after "Guest of Honor" awards. This makes it simpler than ever for fellow Hyatt travelers to access Globalist benefits. In fact, you can even gift Globalist status to yourself before attaining this prestigious level. In this article, we’ll delve into the details of the World of Hyatt Guest of Honor awards.

How to Earn Hyatt Guest of Honor Awards

A notable feature of the World of Hyatt program is the ability for members to earn "Milestone Rewards" after achieving a certain number of qualifying nights or base points. At each tier, members receive a designated reward or can choose from a list of options. The rewards vary by level, with the Guest of Honor award being a frequently mentioned option.

By applying a Guest of Honor award to your reservation, you unlock all the in-house benefits associated with Globalist status — the highest elite tier in Hyatt’s program. This is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy numerous perks, such as upgraded room types (including possible suite upgrades), late checkout, waived resort fees, access to club lounges, and complimentary breakfast. These advantages can enhance your stay and lead to substantial savings.

As indicated in the reward chart above, you automatically earn a Guest of Honor reward once you reach the following thresholds:

• 40 nights or 65,000 base points (one earned)
• 60 nights or 100,000 base points (two earned)
• 70 nights (one earned)
• 80 nights (one earned)
• 90 nights (one earned)
• 110 nights (one earned)
• 120 nights (one earned)
• 130 nights (one earned)
• 140 nights (one earned)

You can earn a maximum of 10 Guest of Honor rewards in a single year. For those who usually achieve Globalist status by reaching the 60-night mark, you'll receive three Guest of Honor awards annually.

This provides plenty of chances for a friend or family member to enjoy the benefits of Globalist status on one reservation (for stays of up to seven nights). Unlike previous policies where a Guest of Honor award was limited to points reservations, these awards can now be applied to both paid and points bookings. Furthermore, if using points, the individual benefiting from the Guest of Honor award can use points from their own account.

However, only one award may be applied per reservation, meaning you cannot combine a free night certificate with a Guest of Honor award. Similarly, if you have a Suite Upgrade Award in your account, it cannot be used in conjunction with a Guest of Honor award either.

Remember, you can also earn qualifying nights through credit card spending with both the World of Hyatt Credit Card and the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card. With the World of Hyatt Credit Card, you automatically receive five tier-qualifying nights each calendar year. Additionally, you earn two extra tier-qualifying night credits for every $5,000 spent on the card each calendar year.

If you possess the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card, you'll earn five tier-qualifying night credits for every $10,000 spent annually. This ability to accumulate extra tier-qualifying nights through spending on these two cards enables high-spenders to quickly achieve Milestone Rewards.

Extra Guest of Honor Opportunities for 2024

For the year 2024, individuals with Globalist (or Lifetime Globalist) status as of December 31, 2023, received five bonus Guest of Honor awards at the beginning of the year. These awards are in addition to those earned throughout the year as part of Milestone Rewards and can be gifted and redeemed in the same way, with an expiration date of February 28, 2025.

Moreover, World of Hyatt is providing a special benefit for those who concluded 2023 with Globalist status. Globalist members (as of December 31, 2023) will be able to access the legacy Guest of Honor benefit after all their Guest of Honor awards have been used or given away. Under the legacy Guest of Honor benefits, only rooms booked as free night award stays can receive Globalist perks. To utilize this, the Globalist member must call Hyatt directly to arrange this Guest of Honor stay. For these bookings, the Globalist member does not need to be present in the room (or at the property) but must use points from their own account to secure the stay.

Globalist members can take advantage of this benefit until their Globalist status was originally set to expire as of December 31, 2023. For most members who earned status in 2023, this means legacy Guest of Honor reservations can be made through February 28, 2025.

How to Book Guest of Honor Awards

Upon logging into your World of Hyatt account, you'll find all the awards you've earned, including Guest of Honor awards. From this section, you can choose to either "Gift" or "Redeem" each award individually.

To gift an award to a friend or family member, log into your account and navigate to the "Awards" section. In the Hyatt app, select the radio button next to the award you wish to gift, then choose the "GIFT" option below it. If you're using the Hyatt website, click the three dots next to the award and select "Gift Your Award." On the next page, you'll need to input the recipient's World of Hyatt membership number and last name. Once the award is gifted, the recipient will see it in their account almost immediately.

Once an award has been gifted, it cannot be transferred again to another person. Therefore, ensure that your recipient is able to use the award before finalizing the transfer.

Redeeming a gifted award is very straightforward. If you’ve already made your reservation and wish to add the Guest of Honor award, you’ll need to call Hyatt to have the award applied manually. However, if you haven’t booked yet, you can easily apply the Guest of Honor award during the reservation process. After selecting your desired hotel and dates, look for the "Available Awards" section above the room rate options. All of your earned (or gifted) awards should appear here, allowing you to select the "Guest of Honor Award" option. If, by chance, the award isn’t displayed, you can always contact Hyatt directly for assistance.

Proceed to book your reservation as you usually would, and on the final booking page, you’ll notice that a Guest of Honor award has been applied.

If you’re using your own earned Guest of Honor award, the redemption process is the same since the award is already in your account. This can be particularly useful if you haven’t achieved Globalist status yet but have received a Guest of Honor award after completing 40 nights (or accumulating 65,000 base points).

Guest of Honor Guidelines

The Guest of Honor program is straightforward and ultimately enables you to share your Globalist perks throughout the year by gifting a Guest of Honor award to a friend or family member.

While this is a significant advantage for the recipient, there's also a notable benefit for the member gifting the award. Although the recipient earns the qualifying stays toward status, the member who gifts the award still receives one qualifying stay for the entire duration of the reservation. For instance, if your friend or family member uses the Guest of Honor award for a five-night stay, you will still earn one qualifying stay toward your status, even if you’re not actually staying in the hotel room. However, this benefit only applies to Guest of Honor awards that are redeemed, not to those booked via the legacy method.

Furthermore, once you earn a Guest of Honor award, it remains valid for the remainder of the year plus an additional 14 months. This means awards will expire on the last day of February, two calendar years after they are earned. For example, any Guest of Honor award acquired in 2024 will expire on February 28, 2026. It’s important to ensure your checkout date is on or before the expiration date, as this is not merely a "book by" date.

However, booking a Guest of Honor reservation may not be possible at all Hyatt properties, as outlined in Hyatt's terms and conditions:

Guest of Honor benefits can only be utilized for gifted awards that are redeemed at participating locations such as Park Hyatt, Miraval, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Andaz, Hyatt Centric, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Thompson Hotels, Alila (select locations only), JdV by Hyatt, Dream (select locations only), Destination by Hyatt (both participating Destination Hotels and participating Destination Residences), Caption by Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Vivid, Impression by Secrets, Secrets, Breathless, Zoëtry, Alua, Sunscape, or other Legacy AMR Collection (select locations only) hotels or resorts. These benefits are not valid at Vacation Ownership Properties.

In summary

World of Hyatt provides a unique opportunity to share elite benefits with friends and family, even if you’re not traveling together. With the option to book a Guest of Honor reservation for both free nights and paid stays, it's now easier than ever for others to enjoy the fantastic perks you receive.