World of Hyatt is my favorite hotel loyalty program, and Globalist status comes with some phenomenal benefits. What many people don’t realize is that there’s a secret status above Globalist, known as Courtesy Card.
Think of it as being along the lines of how American Airlines has Concierge Key and United Airlines has Global Services, except this Hyatt status is significantly more exclusive.
In this post:
What is Hyatt Courtesy Card?
Hyatt Courtesy Card is an invitation only status level. Hyatt is tight-lipped about this status, both in terms of the requirements to earn it, as well as the benefits associated with it.
With that in mind, I wanted to share what I know about Courtesy Card, which is based on anecdotal reports from readers, and some sources who are in the know.
How do you earn Hyatt Courtesy Card?
As far as I know there are four ways to earn Courtesy Card (in order of the likelihood of earning it):
- Own a Hyatt hotel
- Be nominated by the general manager of a Hyatt property, and then the request will be reviewed by World of Hyatt
- Spend a lot of money at Hyatt properties, and stay at a large number of Hyatt properties
- Be responsible for large corporate travel accounts that bring a lot of business to Hyatt, ideally also mixed with one of the above
Again, this is purely based on anecdotal reports I’ve seen, so I can’t personally vouch for any of the above being a sure thing. In case you’re wondering how much spending is required to earn Courtesy Card through the third method above, think $50,000+ per year. To be clear, even $50,000 is far from a guarantee to get Courtesy Card, but if you don’t spend at least that much, expect that you have almost no shot.
What are the benefits of Hyatt Courtesy Card?
As you might expect, for such a “secret” status level, there aren’t that many published benefits beyond World of Hyatt Globalist status. Rather Courtesy Card seems to be primarily about “soft” treatment and recognition at properties.
As I understand it, Courtesy Card perks include the following:
- The best available suite at hotels, and overall priority for everything (including upgrades) ahead of other members
- A welcome amenity
- Special recognition throughout your stay, though the quality of that recognition varies by property
When does Hyatt send out Courtesy Card nominations?
Based on what I’ve heard, Hyatt historically sends our Courtesy Card nominations around late February or early March, around the same time that the previous year’s status ends. We’ll see if that’s the same in the coming year, since this sure is a strange time for the travel loyalty business.
How many Hyatt Courtesy Card members are there?
This is anyone’s guess, really. Hyatt has around 1,000 hotels, and many hotels have the same owners. So I’d guess that there are under 1,000 people who have Courtesy Card through ownership of a Hyatt property.
As far as people invited to Courtesy Card through their own stay activity goes, I’ve heard that number is in the hundreds, or very low thousands at most.
If I had to guess, I’d say there are at most a few thousand Courtesy Card members out there, if that. We’re not talking about tens of thousands of members, as you might find with some other invitation only elite tiers.
Bottom line
Courtesy Card is Hyatt’s invitation only status for hotel owners and other “important” guests, including those who spend a lot and those who control a lot of travel for others. Perks include upgrades to the best available rooms and overall great recognition. While most of us will never qualify for this elite tier, it’s always fun to know what’s out there.
Are any OMAAT readers Courtesy Card members? If so, what has your experience been, are there any benefits I missed, and how did you earn it (if you don’t mind sharing)?
Besides hotel owners, other courtery card members do not benefit from upgrades. They usually get this status because they rent the big suites anyway and pay for it.
I was reading Tyler Brule's column today The Weekend Edition and he mentioned he just checked in to the Grand Hyatt Erawan and has the exact same room he stayed in the month before (one of the garden villas). He also always stays at PH Tokyo (is a VERY regular visitor there due to Monocle's / his ties with Japan) and has written about the PH Bangkok several times - this peaked my interest and...
I was reading Tyler Brule's column today The Weekend Edition and he mentioned he just checked in to the Grand Hyatt Erawan and has the exact same room he stayed in the month before (one of the garden villas). He also always stays at PH Tokyo (is a VERY regular visitor there due to Monocle's / his ties with Japan) and has written about the PH Bangkok several times - this peaked my interest and got me wondering if they let frequent business travellers leave items behind (ie a suit, gym clothes, shoes etc like some fine European hotels do). That would be a great perk if travelling a lot and wanting to do carry on only to save time.
My father was a courtesy card member holder for quite some time at the time he was a courtesy card member for maybe about 15 years or more I remember staying in Hyatt hotels everywhere we went we always had the best sweet in the house more than likely the presidential suite and it only cost what a regular room cost for courtesy club members! At the time they were only 500 courtesy card numbers...
My father was a courtesy card member holder for quite some time at the time he was a courtesy card member for maybe about 15 years or more I remember staying in Hyatt hotels everywhere we went we always had the best sweet in the house more than likely the presidential suite and it only cost what a regular room cost for courtesy club members! At the time they were only 500 courtesy card numbers and that was like in 2012 when my dad passed away. Unfortunately courtesy card member benefits do not transfer to the kids !! That was the only bad part about it everything else was awesome!!
Being a Courtesy Card member since 1992:
1. Nominated by Hyatt Chairman's wife. (we sat on the same Board together)
2. There are about 400 CC's.
3. Had MGR of Key West Hyatt WALK a Hyatt employee vacationing there when they LOST my CC reservation. (Hyatt takes the CC program seriously.)
4. Had Presidential Suite in Park Hyatt Sydney...the day AFTER,,, Julia Roberts stayed in it. Julia...Julia...you forgot something!
I managed a celebrity who had this card. In our experience the benefits did not extend much beyond what Ben wrote: it was essentially Globalist (at the time, Diamond) with upgrades to the best suites. Upgrades to the Presidential Auite were common. Hyatt points were earned. There was one added benefit: the cardholder could gift Globalist statement to one person.
I'm skeptical about any hotel "status." Every year, I spend a multiple of the dollar figure Ben states and property owners still strive to deny benefits. And, ultimately, realization of status benefits happens (or doesn't happen) based on decisions by the individual property. Would this Courtesy Card status open up inventory -- upgrade or award -- that owners have nefariously removed? Would it open up any of the other benefits that owners have attempted to suppress?
When I was Diamond/Globalist with Hyatt, I had a concierge that would review all my stays as they were coming up and would sometimes proactively message me about them (confirmations if I was accidentally double-booked, etc.). I'd imagine you'd have some kind of powerful concierge tied to your CC that would automatically work with every hotel you book to get you into the best available suite and have a welcome amenity waiting for you. Kind...
When I was Diamond/Globalist with Hyatt, I had a concierge that would review all my stays as they were coming up and would sometimes proactively message me about them (confirmations if I was accidentally double-booked, etc.). I'd imagine you'd have some kind of powerful concierge tied to your CC that would automatically work with every hotel you book to get you into the best available suite and have a welcome amenity waiting for you. Kind of like how SPG used to have ambassadors who would get you gifts and the like.
My favorite thing about this article is that we have Ningbo, Sydney, Tokyo and Ubud Hyatt properties photographed. All places I can't travel as a US citizen.
Status with Hyatt? Irrelevant.
Sorry not Tokyo, Kyoto.
@Andrew, I can vouch for Ventana Big Sur (northern California). That's a nice place to stay if you are restricting yourself to U.S./domestic properties.
Oh, I hear you. Not stayed there yet, but on my to do list.
My point was the selection of photos Ben used in this specific article. I later noticed the title image is from PH Guangzhou. None of his specific photos are available for travel.
You can go to Ubud. We have been in Bali for 5 weeks enjoying every Hyatt property one by one. It is a bit tedious to fly into Jakarta and quarantine there but it is quite possible. As globalists they are treating us incredibly well - At most properties the GM comes and finds us during our stay to thank us for being here.
I have heard that Courtesy Card holders do not earn WoH points.
We earn 5 base points per eligible $1USD spent along with bonus points.
Does Courtesy Card status get you an extension on your free night awards? Or does Hyatt not care if you live or die from the omnicron wave
Considering that as of recently, only one person worldwide has died from the big scary omicron, your neuroticism isn't really Hyatt's problem to solve.
Ah okay. So its fine for people to hold off to see the long-term effects of the vaccine, but concern about the long-term effects of being a Covid survivor isn't valid. Plus, to that person who died, does it really matter how many other people died from Omnicom?
BTW, its one person in the US, not worldwide -- if you are going to mislead with statistics, at least get the statistics right.
ben, off topic a bit but would it be possible to mention the location of the photos in the text below them? i know the file names have their location but it's just more steps to view them. i'm always curious to know which gorgeous hotels are in the pics. i really like all of the hotels in the pics of this post. they are so low key. no bling.
Some blogs have them but yes a quick (Alila Ubud Bali) below a pic would be nice. In the meantime just:
right click and select search Google for this image and nine times out of ten you get the right answer of where the picture is from.
thanks Steve. i am aware of google image search but actually you don't even always have to search. the name of the image file has the hotel in it. for example: Park-Hyatt-Kyoto-Suite.png. so i just right click and select open image in new tab and there it is in the URL.
Not even owning a Hyatt guarantees Courtesy Card. My friend (very rich, shady and paranoid guy from Singapore) owns several Hyatts in southeast Asia and Australia, but he said he "never even heard of this status" let along having one on his wallet.
*let alone having one in his wallet*
I’m not a CC member but know of someone who is. He was posted to China to run the local unit and had his residence at local Hyatt property.
The GM of the Hyatt property nominated him to be CC and he enjoys the perks you mentioned above. The status is not for life unlike LTGB and expires annually. However, the hotels do go out of their way to make his stay as pleasurable as...
I’m not a CC member but know of someone who is. He was posted to China to run the local unit and had his residence at local Hyatt property.
The GM of the Hyatt property nominated him to be CC and he enjoys the perks you mentioned above. The status is not for life unlike LTGB and expires annually. However, the hotels do go out of their way to make his stay as pleasurable as possible, including to waive unnecessary fees (for example, laundry and room service) and no restrictions on check in and out timings as long as it is within the check in and out days.
I have the mythical 'Gold' Blockbuster Card.
Get's me lots of free VHS, waived late fees, and early access to new release. The manager would go to Tower Records to buy extra copies.
Let's talk about the old good times