How credit card points helped save my sanity (and maintain elite status) as a new parent
As a relatively new parent, I'm frequently trying to manage stress. And as a points and miles geek, I'm always looking for ways to maximize the benefits within my favorite rewards programs.
Fortunately, I came up with a pretty good way to do both of those things last year after my wife and I had our first child.
Here's how I use my credit card points to cope with the new pressures of parenthood and maintain elite status with my favorite hotel program.
Why I value Hyatt Explorist elite status
I've held Explorist status with World of Hyatt for several years now. And even though I knew having a child would mean not traveling as much as my wife and I normally might during that first year, I didn't want it to cost me my elite status. Explorist is the middle level of Hyatt's three-tier elite status hierarchy. You can earn each tier in the following ways:
- Discoverist: Stay 10 nights, book three meetings and events or earn 25,000 base points (the equivalent of $5,000 in spending). You can also get automatic Discoverist status by being a World of Hyatt Credit Card (see rates and fees) holder.
- Explorist: Stay 30 nights, book 10 meetings and events or earn 50,000 base points (the equivalent of $10,000 in spending).
- Globalist: Stay 60 nights, book 20 meetings and events or earn 100,000 base points (the equivalent of $20,000 in spending).
While it's still a far cry from all of the amazing benefits you'd get with Globalist status, I've been very pleased with my experience as an Explorist. This level comes with great perks like a free night award, 20% more bonus points on your spending, guaranteed room availability on paid reservations and upgrades to the best available room (excluding suites) at check-in.
And while you can still get solid perks at the Discoverist level, I've gotten far more noteworthy room upgrades and felt a more hospitable experience overall ever since I first reached Explorist. Since your status level is determined by the previous year's activity, I was determined to make sure I hit 30 qualifying nights in 2024 to maintain my Explorist status.
Related: World of Hyatt elite status: What it is and how to earn it
Redeeming credit card points on "staycations"
One great thing about points and miles is that they aren't just a fun currency for taking international or grandiose trips. Your credit card rewards can also come in handy when you're just trying to make life a little easier.
I'm sure a lot of parents would agree that the first year of parenthood brings many joys, but also many challenges. And among the keys to success are finding ways to avoid burnout and supporting each other through the stressful moments.
So with this in mind, my wife and I devised a gradual staycation "mattress run" throughout our first year as new parents. In 2024, we would book one-night stays at our local Hyatt Regency and alternate who got to take a night off from parental duties and enjoy a quiet night to themselves downtown.
How to maximize points, even when you're not traveling
Earlier in the year, I estimated I'd end up about 10 to 12 nights short of hitting 30 qualifying nights needed to hit Explorist status, so we set out to book a room at our local Hyatt about once per month.
We're fortunate to have a very nice Category 1 Hyatt hotel in our city. You can usually get a standard room at these lowest-tier Hyatt properties for 5,000 points per night, or 3,500 points for off-peak nights. And what's great about World of Hyatt is it's one of the few hotel programs that still publishes an award chart, so you can see ahead of time which nights have standard, peak or off-peak rates.
Each month, we would look at our plans and compare award rates at the Hyatt Regency Rochester. This enabled us to scoop up as many nights as we could at the off-peak rate, which worked out to be the vast majority of the nights we booked. And with my Explorist status, we could always count on getting upgraded to a high floor with sweeping views over the city and Lake Ontario.
The right card can make the difference
What I may be most proud of in this scheme is the fact that I didn't even have to burn through my stash of Hyatt points to make this "new parents staycation" happen.
I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) and use it to cover most of our everyday spending, such as online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), dining and select streaming services (note that these categories earn 3 points per dollar spent). Therefore, we earn upward of 3,600 Chase Ultimate Rewards points each month. And because I'm able to transfer my Chase points 1:1 into my World of Hyatt account, we were effectively earning enough points in real time to cover our monthly stays throughout the year.
Bottom line
By the end of 2024, I had redeemed 47,000 Hyatt points to cover 14 nights (12 completely free nights, plus a couple more we had booked at the Points + Cash rate.) Had we paid cash for all of those stays, we would have spent over $2,100.
Saving $2,100 just by using the right card for your everyday expenses is a great value for anyone, let alone a young family. And maintaining your sanity as a first-year parent — well, that's just priceless.
And, yes, I locked in my Explorist status through February 2026. So now the whole family can enjoy Hyatt room upgrades.
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