How to Earn and Use Hyatt Certificates

If you're booking a Hyatt hotel, you can add on a certificate or award for additional benefits, like free breakfast, or discounted stays. The certificates can be used on paid or award stays, and share some simple rules: you cannot transfer the award more than once, and you cannot combine more than one award on one stay. Awards that apply for your full stay can only be applied to reservations of seven days or less. If you receive an award after making your booking, you can reach out to Hyatt via chat or call to apply the award to your stay. When transferring awards, you need the other user's Hyatt number and last name.

Most awards are earned from hitting elite qualifying night (EQN) thresholds, every 10 nights from 20 to 150 EQNs. You can also receive awards for nights 20 through 60 by hitting base point thresholds, which is more difficult for most Hyatt members. The equivalent thresholds are: 20 EQNs or 35k base points, 30 EQNs or 50k base points, 40 EQNs or 65k base points, 50 EQNs or 80k base points, 60 EQNs or 100k base points. Awards past 60 EQNs/100k base points can only be earned by hitting EQN thresholds. Some awards are given outright, and others as a choice between other awards, points, and FIND experience credit.

Club Access Award (CAA)

The Club Access Award is the easiest award to earn, available as a choice at the 20 night mark, and often given away in online forums. In Hyatts with a club lounge, the Club Access Award provides access to the club, which typically includes breakfast, midday snacks, and a happy hour. Offerings vary by property, and while some brands like Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency often have clubs, not all do. Furthermore, club access can sell out. If a property has no club or has sold out of the club access, you'll need a Guest of Honor award for such benefits.

When making a booking with the Club Access Award, you'll be able to see it before starting your booking. However, if you've made your reservation, you can use the chat to apply it, if there is availability. You can presume there is availability if you're still see rooms with club access available for booking during the dates of your stay.

Guest of Honor (GOH)

The Guest of Honor benefit confers Globalist benefits on its user, which are:

• Free breakfast
• Club lounge access, if available
• Early check-in and check-out
• Waived resort fees, cash or points stay
• Waived parking fees on award stays only
• Upgrades to standard suites, if available. You may have to ask for possible upgrades at check-in

The Guest of Honor certificate also gives its original owner the gift of an extra EQN when it is used. Guest of Honor awards can't be applied to every property, such as Hyatt Vacation Club properties, and can only apply for stays of seven days or less. Guest of Honor certificates are common awards for EQN thresholds: you receive one at 40 EQNs, two at 60 EQNs, and one at 70, 80, 90, 110, 120, 130, and 140 EQNs. You can use a Guest of Honor for your own stay as well, if you earn it at 40 nights before earning Globalist outright and wish to use it on yourself.

Suite Upgrade Award (SUA)

The Suite Upgrade Award allows booking into a standard suite when a standard room is available. Like CAA and GOH, the Suite Upgrade Award can be applied for stays of seven days or less, and can be applied to an existing booking. Previously, Hyatt required calling or chatting in to book with Suite Upgrade Awards, but now, bookings can be made via the standard Hyatt portal. The standard room can be booked in points, cash, or points and cash bookings.

You receive two Suite Upgrade Awards at 60 EQNs, and have the choice of two at 50 EQNs, and the choice of one at 40, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, and 140 EQNs.

Some standard suites are famously small, such as the standard suite at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme, where the standard suite is a mere 100 square feet larger than the standard room and adds a couch. If you have a limited number of SUAs per year, or just receive one from a friend, be smart about the property in which you apply it to get the benefits you expect. In Hyatts with a club lounge, your suite upgrade will also include club lounge access.

Free Night Award (FNC/FNA)

The Free Night Award is available in three variations: a Category 1 to 4, Category 1 to 7, and an Ultimate Free Night Award. Most FNCs are Category 1-4: you can earn these from the personal Hyatt credit card, at anniversary and after $15k spend in a calendar year, from Brand Explorer, and as a reward after hitting 30 EQNs. For the Category 1-7 award, you can only earn two per year at 60 and 100 EQNs. The Ultimate Free Night award, which can be used at 'any participating Category 1-8 hotel, Category A-F all-inclusive resort, or Miraval resort' is the final reward at 150 EQNs.

If you're earning your Free Night Award from your personal Hyatt credit card, note that the $15k spend in a calendar year also earns you 6 EQNs, on top of the 5 free EQNs from holding the card. For this reason, many who hold the card try to hit the $15k spend threshold yearly to earn 11 total EQNs per year, a FNA from spend, and a FNA from the anniversary.

Brand Explorer, which earns Category 1-4 certificates, is a unique perk where Hyatt rewards you for staying at different Hyatt brands. Every five new brands gives one certificate. It's possible to earn up to six free certificates this way, though if you're aiming to do this, the difficulty of this ramps up for the Inclusive collection hotels, and brands that are more geographically constrained, like UrCove or me and all. Someone who regularly stays and redeems points at Hyatt can expect to earn one to three certificates this way.

A similar award which can be grouped under this category is the Miraval Extra Night Award. The Miraval Extra Night is a choice at 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, or 150 EQNs. You can stay the first night on points or cash and then apply the extra night certificate.

Combining Awards

As a rule of thumb, you're unable to combine more than one award on the same reservation. If you'd like to combine awards, such as a free night certificate with a Guest of Honor, Club Access, or Suite Upgrade award, consider tacking the free night on the start or end of the trip, when you expect to use the benefits the least. Or, if your intended stay is longer than seven days, make one seven day reservation and apply the free night award on your second reservation. Just mention to the hotel that you have two stays at check-in. If you're using a Guest of Honor or Suite Upgrade award, you may have to switch rooms, but with Club Access, you'll likely be able to stay in the same room.