One tricky part about dipping into so many different rewards programs is that you can lose track of whether or not your points will be expiring. So it’s always good to do what you can to ensure that your points won’t expire. This article will answer how World of Hyatt points expire and how you can prevent that from happening.
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Do World of Hyatt Points Expire?
Yes, without any activity in your account your Hyatt points expire in 24 months.
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Can you get the Hyatt points back after they expire?
No, once an account is closed and points are forfeited due to inactivity, the World of Hyatt points cannot be reinstated. There are no exceptions to this that I’m aware of.
How can I prevent Hyatt points from expiring?
There are a number of different ways that you can create activity in your account so that your Hyatt points don’t expire. I’ll discuss these methods below.
Stay at a Hyatt property
If you stay at a Hyatt property or participating M life Resort (with paid stay or by redeeming points, free night awards), you’ll of course earn points to keep your account active.
You need to keep a couple of things in mind.
First, if you make your booking through an online travel agency then you will likely lose out on earning points which will not reset the clock.
Also, you must actually check-in to the property for your stay to count!
If you simply make a booking and never arrive at the check-in desk there’s a good chance that you will not be credited for that state and your points will not be reset.
If you don’t have a stay currently scheduled, this can be a bit expensive but sometimes you can find properties for pretty cheap.
The Hyatt Credit Card
If you hold the Chase World of Hyatt credit card then your points will never expire!
The official terms of the Chase World of Hyatt card state:
Points expiration: The Bonus Points transferred to your World of Hyatt Program account won’t expire as long as your card account is open. If your card account is closed, you will lose any unredeemed points (including Bonus Points) in your World of Hyatt Program account if you fail to have qualifying activity in the World of Hyatt Program at least once every 24 months
So as long as you hold the card and it stays open, your points will never expire.
World of Hyatt Card
The World of Hyatt Card is one of the best hotel credit cards available since it comes with a great sign-up bonus, strong bonus category earning, and the opportunity for free nights. It’s also one of the best hotel cards for climbing your way up the elite status tiers for Hyatt. You can read our full detailed review here.
- Welcome Bonus
- 30,000 Bonus Points after $3,000 in purchases within 3 months of account opening
- Plus, 2 points total per $1 spent on purchases that earn 1 point, up to $15,000 in spend in the first 6 months of account opening
- Bonus earning:
- 4X spent with your card at Hyatt hotels, including participating restaurants and spas
- 2X on local transit and commuting, including taxis, mass transit, tolls and ride-share services
- 2X at restaurants, cafes and coffee shops
- 2X on airline tickets purchased directly from the airline
- 2X spent on fitness club and gym memberships
- Free nights:
- Receive one free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort every year after your cardmember anniversary
- Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year
- Elite status:
- Comes with Hyatt Discoverist status
- Receive 5 qualifying night credits toward your next tier status every year
- Earn 2 additional qualifying night credits toward your next tier status every time you spend $5,000 on your card
- $95 Annual Fee
All of those perks for only a $95 annual fee isn’t a bad deal, especially if you enjoy staying at Hyatt properties.
Tip: Check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can optimize your credit card spend by seeing the best card to use! You can also track credits, annual fees, and get notifications when you’re eligible for the best cards!
Transfer Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt
You could always transfer your Ultimate Rewards to your World of Hyatt account.
You’ll have to transfer a minimum of 1,000 Ultimate Rewards. If you know you’ll be using them eventually, this a great way to keep your account active for another two years.
Restaurants and Spas
When you visit eligible restaurants and spas you can earn base points on your purchases which will help keep your points alive.
You just need to make sure that you provide your account number to the Hyatt colleague at the outlet at time of payment to ensure you’re credited with the Hyatt points.
Eligible charges vary on a hotel-by-hotel basis, but generally include spa and salon services, spa and salon retail items, and food and beverage expenditures (except at outlets not operated by the hotel).
Points will not be awarded on tips, service charges, taxes, gratuities and alcoholic beverage purchases.
You can also redeem your points for a dining or spa experience to keep them active.
- You can read more about doing this here.
Rental cars
Members can earn 500 Bonus Points and up to 25% off base rates for each qualifying rental at participating Avis locations worldwide. Simply book your reservation with Avis Worldwide Discount (AWD) number K817700 on Avis.com and associate your World of Hyatt membership number with your Avis reservation.
You can also redeem your points for a car rental to keep them active.
Convert points into miles/credit with a travel partner
Hyatt allows you to convert your points into miles or credits with travel partners. They partner with a ton of different airlines so you can look into transferring your points to an airline that you think you might actually fly on.
Most travel partners convert points to miles at a ratio of 1,250 Hyatt points to 500 miles. (This is not very good at all.) There are some: exception that offer better value, though.
For example, you can transfer 5,000 points for
- 4,000 AeroMexico points or LAN kms
- 3,200 Air China kms
- 3,200 China Eastern points
- 2,400 Qantas Airways points
- 2,400 Southwest Rapid Rewards
- 3,000 Virgin Atlantic miles
To illustrate the exchange of value, I’ll use an example of transferring Hyatt points to Southwest.
If you value Hyatt points at 1.8 cents per point and Southwest points at 1.5 cents per point, then that will amount to an exchange of value of $90 for $36. This is obviously a lopsided exchange but again if it saves your points from expiration, it’s a route to consider.
Note: There is a minimum of 5,000 Hyatt points required to initiate a transfer and they do offer bonuses like getting 20,000 miles plus 5,000 miles when you transfer 50,000 points into airline miles.
Combine Hyatt points
One easy way to reset the clock on your Hyatt points is to combine your points with another Hyatt member. Although you have to complete paper work for this, Hyatt is actually very flexible since you can transfer your points for free, even to non-family members.
Terms for combining points
You can combine points with those of one other specifically designated member not more than once every 30 days.
In order to combine points, the following requirements must be met:
(a) Each Member must have an active account to be eligible to combine points.
(b) A Program Point Combination Request Form must be completed and signed by both Members and submitted to Hyatt customer service. Forms are available by contacting Hyatt’s central reservation service. Completed forms must be returned to Hyatt via email as specified on the form. Once received, please allow between two and four weeks to approve and process the combination request.
(c) Points may be combined into only one Member’s account. Points received through transfer will be considered Bonus Points for the recipient. Once issued in the designated recipient Member’s name, the Member transferring the points will relinquish all rights to the combined points.
Note that this could take a few weeks to process so if you were cutting it close it might be a good idea to choose another method.
Purchase Hyatt Points
You can also look into purchasing Hyatt points. Unless there’s a special promotion going on, I generally don’t recommend purchasing points. However, if the alternative is that your Hyatt points expire, then it could be worth it.
Bonus Points can be purchased in increments of 1,000, up to 55,000 points per calendar year. Members can receive points in increments of 1,000, up to 55,000 points per calendar year.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Hyatt points FAQ
The best way is to open up a Chase World of Hyatt credit card. As long as you have that credit card, your points will never expire.
Yes, but you will need to transfer a minimum of 1,000 points.
Yes, if you rent a car at participating Avis locations you can earn Hyatt points and keep your points alive.
Transferring your Hyatt points to an airline is usually a last resort because you typically get poor value.
Yes, if you use a free night award you can reset the clock on your Hyatt points expiration.
Final word
Hyatt points will expire in 24 months without activity but you can prevent this from happening by:
- Booking and checking in to a Hyatt hotel stay
- Getting the Chase Hyatt Card
- Transferring Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt
- Visiting an eligible Restaurant or Spa
- Booking an Avis rental car
- Converting points into miles with a travel partner
- Combining Hyatt points with another Hyatt member
- Purchasing Hyatt Points
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.