Travel & Lifestyle

American Airlines AAdvantage and World of Hyatt Partnership Update

American Airlines AAdvantage and World of Hyatt formed a partnership in 2019 to provide mutual benefits to elite members of each program. Since then, we’ve seen a number of limited-time promotions for members, including the ability to get instant status (the most recent offer ended in September).

Now, both programs are launching a slew of new benefits that select travelers can unlock throughout the year, including the ability to use AAdvantage miles to earn Hyatt free night awards, as well as new loyalty select rewards and milestone rewards.

The updates were first announced late last year and are now live.

Unfortunately, the ability to earn bonus U.S. miles on Hyatt stays and bonus Hyatt points on U.S. flights has been eliminated at the end of 2024.

Here’s what you need to know about these new products.

No more reciprocal points earnings

Let’s talk about the main negative news first. Previously, AAdvantage elite members earned 1 mile for every $1 spent on eligible Hyatt purchases. In addition, World of Hyatt elite members earn 1 point for every $1 spent on eligible U.S. flights.

This benefit ends on December 31, 2024.

As someone with AAdvantage Platinum Pro and Hyatt Globalist status, this is really disappointing. Many of my Hyatt stays were booked with points, but I did earn nearly 6,000 bonus U.S. miles last year on work and personal stays at Hyatt properties. I also earned over 1,000 Hyatt bonus points on a handful of U.S. flights in 2024.

But do the new benefits provide enough value to offset this depreciation?

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New Hyatt benefits for AAdvantage members

You’ll soon have new options for earning free night rewards at hotels like the Grand Hyatt Vail. Hyatt Regency

The good news is that American AAdvantage members now have some new options to enjoy as they earn more loyalty points during their qualifying year.

Starting January 2, you can use AAdvantage miles to redeem the following tiers of Hyatt rewards:

  • 40,000 loyalty points: Redeem 25,000 miles for Category 1-4 free night awards
  • 125,000 loyalty points: Redeem 65,000 miles for free night awards in categories 1-7

In our estimates, TPG pegged AAdvantage miles at 1.65 cents each, so that means you’d use $413 worth of miles to earn category 1-4 awards and about $1,073 worth of miles to earn category 1- 7 Category Awards. This is a huge reward payout, so you’ll want to make sure the interest rate you pay is high enough to justify this redemption.

Related: How to Earn, Use and Make the Most of Your Hyatt Free Night Certificates

In addition, starting March 1, 2025, as part of your AAdvantage loyalty point rewards, you will receive four new Hyatt-related benefits that will unlock after reaching certain thresholds during the year:

  • Hyatt Explorer Status: This will be a new benefit of 100,000 loyalty points.
  • Hyatt Explorer Status: This will be a new option with loyalty points of 175,000 and 250,000.
  • Free accommodation for categories 1-4: This will be a new option with loyalty points of 400,000, 550,000 and 750,000.
  • Category 1-7 Free accommodation: This will be a new option with loyalty points of 1 million, 3 million and 5 million.

The first one is easy, as it’s automatically offered when you reach 100,000 loyalty points in your qualification year. While it’s better than nothing, World of Hyatt Explorer is the program’s entry-level status level, and those with a World of Hyatt credit card automatically receive it.

Others are a bit more complicated, as you’ll need to forego other loyalty point rewards in favor of Explorer or free night reward options.

You can view the current list of loyalty choice rewards at this link; here are some noteworthy choices with loyalty point thresholds of 175,000 and 250,000:

  • 175,000 (select one): Two system-wide upgrades, 20,000 bonus miles (25,000 miles if you have an AAdvantage credit card), six Admirals Club day passes, two AAdvantage Gold membership gifts
  • 250,000 (select two): Two system-wide upgrades, 20,000 bonus miles (30,000 miles if you have an AAdvantage card), six Admirals Club day passes, one Admirals Club membership (requires two selections) , two AAdvantage Gold membership gifts

Apart from these offers, is the Hyatt Explorer worth choosing? Only you can decide. But considering the value of upgrades or an Admirals Club membership, mid-range hotel status may not be the best option.

There are similar trade-offs for Category 1-4 free nights. When you reach 400,000, 550,000 and 750,000 loyalty points, you have two options at each threshold – including another system-wide upgrade, another 25,000 bonus miles, Admirals Club membership (two options) or complimentary AAdvantage Platinum status . The maximum points for a Category 4 hotel is 18,000 points, which means the free night is worth a little more than $300 based on TPG’s current valuation, although the price could be higher when revenue is higher.

Related: The Best Hyatt Category 4 Hotels to Maximize Your Free Night Award Certificates

Finally, for those super-qualified, choosing free nights in categories 1-7 with 1, 3 and 5 million loyalty points means missing out on the following:

  • 1 million loyalty points (select one): Four system-wide upgrades, free AAdvantage Platinum Pro, and up to 100,000 miles back on reward redemption
  • 3 million loyalty points (select one): six system-wide upgrades, complimentary AAdvantage Executive Platinum, and up to 300,000 miles returned upon award redemption
  • 5 million loyalty points (select one): 10 system-wide upgrades, complimentary AAdvantage Executive Platinum, and up to 500,000 miles returned upon award redemption

In the right circumstances, a Class 1-7 property can be worth hundreds of dollars – but whether it’s worth more than these benefits is up to you.

New AAdvantage benefits for Hyatt members

A new Hyatt benefit could get you a first-class upgrade when flying across the U.S. next year. Zach Grieve/Point Guard

Hyatt elite members can enjoy similar benefits, however, these benefits come at the cost of earning 1 point for every $1 spent on U.S. flights.

First, as part of the Hyatt Milestone Rewards program, four new AAdvantage benefits will be available starting January 1, 2025:

  • Preferred Seat Coupon: Members can choose two coupons between 20 nights or 35,000 base points and 30 nights or 50,000 base points.
  • Economy Class Extra Seat Coupon: Members can choose two coupons between 40 nights or 65,000 base points and 50 nights or 80,000 base points.
  • AAdvantage Gold Level: Members can select this option at 70, 80 or 90 qualifying nights.
  • AAdvantage Platinum Membership: Members can choose this option from 100 nights onwards.

Again, it’s up to you to decide whether this is worth it. 20 nights also includes the option to earn 2,000 bonus points (worth $34, according to our estimate) or a pair of club access bonuses on your next stay at a Hyatt Place or Hyatt House. On the other hand, American Airlines’ preferred seat prices vary widely, with some as low as $13, while select seats on long-haul flights can cost over $100.

It’s a similar story with the Main Cabin Extra. After 40 nights, you can choose between 5,000 bonus points (valued at $85) or a suite upgrade; after 50 nights, you can choose between an additional 5,000 points or a pair of suite upgrades. I really like the upgrade because it allows you to confirm a suite at the time of booking and qualify for a stay of up to seven nights. However, additional seats in the main cabin can also be quite expensive, exceeding $150 in some cases.

Finally, once you start reaching milestones beyond Globalist status, choosing AAdvantage Gold or AAdvantage Platinum status means giving up additional suite upgrades or 10,000 bonus points per tier. Again, only you can decide if it’s worth it.

In addition to these new milestone options, Explorist and Globalist members now have a new option to redeem Hyatt points and enjoy U.S. status for a day—effectively a short-term status match. As of January 1, 2025, the new options are as follows:

  • 5,000 Hyatt points: Enjoy AAdvantage Gold status for a day.
  • 8,000 Hyatt points: Enjoy one day of AAdvantage Platinum membership.
  • 12,000 Hyatt points: Enjoy AAdvantage Platinum Pro status for a day (Globalists only).
Hyatt Regency

This confers all the benefits of corresponding status – including free upgrades, free checked bags, and even bonus miles on paid tickets (up to 80% with AAdvantage Platinum Pro). These offers will also apply to companions on the same booking, subject to published restrictions. So you’re better off making these redemptions on higher-priced tickets to maximize your elite mile awards, on those where you’re most likely to get a free upgrade and when you have multiple travelers who need to check bags.

However, these redemptions are also standard bonus rates for Class 1, 2 and 3 properties respectively and may be of greater value.

Related: Guide to the World of Hyatt Award Chart

our opinion

Losing the ability to earn Hyatt points on U.S. flights and U.S. miles on Hyatt stays is frustrating, and unfortunately, new benefits may not offset this loss for members. Many of the new benefits require you to choose them over other benefits, so there are actually costs associated with them. This differs from previous partnerships where award miles or points were a net increase.

If you are currently a loyal American Airlines flyer and Hyatt Hotels guest, especially if you spend a lot of money on these two programs, your flight and stay awards may be significantly reduced.

That said, the new redemption options are somewhat interesting. It’s true that you need a fair amount of US miles to get a Category 1-4 or Category 1-7 free night award, but if the price you pay is high, it can be a good option. Plus, on the right trip, using Hyatt points to unlock one day of U.S. status benefits can help you avoid checked bag fees and make your trip more comfortable.

Be sure to weigh what you are giving up by redeeming miles (or points) this way.

bottom line

American Airlines and Hyatt Hotels are making some major changes to their partnership for the first time, including the elimination of reciprocal earning privileges and the addition of new loyalty point reward and milestone reward options. Unfortunately, many of the new benefits require you to select them in place of other (potentially more valuable) benefits, so some members may view this as an overall devaluation.

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