It’s BACK! Hyatt and American Airline Elite Status Members Eligible For Free Status Match/Challenge for AA or Hyatt Status!
Well Happy (early) birthday to me and a wonderful present for American Airlines (AA) and Hyatt elites in general – the reciprocal status match/challenge is back for the third year in a row!
AAdvantage® – World of Hyatt® Partnership
AA and Hyatt’s partnership has been constantly evolving (RIP to the dual accrual that elite status members earnings that ended last year) but does still have some nice perks.
Individuals who are both World of Hyatt members and AAdvantage® members can earn benefits and rewards, including:
- New Loyalty Point Rewards: Unlock World of Hyatt® status and Free Night Awards at several levels.
- Enhance with Miles opportunities: Redeem miles for World of Hyatt® Night Awards.
Linking AAdvantage® account & World of Hyatt accounts
Participating in the benefits and rewards described on this page requires you to link your AAdvantage® and World of Hyatt® accounts.
In order to link your accounts, you must:
- Be a member in good standing of both the AAdvantage® program and the World of Hyatt® program
- Ensure that your first and last name as listed in your AAdvantage® account matches your first and last name as listed in your World of Hyatt® account
- Be at least 18 years old. By linking your accounts, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old
If you qualify, you may link your accounts from your AAdvantage® account page or from your World of Hyatt® account page; however, you do not need to link your accounts from both locations.
Linking your accounts + having elite status makes you eligible for the following elite status matches/challenges!
AAdvantage® Instant Status pass for World of Hyatt® Elites
From what I have seen – the notifications for these status matches / challenges are found in the apps – and counter intuitive to what you would think as I saw this in my AA app. AA accounts have been targeted for a trial AA elite status period for those who have Hyatt elite status. I currently hold World of Hyatt® Globalist status.
- Register by Sept 04, 2025
- Get Status for 4 months
- Keep status for another 4 months by fulfilling the following requirements in 120 days
- Gold – 13,000 Loyalty Points
- Platinum – 25,000 Loyalty Points
- Platinum Pro – 42,000 Loyalty Points
- Executive Platinum – 67,000 Loyalty Points
Real Life Examples of How AAdvantage® Elite Status has Paid Off For Me
World of Hyatt® Explorist for AAdvantage® Elite Members
Sign in to Hyatt for Explorist Trial Tier (if eligible)
If you have AA Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, or Executive Platinum, you will get immediate World of Hyatt® (WoH) Explorist status for 90 days (this is the status match portion)
- Register by October 31, 2025
- You have 90 days from registration to complete the challenge portion. Note that is a better offer than the last two years when only the two highest AA elite statue levels are eligible to earn Globalist!
- Upon registering, one will have immediate WoH Explorist status
- Staying 10 qualifying nights (typically requires 30 in a calendar year) allows one to keep WoH Explorist status through February 28, 2027
- Staying 20 qualifying nights (typically requires 60 in a calendar year) will earn WoH Globalist status through February 28, 2027
- One of my favorite things about World of Hyatt® is that Award Nights Count (these are both nights paid for with points or when Free Night Awards are used!)
Beautiful tip: Thee status challenge starts the moment you register, so if you don’t have any Hyatt stays on the books, hold off and register as late as possible to maximize your chance of success
Real Life Examples of How World of Hyatt® Elite Status has Paid Off For Me
We’ve seen trial status since 2023 from this partnership as well as when Bilt Rewards did a similar trial status and challenge. I took part in Bilt challenge, and currently hold Globalist through 2/25. The big caveat here is that you need AA Gold or higher in order to qualify, and Globalist is really the status you want with Hyatt. Explorist, which I’ve had many times in the past, isn’t worth adding extra nights to your calendar if you aren’t going to hit the 10 anyways. If you have 15 or 16 nights on the books, it could be worth finding some 3500 point nights at Category 1 hotels to hit Globalist especially if you have a lot of travel planned while you’d have status.
