How to Earn Hyatt Points on American Airlines Flights

We often talk about the many ways to earn free travel through credit card rewards. But that's not the only way to score free flights and hotel stays. Many hotel and airline loyalty programs also offer numerous ways to earn rewards beyond your credit cards.

For example, if you're a World of Hyatt elite member and an American Airlines AAdvantage member, you can actually double dip your rewards. How? Eligible members of both programs can earn Hyatt points on American Airlines flights. Even better, it's all set-it-and-forget-it once you've linked your accounts.

How to earn Hyatt points on AA flights

Earning Hyatt points on your American Airlines flights is a simple matter of linking your two loyalty accounts. Once they're linked, all you need to do is make eligible purchases and watch the rewards roll in.

Members who link their accounts will earn 1X World of Hyatt bonus points per dollar spent on American Airlines flights. So, if you spend $500 on an AA flight, you'll earn 500 World of Hyatt points.

There's no cap on how many bonus points you can earn. However, only spending on eligible flights will count. For example, you won't earn Hyatt bonus points on in-flight purchases or checked baggage fees.

How to link your Hyatt and American Airlines accounts

You can link your Hyatt and American Airlines AAdvantage accounts in just a few clicks:

1. Log into your World of Hyatt account
2. Select "Loyalty Program" from the top menu
3. In that menu, click on "Earn"
4. Scroll down to the "Other Travel" section
5. Click the "American Airlines AAdvantage® Bonus for Elite Members" offer
6. Click the "Link Accounts Now" button
7. Enter your AAdvantage account number

Et voila, your accounts have been linked! You'll now earn 1X World of Hyatt points for every $1 you spend on qualifying American Airlines flights.

Do all Hyatt members qualify?

Unfortunately, not every World of Hyatt member is eligible to link these accounts. Although you only need a basic AAdvantage membership to qualify for the deal, that won't cut it on the Hyatt side. Only "elite" Hyatt members qualify; basic Hyatt members aren't eligible.

There are five levels of World of Hyatt status:

• Member
• Discoverist
• Explorist
• Globalist
• Lifetime Globalist

The basic Member level is for anyone who signs up to the World of Hyatt program. It's completely free to join and there aren't any minimum stay or points requirements.

Unfortunately, to be an "elite" member, you need to have Hyatt Discoverist status or above.

To earn Discoverist status, you need to meet certain conditions. If you're going by nights in Hyatt hotels, that means at least 10 nights in a year. Alternatively, you could earn 25,000-plus base points, or host at least three meetings/events. Each additional elite tier will require more stays, points, or events.

(If this seems like a lot of work, there may be a shortcut: credit cards. Specifically, Hyatt's cobranded credit cards come with elite status. More on that below.)

Do you still earn AA miles?

Yes! Perhaps the best part of the whole deal is that the Hyatt points you earn for eligible American Airlines flights are on top of any miles you would normally earn. So, you'll earn Hyatt points and AAdvantage miles on each flight.

Related: How to redeem American Airlines miles

Can you stack with credit card rewards?

Absolutely. You can turn your double dip into a hat trick by using a travel rewards card when you make your American Airlines booking. This means on a single American Airlines purchase, you can earn AAdvantage miles, World of Hyatt bonus points, and credit card rewards. To maximize your credit card rewards, be sure to choose a card that offers bonuses on airline purchases.

Related: The best travel rewards credit cards

Can you also earn AA points on Hyatt stays?

If you're a frequent American Airlines traveler, this partnership could also come with another bonus: extra AAdvantage miles. Specifically, people with both World of Hyatt elite status and elite American Airlines status will earn bonus rewards both ways.

So, qualified members who link their accounts will earn the 1X World of Hyatt points per dollar on American Airlines flights. Plus, you can also earn 1X AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on qualifying Hyatt stays and experiences. What's more, you only have to link your account once, through either Hyatt or American Airlines.

Note the caveat, though: You'll need to have AA elite status to earn AA miles on Hyatt stays. American Airlines elite status tiers include:

• AAdvantage Gold®
• AAdvantage Platinum®
• AAdvantage Platinum Pro®
• AAdvantage Executive Platinum®

AAdvantage Gold® is the bottom-most American Airlines elite rank and the easiest to get. To qualify, you'll need to earn at least 30,000 Loyalty Points. (More on earning elite status below.)

Earning elite status with Hyatt

You can earn elite status with the World of Hyatt program through the traditional method of staying at the hotel. But there's a much easier way: Hyatt credit cards.

As with most major hotel brands, Hyatt has its own cobranded hotel credit card. Hyatt's personal credit card is called The World of Hyatt Credit Card. (They also have a small business card with an equally imaginative name: World of Hyatt Business Credit Card.)

Learn more: The World of Hyatt Credit Card review

Among The World of Hyatt Credit Card's many perks -- and, in all fairness, there are quite a few -- is complimentary Discoverist status. In other words, simply having The World of Hyatt Credit Card earns you elite status high enough to qualify you for the Hyatt / AAdvantage crossover deal.

How to earn American Airlines elite status

As of 2022, American Airlines has a fairly straightforward loyalty program. You earn Loyalty Points for eligible American Airlines spend. Once you earn 30,000 Loyalty Points, you earn AAdvantage Gold® status. Each additional elite tier has its own Loyalty Points requirement.

But you don't necessarily have to spend money on American Airlines flights to earn Loyalty Points. Instead, you can get an American Airlines credit card. As a cardholder, you can earn Loyalty Points on all of your card purchases, not just flights. Some of our favorite AAdvantage cards include:

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
• AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard
• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®

Cardholders earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent on an eligible American Airlines credit card. So, you could reach AAdvantage Gold® status simply by spending $30,000 on your American Airlines credit card. Or, for the best of both worlds, use your AAdvantage credit card to pay for your AA flights and earn Loyalty Points for both the flights and for your credit card spend. (Don't forget to link your Hyatt account first to earn Hyatt points on top of it!)