If you’re looking for ways to save on hotel stays, understanding how to earn and redeem a Hyatt Free Night Award can be a game-changer. This popular perk from the World of Hyatt program lets members enjoy a free night at participating hotels, ranging from budget-friendly to luxurious resorts.
Whether you’re earning it through Hyatt credit cards, elite status milestones, or brand challenges, knowing the Hyatt Free Night Award rules and best redemption strategies is key to getting the most value. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the different types of Hyatt Free Night Awards, how to qualify for them, and how to redeem them for maximum benefit.
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The first thing to notice about the Hyatt Free Night Award is that it can be applied to Hyatt hotels in different Categories: 1-4, 1-7, or 1-8. But what do these Hyatt Categories mean?
What is Hyatt Hotel’s Category
Each Hyatt hotel is assigned an award Category from one to eight (Category 1-8) and can be found on the Hyatt website. This category indicates the price per night, whether you are paying with cash or redeeming your points.
Meanwhile, the specific Hyatt brand or collection, such as Park Hyatt or Andaz, sets expectations for the quality of your stay.
How many points per night does each Hyatt require
If two Hyatt hotels are in the same category, they will both require the same number of points for redemption. The Hyatt Award Chart below shows the Standard, Peak, and Off-Peak amounts of points needed to book a Standard Room.
| Off-peak rate | Standard rate | Peak rate | |
| Category 1 | 3,500 | 5,000 | 6,500 |
| Category 2 | 6,500 | 8,000 | 9,500 |
| Category 3 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 |
| Category 4 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 |
| Category 5 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 |
| Category 6 | 21,000 | 25,000 | 29,000 |
| Category 7 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 |
| Category 8 | 35,000 | 40,000 | 45,000 |
Note that All-Inclusive Resorts and Miraval Resorts have their own Award Chart.
How many points per night does each All-inclusive Hyatt resort require
| Off-peak rate | Standard rate | Peak rate | |
| Category A | 12,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 |
| Category B | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 |
| Category C | 21,000 | 25,000 | 29,000 |
| Category D | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 |
| Category E | 35,000 | 40,000 | 45,000 |
| Category F | 42,000 | 50,000 | 58,000 |
As you can see, the higher the category of the hotel, the more points you’ll need to redeem per night for your stay.
So when you earn a Category 1-4 Free Night Award, you can redeem it at the Hyatt Hotel Category 1, 2, 3, and 4. The same rule applies to earning and redeeming Free Night Award Categories 1-7 and 1-8. Aiming for the highest category or the most expensive cash rate to make the most value out of your award would be best.
💡 Good to know: When redeeming your Free Night Award for a multiple-night stay, apply it to the night that requires more points per night (peak night) to save points!
How to earn a Hyatt Free Night Award
How to earn a Hyatt Free Night Award through milestone awards
30 qualifying nights or 50,000 base points
After you stay 30 nights at any Hyatt hotel or earn 50,000 Base Points, you’ll receive one Category 1-4 Free Night Award. This certificate can be redeemed for a free night at any Hyatt property in Categories 1-4. It must be used within 180 days at participating hotels.
60 qualifying nights or 100,000 base points
Upon achieving Globalist status in the World of Hyatt program by staying 60 nights or earning 100,000 Base Points, you’ll receive one Category 1-7 Free Night Award. This can be used at any Category 1-7 Hyatt hotel or Category A-D all-inclusive resort within 180 days.
100 qualifying nights
When you reach 100 qualifying nights at Hyatt in a calendar year, you’ll earn another Category 1-7 Free Night Award to redeem in any participating Category 1-7 hotel or Category A-D all-inclusive resort. This award also expires within 180 days, so be sure to use it quickly.
150 qualifying nights
Hyatt’s top offered Free Night Award is the Ultimate Free Night Award after you stay 150 qualifying nights. This Award can be redeemed at any Category 1-8 hotel, Category A-F all-inclusive resort or Miraval wellness resort, and expires in 180 days.
How to earn a Hyatt Free Night Award through credit cards
Chase World of Hyatt Card anniversary award
The World of Hyatt Credit Card from Chase offers a Category 1-4 Free Night Award each year after your account anniversary. You don’t need to stay any nights to earn this award, and it’s valid for one year from issuance. Read more about Maximizing Credit Card Free Night Awards here.
Chase World of Hyatt
The Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card gives you an automatic Discoverist status with Hyatt, which has valuable benefits such as a 2 pm late checkout and a daily bottle of water. Right now, you can earn up to 60,000 points: earn 30,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening, earn 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent on all purchases for the first 6 months, up to $15,000 in spending (which equals 30,000 points).
REWARDS RATE
1x-4x
BONUS VALUE
$1,200
SIGN-UP bONUS
up to 60,000 points
ANNUAL FEE
$95
Chase World of Hyatt Spending Bonus
When you spend $15,000 on your World of Hyatt Credit Card in a calendar year, you’ll earn another Category 1-4 Free Night Award valid for one year.
How to earn a Hyatt Free Night Award through Brand Explorer
Finally, when you stay at 5 different Hyatt brands (such as Hyatt Regency, Andaz, JdV, Grand Hyatt, and others), you get one Category 1-4 Free Night Certificate valid for one year. The Brand Explorer Bingo does not reset every year, however, by staying at any new five different Hyatt hotels, members can earn more awards.
How to redeem you Hyatt Free Night Award
You can redeem your Hyatt Free Night Award through either the World of Hyatt app or website. Simply log in to your account, search for a participating hotel, and select the free night option at checkout. If a Standard Room is available, your Free Night Award can be applied to your stay. It’s best to book early, as availability can change.
Restrictions on redeeming Hyatt Free Night Award
Hyatt Free Night Awards must be redeemed before their expiration date. This means that for your stay, you need to check out before your award expires.
💡 Good to know: You can not combine Suite Upgrade Awards with Category 1-7, Category 1-4, or Ultimate Free Night Awards. Actually, that is one of the reasons we do not redeem our Free Night Award because we want to apply our SUA to the reservation to secure the Suite before our arrival.
However, you can use a Suite Upgrade Award for eligible nights that you have either paid for or redeemed points for a standard-room or club free night award, or a standard-room Points + Cash award.
Examples of using Hyatt Free Night Award
Over the years, we have redeemed our Hyatt Free Night Awards at many great Hyatt properties. You can also apply several Free Night Awards to your reservation and use Hyatt points or cash for the rest of your stay.
Note that Hyatt has its annual Chart updates where some hotels change their Categories (some go up, while some go down). This means some of the Hyatt hotels are no longer in the Category to redeem the Award.
Here are some of the Hyatt properties we stayed at using the Free Night Award:
- Park Hyatt Istanbul – Maçka Palas. We redeemed our Category 1-4 Hyatt Free Night Award; this hotel is currently a Category 5 Hyatt hotel.
- Thompson Chicago. We redeemed our Category 1-4 Hyatt Free Night Award.
- Carmel Valley Ranch. We redeemed our Category 1-7 Hyatt Free Night Award; this hotel is currently a Category 8 Hyatt hotel.
- The Eliza Jane. We redeemed our Category 1-4 Hyatt Free Night Award; this hotel is currently a Category 5 Hyatt hotel.
- Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows. We redeemed our Category 1-7 Hyatt Free Night Award.
Bottom line
The Hyatt Free Night Award is one of the most valuable benefits in the World of Hyatt program, especially if you know how to earn and redeem it strategically. Whether you’re earning it through a Hyatt credit card, elite status, or the Brand Explorer challenge, these free night certificates can unlock stays at top-tier properties for no cost.
Understanding the rules, category limits, and redemption tips will help you make the most of each certificate and maximize the value of your Hyatt points.
