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For the past few years, most of my daily spending has gone toward one main goal: unlocking World of Hyatt Globalist Elite status by spending on my World of Hyatt credit card.

Everything from monthly insurance payments and doctor visits to home repairs and daily expenses (which aren’t already much of a bonus category on other cards) are pretty much funneled into my Hyatt credit card.

The reason I’m doing this is two-fold: to unlock World of Hyatt points and to progress toward Hyatt Elite status for every $5,000 of two elite nights on the card.

To unlock Hyatt Globalist status and its valuable benefits, you need to earn 60 elite nights per calendar year. Benefits that Hyatt Globalist status gives you include free breakfast, suite upgrades, bonus points on stays, late checkout and early check-in. When I earn a fair amount of those nights through both paid and award Hyatt stays, I use the nights earned from credit card spending to close the gap.

Only this year, there’s a problem. Even though it’s a powerhouse in my wallet, I’ve been slowing spending on this card dramatically.

You see, when you earn 60 Hyatt nights in one calendar year and officially receive Globalist status for the following calendar year, you also receive a number of other Hyatt milestone rewards. Awards are things like two suite upgrade awards, two guest of honor awards, and a category 1-7 award certificate that allows you to stay “free” on any Hyatt up to those in its second-highest award category.

It all sounds great, but there is a wrinkle.

Unlike most parts of Hyatt Elite status, which are valid for the rest of the year you earn it and all calendar years after that, the high-value Category 1-7 award is only valid for six months after you earn it. Unlike some milestone rewards that don’t fully activate until you choose them, the clock starts ticking as soon as you earn them.

Normally, I don’t unlock 60 nights and Globalist status until December, but this year, I’m running (way) ahead of schedule. That’s thanks to some pretty big spending hits on cards earlier this year, some staying alive longer than expected due to Hyatt’s double elite status promo and some weather, illness and the like.

As I write this in late July, I’m already sitting on 51 eligible nights in my account for 2024, with seven more eligible nights of planned stays coming up in August (counting another Double Elite night stay in Florida).

That means I’ll be knocking on the door to globalist status in August or September instead of December as usual.

On the one hand, that’s good news, because it means it’s done (and I need to change the spend to my United card, because I’m really running behind there). On the other hand, that’s bad news because I prefer to use my Category 1-7 award for summer travel when the kids are out of school in June; With my current path, that won’t be possible.

We like to use the certificate for a short trip to New York City to stay at the Thompson Central Park New York or the Andaz 5th Avenue, which can otherwise cost up to 35,000 Hyatt points per night.

If I earn Hyatt Globalist status in late December like usual, that’s a perfect timeline. But if I earn it in September, the category 1-7 certificate will expire in March. Because of how, when, and where we travel, I don’t have nearly as many opportunities to use this benefit in the months that are available during summer vacation. This means I’m actively removing spending from my Hyatt card and maybe rethinking some upcoming Hyatt stays to try to slow down when I hit 60 nights.

It would be preferable if Category 1-7 awards shared the same expiration date as most other components of globalist status and had continuous expiration status with at least a full year of usefulness, regardless of how quickly it was earned in the year. . Or, it would be great if you could start the clock on expiration at a later date if you choose.

To be honest, I might be too far gone to stop the train at this point and avoid qualifying for 60 nights until December. Better to take the loss on optimizing the Category 1-7 certificate and instead aim to stay 70 nights this year, as that will unlock a $300 Discover Experience gift card that we can use to see a Broadway show.

Still, it’s odd (and a little disappointing) that Hyatt would devise a system that discourages hitting 60 nights too early. I’m trying to delay unlocking what should be a really big annual points and miles milestone, at least until I fully admit defeat.

Bottom line

We often get caught up in trying to unlock status benefits as quickly as possible, but sometimes it’s worth seeing if you can be more strategic and unlock them at a time that suits you and your lifestyle better. It’s a good habit to periodically check your progress and forecast when you’re likely to hit a certain threshold so you can strategically plan for when you really need the extra benefits.

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