Hyatt Credit Cards

Chase Credit Cards, Hotel Credit Cards

The Hyatt card has a nice signup bonus. In addition, many people may be interested in holding onto the card for the annual free night certificate (and automatic Hyatt low-level status) or even spending $15,000 on the card every year to earn a second free night certificate each year.

If you stay at Hyatt on a very frequent basis, the ability to use credit card spending to close the gap towards a higher Hyatt elite status level can be indispensable.

COVID-19 Enhancements

Because it is hard to use credit card travel benefits during the pandemic, Chase has made some temporary changes to their cards.

You'll earn 3x Hyatt points (5.1%) on up to $1,500 per month of grocery store purchases in May and June.

Any Hyatt certifictes that would have expired between March 1st and the end of the year will be good until the end of 2021.

You get extra elite status nights for all your spending in May and June. With the World of Hyatt card, you get 3 elite status nights for every $5,000. With the older card, you'll receive 2.

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Signup Bonus
Free Night Certificates (personal cards)
Elite Qualifying Nights
Other Notable Benefits
Bonus Categories
Getting Rid of the Card

The business version of the card is primarily useful for people who plan to spend a lot of money with the card to earn Hyatt elite status or really can't afford to give up a Chase 5/24 slot for the personal card. It does provide a valuable signup bonus, but if you can get this card, you can usually get an even more valuable signup offer by just getting one more Chase Ink card (and can then convert the points from the Ink Card to Hyatt if you want). Chase Webpage. Signup Bonus Chart.

The previous version of the card has a $75 fee (rather than $95). But it doesn't give you the option of earning the second free night certificate, provide bonus points on fitness club or gym memberships (or local transit and commuting), or earn additional qualifying nights.

If you have the old card and are interested in potentially spending $15,000 to earn an additional free night certificate during a year, it is worth upgrading to the new card. Otherwise, you are usually better off keeping your existing card and paying $20 less per year.

If you want to upgrade and you have the Chase slot, you would be better off cancelling your card and re-applying. However, there is no guarantee you will be reapproved.

Hyatt Points

You should be able to get values of more than 1.7 cents per point on many Hyatt award bookings and you can sometimes get much more on particularly good redemptions (when rates are higher than normal). How Much are Hotel Points Worth?

Hyatt points are so valuable because they require far fewer points for an award night than the other major hotel programs. For example, an award night at a comparable hotel would typically cost 15,000 Hyatt points, 50,000 Hilton points, or 35,000 Marriott points. The main drawback is that Hyatt has far fewer participating hotels.

Guide to the World of Hyatt

Collecting the Signup Bonus

It is worth signing up for this card just to collect the signup bonus. The typical signup bonus is 40,000 Hyatt points, valued at $680 (at 1.7 cents per point). After subtracting the annual fee and the opportunity cost of using the card for $2,000 of spending, the calculated net value for the initial year is $650 (33 cents per dollar spent). Your value may be higher or lower, depending on how much you value Hyatt Points. How Much are Hotel Points Worth?.
The signup bonus for the Business Card is even more valuable. Since it has been launched, it has had a bonus of 75,000 Hyatt points, while the personal version has typically been somewhere around 60,000 points.

Chase's other business credit cards typically have signup offers in the 75-100,000 Ultimate Rewards point range with lower annual fees, you can convert Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt if you want to, and you can usually get approved for more than one of the same Ink card. So, if you are just signing up for the bonus, you might consider getting an extra Ink card instead.

Like Chase's other business cards, you may be able to earn the signup bonus on the Hyatt business card multiple times.

It is difficult to collect the signup bonus a 2^nd time, because of the Chase 5/24 rule. Normally, you are eligible for a Chase signup bonus, if you haven't already earned the bonus from the same card during the last two years. However, due to the Chase 5/24 rule, if you've been signing up for other cards, you won't be able to get approved when you reapply. You'll need get under the 5/24 limit before you can earn the bonus again. Dealing with the Chase 5/24 Rule.

Free Night Certificates (personal cards)

You'll receive a free night certificate every you renew a non-business Hyatt card. Certificates can be used at Category 1-4 hotels (out of 7). This corresponds to hotels that cost up to 15,000 Hyatt points per night (or 18,000 points on peak nights). Hyatt Free Night Certificates.
With the regular version of the card, you'll qualify for a second certificate as soon as you spend $15,000 during a calendar year. The opportunity cost of earning the second certificate is around $100-120. So if you are holding onto the card, sure you will be able to use both certificates, and capable of using the card for $15,000 in spending, it is usually worthwhile to go for the second certificate.

Hyatt is transitioning from a cardholder year to a calendar year basis for their certificate. Existing cardholders will have till their 2021 anniversary date to spend $15,000 to earn their last cardholder year certificate. They will then have an opportunity to earn yet another certificate by spending $15,000 between their anniversary and the end of the calendar year.

Hyatt certificates will typically get you a room at a solid hotel. Most cities have nice and well-located Hyatt-branded hotels is in category 4 (or lower) and these hotels are often nicer than available options with a Marriott or IHG certificate. But unfortunately, there are a relatively small number of hotels in the Hyatt program, so there may not be a good option where you want to go.

Earning Elite Qualifying Nights

Both the personal and business Hyatts card come with free Hyatt Discoverist (low level) status.

Just by having the personal card, you'll start with 5 qualifying nights each year that can make it easier to earn higher-level status.
You can earn additional elite qualifying nights by spending with the cards. With the regular version of the card, for every $5,000 you spend, you'll earn an additional 2 qualifying nights. So, if you spend $15,000 to earn the card's second free night certificate, you'll earn an additional 6 qualifying nights, for a total of 11. This can make it substantially easier to get to the 30 qualifying nights, which entitles you to 4 club lounge access certificates, better room upgrades, and other benefits. Hyatt Status Benefits.

With the business version of the card, for every $10,000 you spend, you earn an additional 5 qualifying nights. That's a slightly higher earning rate, but you don't get the initial 5 qualifying nights.

You can spend yourself all the way to the extremely valuable Globalist elite status level, which comes with guaranteed suite upgrades, unlimited club lounge access, and other lucrative benefits. Globalist requires 60 nights. So, you could get there from scratch by spending $140,000 on the personal version or $120,000 on the business version of the card. Of course, you are likely to earn at least some qualifying nights through paid or award stays, so you wouldn't actually need to spend this entire amount.
Most people aren't going to want to earn Hyatt status primarily through credit card spending. Every qualifying night ($2,000 or 2,500 of spending) has an opportunity cost of around $20 on everyday expenses and even more on bonus categories. Similarly, the cost of using a bill payment service is around $20 more than the value of the Hyatt points you would earn. So, qualifying for Explorist strictly through spending would "cost" around $500 and qualifying for Globalist would cost around $1,100. And this is assuming you have some way to actually generate this high level of spending.

If you are planning to mostly spend your way to status, your optimal strategy (if you have the Chase 5/24 slot) is to get both cards. You'd spend $15,000 on the personal version to receive 11 elite qualifying nights and the extra free night certificate, then spend the rest on the business version of the card to earn additional elite nights at a slightly faster rate. Depending on the exact number of nights you need, you may be better off spending your final $5,000 on the personal card for 2 final elite nights, rather than $10,000 on the business version for the 5 final elite nights.

But if you are already staying at Hyatt on a semi-frequent basis, the credit card can be a great way to close the gap to the next status level. For example, if you are already staying 40 nights per year with Hyatt, you would "only" need to spend $45,000 with the personal version or $50,000 with the business version of the card to qualify for "Globalist" status, which would have an opportunity cost of around $320. Some of the spending would be for Hyatt stays and not generate any opportunity costs. And the benefits you'd receive would accrue for all those nights, delivering lots of value.

Other Notable Benefits

Benefits of both cards:

1 Hyatt point for every dollar spent on American. This is technically an additional benefit of the Discoverist status you get with the card.
Access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection. As with all Visa Signature cards, you'll get access to Visa's luxury hotel program. Whenever you book one of the 900+ participating hotels, you'll receive a set of valuable benefits, including free breakfast, late check-out, and a $25 food and beverage credit. The Visa program has slightly weaker benefits than the other luxury hotel programs, but includes a larger number of more affordable hotel options and a best price guarantee. Take Advantage of Luxury Hotel Programs for Valuable Extra Perks.
Access to Visa Signature Offers. Your card entitles you to a set of special offers available from Visa.

Extra benefits from the business card:

Up to $100 in Hyatt credits. You will get back $50 the first two times you spend $50 or more with Hyatt. If it weren't for the lack of a free night certificate, this easy-to-use credit would eliminate the annual-fee difference between the cards. It still essentially lowers the annual fee of the business card to $99 per year.
A point redemption rebate of up to 20,000 points per year. If you spend $50,000 on the business card during the year, you'll get back 10% of the points you redeem from then to the end of the year. Rebates are capped at 20,000 points (on 200,000 points of redemption). Note you won't get a rebate on points redeemed during the part of the year before you hit $50,000 spend.

Bonus Categories

The Hyatt cards earn the most valuable rewards on Hyatt stays. 4x Hyatt points are probably more valuable than what you can earn with any other card. The Amex Platinum Card and some Chase cards earn 5x transferable points, but only for prepaid rooms purchased through their website. However, if you highly valuable premium cabin award travel and/or you prefer to earn more more flexible points, you might prefer to earn rewards with another card. Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
There are better options for your restaurant, airfare, and car rental purchases. 2x Hyatt points are more valuable than what you would get from a good general-purpose reward card, but you can earn even more valuable rewards with other cards. Best Credit Cards for Restaurant Spending. Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
The Hyatt business card earns 2x Hyatt points per dollar on your top three categories each quarter Available categories include the three fixed categories from the personal version plus shipping, local transit and commuting, social media & search engine advertising, gas, and Internet, cable & phone services. If you are eligible for Chase business cards, you'll probably have better options for most of these categories.
The Hyatt card is one of the only cards to earn bonus points on fitness club and gym memberships. If you have this card, you should almost certainly use it for these payments. The only other options are some of the "choose your own category cards". Credit Cards that Offer Bonus Rewards on Less Common Categories.
You don't want to use this card for your everyday spending. You'll earn higher rewards from a good general-purpose reward card. Get a Great General Purpose Reward Card and Use It for All of Your Spending.

Getting Rid of the Card

You can cancel without worrying about losing your Hyatt points. Once you earn them, they are treated like any other points in your Hyatt account.. Any unused certificates are safe as well.
There are no product change options for the World of Hyatt Card. However, you can do a one-way conversion from the older Hyatt card.
You can wait to cancel your card until after the annual fee shows up on your statement. As long as you cancel within 30 days of the statement closing date, Chase will refund the fee.
Unfortunately, you usually won't receive your new Hyatt Free Night Certificate before the cancellation deadline has passed.
Chase doesn't make retention offers. Unless something has changed, you don't need to bother checking.

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