Hyatt Details Lifetime Globalist Elite Status

Update 11/21/16 3:35pm: Hyatt just provided the following statement, which reinforces what we've outlined below:

Lifetime Globalist status will launch as part of the World of Hyatt on March 1, 2017. Current Lifetime Diamond members will receive Lifetime Globalist status in World of Hyatt. Lifetime Globalist status will be granted to members in good standing who have earned one million Base Points during the duration of their membership. A member's lifetime point earning will carry over from Hyatt Gold Passport to World of Hyatt as long as the member's account remains active. For historical points earned under the Hyatt Gold Passport program, those points that a member earned by paying for eligible room rates, eligible incidental charges, or eligible non-stay charges will be considered Base Points for the purpose of calculating progress toward Lifetime Globalist status. On March 1, 2017 members who are Lifetime Globalists will receive four annual confirmed suite upgrade awards and an annual free night in a Category 1 – 7. Ongoing members who achieve Lifetime Globalist will receive these benefits upon achievement of Lifetime Globalist and then annually in March. Full terms and conditions governing Lifetime Globalist status will be posted prior to the launch of World of Hyatt.

Last month, Hyatt announced a brand-new loyalty program called World of Hyatt, which replaces the current Gold Passport program. The chain is refreshing many aspects of the program, including its elite tiers — rather than Platinum and Diamond tiers, World of Hyatt will have Discoverist, Explorist and Globalist.

If you're looking for perks like confirmed suite upgrades and free breakfast, Globalist is the tier to aim for. Members who earn Diamond status through 2017 will be ugpraded to Globalist when the new program kicks in on March 1, 2017, but maintaining the status through 2018 will require earning 60 annual night credits in 2017 (55 to re-qualify after that). If that requirement puts top Hyatt status out of reach, at least a few members will have an alternative — lifetime Globalist.

Hyatt has offered lifetime status for several years, and other chains offer this incentive as well (Hilton added lifetime Diamond just last year). When Hyatt announced its new program, lifetime details had yet to be nailed down, but we reached out to Hyatt to confirm exactly what earning lifetime Globalist will entail.

First, some great news for current lifetime Diamonds — your status won't be going away; instead, you'll be lifetime Globalist as of March 1. Otherwise, you can earn Globalist for life after you earn 1,000,000 base points in the World of Hyatt program (yes, points earned in Gold Passport will transfer over).

Once you have lifetime status, all of the Globalist perks will apply, including free suite upgrades upon arrival, a 30% points bonus, a 48-hour room guarantee, late checkout, waived resort fees and free parking on awards. All that was to be expected, though. What's especially exciting is that lifetime elites will also earn a free stay at a Category 1-7 hotel and four confirmed suite upgrades (up to seven nights) each year. That means a guaranteed free hotel night every year even if you never pay for a Hyatt stay again — that's a phenomenal perk.

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Ultimately, while it may be more difficult to qualify for top-tier Hyatt elite status, lifetime members are in for a real treat. We can only hope that the annual free night and four confirmed suite upgrades are here to stay!

H/T: One Mile at a Time