Link: Apply now for the World of Hyatt Credit Card
The World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) is Hyatt’s personal credit card, and it’s lucrative. If you stay at Hyatt properties with any frequency, then it absolutely makes sense to have this card, as the perks more than justify the $95 annual fee. It’s a card that I’ve had for years, and one that I spend quite a bit on annually.
For those who are on the fence about this card, in this post I wanted to share seven reasons you should consider applying, in no particular order.
In this post:
Welcome offer of up to 45K points
The World of Hyatt Credit Card has a welcome offer, which can earn you up to 45,000 incremental World of Hyatt bonus points, as follows:
- Earn 30,000 World of Hyatt bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months
- Earn an additional one bonus point per dollar on purchases that earn one point per dollar, on up to $15,000 spent in the first six months
Objectively, this isn’t the most exciting bonus in the world, but it’s an improvement over the previous offer, and the best one we’ve seen on the card in a long time. I think ultimately Chase and Hyatt know that they don’t have to offer a massive bonus on the card, given how rewarding it is in the long run.
A Category 1-4 anniversary free night award
The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers an anniversary free night award annually, just for being a cardmember, with no spending required. This free night award can be redeemed at any Category 1-4 World of Hyatt property, and those hotels can retail for up to 18,000 points per night.
To me, this perk alone more than justifies the annual fee, and I’ve consistently been able to use this at hotels costing well over $200 per night.
A second Category 1-4 free night award with spending
Not only does the World of Hyatt Credit Card offer an anniversary free night award, but the card also offers a second Category 1-4 free night award when you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.
This is why I consider spending $15,000 on the card to be a sweet spot, since there’s lots of value to getting that second free night award. It’s even more valuable when you consider the incremental elite nights you can earn for that spending (more on that below).
Five elite nights toward status annually
If you’re going for elite status with World of Hyatt, the World of Hyatt Credit Card offers five elite nights toward status annually just for being a cardmember, with no spending required. If you’re going for World of Hyatt Explorist status or World of Hyatt Globalist status, this can be valuable.
The elite nights earned on this card also count toward the Milestone Rewards program, earning you perks like suite upgrade awards, Guest of Honor awards, and more.
Two elite nights for every $5,000 spent
If you’re going for World of Hyatt elite status, the World of Hyatt Credit Card not only offers five elite nights annually with no spending requirement, but also offers two elite nights for every $5,000 spent, with no caps. This is a great way to be able to supplement your hotel stays to earn Explorist or Globalist status.
Discoverist status as long as you have card
The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers Discoverist status for as long as you have the card. While this is only entry-level status, it still offers some valuable benefits that will enhance your Hyatt stays. The perks of World of Hyatt Discoverist status include the following:
- Upgrade to a preferred room, when available
- 2PM check-out
- Premium internet
- Daily bottled water
- 10% bonus points
4x World of Hyatt points on Hyatt stays
If you’re looking to maximize World of Hyatt points, the World of Hyatt Credit Card offers 4x points for your spending at Hyatt properties. That makes this one of the best cards for your Hyatt spending. If you spend a decent amount at Hyatt hotels every year, then this will nicely contribute to your points earning ability.
That’s only a part of the card’s elevated rewards structure, as it also offers 2x points on at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from airlines, on fitness clubs and gym memberships, and on local transit and commuting.
Bottom line
The World of Hyatt Credit Card is one of the easiest to justify hotel credit cards. The card has a reasonable $95 annual fee, and on the most basic level, offers an anniversary free night award plus five elite nights toward status annually.
That’s only part of the card’s value proposition, though. It can also be worth spending money on the card, so that you can earn a second annual free night award, and so you can earn more elite nights toward status. This is a card that I’ve had for years, and one that I spend at least $15,000 on annually. Add in the current welcome offer, and this is the ideal time to apply.
What’s your take on the World of Hyatt Credit Card?
I don't really understand how the "five elite nights toward status annually" works. Do you only have to spend $5000 to get 2 elite nights? Everytime you spend $5k up until you have 5 nights free?
No you just get EQNs with the card. Every $5k spend after gets you 2 elite nights.
Hyatt needs to come out with a premium card to compete with Hilton and Marriott. Hard pass on this card.
I thought about getting this Hyatt personal card, but opted for the Marriott boundless instead. Besides the 50K SUB nights, the annual 35K cert can be topped up to 50K. The Hyatt cannot be topped up to a better category. Hard pass.
I couldn't agree with Evan more. I was just looking at places to use my wife's and my night for a weekend trip and the list of properties is genuinely uninspiring. The Andaz Savannah is an ok option but I've been there recently.
If you look at Hyatt's property map, filter by cat 1-4 and remove the Hyatt Houses and Hyatt Places, you are left with precious few properties anyone would care to visit....
I couldn't agree with Evan more. I was just looking at places to use my wife's and my night for a weekend trip and the list of properties is genuinely uninspiring. The Andaz Savannah is an ok option but I've been there recently.
If you look at Hyatt's property map, filter by cat 1-4 and remove the Hyatt Houses and Hyatt Places, you are left with precious few properties anyone would care to visit. This benefit is a real casualty of recent years' category inflation, and their inability to allow you to spend points to move them up a category like Bonvoy does makes them even more useless.
@Evan My wife and I use our Cat 1-4 free nights for an annual Hyatt Regency Vancouver BC getaway. Sometimes the cash rate is greater than US$300/night plus tax.
A Category 1-4 Free Night Certificate is not as valuable as it once was. There used to be some plum redemptions at the Category 4 level, like the Andaz in Costa Rica. Even midrange domestic US resorts like the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay are beyond reach now.
I would love to see an updated list of the best Cat 4 redemptions, but I'm not aware of any within proximity to the US that would inspire me to spend $15k on this card.