Redeeming points to Antarctica just became more difficult to do — as well as earning points on travel to and from Antarctica — as Lindblad Expeditions and World of Hyatt will be ending their partnership “after careful consideration” effective as of Sunday, December 31, 2023.
Redeeming Points to Antarctica Just Became More Difficult to Do.
The reasons as to why this partnership is ending with approximately six weeks of notice remain unclear at the time this article was written.
The good news is that new reservations may still be booked through official channels of Hyatt until Sunday, December 31, 2023 — including hyatt.expeditions.com, a Hyatt Global Reservations Center, or the contact center of Lindblad Expeditions via telephone at 866-537-5099 or 646-969-4997.
Reservations that are booked through the aforementioned official channels prior to Sunday, December 31, 2023 will still be eligible to earn World of Hyatt points. Members must associate their World of Hyatt membership account numbers with their reservations at the time of booking in order for the Lindblad Expeditions to be eligible to earn World of Hyatt points. Incidental spend with Lindblad Expeditions is not eligible to earn points. Expeditions that are only available through Lindblad Expeditions channels and are not available via our dedicated booking site are not eligible to earn World of Hyatt points.
Existing reservations that had been booked through official channels prior to Sunday, December 31, 2023 will be honored; and World of Hyatt benefits will be earned — provided that travel must be completed prior to Tuesday, December 31, 2024 for award reservations that were booked with World of Hyatt points.
World of Hyatt points may still be redeemed towards travel with Lindblad Expeditions prior to Sunday, December 31, 2023. To redeem World of Hyatt points for a Lindblad Expedition, travel must be completed prior to Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
Standard cancellation policies of Lindblad Expedition apply to all reservations. Modifications to reservations are not possible after Sunday, December 31, 2023.
World of Hyatt members will be able to request retroactive credit — including World of Hyatt points and Tier Qualifying Nights — for expeditions that were booked through official channels until Sunday, June 30, 2024.
Lindberg Expeditions offers various adventures to customers on every continent — including Antarctica.
When the partnership was first announced in June of 2019 — which was greater than nine months before the World Health Organization officially declared that the 2019 Novel Coronavirus had reached pandemic disease status — members of the World of Hyatt membership program were able to:
- Earn five World of Hyatt base points per United States dollar of eligible spend — not including incidentals
- Receive their standard elite tier bonus points on eligible spend
- Redeem World of Hyatt points to use for complimentary expeditions
- Be rewarded with an on-board credit of $250.00 to use during their expedition on spa services, alcoholic beverages, specific excursions or classes, souvenirs or supplies, and more
- Receive elite tier qualifying night credits for eligible nights on a Lindblad expedition
- Purchase specially curated Lindblad Expedition experiences through FIND
Final Boarding Call
Although getting to Antarctica using miles and points is typically virtually impossible, it could have been done by using World of Hyatt membership program points via its partnership with Lindblad Expeditions— if you were willing to part with between 1,609,375 and 7,065,000 World of Hyatt points instead of between $25,750.00 and $113,040.00 for your choice of six trips to Antarctica back in December of 2020. If you paid for the most expensive expedition with money, you could have earned as many as 565,200 World of Hyatt base points for the expedition — which is greater than halfway towards earning the minimum of 1,000,000 Lifetime Base Points for Lifetime Globalist status with World of Hyatt.
I doubt that many people earned or redeemed World of Hyatt points to go to Antarctica — both because of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic and the expense of either paying with cash or redeeming World of Hyatt points — but knowing that option was available was nice.
If you are able to do so, you can still take advantage of this option if you book your reservation prior to Sunday, December 31, 2023 for travel, which must be completed prior to Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
As for me, I will be thrilled on the day I can use my own photographs for articles which pertain to Antarctica at The Gate With Brian Cohen — but I have to travel there first before that can happen…
Source: Lindblad Expeditions.
