Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with the latest information.
The Hyatt Brand Explorer promotion lets World of Hyatt members unlock free nights by staying with different Hyatt brands. Specifically, you can earn a Category 1-4 free night award every time you stay on a qualifying rate at five unique Hyatt brands. Since there are currently 27 eligible brands, you can earn up to five free nights through Hyatt Brand Explorer.
You might already be familiar with Hyatt’s Category 1-4 certificates, which you can earn as a Hyatt Milestone Reward after accruing 30 elite nights or 50,000 base points in a calendar year. You can also earn Category 1-4 certificates through the World of Hyatt Credit Card.
But anyone can participate in Hyatt’s Brand Explorer promotion and earn up to five free nights at Hyatt properties. It’s arguably one of the easiest ways to earn a free night award. So, let’s look at what you should know about the Hyatt Brand Explorer promotion.
World of Hyatt Brand Explorer overview
The primary goal of the Hyatt Brand Explorer program is to incentivize World of Hyatt members to try out different brands in the Hyatt portfolio. By participating in the program, members can earn a Category 1-4 free night award for every five unique Hyatt brands they stay at.
All World of Hyatt members can enjoy this benefit — you don’t need elite status or a specific credit card. There’s no additional registration or end date required. And the benefit runs over your account’s lifetime, so you can take your time to reach the threshold.
Qualifying stays, including eligible paid stays (i.e., standard, member, AAA or senior rate) and World of Hyatt redemptions (points or free night certificate stays) count toward the Brand Explorer promotion. Guests only need to stay one night at each brand, and there’s no minimum spending requirement. However, stays booked through third parties like Expedia don’t count toward Hyatt Brand Explorer.
Related: The 23 best Hyatt hotels in the world
Hyatt hotel brands
With the addition of multiple all-inclusive properties after the acquisition of Apple Leisure Group, the World of Hyatt terms and conditions currently list 27 different eligible Hyatt brands for the Brand Explorer perk:
- Alila (only some locations).
- Alua (only once the location has begun participating).
- Andaz.
- Breathless.
- Caption by Hyatt.
- Destination by Hyatt (includes participating Destination by Hyatt Hotels and participating Destination by Hyatt Residences locations).
- Dream (some locations only).
- Dreams (only once the location has begun participating).
- Grand Hyatt.
- Hyatt (includes participating legacy AMR Collection properties that don’t operate under one of the other brands on this list).
- Hyatt Centric.
- Hyatt House.
- Hyatt Place.
- Hyatt Regency.
- Hyatt Residence Club (includes any vacation ownership property, even those not branded as a Hyatt Residence Club).
- Hyatt Vivid.
- Hyatt Zilara.
- Hyatt Ziva.
- Impression by Secrets.
- JdV by Hyatt.
- Miraval.
- Park Hyatt.
- Secrets (only once the location has begun participating).
- Sunscape.
- The Unbound Collection by Hyatt.
- Thompson Hotels.
- Zoëtry (only once the location has begun participating).
Since 27 Hyatt brands currently count toward the Brand Explorer promotion, you can earn up to five free nights that can be redeemed at Category 1-4 Hyatt properties.
Related: The best Hyatt beach hotels in the US
Tracking your Brand Explorer progress
Tracking your progress with the Hyatt Brand Explorer program is straightforward. To view the number of brands you have stayed at, log in to your World of Hyatt account online and navigate to the “My Awards” tab from the account homepage.
Expand the “Brand Explorer” tab to see your Brand Explorer progress.
You can also see this information on the World of Hyatt app.
Related: The best Category 1 Hyatt properties
Redeeming Hyatt Brand Explorer free nights
Once you have stayed at five different Hyatt brands, you will automatically receive a Category 1-4 free night certificate. Upon earning the certificate, you will receive an email confirmation, and it will appear under the “My Awards” tab in your World of Hyatt account. Brand Explorer Category 1-4 certificates are valid for one year, by which you must have completed your stay (not just booked your stay).
To redeem your certificate, you can search for a hotel as usual, with the “Use Points” option selected.
As Category 1-4 free night certificates are exclusively applicable for properties that cost up to 18,000 points per night (Category 4 properties on peak dates), you’ll need to search for rooms that meet this criterion. Once you have selected a hotel, you’ll see “free night” if you can use one of your free night certificates.
When possible, try to redeem your Category 1-4 certificates when nightly rates are over $300 at Category 4 properties. Hyatt waives destination and resort fees when you redeem points or free night certificates at most hotels. And if you’re a World of Hyatt Globalist member, parking is also comped when you redeem points or free night certificates.
Related: These are the best Hyatt Category 4 hotels, according to Globalists
Bottom line
The Hyatt Brand Explorer benefit is an easy way to earn a free night award for every five different World of Hyatt brands you try. You can potentially earn up to five free nights through this program. Unlike any other hotel loyalty program, this perk rewards guests with free nights for staying at various hotel brands, making it a unique and valuable benefit.
Additional reporting by Benji Stawski.
