Hyatt Status Match Guide: (M Life, American & More) [2020]

Status matches and challenges can be great ways to shortcut your way to elite status so you can take advantage of valuable perks like free breakfast, upgrades, late check out and many more perks. But not every major hotel program is very generous with status matches. In this article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Hyatt status matches, including those offered with M Life and American Airlines. 

How to do a Hyatt status match

Hyatt is known for not offering as many status matches as other programs like Hilton or Marriott and so it is not always possible to do a status match with Hyatt. With that said, there are some ways that you can status match and status challenge with Hyatt — you just have to be a little bit lucky or hold some type of other elite membership. I’ll talk about these methods below. 

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What is a status match or status challenge?

Before I dive in, I just want to make sure we’re on the same page and you know exactly what a status match and status challenge are.

Status match

A status match is a way for you to jump to a certain level of status with a loyalty program. The level of status you’re given usually corresponds to the level of elite status you have with another program. For example, if you status match from Marriott Gold to Hilton, you might be given Hilton Gold. Many times a status match will be temporary but give you the option of retaining the status if you complete a status challenge. 

Status challenge

A status challenge requires you to make a certain number of stays within a certain window, such as 90 days. For example, you might have to finish 10 stays in 90 days to receive elite status.

When you complete a status challenge, you’ll usually be allowed to hold on to that status for up to two years, depending on when you complete the challenge. Sometimes you can find very cheap hotels to stay at and it can be very easy to complete a status challenge with only paying very little for all of your stays, so these can be very worthwhile. 

Hyatt status matches 

There are currently no status matches open to the masses for Hyatt right now. However, you can jump on a unique status match if you qualify. Hyatt is offering a status match and challenge for certain corporate employees. There’s not a full list of eligible companies that I’m aware of but you can simply enter in your work email address here to see if you qualify. 

Here are the terms of the challenge: 

• Register by November 28, 2019, to receive trial Explorist status for 90 days
• Stay 10 qualifying nights at any Hyatt hotel or resort within 90 days of registration to maintain Explorist status through February 2021
• Stay an additional 10 qualifying nights at any Hyatt hotel or resort within 90 days of registration and earn Globalist status through February 2021. Enjoy even more rewards with Globalist status like 30% Bonus Points, Club lounge access including breakfast, and more

So this is another type of challenge that offers an upfront status but you can get it by just registering for the challenge. If you want to maintain it you’ll need to make 10 qualifying nights within 90 days of registering and if you want Hyatt Globalist you’ll need to make an additional 10 qualifying nights. 

This is a pretty solid challenge in my book (since it allow for nights) but it’s just not clear to me who exactly qualifies for it. Here’s what Hyatt states if you have any questions: 

Offer only valid for World of Hyatt members who are employed by an entity that has received an invitation from Hyatt for its employees to participate in this offer (any a “Qualifying Entity”).  If you are not sure whether you work for a Qualifying Entity, check with your corporate travel manager. 

Hyatt M Life status matches 

One interesting thing you can do with your Hyatt status is use it to match to M Life. If you aren’t aware, M Life is a loyalty program for several large Las Vegas resorts like the Bellagio, Aria, MGM Grand, etc. 

M life Rewards members enjoy exclusive benefits including: discounts on rooms, shows and participating retail shops, plus pre-sale tickets to events, concerts, flights and more. For example, you can match from Hyatt Discoverist status to M Life Pearl, Explorist to Gold, and Globalist to Gold. You’ll need to opt-in to make this happen.  

M Life status usually drops down in October and since your Hyatt status won’t drop down until March, you may need to re-match your status every year in the fall. 

You can also match from M Life to Hyatt. 

Random Hyatt status matches 

It’s possible that Hyatt could randomly issue out status to people via the internet. This sounds really sketchy and I wasn’t sold on it until I saw tons of reports from reputable users that this was actually happening. Back in November of 2018, Hyatt was giving out Explorist status like candy to whoever sent in their details on Reddit. They gave Explorist for 90 days and then allowed you to keep it if you made 10 stays in a 90 day period.

I have no idea if Hyatt will resort to these generous shenanigans in the future but this is definitely something to keep your eyes out for if you’re a regular Reddit user.  

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Requesting a Hyatt status match via email 

You can also request a Hyatt status match by simply sending in an email to: worldofhyatt@hyatt.com. You might not have much luck though. I’ve seen reports of many people getting denied for status matches from programs like Marriott Bonvoy, Wyndham Rewards, Hilton Honors, IHG, etc. Still, you never know until you try.

Hyatt status match with American Airlines 

If you have status with American Airlines you may be eligible for a status match or fast track to elite status with Hyatt. For example, American Airlines Concierge Key members may receive automatic World of Hyatt Globalist status. If you have a lower level of American elite status like Platinum, Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum you might be eligible for a challenge like this one: 

• Stay 10 nights within 90 days of registering to keep Explorist status through February 2021
• Stay 20 nights within 90 days to earn Globalist through February 2021

This challenge is part of the partnership between American Airlines and Hyatt that allows you to earn additional points or miles. In case you didn’t know: 

• American elite members earn 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent with Hyatt 
• Hyatt elite members earn 1 Hyatt point per dollar spent on American Airlines 

To take advantage of these offers: you must link your AAdvantage account to your Hyatt account to receive these benefits and the name in your AAdvantage account must match the name in your World of Hyatt account. Click here for more on that program and to link your accounts. 

You don’t get all the perks 

When you status match or challenge with Hyatt you won’t receive all of the perks that someone would receive if they finished actual stays at Hyatt properties. 

For example, if you were to make 30 stays you’d receive Hyatt Explorist status and you’d also receive a free night award in a Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort, Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotel, or M life Rewards destination. You’d also get two Club lounge access awards.

If you were to make 40 stays you’d receive your choice of 5,000 Bonus Points, a $100 Hyatt Gift Card or save 10,000 points on a FIND experience. And if you made it fo 50 nights, you’d get two suite upgrade awards. 

But now let’s say you didn’t make those stays and instead you only received Explorist through a status match or status challenge. In that case you wouldn’t receive the free night, club lounge access, or the suite upgrades. Instead, you’d be limited to the standard Explorist benefits, which include: 

• 20% point bonus on the Base Points earned on the Eligible Rate and Eligible Incidental Charges
• Upgrades to best room available
• 72-Hour Room Availability
• Special Reservation Phone Line
• Premium internet access
• Dedicated Check-In Area
• 2:00 PM Late Checkout

Are they worth it?

It’s great to get a sense of what a certain type of hotel elite status will offer you but unless you have a lot of stays lined up, it can be difficult to measure the value of an elite level status with only a few stays, especially if you’re not staying at hotels that are known for better elite treatment. 

But if you have a sense of the value you’ll get, you should look into doing mattress runs if needed. Mattress runs are when you book and stay (or at least check in) at the cheapest properties you can find near your area.

You stay enough nights or stays to earn status so it’s like paying cash for elite status. Once you factor in the points you earn from the stays, possible promos, cash back portals, and your credit cards, these mattress runs aren’t as expensive as you might think. 

Final word 

Overall, it’s a little frustrating that Hyatt doesn’t come around with more status matches and challenges. Unless you fall into a certain group or just get a little bit lucky, it’s very tricky to shortcut your way to elite status with Hyatt. However, if you have the Hyatt credit card you can spend your way to elite status so there are ways to get status with Hyatt without actually staying in properties.