Link: Apply now for the World of Hyatt Credit Card or World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
Chase and Hyatt have a pretty straightforward co-brand card portfolio, as there’s one personal card and one business card. Specifically, I’m talking about the World of Hyatt Credit Card and the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card.
In this post, I wanted to compare the two cards, and talk about which is better. First let’s cover the basics of both cards, and then I’ll share my take on which is worth applying for.
In this post:
World of Hyatt Credit Card basics
The World of Hyatt Credit Card 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
Read a full review of the World of Hyatt Credit Card.
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card basics
The World of Hyatt Business Card 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
Read a full review of the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card.
Which Hyatt credit card is better?
If you’re considering applying for a Hyatt credit card and would be eligible for a business or personal card, which should you apply for?
The first thing to understand is that the World of Hyatt Credit Card and World of Hyatt Business Card aren’t mutually exclusive. You could apply for both cards, and also earn the welcome bonus on each. So in some ways, it’s worth assessing the value of the cards independently, since you don’t actually have to decide between them.
If you ask me, the World of Hyatt Credit Card is a slam dunk if you stay at Hyatts with any frequency. The card has a reasonable annual fee, and it’s worth holding onto even if you don’t spend a dime on it.
The annual free night award alone more than justifies the annual fee, and the five nights toward elite status with no spending requirement is a great perk as well. On top of that, I think there’s merit to spending $15,000 on the card per year, to earn a second annual free night award, plus to earn an additional six elite nights toward status.
The math on the World of Hyatt Business Card isn’t quite as straightforward. The card has a better welcome bonus, so there’s merit to picking up the card for that. But beyond that, the main reason you’ll want to get this card is because it offers the best rate of return on spending in terms of earning elite nights.
With the business card, you can earn one elite night for every $2,000 spent, while with the personal card, you can get one elite night for every $2,500 spent (though the increments for earning free nights differ).
So my best consolidated advice would be that the World of Hyatt Credit Card is more valuable and is easier to justify, and is the best for the first $15,000 in spending annually. Beyond that, though, the World of Hyatt Business Card is best for helping to earn Hyatt status, especially if you’re a big spender. Furthermore, it can be worth picking up the card in part for the huge bonus.
Bottom line
Hyatt has both a personal and business co-branded credit cards. The products are totally different, and there’s potentially merit to both.
If you ask me, the World of Hyatt Credit Card is much easier to justify — the card has a lower annual fee, offers an annual free night award, provides five nights toward status without a spending requirement, and more.
That being said, you don’t have to decide between the two cards, and there’s also merit to getting the World of Hyatt Business Card. The card has a much bigger welcome bonus, and has the potential to be more rewarding for spending.
What’s your take on the value proposition of Hyatt’s personal vs. business card?
I have both Hyatt credit cards. The strategy that I use is to spend the first $15K every calendar year (usually two months of spend) on the regular Hyatt card and then put the rest of my yearly spend on the business card. That strategy has allowed me to maintain Globalist status since 2021 (I'm at 49 nights as I write this) without any having any paid Hyatt stays. I do normally use points and...
I have both Hyatt credit cards. The strategy that I use is to spend the first $15K every calendar year (usually two months of spend) on the regular Hyatt card and then put the rest of my yearly spend on the business card. That strategy has allowed me to maintain Globalist status since 2021 (I'm at 49 nights as I write this) without any having any paid Hyatt stays. I do normally use points and Free Night awards to stay anywhere between 10-15 nights a year at Hyatt properties.
But with the business card, you don't get the 5 nights at the beginning of the year, so wouldn't you need to spend $50,000. per year before it makes a difference (and you START getting the points rebate). The business card would only be better, I think, if you know you be spending more than $50,000. on it. That would definitely rule me out.