If you’ve been following this site since the beginning of the year, you probably remember me mentioning a way to match to Hyatt Explorist status via Mlife partnership. Many of you will retain Explorist status through February of 2018 as a result of taking advantage of this loophole. I hope you guys put those four Club Lounge upgrades to good use!
My cousin-in-law Jen brought up something awhile back which made a lot of sense. She said that after Hyatt Explorist status expires in February, it should be possible to request a match again. Hmm… I think it just might work, though I’m not 100% certain on it.
Mlife elite program has different rules compared to Hyatt. It appears that those of you who matched earlier in the year should have Gold status till at least September 30th, 2018. The way MLife program works is like this. The earning period is from October 1st through September 31st of the following year.
So, if I’m understanding it correctly, once you hit certain status threshold, you will keep it through the end of current period plus, the following year (well, through September). That’s why those who matched at the beginning of 2017 got Gold status through September 2018. I know, it’s confusing.
I was able to match my husband’s (at the time) Hyatt Diamond status to MLife Platinum at the beginning of the year, and that’s the date shown on his account:
So, at least in theory, once his Hyatt Explorist status expires in February of 2018, I could just request a match again. Obviously, this strategy may not pan out and they may change the rules by that point. But it would be nice it this works as I’ve described. We are planning on staying in Park Hyatt Sydney in summer of 2018, and higher status may get us a nicer room with a view of the Opera House.
Are you currently Hyatt Explorist, but not Mlife Gold?
If you don’t plan to re-qualify for Explorist (or Globalist) Hyatt status via stays, you have an option to match to Mlife right now and then match back to Explorist later on. If you request a match, you should be Mlife Gold through September 30th of 2019. Makes sense? Keep in mind that the opportunity for status match may go away without warning, so I would do it sooner rather than later.
You can request a match on this Hyatt page. I’m not certain on this one, but I’m thinking that my husband will drop to MLife Gold status after September 2018, so in theory, we should still be able to match to Explorist Hyatt status after that date. Time will tell.
My favorite way of obtaining elite status
If you’ve been reading my blog for few years, you know how I feel about mattress runs with the goal of obtaining elite status. Obviously, I would never tell people how to spend their money, I just think some are deluding themselves into thinking the juice will be worth the squeeze.
Of course, every situation is different, and sometimes it’s indeed worth it to go out of your way in order to reach elite tier. But planning your whole life around it just so you can (maybe) come out ahead financially at some point in the future? Not this gal. If you are a middle-class family, I strongly recommend you think twice before embarking on your mattress running adventure. Remember, you can always buy food or simply arrange a paid suite upgrade with the money you save.
However, if you can match to an elite status with a few clicks of a mouse and sending a screenshot, then why not? You never know when it will come in handy, so go for it. Just be warned, elite status can definitely mess with your head and cause you to act irrationally.
To splurge or not to splurge?
This December I have reserved a 2-night stay in my favorite Hyatt of all time: Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa I was able to apply Club Lounge upgrade, which will give us free breakfast, snacks and dinner. That’s a wonderful perk for a family of four. My kids don’t like all the food in the lounge, but we still save a good bit of money.
Anyway, I have an extra 15,000 Hyatt points that are burning a hole in my pocket. So, I’m thinking maybe I should add a third night to the reservation. I know my kids won’t mind it one bit. It’s such a fun place with lots to do for everyone in the family. The kids will be off for two weeks, so why not have a mini-vacation rather than just a weekend getaway? OK, I confess, this getaway is not just for kids.
Of course, I’m not swimming in hotel points, so maybe it’s better to just save them, especially if my plans for repeat MLife status match do materialize. That would mean four additional Club Lounge upgrades to use in the future. On the other hand, like I said earlier, this opportunity may go away before March of 2018. Not to mention, between now and that date, Hyatt program may bump this resort to a Category 5 (20,000 points per night).
Another issue is the fact that we would have to share one room with our kids for three nights. No separate sleeping area or privacy to speak of. But that’s the case with most of our vacations because the kids end up disturbing us during the night anyway.
Readers, what do you think? Should I go for it?
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Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
THanks, Leana, good plan, can’t hurt to try!
I’d probably extend it too. We were there last year for 4 nights with lounge access because I got hubby Diamond match. Thinking about doing same thing this year using my 2 free cert nights and 2 nights on points. Now, we are both Explorist now and have some certs left to apply to lounge access. Wondering if they would also give lounge access for the free night certs??
@Lynn Unfortunately, you can’t apply lounge access to free certs. I know because I checked. However, I’m wondering if they would let you keep it if you book the room on points for the previous two nights? Technically, they don’t have to, but I bet if you ask nicely at the check-in, they might.
Will it be warm enough to swim in December? I read in your previous story that the pools are heated, but if it’s only 70 degrees outside that still sounds cold!
@Clyn6 It’s tough to predict what the weather will be like in December. We do have cold fronts in Florida, so there is some risk. We went to this resort last December and the weather was perfect, so hopefully we’ll get lucky again. Most pools there, including lazy river, are heated, so unless it’s freezing, we’ll be using them. It will be hard to keep my kids out of them!
Leana – definitely splurge and stay 3 nights especially since you have lounge access. Did I mention how stressful it has been to use our Lounge Certs this year? I know, First World problems. When I first called Grand Hyatt Kauai they said they didn’t have room to accept my lounge cert. Fortunately, when I called back a few months later, space opened up and I was able to use it. My kids loved it.
Did you know that not all Hyatt Regency’s have a Lounge? I found that out when I called Hyatt Regency Boston, and they said “sorry, but we don’t have a lounge.” WTH?
We’re not planning anymore trips until Spring Break so I asked hubby how about a quick weekend trip (so I can use the Lounge Certs) to Huntington Beach (NOPE!), San Diego (NOPE! They’re having a Hepatitis A breakout right now), Phoenix (NOPE! too far to drive). He’s killing me.
I’ll try asking him again next month because I’ll have my kids for 2 weeks for Winter Break, and we’ll definitely need a mini vacation.
@Stephanie I did it! I called and added the third night. I’m seriously a crazy person and someday may regret this decision. But my thinking is, we are already going through the trouble of packing and driving there, why the heck not. Both of my kids say it’s their favorite resort. Oh, and I was surprised as well that not all Regency hotels have a lounge. Fortunately, this one does. I’m glad you put your upgrade to good use. Food in Hawaii is expensive.
Hope you come up with a getaway plan. Your husband would totally get along with mine!
I decided to match to MLife Gold today. Maybe I’ll have luck matching to Hyatt Explorist next March when my current status expires. Fingers crossed!
As far as Coconut Point, I would go for the 3rd night. We only stayed for 2 nights last March, and I wished for more time. That said, we have 3 nights reserved at Hyatt Lost Pines over winter break and I’m considering cutting it back to 2 nights so that we can put more money towards our activities in Hawaii.
@Nancy Hope everything will work out as planned with your Mlife match. I think I might add an extra night. I probably shouldn’t, but oh well. We have two full weeks with zero vacation plans. That’s travesty, my friend! I know we will end up spending extra money, but the kids love that place so much. That’s why I collect the points, so I can spend them on fun getaways with my family.
I sure hope the re-match works. I’ve grown accustomed to my perks. I’ve used most of our lounge certificates up. I have a Maui stay booked that I’m really excited about having lounge access. I’m still bummed a Coconut Point stay that was paid for through my husband’s work got cancelled bc if the hurricane.
Just my two cents, but I’d save the Hyatt points. You could use them along with your renewal certificate for another two-night stay or stay two nights on points plus cash. I’d rather have two stays rather than one three-night stay. Of course, like you said it may go up to cat 5, which would be really disappointing. But there’s always the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. Your kids would love that one also.
Jen, I’m thrilled that you were able to use the cert in Maui. What a deal! Hope you can make it to Coconut Point soon, I’m sorry the last stay was cancelled.
I’m kind of torn on this one. To be honest, I’m leaning towards just extending the stay. I have my doubts on whether the match will go through. Plus, I really think they will change it to a category 5 soon. I’m a bit of a pessimist, I guess.
The kids will be off for two weeks, and will start going nuts from boredom after few days. And it sure will be easier to entertain them in a Hyatt resort than at home.