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Who doesn’t like a free night, right? One of the most attractive perks of having the World of Hyatt Credit Card is the yearly free night offer; Hyatt Free Award Night Certificates can alone make Hyatt Credit Card worth holding. When you keep your card active by renewing it annually, you get a special certificate for an award night at certain Hyatt hotels yearly.
Also, if you are a loyal customer and frequently visit the Hyatt, you can earn an award night certificate, which requires staying certain nights or accumulating certain points. These certificates can really boost your travel planning and end up saving you a lot of money.
In this article, I’m gonna talk about the need to know about these certificates. You’ll learn about using these certificates effectively, making the most out of their benefits, and more.
What is Hyatt Free Night?
Passionate globetrotters thoroughly enjoy getting and redeeming certificates that allow them to stay at hotels in various parts of the world without any charge. Many hotels and airlines offer these rewards to their dedicated customers through their loyalty programs. Hyatt Free Night is such a benefit you will get holding the World of Hyatt Credit Card and completing certain requirements like staying 30 nights.
With the World of Hyatt Credit Card, you get a complimentary night every year. This award night can be used at hotels and resorts belonging to Category 1-4, which includes all the different brands within the World of Hyatt. Also, there are other ways you can earn a Hyatt award night:
How To Earn a Hyatt Free Night Certificate
You have various options to earn an award night certificate, with the easiest being as a holder of the World of Hyatt Credit.
World of Hyatt Credit Card Free Night
As I said, getting a free night is easiest with the World of Hyatt Credit Card. You will automatically earn one free award night each year after your cardmember anniversary. With an annual fee of $95, this card comes with a generous welcome bonus, and you earn up to 9X points on stays at Hyatt hotels (4 bonus points plus 5 base points as a World of Hyatt member) with all the other benefits.
As a cardholder, you’ll get a complimentary first-night stay at a World of Hyatt hotel when you renew your World of Hyatt Credit Card each year. But if you want to earn another free night certificate, you have to spend at least $15,000 on your card annually. After you receive each certificate, you’ll have a year from that day to make a booking and finish your reservation using the certificate.
Milestone Reward Program
If you are a Hyatt loyalist, you can get rewarded a free award night just by staying at Hyatt Properties. Hyatt rewards their frequent guests with a free award night certificate. You can get the award night certificate based on the night stays or the points accumulated. However, when you achieve certain base points you will also be awarded with Hyatt Globalist and Explorist Status.
| Explorist Status (30 nights or 50,000 base points earned) | Globalist Status (60 nights or 100,000 base points earned) |
|---|---|
One Category 1-4 free night award | One Category 1-7 free night award |
Two Club Lounge access awards | Two Club Lounge access awards and access to my Hyatt Concierge |
Expires 180 days after it’s issued | Expires 180 days after it’s issued |
Hyatt Brand Explorer
Another way you can earn a Hyatt award night is if you’re a member of the World of Hyatt program, you can take advantage of the Brand Explorer award. This deal lets you enjoy a complimentary stay at any Hyatt hotel rated Category 1-4 after you’ve stayed at five distinct Hyatt brands. So, for every five times you stay at a Hyatt hotel for the first time, they’ll give you a certificate for a free award night at a hotel that’s in the 1-4 category. This deal lets you collect at least three of these free nights. Once you’ve earned and redeemed those free nights, the promotion ends.
Please keep in mind that you can’t use upgrade certificates to enhance these rewards. The terms and conditions of the World of Hyatt program specify the limitations for upgrades like Explorist Club upgrades and Globalist Suite upgrades. They can’t be applied to other types of Free Award Night Awards, such as those from the Hyatt Credit Card, certain anniversary Free Night Awards, 5-brand Free Night Awards, Category 1-7 Free Night Awards, or any other promotional Free Night Awards.
How Much is the Hyatt Free Night Certificate Worth
Generally, you will receive a 1-4 category free night certificate. However, in certain instances, such as when you attain Globalist status, you have the opportunity to earn a 1-7 category award night certificate. Hyatt gives out these certificates for free nights, and they’re pretty flexible. You can use them for a stay at any Hyatt hotel ranked from Category 1 to 4, and there aren’t any blackout dates.
Just to give you an idea, a regular room in a Category 4 Hyatt hotel usually goes up to 18,000 Hyatt points, while a Category 7 room can cost up to 35,000 points on peak dates.
The value of Hyatt loyalty points can vary between 1-3 cents per point; on average, it’s around 1.7 cents per point. So, your category 4 -15,000 point certificate would be worth around $255. (These are just average assumptions; the value can change depending on dates and the method of redemption.) Similarly, your category 7 – 30,000 point certificate would be worth around $510.
How to Use Hyatt Free Night Certificate
Step 1: Once you’ve got yourself a free award night from Hyatt, you can easily locate it either on their website or through their mobile app. Just go to Hyatt.com on your web browser, log in to your account, click on your name at the top right, and then select “My Awards.”
Step 2: When you’re all set to reserve a complimentary night using a certificate, the steps are quite simple. After you’ve logged into your World of Hyatt account, just put in your preferences for the stay, tick the “Use Points” option, and hit the “Find Hotels” button. Enter the dates and destinations you wish to travel and click “Check Availability.”
Step 3: Look for hotels where you can use your award night certificate for a stay. Once you’ve found a hotel, you’ll have the choice to use it after selecting a hotel. Afterward, all you have to do is make the booking and enjoy your free night’s stay.
Free Night Certificates + Points
You might be wondering whether or not you can combine your award night certificate with points and book for a higher value, and the answer is yes! There is a feature called Hyatt Pay My Way. With Pay My Way, you’ll be able to mix and match free night certificates, points, and cash to cover the cost of one stay using various payment methods.
Can You Use Hyatt Your Free Award Night For Your Friends or Family?
Now, this is interesting and quite useful as well. If you do not use the award night certificate, it will expire after the specified date. In this situation, you can take advantage of the Guest of Honor program. This not only allows you to fully utilize the certificate but also ensures that your Globalist elite benefits are applicable during your stay, making the experience even more rewarding.
How to Maximize the Hyatt Free Night Benefit
If you are a frequent traveler, you may know that you can maximize these rewards with specific dates, high-paid rates, etc. Here, I will tell you how to maximize your free award night.
Higher End Properties – Higher Value
Basically, when it comes to booking rooms, fancier places in better categories usually require more points or money. If you look for places in those higher categories when using your free award night certificates, you’ll get better deals. For example, if you use a certificate worth 15,000 points to book a nice Category 4 property that would cost $300, you’re getting around 2 cents of value for each point, which is good value.
Plan Your Stay Carefully
The way you organize your trip can impact how much you benefit from the award certificate. This largely hinges on the timing, as you can usually get more value from your points during peak dates. Additionally, be cautious when reserving your accommodation to avoid accidentally using a Category 1-7 free night for a Category 1-4 stay.
Compare Cash With Points
It is important to know what value you are getting from the certificate, so make sure you compare the dollar cost with the points. Sometimes, higher-rated hotels might not give you the best value for your certificates. So, before you use your certificates to book a free stay, make sure to compare the value you’re getting with the actual price you would pay in cash.
When you’re making a reservation, you have the option to switch between “View Points” and “View Rates.” This helps you see the regular cost of the room in cash and understand how much it would typically be priced at.
Bottom Line
The Hyatt Free Night Certificate is a great benefit for the holder of the World of Hyatt Credit Card and the Hyatt Loyalist. There are definitely some restrictions like it only lets you use the award nights at Category 1-4 properties. Yet, you can use it wisely and make the most of these certificates.
Are you interested in traveling around the world using credit card points? Check out our site to learn the basics, and follow our blog for more tips on making your dream vacation a reality. You can also sign up for our travel concierge and get unlimited credit cards and travel assistance for one year.
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