World of Hyatt announced they’ll be significant changes to its elite status qualifications for the 2021 calendar year. For next year, World of Hyatt will be reducing the requirements for Discoverist, Explorist, and Globalist all by 50% as a direct result of the pandemic and the impact on travel it has caused.

This news follows Hyatt’s earlier announcements of World of Hyatt 2020 Status Extension for All Members which extended status for all members a year, plus some expiration extensions of expiring awards, as well as Hyatt Extending World of Hyatt Loyalty Benefits  including extending free nights, suite upgrades and more into the end of 2021.

For the 2021 calendar year, World of Hyatt will be reducing the Base Point and Tier-Qualifying Night requirements by 50 percent so members can achieve or requalify for status and enjoy elite benefits in half the time – either by staying half the number of nights or earning half the number of Base Points required in a calendar year.

For example, a member can earn top-tier Globalist status in record time by staying 30 Tier-Qualifying Nights or earning 50,000 Base Points in 2021 and start enjoying exclusive benefits including 30% Bonus on eligible purchases, waived resort fees on eligible rates and free night awards, room upgrades including standard suites available at check-in, Club access or breakfast, Guest of Honor benefits and more.

Reduced 2021 World of Hyatt elite status qualifications include: 

• Discoverist – Stay five Tier-Qualifying Nights or earn 12,500 Base Points
• Explorist – Stay 15 Tier-Qualifying Nights or earn 25,000 Base Points
• Globalist – Stay 30 Tier-Qualifying Nights or earn 50,000 Base Points

The reduced criteria do not apply to earning tier status via Meetings & Events or to Milestone Rewards and Lifetime Globalist.

Bottom Line

It’s great to see World of Hyatt lower elite qualification by 50%, matching Hilton Honors Lowers 2021 Elite Qualification by 50%. I highly suspect that we’ll see Marriott Bonvoy announce a similar move in the coming weeks.

For those looking to earn World of Hyatt Globalist status, there’s never been a lower threshold to earn this status so you may want to consider it for 2021.

One thing to note is that with the reduced threshold, World of Hyatt isn’t making any adjustments to the Milestone Rewards, so it would still take 60 nights to earn the four confirmed suite upgrades, the category 1-7 free night and access to My Hyatt Concierge next year.

What are your thoughts on World of Hyatt lowering elite qualification by half for 2021? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.