How a simple game of bingo can get you up to five free nights with Hyatt

One of the best perks in the hotel industry just got even better.

With this perk, you can earn a free night award valid at any Category 1-4 World of Hyatt property every time you visit five unique Hyatt brands. And thanks to Hyatt’s recent Inclusive Collection announcement, you can earn up to five free nights, up from four in past years.

While those with the World of Hyatt Credit Card can earn two free nights each year -- the anniversary free night and another that comes after spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year -- anyone can participate in this game to earn up to five free nights at Hyatt properties.

This lesser-known perk, dubbed Brand Explorer, is essentially World of Hyatt’s version of bingo. And it's arguably one of the easiest ways to earn a free night award without even trying.

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World of Hyatt Brand Explorer perk overview

Brand Explorer exists to entice World of Hyatt members to experience all of the different brands Hyatt has under its umbrella. Plain and simple, it allows you to earn a Category 1-4 free night award for every five unique Hyatt brands you stay at.

This perk is available to all World of Hyatt members. You don’t need to be an elite member or carry a specific credit card. There’s also no additional registration required and no end date. Unlike other World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards, this benefit isn’t tied to the calendar year — it runs over the lifetime of the account. So, infrequent Hyatt guests can take as long as they need to reach the threshold.

Any qualifying stay attached to your World of Hyatt account counts, including both paid nights and award nights. The only major exception is stays booked through third parties, which typically don’t earn World of Hyatt credit. You only need to spend one night with each brand, and there’s no minimum spending requirement.

Related: 16 incredible hotels you’d never know belonged to World of Hyatt

Hyatt hotel brands

With the addition of multiple all-inclusive properties after the acquisition of Apple Leisure Group, Hyatt currently offers 26 different brands. That means you can currently earn up to five free nights through this promotion. They range from the ultra-luxurious Park Hyatt to the boutique Destination by Hyatt, all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara and family-friendly Hyatt House and Hyatt Place properties:

• Hyatt
• Park Hyatt
• Andaz
• Alila
• Alua Hotels & Resorts
• Breathless Resorts & Spas
• Caption by Hyatt
• Dreams Resorts & Spas
• Grand Hyatt
• Hyatt Ziva
• Hyatt Zilara
• Miraval
• The Unbound Collection by Hyatt
• Hyatt Regency
• Hyatt Centric
• Hyatt House
• Hyatt Place
• Secrets Resorts & Spas
• Sunscape Resorts & Spas
• Thompson Hotels
• Destination by Hyatt.
• JdV by Hyatt
• Hyatt Residence Club
• UrCove by Hyatt
• Vivid Hotels & Resorts
• Zoetry Wellness & Spa Resorts

Related: Your ultimate guide to Hyatt hotel brands

Tracking your Brand Explorer progress

Fortunately, Hyatt makes it easy to track your Brand Explorer progress. To see how many brands you’ve stayed at so far, head to your online World of Hyatt account and click the “My Awards” tab.

From there, simply click on the “Brand Explorer” button to see which brands you’ve stayed at and how many more you need to visit to earn a free night. Brands you’ve stayed at are shown in color with a checkmark at the top right corner while the rest are grayed out.

Redeeming Brand Explorer free nights

As soon as you hit five unique brands, you’ll automatically be issued a Category 1-4 free night certificate. These are treated like any other Hyatt free night awards. They’re valid for 12 months and the stay must be completed — not just booked — by the expiration date.

In addition to the email confirmation, the certificate will appear in your World of Hyatt account under the “My Awards” tab. To redeem it, search for a hotel as you normally would with the “Use Points” box checked off.

Since these certificates are only valid at Category 1-4 properties, you’re looking for rooms that cost up to 15,000 points per night during standard pricing. Once you select a hotel, you’ll be able to select whether you want to redeem your free night award or points. Or, you can combine the certificate with other forms of payment by using Hyatt’s relatively new Pay My Way option.

In past years, I redeemed my free night award at the Confidante Miami Beach. With paid nights well over $300 most of the year, this is easily one of the “best bang for your buck” Category 4 World of Hyatt properties. Plus, just like points stays, you don’t need to pay resort fees when redeeming free night awards.

Unfortunately, with Hyatt's recent hotel category changes, this property is now a Category 5 hotel -- meaning you can't redeem these free night awards here. Other good redemptions include the Hyatt Regency Miami, Thompson Playa del Carmen Main House, The Eliza Jane in New Orleans and two properties in Washington, D.C.: Grand Hyatt Washington and Hyatt Regency Washington on Capital Hill.

Related: How to earn, use and make the most of your Hyatt free-night certificates

Bottom line

The Brand Explorer perk is a fun, easy opportunity to earn a free night award for every five unique World of Hyatt brands you stay at. Hyatt currently has 26 brands, so you could earn up to five free nights with the perk. No other hotel loyalty program rewards you with free nights for staying at its different brands, so this is a great perk.

There are lots of ways to earn even more free Hyatt night awards, including through the World of Hyatt Credit Card and Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards, making the World of Hyatt program one of our perennial favorites.