Hotel and airline partnerships aren’t something new in the world of loyalty programs. These partnerships see members of both airline and hotel loyalty programs being able to enjoy reciprocal benefits on hotel stays and flights.
At present, Marriott Rewardsย Bonvoy has its RewardsPlus partnership with United where Marriott Bonvoy members who attain Titanium Elite status will be able to enjoy a complimentary upgrade to United MileagePlus Silver status which in all honesty, isn’t a status that is particularly useful if you don’t have frequent travel with United.
Fresh off the press, World of Hyatt has just announced a new partnership with American Airlines. The actual date of as when this partnership will go “live” is still unknown.
Earn bonus points and miles when staying at Hyatt hotels or flying with American Airlines
In this new partnership, World of Hyatt elite tier members will be able to earn World of Hyatt points when booking travel with American Airlines and American Airlines AAdvantage elite members will be able to earn AAdvantage bonus miles when booking their stays at Hyatt properties.
Here’s what we know about the new partnership:
AAdvantage
- In addition to World of Hyatt points earned through Hyatt hotel stays, AAdvantage Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum, and ConciergeKey members will be able to earn one AAdvantage bonus mile for every eligible dollar spent at qualifying Hyatt properties.
- On top of earning more miles, Americanโs invitation-only ConciergeKey members will receive World of Hyatt Globalist status as a new way to extend the care provided throughout the entire travel journey.
World of Hyatt
- In addition to AAdvantage miles earned by flying on American, World of Hyatt Discoverist, Explorist, and Globalist members will be able to earn one World of Hyatt bonus point for every eligible dollar spent on qualifying American flights.
It’s interesting that only Concierge Key members will be given a straight status match to Globalist status, which is the highest elite status in the World of Hyatt program. In the press release that was sent out, it mentioned that AAdvantage Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum members, and Explorist and Globalist World of Hyatt members will also have the opportunity to participate in limited time status challenges.
For AAdvantage, the main perks most of you will be utilizing will be the benefits associated with oneworld Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald unless you have frequent travels on American Airlines. While no details about the requirements for the status challenges have been released, you will receive status while you complete the challenge which is great news.
Here’s a brief summary of what benefits each oneworld elite status will receive:
Admittedly for those who do a lot of premium cabin travels, the real tangible benefit of elite status would be that you will be able to guest a friend who is flying in Economy (poor him) into lounges as well as the extra baggage allowance.
Concluding Thoughts
It’s great to see World of Hyatt and American Airlines form a new partnership and providing an opportunity for a status match. Hyatt has been making a lot of changes to its program recently, including a devaluation, and this new announcement is definitely a much-appreciated one.
Of the legacy US carriers, the only carrier which does not have an official hotel partnership would be Delta. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a surprise announcement from Hilton, IHG, or maybe even Accor about a new airline partnership.
(Cover Photo: American Airlines)
