Hyatt Milestone Rewards: Which should you choose?

World of Hyatt announced major changes to its program in late 2023. The World of Hyatt changes were a net positive for many loyalists, but one area that changed significantly was Hyatt Milestone Rewards.

So, let’s look at the current Milestone Rewards program, including a detailed discussion of each perk and how to choose the best benefits for you at each milestone. I’ll also tell you what Hyatt Milestone Rewards I’ll likely pick at each decision point this year.

Hyatt Milestone Rewards overview

You’ll earn Hyatt Milestone Rewards starting at 20 nights or 35,000 base points within a calendar year. Since the World of Hyatt Credit Card offers cardholders five qualifying nights each year, cardholders only need to stay 15 nights (or accrue 35,000 base points) before earning a Milestone Reward each calendar year.

Here’s an overview of the Hyatt Milestone Rewards you can earn after you reach select milestones each calendar year.

At the milestones that offer a choice, you must select a perk within 90 days of reaching the milestone. In the next section, we’ll discuss your Milestone Rewards options in more detail.

Related: 6 reasons I love my World of Hyatt Card and plan to keep it for the long term

A detailed look at each Hyatt Milestone Reward

Before we discuss how to decide which perk to choose at the milestones that require choices, let’s take a closer look at each of the Hyatt Milestone Rewards.

2K Next Stay award

The 2K Next Stay award is an option you can choose at two milestones: 20 nights (or 35,000 base points) and 30 nights (or 50,000 base points). If you choose a 2K Next Stay award, you’ll earn 2,000 bonus Hyatt points on your next stay at a Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Caption by Hyatt or UrCove.

Based on TPG’s valuations, 2,000 Hyatt points are worth about $34. However, you must pay an eligible rate or redeem a free night award for a stay at one of these brands and check out within 180 days of selecting the 2K Next Stay award to earn the 2,000 bonus Hyatt points.

You can only earn bonus points from one 2K Next Stay award per stay. So, if you have multiple 2K Next Stay awards in your account, you’ll need to complete multiple stays at Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Caption by Hyatt or UrCove properties to earn bonus points from multiple 2K Next Stay awards.

Related: Your ultimate guide to Hyatt’s hotel brands

Club access awards

At the 20 nights (or 35,000 base points) and 30 nights (or 50,000 base points) milestones, one of your choices is two club access awards. Each club access award — now giftable to other Hyatt members online — can be used before check-in to obtain club lounge access on an eligible stay of seven consecutive nights or less at participating Hyatt hotels and resorts with a club lounge.

However, club lounge access awards aren’t valid at Caption by Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Miraval, Destination by Hyatt Residences or Hyatt Vacation Club hotels and resorts. You must pay an eligible rate or redeem points for a standard room free night award, a suite free night award or a points plus cash stay to use a club lounge access award. The World of Hyatt terms and conditions specifically state that you can’t use a club lounge access award on any stay that includes other free night awards, such as Hyatt Category 1-4 free night awards from credit cards.

If you choose two club lounge access awards, your awards will be valid for the rest of the year you earned them, plus 14 additional months.

Find Experiences credit

You can choose a Find Experiences credit at the 20 nights (or 35,000 base points), 30 nights (or 50,000 base points), 40 nights (or 65,000 base points) and 50 nights (or 80,000 base points) milestones, plus the 70, 80 and 90 nights milestones. The amount of the credit increases as you reach higher milestones, starting at $25 for 20 and 30 nights but jumping to $300 for 70, 80 and 90 nights.

If you choose a Find Experiences credit, it will be valid for the rest of the calendar year it is issued, plus 14 additional months. You’ll get the credit via email as a code, and you can redeem it at checkout when you book a Find Experience through this page of the World of Hyatt website.

Category 1-4 free night award

Once you accrue 30 nights or 50,000 base points within a calendar year, you’ll get a Category 1-4 free night award. That’s right, you don’t even need to choose it. This Category 1-4 free night award is valid for 180 days from when it is issued (which should occur shortly after you choose it), and you must check out of the stay you book with it before or on its expiration date. Using this free night award, you can book a standard room at a Category 1, 2, 3 or 4 Hyatt hotel.

Guest of Honor award

Until recently, Guest of Honor was a perk of Hyatt Globalist elite status. However, due to the 2024 World of Hyatt changes, Guest of Honor is now uncoupled from Globalist status and is instead a Milestone Rewards perk. Now, Hyatt loyalists will earn one Guest of Honor award after 40 nights or 65,000 base points in a calendar year; two after 60 nights or 100,000 base points; one after 70, 80 and 90 nights; and one after 110, 120, 130 and 140 nights.

On a Guest of Honor stay of up to seven consecutive nights at a single property, the guest will get all in-hotel benefits typically reserved for World of Hyatt Globalist members. Members can gift Guest of Honor stays to other members, but Hyatt members without Globalist status can also use Guest of Honor awards to obtain Globalist perks. If you gift a Guest of Honor award you earned to another member, you’ll get one tier-qualifying night once the Guest of Honor stay is completed.

Once you earn a Guest of Honor award as a Milestone Reward, it is valid for the rest of the year you earned it, plus 14 additional months. Guest of Honor awards can be applied to paid reservations booked via an eligible rate, free night award stays and points and cash stays at participating Park Hyatt, Miraval, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Andaz, Hyatt Centric, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Thompson Hotels, Alila (some locations only), JdV by Hyatt, Dream (some locations only), Destination by Hyatt (both participating Destination Hotels and participating Destination Residences locations), Caption by Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Vivid, Impression by Secrets, Secrets, Breathless, Zoetry, Alua, Sunscape and other Legacy AMR Collection (some locations only) properties.

Related: What is World of Hyatt elite status worth?

Bonus points

You can select 5,000 or 10,000 bonus points at almost every milestone. Based on TPG’s valuations, 5,000 Hyatt points are worth about $85, and 10,000 Hyatt points are worth about $170.

Related: The ultimate guide to redeeming your World of Hyatt points

Suite upgrade award

Starting at 40 nights or 65,000 base points, you get or can select one or two suite upgrade awards at each milestone. These awards can be used to obtain a standard suite when you pay an eligible rate, redeem points for a standard-room or club-level free night award or book a standard room points plus cash award for a stay of up to seven nights. However, you can’t use a suite upgrade award if you redeem any other free night awards, including Category 1-4 certificates earned via credit cards or the Hyatt Brand Explorer perk.

You can redeem each suite upgrade award when making an eligible reservation for a stay at select Hyatt hotels and resorts that offer suite accommodations (excluding suite award-ineligible properties as noted in the World of Hyatt terms and conditions and Hyatt Vacation Club resorts). Suite upgrade awards are valid for the year you earned them, plus 14 additional months.

Category 1-7 free night award

When you reach the 60 nights (or 100,000 base points) and 100 nights milestones, you automatically get a Category 1-7 free night award.

This Category 1-7 free night award is valid for one standard room award night at a Category 1 through 7 property or a Category A through D all-inclusive property, as defined by the World of Hyatt award chart. Once a Category 1-7 free night award is issued to your account to redeem, you can use it for a stay with a checkout date within 180 days of its issuance.

Related: The 16 best Hyatt all-inclusive resorts in the world

My Hyatt Concierge

My Hyatt Concierge — a benefit you unlock at 60 nights or 100,000 base points — is another Hyatt Milestone Reward you don’t have to choose. Instead, you get it as a perk of reaching 60 nights or 100,000 base points with Hyatt within a calendar year. This benefit gives you access to a dedicated agent for the rest of the calendar year you earned the My Hyatt Concierge benefit, plus 14 additional months.

Some Hyatt loyalists interact with their My Hyatt Concierge frequently and get a lot of value from the dedicated contact. My dedicated agent has been responsive and helpful in the few cases I’ve needed to contact them. However, the most value comes from knowing through experience that either my dedicated agent or the broader My Hyatt Concierge team will resolve issues promptly when they arise.

Miraval extra night award

If you accrue 100, 110, 120, 130, 140 or 150 nights within a calendar year, you can choose a Miraval extra night award as a Milestone Reward. You can redeem a Miraval extra night award for an additional consecutive night of free accommodation at a Miraval property when you pay an eligible rate, redeem a free night award or book a points plus cash stay for a night on the same stay. You can redeem Miraval extra night awards for standard rooms up to double occupancy, but you won’t get a nightly resort credit on these award nights.

Once you select a Miraval extra night award, it is valid for 180 days. You can use multiple Miraval extra night awards during a single stay, but your free nights must be equal to or less than the number of eligible nights booked with points, cash or a combination.

Related: Does it make sense to redeem World of Hyatt points for all-inclusive resorts?

Ultimate free night award

Finally, if you accrue 150 nights within a calendar year, you’ll earn an ultimate free night award.

You can redeem the ultimate free night award for a standard room at a Category 1-8 hotel or resort, a Category A-F all-inclusive resort or a Miraval resort. You’ll need to redeem and stay using your ultimate free night award within 180 days of its issuance (which should occur shortly after you reach 150 nights within a calendar year).

Related: The 23 best Hyatt hotels in the world

Which Hyatt Milestone Rewards should you choose?

Now, let’s discuss how to decide which Hyatt Milestone Reward you should choose at each milestone that offers a choice. I’ll also share what I plan to choose at each milestone.

20 nights or 35,000 base points

Once you accrue 20 nights or 35,000 base points with Hyatt within a calendar year, you can choose a 2K Next Stay award, two club access awards or a $25 Find Experiences credit.

Suppose you don’t have Hyatt Globalist status — which automatically confers club lounge access — and plan to stay at one or more Hyatt properties with club lounges before this award expires. In that case, club lounge access awards will likely provide the most value. Otherwise, the 2K Next Stay award will be most valuable if you expect to stay at a Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Caption by Hyatt or UrCove property within 180 days.

I already get club lounge access as a Globalist elite member, and I frequently stay at Hyatt Place hotels. So, I’ll select the 2K Next Stay award at the 20 nights or 35,000 base points milestone.

30 nights or 50,000 base points

At the 30 nights or 50,000 base points milestone, you’ll get a Category 1-4 free night award, and you can choose a 2K Next Stay award, two club access awards or a $25 Find Experience credit. As the options you can choose are the same as at the 20 nights or 35,000 base points milestone, look at the previous section for my thoughts on what to choose.

However, suppose you selected two club access awards at the previous milestone. In that case, you may want to select something different at this milestone unless you have a lot of stays planned at Hyatt properties with club lounges. I’ll select another 2K Next Stay award at the 30 nights or 50,000 base points milestone.

40 nights or 65,000 base points

Once you accrue 40 nights or 65,000 base points with Hyatt within a calendar year, you’ll earn a Guest of Honor award and a choice of 5,000 bonus points, one suite upgrade award or a $150 Find Experience credit.

Based on TPG’s valuations, 5,000 bonus points are worth about $85. So, if you’d use a $150 Find Experience credit, that’s likely the best option here. If you don’t plan on reaching the 50 nights or 80,000 base points milestone — or have a lot of upcoming stays where suite upgrade awards would be useful — you may want to select a suite upgrade award here.

I don’t have any plans to use Find Experiences in the near future and expect to earn two suite upgrade awards at both the 50- and 60-night milestones. As such, I’ll likely select 5,000 bonus points once I reach the 40 nights or 65,000 base points milestone.

50 nights or 80,000 base points

The choices at the 50 nights or 80,000 base points milestone — 5,000 bonus points, two suite upgrade awards or a $150 Find Experience credit — are similar to the previous milestone. The difference is that you can choose two suite upgrade awards at this milestone. The availability of two suite upgrade awards at this milestone is compelling, so I plan to choose suite upgrade awards at the 50 nights or 80,000 base points milestone.

60 nights or 100,000 base points

No choice is required at this milestone. Instead, all Hyatt members who accrue 60 nights or 100,000 base points within a calendar year get two Guest of Honor awards, one Category 1-7 free night award, two suite upgrade awards and access to My Hyatt Concierge.

70, 80 and 90 nights

Once you reach the 70-, 80- and 90-night milestones, you’ll get a Guest of Honor award and a choice of 10,000 bonus points, one suite upgrade award or a $300 Find Experience credit.

TPG’s valuations peg the value of 10,000 Hyatt points at about $170. So, if you plan to book any Find Experiences, the $300 credit is likely the best option at each milestone. Otherwise, the 10,000 bonus points will likely provide more value than a suite upgrade award. Still, don’t hesitate to snag suite upgrade awards at these milestones if you are running low.

I doubt I’ll reach 70 nights — much less 80 or 90 nights — in a calendar year with Hyatt. If I do, I’ll opt for the 10,000 bonus points unless I’ve been using a lot of suite upgrade awards and think another one would be useful.

100 nights

If you reach the 100-night milestone, you’ll earn a Category 1-7 free night award and a choice of 10,000 bonus points, one suite upgrade award or a Miraval extra night award.

The Miraval extra night award is the easy choice here if you want to stay at a Miraval resort soon. Check out our Miraval Arizona, Miraval Austin and Miraval Berkshires reviews to see why the Miraval extra night award might be worth choosing. Otherwise, the choice of 10,000 bonus points or a suite upgrade award will boil down to whether you can use another suite upgrade award.

If I made it to 100 nights in a calendar year with Hyatt, I’d choose the Miraval extra night award — especially since I could pair the extra night with a night I book with Hyatt points.

110, 120, 130 and 140 nights

Once you accrue 110, 120, 130 and 140 nights in a calendar year with Hyatt, you’ll get a Guest of Honor award and a choice of 10,000 bonus points, one suite upgrade award or a Miraval extra night award. The choices at these milestones are the same as at 100 nights, and the logic in choosing is about the same.

I’d likely choose a few more Miraval extra night awards to build a reasonable-length Miraval stay. After all, you can use multiple Miraval extra night awards on a stay if you pay eligible rates or redeem Hyatt points for at least half the nights.

150 nights

Finally, if you accrue 150 nights within a calendar year with Hyatt, you’ll earn an ultimate free night award and a choice of 10,000 bonus points, one suite upgrade award or a Miraval extra night award. The choices at this milestone are the same as at 100, 110, 120, 130 and 140 nights, so you likely know whether you can use another suite upgrade award or an additional Miraval extra night award.

Bottom line

The Hyatt Milestone Rewards program offers a lot of choices. Just be sure to pick within 90 days of reaching each milestone, as there isn’t a default option you automatically get if you forget to choose.