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How to Get Into Hyatt Clubs, Even Without Elite Status
You'll need to earn Globalist elite status or pay for a club-level room to gain access to Hyatt's lounges.
Amanda is a freelance writer, historian and avid traveler based in Nebraska. When she’s not writing about travel trends and destinations, you can find her blogging about personal development strategies and planning her next trip.
Meghan Coyle is an editor on the Travel Rewards team and the co-host of the Smart Travel podcast. She covers travel credit cards, airline and hotel loyalty programs, and how to travel on points. Meghan is based in Los Angeles and has a love-hate relationship with LAX.
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Hyatt club lounges can be tough to get into for free. They're available to World of Hyatt members with the highest tier of elite status — Globalist — and they're also sometimes offered as a benefit to other members through one-off certificates.
But even without Globalist status or certificates, you can often pay extra to get into Hyatt club lounges by booking a club-level room. And while these rooms are more expensive than a standard room, they can be worth it by cutting your expenses for food — especially if you're a constant snacker or are traveling with at least one other person (or your whole family).
Hyatt club lounges vary depending on brand, property and location. But once you have club access, expect to save money on dining, since these lounges typically provide free breakfast and snacks throughout the day. They also offer quiet spaces with Wi-Fi and work areas for when you need a change of hotel scenery.
The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa Club Lounge has outdoor seating with ocean views. Image courtesy of Hyatt.
Where you can find Hyatt club lounges
Not every Hyatt hotel has a lounge. And what's especially annoying about Hyatt is that it's not exactly easy to tell which ones do. You'll typically need to read the description for each property to find this information.
For example, the Grand Hyatt in Nashville has a Grand Club lounge, but you only know that if you poke around a bit on the website and research the amenities. After a bit of research, you can learn the lounge is on the lobby level and has a conference room, an outdoor terrace and serves food.
In general, you’re more likely to find lounges at Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency properties, though you can also find lounges in the Park Hyatt brand.
The Churchill lounge at the Hyatt Regency London is ideal for getting work done. Image courtesy of Hyatt.
Hyatt lounges vary in quality. Some just feel like swanky living rooms. But others — like the club at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco — can make for one of the most memorable aspects of your trip. The San Francisco club sits on the highest floor of the hotel, where it serves complimentary, local foods such as Acme Bread and Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt Tam cheese. The top floor of the building is unique in that it actually spins, offering 360-degree panoramic views of the city skyline and the San Francisco Bay.
Views from the rotating Hyatt Regency Club. (Photo by Sally French)
Who has access to Hyatt lounges
Lounges are a premium benefit, and only the most elite status frequent travelers typically have unlimited free access. For Hyatt, this means Globalist-level members have lounge access at every Hyatt property with a lounge.
You can reach Globalist level by logging 60 nights at a Hyatt property or, accruing 100,000 base points. A Globalist member can bring the registered guests of their room (up to two adults and two children) into a Hyatt lounge.
Other guests also have access through a number of additional options.
The roof deck at the Grand Hyatt New York lounge offers a reprieve from the bustle of the city. Image courtesy of Hyatt.
Two ways to access Hyatt lounges without Globalist status
1. Book a Hyatt room on a club floor
At some properties, you have the opportunity to buy a room rate that includes lounge access.
For example, a king room at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco with Club access is about $153 more before taxes than a king room without club access. If you don’t think you’ll eat or drink enough to merit that cost, there are a few other ways to access Hyatt lounges that don’t require Globalist elite status.
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2. Use Hyatt Milestone Rewards
Milestone Rewards are benefits that are separate from elite status. They are available to everyone based on the number of nights stayed at Hyatt properties. After staying 20 nights or earning 35,000 base points during a calendar year, you'll receive two club lounge access awards.
They are valid for the remainder of the calendar year they are earned, plus an additional 14 months after that. There are some limitations to using these certificates, though.
You’ll want to make sure you book your stay with points or cash to be eligible to use the certificate, and they’re only good for stays of up to seven nights. If you want lounge access for longer stays, you’ll have to book the two reservations separately, apply two award certificates, then link the reservations through the hotel to be sure they can accommodate you without having to move rooms.
After 30 nights or 50,000 base points, you can choose to receive two more club lounge access awards. At the next tier of milestone awards, 60 nights, you'll have made it to Globalist status and will have lounge access automatically.
Breakfast options at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa are abundant and can make a filling meal. Image courtesy of Hyatt.
How to fast track to Globalist status
If you’re thinking of going for Globalist status, you have two opportunities to fast-track your path. These ways aren’t the easiest, but they are available.
1. Through Hyatt hotel stays and purchases
It's possible to earn Globalist status through hotel stays and purchases. It takes 100,000 base points to become a Globalist-level elite. The World of Hyatt Credit Card and the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card both give you Discoverist status. With Discoverist, you'll earn 5 base points per dollar spent at eligible World of Hyatt hotels.
This means $20,000 of eligible purchases at Hyatt properties, including restaurants and on-site amenities, will get you Globalist status and the elite lounge access that comes with it. Hyatt lounge access can be a valuable perk for your hotel stay if the cost and resources necessary for obtaining it make sense for you.
2. Through credit card spending
World of Hyatt Credit Card and the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card can also help you reach Globalist status if you spend enough to earn specific bonuses.
Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points. Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 more Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
80,000 Bonus Points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
Reward earn rates
World of Hyatt Credit Card
• 4 points per $1 at Hyatt hotels and resorts.
• 2 points per $1 on dining, airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, gym memberships, and local transit and commuting.
• 1 point per $1 on all other eligible purchases.
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
• 4 points per $1 at Hyatt hotels and resorts.
• 2 points per $1 in your top three spend categories each quarter.
• 2 points per $1 on fitness club and gym memberships.
• 1 point per $1 on all other eligible purchases.
Benefits
World of Hyatt Credit Card
• Earn one free night on each cardmember anniversary to redeem at any Category 1-4 World of Hyatt property.
With the automatic five nights toward status provided by the World of Hyatt Credit Card, you would need to earn 55 elite nights to achieve Globalist status (and get Hyatt lounge access). This doesn't necessarily have to be done through hotel stays, since you get two elite night credits for every $5,000 spent. To reach the 60 elite nights needed for Globalist, you'd need to spend $140,000.
Although you don’t automatically earn the five elite nights on the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card, you can earn those five nights for every $10,000 spent. With this card, you’d need to spend $120,000 to achieve Globalist status, which is slightly less but still a significant amount.
These bonus points alone will net you enough for a few free nights, which, when redeemed, will count as qualifying nights toward elite status.
At the Hyatt Regency Orlando, fill up on coffee, pastries, yogurt and fresh foods before a day at the local theme parks — or have a glass of wine at the lounge upon return. Image courtesy of Hyatt.
Hyatt club access: Is it worth it?
If you don’t have Globalist status you can access Hyatt clubs by booking a room on a club floor, using one-off certificates. You can also spend your way to Globalist through good old-fashioned hotel stays or by putting a ton of expenses on your Hyatt credit cards.
If you’re just looking for a one-off experience, you’d be better off spending the extra money on a club-level room as the other ways require a serious cash outlay.
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