Today's an exciting day for American Airlines' frequent fliers and Hyatt regulars, as the two brands announced a partnership to provide their elite status members more ways to earn points and miles. Through the collaboration, AAdvantage elites (anyone with Gold status or higher) will earn both World of Hyatt loyalty points and one mile per dollar when they stay at a Hyatt property. The same goes for World of Hyatt elites (Discoverist, Explorist, and Globalist members)—when they fly American, on top of earning AAdvantage miles, they'll earn an additional Hyatt point per dollar spent on their ticket.
When the program launches later this year—the exact date has yet to be announced—elites will also have access to the benefits of their reciprocal programs: World of Hyatt Explorist and Globalist members will get priority boarding on American Airlines flights, free checked bags, free preferred seats, while AAdvantage Platinum, Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members will get late check-out upon request, room upgrades, and free premium internet at Hyatt properties. However, only American's ConciergeKey members (an invitation-only status level whose exact requirements are unclear) will receive World of Hyatt Globalist status.
This is pretty big news, not only because your benefits will multiply, but also because it's a deviation from standard loyalty programs. Most hotel rewards programs, including the recently-announced Marriott Bonvoy, make you choose between earning airline miles or hotel points at their properties. The same goes for frequent flyer programs, many of which allow you to cash in your miles to pay for hotels. The ability to earn both at the same time? That's pretty much unheard of.
With around 750 hotels in its portfolio, Hyatt is a comparatively small global hotel chain, but it has a strong footprint in the luxury space. Miraval wellness resorts are under its umbrella, and Park Hyatt hotels consistently rank as some of the top places to stay in their respective cities. (The Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, Park Hyatt Tokyo, and Park Hyatt Sydney are all on our "best of" lists.) Its World of Hyatt Chase credit card, too, comes highly recommended as a means of earning elite Hyatt status, which means, if you play your cards right, more American Airlines miles.
Read more about our favorite hotel loyalty and frequent flier programs here and here.
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