How today's 100k Capital One Venture approval will earn me Hyatt Globalist status

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Ever since Hyatt came out with a way to earn top-tier Hyatt Globalist status valid until Feb. 2023 in as little as nine nights spent in Hyatt properties (normally 60 nights), the wheels in my head have been turning.

I miss having top-tier Hyatt status and I know from experience how valuable the perks will be for my family as we make up for lost time traveling in 2021, 2022 and into 2023. I thought about using Hyatt points to pay for some or all of those nights needed to earn Globalist status in January, but then a better solution came along.

Yesterday, I applied for and was instantly approved for the limited-time Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card welcome bonus (that ends today on Dec. 14) and that's precisely how I'll "pay" to earn Hyatt Globalist status.

The math behind it all is pretty exciting -- better, in fact, than simply redeeming Hyatt points for some inexpensive Category 1 Hyatt redemptions because I'll earn points at an increased rate along the way, too.

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Earn 100,000 Capital One miles

Until the limited-time offer ends later today, you can earn a total of 100,000 bonus miles when you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months from account opening on your new Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

Thankfully, you'll earn 50,000 miles when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months ... and then you can have that full 12 months to spend all the way up to $20,000 to earn the second allotment of 50,000 bonus miles. That sounds painful, and not everyone will probably want to devote that much spending to the card, but it averages out to about $1,867 spent on the card each month.

With our preschool, insurance and similar large monthly payments easily shifted to this card, that number is probably within range for us over the course of a year.

Capital One miles are worth 1 cent each when redeemed against travel charges put on the card, which makes 100,000 miles worth $1,000 in travel if used in that manner. (You can also instead transfer the miles to partners, but for the purposes of this exercise, I'll stick with redeeming at 1 cent per mile for travel.)

Since you can simply redeem the miles against the travel charges you put on the card, you can book hotel stays however you want (or any other travel), maximize and stack promotions, and then still be able to redeem the miles against the charge.

Booking a Hyatt mattress run

For 2021, Hyatt has cut the requirements to earn Hyatt Globalist in half. That means you just need 30 eligible nights instead of the normal 60 nights. On top of that, in January and February, your nights will count double if you register for a Hyatt promotion, meaning you can earn Globalist status in just 15 nights if you do them all in that timeframe.

On top of that, those with the World of Hyatt Credit Card get five nights toward elite status each year. In fact, new cardholders who sign up by Dec. 31 actually will get 10 nights toward status in both 2020 and 2021. I already have the card, so I'll get the regular five nights of credit.

For those who registered for the Hyatt promotion, eligible nights spent at Hyatt properties from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 also count toward 2021 status, in addition to 2020 status. Right now, I have one night from that promo and one actually needed one-night Hyatt stay planned in February.

As of right now, that leaves me needing 12 more Hyatt nights in January or February that I don't really need, in order to quickly hit Globalist status before some of my larger Hyatt stays at true resorts. Similar to a "mileage run," which are flights that some may take to earn airline status, a "mattress run" is when you book hotel stays you don't actually need to earn perks or status.

It's rare that a mattress run is worth it these days, but it is for me in this unique situation.

A quick search shows a Hyatt property not very far away from me in Houston with rates that are about $60/night. For a 12-night stay in early-January, that comes to $831 all-in, with a base rate of $711.

On that $711 that I could put on my brand-new Capital One Venture card, I would earn 15 points per dollar in the World of Hyatt program, which is 3x the normal earning rate thanks to a promotion.

That comes to 10,665 earned World of Hyatt points for this 12-night stay that TPG values at $181. You would also get any elite bonuses on top of that, which range from 10% for a Discoverist to 50% for a top-tier Globalist.

I'd also earn 1,662 miles on my Capital One Venture Card that awards 2x mile on purchases, which are worth $16.62 toward travel.

Since I may only earn the first 50,000-mile portion of the 100k Venture bonus in time to redeem for points this stay, I might need to have my husband transfer some of his Venture miles to me to cover the full amount I need to make this push for Globalist status. I can "pay him back" with my miles later.

I could also choose to book about $500 worth of the stay with my new Venture card and book the remaining nights at a rate of 5,000 points each at this Category 1 hotel. That's not a bad option since I know I'll get 25% of those redeemed points back thanks to yet another Hyatt promotion.

Is it worth it

I had already decided that two years of Hyatt Globalist status was worth earning given the halved 2021 earning requirements, plus the ability to earn toward the reduced requirements at a 2x rate in January and February. I could redeem 45,000 total Hyatt points for the 12 nights (5,000 points per night at a Category 1 hotel x 12 nights, with 25% of redeemed points returned).

However, because I often get close to 2 cents in value per Hyatt point, I'd prefer to spend Venture miles at a fixed rate of 1 cent each and earn Hyatt points in the process.

While no one knows how 2021 will play out, in the first half of the year alone I already have stays at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, Grand Hyatt Vail and Andaz Mayakoba penciled in.

The last time I stayed at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, room service breakfast was included as a complimentary option for those with top-tier Hyatt status. I'd happily enjoy that again with my girls as we get ready for some outdoor ski days.

And while it should be more than worth it for me in the end, I wasn't particularly looking forward to spending $800 in cash to earn the status, nor did I really want to part with 45,000 World of Hyatt points. That makes using some of my newly approved Capital One Venture miles feel just right.