Hyatt 20 Nights Milestone Reward Explained

Before looking at each of the four choices, it is important to understand a key term called QNC: Qualifying Night Credit and how you can earn them:

• By default you earn one QNC for each night you stay at a Hyatt hotel.
• All benefits with Hyatt typically reset every calendar year which means you have to re-qualify to maintain status/benefits.
• There are other ways in which you can earn QNC's that do not require spending nights at a Hyatt hotel. For example, you can start each year with 5 QNC's just by holding the World of Hyatt Personal Credit Card from Chase. This is very helpful since you would need only 15 more nights to achieve the first milestone reward at 20 nights.
• You can track your milestone reward progress based on QNC's on the Hyatt App/Website.

For the 20 nights milestone reward, you get to pick one of four choices. Note that your selection is irreversible so you cannot change your mind. Let’s take a closer look at each of the four options to help you choose the one that’s right for you.

1. 2K Next Stay Award

You can earn 2,000 Hyatt Bonus points by completing a stay at a Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Caption by Hyatt, Me and All Hotels, Hyatt Studios or UrCove hotel.

For most people, this is the better option. Here's why:

• 2,000 Hyatt points are worth at least $40 based on each Hyatt point being worth at least 2 CPP (Cents Per Point).
• You have 180 days i.e. six months to complete your stay from the date of selecting the award.
• You can potentially get 9 months to complete your stay if you delay selecting the award until the end of your 90 days award selection clock i.e. Hyatt gives you 90 days to make your choice and 180 days to complete your stay from the day you make your selection.
• Hyatt Place has the largest footprint among all Hyatt brands, with over 411 locations worldwide. This means, it will likely be very easy to find a Hyatt Place for your next stay without going out of your way.
• You can pay for your stay using multiple options all of which are eligible for the 2k award i.e. cash, points or Free Night Awards.
• Sometimes Hyatt offers additional promotions to earn even more points which you can stack such as earn 3k points for 3 nights, 5k points for 5 nights etc. at a Hyatt Hyatt Place, Hyatt House and Hyatt Studios.
• The one gotcha to be aware of is that you can only earn bonus points from one 2K Next Stay award per stay. So, if you have multiple 2K Next Stay awards in your account, you'll have to complete multiple stays.
• Once you register, your next qualifying stay will automatically trigger the 2k bonus points. No additional action is needed.
• The award is triggered by your checkout date, so it works for stays that were booked even before earning/choosing the milestone.
• Hyatt points will usually not expire (unless of course the account remains inactive for 24 months with no qualifying activity).

Here's how you actually make the selection on Hyatt's website or App:

2. Two Club Access Awards

You can choose to get two club access awards that are valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which they were earned, plus an additional fourteen (14) months. But what does club access mean?

Some Hyatt hotels and resorts have a Club lounge that offers guests enhanced amenities and services such as complimentary breakfast, snacks and beverages throughout the day, and often evening appetizers. These lounges much like airport lounges provide quiet spaces and are often located at desirable places on the property such as the highest floor with panoramic views.

To have access to a club Lounge at Hyatt you usually have to be staying in suites, club rooms, or have Globalist status (the highest status with the Hyatt loyalty program). However, the Club Access Awards is an alternative way to access the lounge even without staying in a Club Room, suite or having globalist status. You can even gift this award to other members or apply it to a second room on your reservation as a globalist. Moreover, it can be redeemed for a maximum of seven (7) consecutive nights. Sounds great right?

In theory it sounds great but there are several conditions and gotchas which has made this perk harder to use especially post covid. Below are just some of the reasons:

• Not all Hyatt properties have lounges. Moreover, there is no list of available clubs from Hyatt for the properties that do have it. The quality of the clubs isn't consistent across properties either.
• Post covid many lounges in USA have shutdown and have not re-opened. You have better chances to use it internationally though such as in Asia or Europe where like Priority Pass lounges you can get outsized value from lounge access.
• You must redeem Club Lounge Access Awards prior to check-in for the underlying reservation. But not all bookings allow applying club access awards. Many properties have restrictions when booking (e.g. club is at capacity) which prevents the award from being applied.
• They are not valid with many brands such as Caption by Hyatt, Hyatt House, Hyatt Place, Me and All Hotels, Hyatt Studios, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Miraval, The Standard, The StandardX, Bunkhouse, Destination by Hyatt Residences, or Hyatt Vacation Club hotels and resorts.
• If you're a Globalist it generally has no value because you already have access to club lounges.

3. $25 Find Experience Credit

FIND Experiences by World of Hyatt offers over 500 unique activities worldwide designed to inspire and support your wellbeing. World of Hyatt members (Free to join) can earn up to 10 points per $1 spent. FIND Credit is valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which it is issued, plus an additional fourteen (14) months. The code will be sent by email and can be added to your Hyatt user profile for later use.

Note that FIND experiences are country specific and do not require a hotel stay. In most cases it is better to have a specific redemption experience in mind if you want to pick this option. Generally speaking, many members find that these experiences can be overpriced for what they offer when compared to booking direct or using other third party platforms.

For example, a 7 hour walking tour of NYC costs $844 whereas a similar experience on Tripadvisor costs $89. On the other hand, broadway shows in NYC can be redeemed at comparable or better value. For example, The Lion King on Broadway costs about $207 with Hyatt which is similar to buying direct. With Hyatt though, your costs can be offset with the FIND credit and 10X points.

4. Two Preferred Seat Coupons on American Airlines

If you have linked your AAdvantage account to your Hyatt profile then you get a fourth redemption option which offers two Preferred Seat Coupons on American Airlines which are valid for 365 days from the date of issuance.

This does not offer a good redemption value since these are what show up as "green seats" during your seat selection. The only real benefit they offer is that your seats will be closer to the front i.e. upgrade your "basic" seat to a "preferred" seat in a more favorable location. This would have been more valuable if they were "orange seats" that offer early boarding, extra legroom, complimentary snacks and drinks etc.

The booking process with American Airlines is also somewhat cumbersome when applying this award. If your flight/booking is cancelled, it is unclear if your awards will be restored. If you have status with AA, this becomes even less appealing since you get free seat selection via "gold status" with AA.

Looking Ahead: Keep in mind, this is just the first of the 11 Milestone Rewards that Hyatt offers. The rewards only get better as you progress. For example, at 30 nights, you not only receive a Category 1–4 Free Night Award but also get to choose one of the four options we discussed above.

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