Why You Should Go on a Mattress Run
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Do you like to travel?
Do you spend money?
If you answered “yes” to these questions; stretch out your hammys because you may be ready to make a “mattress run”.
I first heard about “mattress running” following the popular travel reward site: The Points Guy.
According to thepointsguy.com; In its simplest form, a mattress run is when you book and pay for a hotel room (that you otherwise wouldn’t need) to earn rewards or qualify for hotel elite status.
He further explains that if you’re just a few stays or nights short of a given status level, it may make sense to find an inexpensive room as the end of the year approaches and your window to qualify for elite status closes.
The Points guy even describes “Mileage Running” which is the same as a “Mattress Run” but the runner is hopping on flights for no reason to accumulate airline status. That’s a little loco for this bird as I can hardly stomach the current state of our airline industry. But, to each his own!
Does this work?
Yes, it absolutely works. I recently booked a Hyatt stay (on points) for 17 nights in December to hit the qualifying nights needed to ensure that I maintain “Globalist Status” through February 2024.
The trick is to find a category 1 or 2 (depending on your location) as this will allow you to stretch your points to gain as many nights as possible.
This stay was roughly 20 mins away from my home. I checked in, enjoyed one of my two free bottles of water, then headed straight back home. I received an email on January 1st from Hyatt congratulating me on achieving “Globalist Status” for an additional 14 months.
HOORAY!
Elite Status Explained
According to the article Elite Status by Julia Kagan on Investopedia.com; Elite status is a classification made by a company or organization for their clientele as a preferred customer. It is most commonly used as a part of an airline or hotel rewards program. Elite status comes with benefits that are not available to the general public or are only available for an additional fee.
What do you get with Elite Status?
There are several programs out there and I would encourage you to check out the links below to identify which may be the right one for you.
Note: be prudent with your spending habits. Do not carry credit card debt. Pay these off every month if you can. Everyone’s situation is different, so please be mindful and do not put yourself in a bad financial situation to earn a free hotel night.
I’m a bit of a “point hound” constantly choosing which card utilize for each purchase to ensure that I maximize the points. I carry several different cards in my wallet for this purpose.
For the sake of this post, I’ll reference the World of Hyatt hotel rewards program, which is amongst one of my favorites.
World of Hyatt’s top status tier is called: Globalist
Upon achieving Globalist Status, you receive:
· 5 Base Points per eligible $1 USD spend + 30% Bonus on eligible purchases
· Waived resort fees on eligible rates & free night awards
· Room upgrades (including standard suites) when available
· 4pm late checkout
· 48 hour guaranteed room availability
· Club access or breakfast
· Free parking on free night awards
· Priority access to rooms
In your journey to earning Globalist Status you’ll also acquire the following:
· 4 Club lounge access awards
· 1 Category 1-4 Free Night Award
· Your choice of 5,000 Bonus Points, or $100 Hyatt Gift Card or a $150 FIND experience credit (I usually opt for the $100 Hyatt Gift Card)
· 4 Suite Upgrades
· 1 Category 1-7 Free Night Award
60 nights is a lot of time away from home. There are those of you out there who are business travelers, road warriors and frequent fliers who may chuckle at the 60-night minimum. There are also those of you booking multiple events, meetings and room blocks allowing you to quickly fly past the spend and booked-night thresholds to achieve Globalist.
For the rest of us there are strategies for chipping away at the 60-night minimum to achieve Globalist status.
Following the 2019 pandemic; hotel and airline brands were doing their best to lure customers back once travel restrictions had eased by dangling out the “Elite Status Carrot”.
These carrots represent several free hotel stays, each with waived valet parking and a delicious breakfast included at an otherwise over-priced restaurant.
The “carrot” consisted of offering elite level preferred benefits without having to achieve the status by traditional methods such as qualifying stays (typically 60+ nights), or high annual credit card spends.
World of Hyatt offered a “Double the Nights” promotion that awarded one with two nights per night booked. This promotion essentially cut the threshold down to 30 nights.
This promotion was how I hit my first term as a Globalist member. I enjoyed the perks so much, that I decided to strategize on how this could be a yearly, achievable milestone.
Chase World of Hyatt credit card
This card allows its user to supercharge their point and night accumulation activity. I’ve been a card holder for over 8 years. I take advantage of it for my daily purchases and utilize the points for family vacations.
The annual fee to hold the Chase World of Hyatt credit card is $95
The card holder earns a free category 1-4 award night every year on the card member anniversary, along with accelerated points earning based on category spend. The Chase World of Hyatt card is in my regular card “utilization rotation”.
When you compound the card spend point accumulation along with the accelerated perks of holding Globalist Status, you become a World of Hyatt point accumulating machine!
10-Year Anniversary Getaway
My wife and I stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa for our 10-year anniversary. Using points, we stayed at this beautiful resort for next to nothing. We also enjoyed an upgraded room and free daily lounge access where we enjoyed our breakfast at no charge.
BTW, this picture is not my wife and I. My wife has blonde hair and I have way better abs than this guy… photo from www.hyatt.com
We utilized another rewards card to cover the cost of our flights.
The total cost of the trip came down to lunch, dinner, excursions, poolside drinks and the book I read by the beach
FYI - I read Any Weirs: Project Hail Mary. It was fantastic!
I would also recommend The Martian and Artemis both equally as good and perfect beach/poolside reads for all the vacations you’ll take with your accumulated hotel points!
If you are interested in signing up for the Chase World of Hyatt card, click on the link below (full disclosure: this referral like hooks me up with additional points if you apply):
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/205n/Y5BAI8N7O1
You work hard, you pay your bills, you buy things
Why not take advantage of credit cards (paid down monthly, of course) that can offer you additional benefits over and above the result of your daily purchases? More importantly, take advantage of opportunities to maximize those credit card points to turn your regular monthly spend into a sight seeing, battery recharging or soul filling vacation!
We work to live, we don’t live to work.
Lace up your sneakers and take a mattress run.
Thank me later when we bump into each other at a Hyatt Lounge!
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/using-hotel-mattress-runs/
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/elite-status.asp
