Delta Partners with Hyatt, Taking Over American Airlines' Loyalty Benefits - AOL

Kevin Harrish

Thu, September 10, 2026 at 8:32 PM EDT

Back in 2019, American Airlines began partnering with Hyatt, allowing travelers to earn reciprocal points when booking flights and hotels. While the plan evolved and became a bit more limited in recent years, it was still a high-profile partnership that allowed a special perk for American customers. Now, Delta has swooped in.

Earlier this year, American Airlines and Hyatt announced that their partnership was winding down, and there’s a reason for that – Hyatt is now partnering with rival Delta Air Lines instead.

Delta Takes Over the Partnership

On Wednesday, Delta and Hyatt officially announced a partnership between its Delta SkyMiles rewards program and World of Hyatt, bringing together the two loyalty programs and allowing customers a new “Dual Earn” benefit where Delta Medallions earn miles for spend on qualifying Hyatt stays and World of Hyatt elites earn points on qualifying fare classes in addition to earning certain other SkyMiles benefits.

“At Delta, premium has never been about just a seat – it’s a standard of care that shows up throughout the journey,” said Ed Bastian, Chief Executive Officer of Delta Air Lines in a news release. “Flying Delta creates experiences and opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else. Hyatt shares that same premium approach to everything from travel and dining to entertainment and accommodations, and it’s what makes them such a natural fit.”

“Exceptional travel extends far beyond a hotel stay – it’s about creating memorable experiences throughout the full travel journey,” said Mark Hoplamazian, Chairman, President and CEO, Hyatt. “That’s what makes our alliance with Delta so exciting. We share a vision for delivering thoughtful, premium experiences that put our members first and create even more value wherever their travels take them. By bringing together two brands with a shared commitment to care and exceptional hospitality, we’re making it easier for our members to enjoy a more connected and rewarding experience, from takeoff to check out.”

The partnership is scheduled to launch in the coming months, although the companies have not yet published all eligibility requirements or benefit details, or given a formal timeline.

A Win Over American

This is obviously a pretty significant move against American, as Delta is directly stealing a benefit that American Airlines had offered its customers for over a decade and bringing it to its own customers instead.

Over the past several years, the top carriers in the United States have been battling over high-paying customers, which has turned into a race for which airline can offer the most premium options and perks for its customers. Delta has established itself as a leader in that category along with United Airlines, while American has largely lagged behind.

This move is seemingly another example of that.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Sep 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Travel section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Updated Wed, September 9, 2026 at 2:02 PM EDT

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 9, 2026--

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today announce a new, long-term strategic loyalty collaboration that will bring together two leading premium travel brands with a shared vision to shape the future of loyalty by creating a connected, personalized and rewarding experience for World of Hyatt and Delta SkyMiles members.

When the collaboration launches, eligible elite members of both programs will be able to earn both World of Hyatt points and Delta miles on qualifying travel, delivering one of the most requested loyalty benefits and rewarding members across flights and stays. The dual-earn benefit will offer eligible World of Hyatt elite members the opportunity to earn World of Hyatt points on qualifying Delta airfare purchases within qualifying fare classes. Delta SkyMiles Medallion members will also be eligible to earn miles for qualifying stays at participating Hyatt properties. Hyatt and Delta will share additional details on launch timing and eligibility soon.

“Exceptional travel extends far beyond a hotel stay – it's about creating memorable experiences throughout the full travel journey,” said Mark Hoplamazian, Chairman, President and CEO, Hyatt. “That's what will make our collaboration with Delta so exciting. We share a vision for delivering thoughtful, premium experiences that put our members first and create tremendous value wherever their travels take them. By bringing together two brands with a shared commitment to care and exceptional hospitality, we will make it easier for our members to enjoy a connected and rewarding experience, from takeoff to checkout.”

The program, focused on transforming travel loyalty from end-to-end, will also offer exclusive benefits, extraordinary experiences, and more, many of which will be unveiled later this year.

“At Delta, premium has never been about just a seat – it’s a standard of care that shows up throughout the journey,” said Ed Bastian, Chief Executive Officer of Delta Air Lines. “Flying Delta creates experiences and opportunities that can't be found anywhere else. Hyatt shares that same premium approach to everything from travel and dining to entertainment and accommodations, and it’s what makes them such a natural fit.”

Details regarding enrollment, eligibility, earning opportunities, and launch experiences will be shared in the months ahead.

Dual Earn with a New Dynamic Duo

This new collaboration will bring together compelling flight routes and memorable stays that will create more reasons to travel. Together, they will showcase how the collaboration can turn everyday travel into something more rewarding – with value earned on both sides of the journey. Check out these perfect pairings to inspire future adventures:

Additional details about the collaboration and member benefits will be announced in the coming months. Visit delta.com and hyatt.com for updates.

The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.

About World of Hyatt

World of Hyatt is Hyatt’s award-winning guest loyalty program uniting participating locations in Hyatt’s Luxury Portfolio, including Park Hyatt®, Alila®, Miraval®, Impression by Secrets, and The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®; the Lifestyle Portfolio, including Andaz®, Thompson Hotels®, The Standard®, Dream® Hotels, The StandardX, Breathless Resorts & Spas®, JdV by Hyatt®, Bunkhouse® Hotels, and Me and All Hotels; the Inclusive Collection, including Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Hyatt Ziva®, Hyatt Zilara®, Secrets® Resorts & Spas, Dreams® Resorts & Spas, Hyatt Vivid® Hotels & Resorts, Sunscape® Resorts & Spas, and Alua Hotels & Resorts®; the Classics Portfolio, including Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Destination by Hyatt®, Hyatt Centric®, Hyatt Vacation Club®, and Hyatt®; and the Essentials Portfolio, including Caption by Hyatt®, Unscripted by Hyatt, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Studios®, Hyatt Select and UrCove. Members who book directly through Hyatt channels can enjoy personalized care and earn access to distinct benefits including Guest of Honor, confirmed suite upgrades at time of booking, diverse wellbeing offerings, digital key, and exclusive member rates. With 69 million members, World of Hyatt offers a variety of ways to earn and redeem points for hotel stays, dining and spa services, and wellbeing focused experiences through the World of Hyatt FIND experiences platform. Travelers can enroll for free at hyatt.com, download the World of Hyatt app for android and IOS devices and connect with World of Hyatt on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.

The Critical Deadline

If you want to squeeze every last drop of value out of this partnership before it winds down, you must link your AAdvantage and World of Hyatt accounts by 11:59 p.m. CT on November 15.

If your accounts are already linked, you do not need to do anything. But if they aren’t linked by that mid-November cutoff, your window to cross-earn will close on the spot.

The Sunset Timeline

Once your accounts are linked, both brands are honoring reciprocal rewards through the end of their respective program years:

What Actually Survives the Split?

After the enhanced perks, status challenges, and milestone crossover awards officially conclude, one legacy perk will remain: AAdvantage members will still be able to earn a flat 500 American Airlines miles per eligible stay in lieu of earning World of Hyatt points simply by showing their AAdvantage number at hotel check-in.

You will also still be able to convert Hyatt points into American miles, though points experts universally caution against this because the transfer ratio typically offers poor value compared to free hotel nights.

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