World Of Hyatt Credit Card Eligibility Explained

Link: Apply now for the World of Hyatt Credit Card or World of Hyatt Business Credit Card

Chase and Hyatt have both a personal and business co-branded credit card. These cards are both quite lucrative, for different reasons. In this post, I wanted to cover the basics of what you need to know if you’re looking to get approved for one or both of these cards.

World of Hyatt credit card basics

To start, let’s cover the basics of Hyatt’s two credit cards. The World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) is Hyatt’s personal credit card, with a $95 annual fee. The card offers a variety of perks, including the following:

• World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as you have the card
• Five elite qualifying nights every year just for having the card, plus two elite qualifying nights for every $5,000 spent on the card on an ongoing basis; this can help you earn World of Hyatt Explorist status, World of Hyatt Globalist status, and/or other Milestone Rewards
• An anniversary free night award valid at a Category 1-4 property, plus a second anniversary free night award when you spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year
• 4x points on Hyatt spending, 2x points on restaurants, airline tickets, fitness clubs and gym memberships, and local transit and commuting, and 1x points on all other eligible purchases

The World of Hyatt Business Card (review) is Hyatt’s business credit card, with a $199 annual fee. The card offers many benefits, including the following:

• World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as you have the card, plus the same status for up to five employees
• Five elite qualifying nights for every $10,000 spent on the card in a calendar year, with no limit
• Up to $100 in Hyatt credits annually, where when you spend $50 or more you’ll receive a $50 statement credit, up to two times; this is based on the anniversary year, and not the calendar year
• A 10% rebate on redeemed points, up to 20,000 points per year; you only unlock this if you spend $50,000 on the card in a calendar year, and the benefit applies for the remainder of the calendar year in which you complete the spending
• 4x points on Hyatt spending, 2x points in your top three spending categories from select options each quarter through December 31, 2024 (and then the top two categories starting in 2025), and 1x points on all other eligible purchases

There are pros and cons to each of these cards, and you can find my comparison of the two cards here.

World of Hyatt credit card eligibility rules

The good news is that the eligibility requirements for both the World of Hyatt Credit Card and World of Hyatt Business Card are straightforward. First of all, the two cards aren’t mutually exclusive — you can apply for both cards, and also receive the welcome bonus on both cards (the business card has a better bonus than the personal card).

Beyond that, the cards have the same restrictions. You’re not eligible for the welcome bonus on either of these cards if:

• You currently have that exact Hyatt card
• You’ve received a new cardmember bonus on that exact Hyatt card in the past 24 months

So if you have the personal card, you’re absolutely eligible for the business card, and vice versa. You’re even eligible to pick up the business card again if you had it in the past (but don’t currently have it), and haven’t received a new cardmember bonus on the card in the past 24 months.

In addition to the restrictions specific to these cards, be aware of Chase’s general application restrictions:

• Chase has the 5/24 rule, whereby you typically won’t be approved for a card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months; however, there are increasingly reports that this is no longer being enforced, at least for some applicants
• Chase doesn’t generally have a strict limit on how many total cards you can have at any given point, but rather the limiting factor is generally regarding the overall credit you’ll be issued
• You can typically be approved for at most two Chase credit cards every 30 days, and I wouldn’t recommend applying for more than one Chase business credit card every 30 days

These are just general guidelines, though do note that there’s always some inconsistency based on what other cards you’ve applied for, your overall relationship with Chase, etc.

What credit score do you need to get approved?

There’s not a consistent rule as to what credit score you need to be approved for a Chase World of Hyatt credit card. In general, I’d recommend having a credit score in the “good” to “excellent” range if you’re going to apply for any of these cards.

Personally, I probably wouldn’t apply if my credit score were under 700, and ideally, I’d hope to have a credit score of 740 or higher. That being said, people with scores lower than that have been approved for these cards, and conversely, people with scores higher than that have been rejected. There are lots of factors that go into approval — your income, your credit history, how much credit Chase has already extended you, etc.

Bottom line

Chase’s World of Hyatt credit card portfolio is pretty straightforward, as there’s one personal card and one business card. The eligibility requirements are also simple to understand, as you’re eligible for both cards, and the bonus on each card is available to those who don’t currently have that exact card, and haven’t received a new cardmember bonus on the card in the past 24 months.

There could be merit to picking up either of these cards. The World of Hyatt Credit Card is easy to justify, thanks to the reasonable annual fee and great perks. Meanwhile the World of Hyatt Business Card generally has a great welcome offer, and is also more rewarding for ongoing spending, in terms of earning elite nights.

I appreciate how straightforward this portfolio is, as rules are easier to understand than the eligibility requirements for Southwest Rapid Rewards cards or Marriott Bonvoy cards, for example.

If you’ve applied for a World of Hyatt credit card, what was your experience with getting approved?