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American AAdvantage and World of Hyatt launched a partnership in 2019. My favorite part of this partnership was reciprocal earnings: Hyatt elite members could earn 1 bonus point per $1 spent on qualifying American Airlines flights, and American elite members could earn 1 bonus mile per $1 spent on qualifying Hyatt stays. Unfortunately, the programs ended reciprocal earnings on Dec. 31, 2024. And now, they’ve announced plans to end their enhanced loyalty partnership.
American and Hyatt are ending their enhanced partnership
Press releases from both American AAdvantage and World of Hyatt on Sept. 9 state the programs “have mutually decided to not continue our enhanced relationship.”
However, both programs say they are “committed to preserving the benefits members can earn through the current earning year in each program (including providing the standard time to select an award after it has been earned).”
Specifically, American AAdvantage and World of Hyatt members will see “no interruption in earning, selecting and redeeming their eligible benefits” for “the remainder of each program’s current earning year.”
What happens to current American-Hyatt benefits
Nov. 15 will be the last day to link your AAdvantage and World of Hyatt accounts. But if your accounts are linked by Nov. 15, AAdvantage members can continue earning World of Hyatt awards through Loyalty Point Rewards through Feb. 28, 2027, and World of Hyatt members can continue earning AAdvantage awards through Milestone Rewards through Dec. 31, 2026.
As a reminder, American’s Loyalty Point Rewards program offers members World of Hyatt benefits at select milestones reached within an elite-qualifying year. At some milestones, you’ll get perks automatically, while at other milestones, you’ll get one or two choices of perks.
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- 100,000 Loyalty Points: Get World of Hyatt Discoverist status
- 175,000 and 250,000 Loyalty Points: Choose World of Hyatt Explorist status
- 400,000, 550,000 and 750,000 Loyalty Points: Choose a World of Hyatt Category 1-4 free night award
- 1,000,000, 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 Loyalty Points: Choose a World of Hyatt Category 1-7 free night award
I wouldn’t, and haven’t, chosen any of these perks as Loyalty Point Rewards since there are more valuable options. As such, I’m not particularly sad to see these options removed as of March 1, 2027.
However, if you reach a Loyalty Point Rewards tier on or before Feb. 28, 2027, you’ll still get the standard amount of time to select your reward and then enjoy or redeem it. American currently gives members until March 31, 2027, to select 2026 Loyalty Point Rewards. If you select Hyatt free night awards, they’ll expire 180 days from the date they are issued in your World of Hyatt account (be sure to check the expiration date once the free night award is in your account).
Meanwhile, the Hyatt Milestone Rewards program lets members choose American Airlines perks at select milestones:
- 20 qualifying nights or 35,000 base points and 30 qualifying nights or 50,000 base points: Choose 2 Preferred seat coupons on American Airlines
- 40 qualifying nights or 65,000 base points and 50 qualifying nights or 80,000 base points: Choose 2 Main Cabin Extra seat coupons on American Airlines
- 70, 80 and 90 qualifying nights: Choose AAdvantage Gold status
- 100, 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150 qualifying nights: Choose AAdvantage Platinum status
If you reach one of these Milestone Rewards tiers on or before Dec. 31, 2026, you’ll still have the standard amount of time to select your rewards and enjoy or redeem them. Seat coupons typically expire 365 days from when they were issued to your AAdvantage account, while AAdvantage status selected as a milestone reward expires on March 31 of the following full year. So if you select an AAdvantage status as a milestone reward on Dec. 1, 2026, your status will be valid through March 31, 2028.
We’ll also likely see the end of the ability to redeem American miles for Hyatt free-night awards and redeem Hyatt points for AAdvantage Status for a Day. But perhaps the most painful part of this partnership ending for many members will be the end of the status fast tracks for members of both programs.
Bottom line
American and Hyatt’s partnership has already become less valuable since reciprocal earnings ended at the end of 2024, and I won’t personally miss most of the current cross-program reward choices. However, I’m sad to see the status fast-track benefits disappear, as they could offer significant value to eligible members of both programs.
If your AAdvantage and World of Hyatt accounts aren’t already linked, it’s worth doing so by Nov. 15. That will let you continue earning the current cross-program rewards through the end of each program’s earning year. And even after the enhanced partnership ends, AAdvantage members will still be able to choose to earn 500 miles instead of World of Hyatt points on eligible Hyatt stays.
