World of Hyatt credit card

So far on this blog, I have previously discussed the Marriott cards at length.  Marriott is my preferred hotel chain due to its immense global footprint, but there are several other major hotel chains that have strong rewards programs and credit cards: Hyatt, Hilton, and IHG.  The smallest of these chains, Hyatt, is generally considered to have the most valuable rewards program because they still have a rewards chart, unlike the others that have dynamic pricing.  Hyatt also has the simplest credit card setup: there is one card: the World of Hyatt card, which is issued by Chase. This card is most similar to the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, also issued by Chase.

I provide the information here just to give readers a vague idea if the rewards offered by the card might make sense for them to consider the card.  All information should be confirmed with the card company before applying.

Welcome Offer

At the time of posting, the World of Hyatt credit card has a two-tiered welcome offer.  You can earn 30 000 bonus (non-status) points after you spend $3 000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.  On top of these points, you earn 2 bonus points total (1 additional bonus point) on all non-bonused spend (see ‘Earnings’), on up to $15 000 spent in the first 6 months.  Chase advertises this bonus as being up to 60 000 Bonus Points, but in reality, it’s only 45 000 more points than you would otherwise be getting without the welcome offer.  Hyatt points have a value approximately double that of Marriott points (1.7 ¢/pt compared to 0.8 ¢/pt).  45 000 Hyatt points is, therefore, worth around $765, and could reasonably be redeemed for 1 – 3 nights at a hotel.

Earnings

The World of Hyatt card has two bonus categories that are typical for a Chase co-branded card: 4x points/$ at Hyatt hotels and 2x points/$ at restaurants, on airline tickets (directly purchased from the airline), local transit and commuting (e.g. metro, tolls), and fitness/gym memberships.  These categories are solid for a <$100 annual fee co-branded card, especially when taking into account the value of Hyatt points.  All other purchases earn 1x point/$.

For travel and restaurants, however, the better cards to use are the Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95) or Reserve ($550).  These cards offer 2x or 3x UR points/$ on travel, respectively, and 3x UR points/$ at restaurants.  UR points can be transferred for free at a 1:1 ratio to Hyatt.

Benefits

This card offers two types of benefits, like most hotel credit cards: free nights and status perks.  The card offers 1 free night award per year automatically, which can be used at a category 1-4 hotel.  A second free night award can be unlocked after spending $15 000 on the card in a calendar year. 

As for the status perks, the card offers Discoverist (entry level) status and 5 qualifying night credits towards a higher tier just for holding the card.  In addition, you can earn 2 additional qualifying night credits for every $5 000 you spend on the card.  So, at $15 000 of spend, you’d get an extra free night and 6 qualifying night credits. 

How to use the points

The main use for Hyatt points is to redeem them for stays at Hyatt hotels.  They don’t have as large a footprint as Marriott or Hilton, but they still have an award chart.  Award charts are great because you can sometimes get outsized value for the points, but it also means that often redemption options are not available for any price.  No availability is still a problem sometimes for programs with dynamic pricing, but it’s somewhat more pronounced when an award chart is involved.

Examples of using the card

These examples assume you spend all your hotel budget at Hyatt.

Spend per month

	Example A		Example B		Example C		Example D
Groceries (1x)	$300	300	$200	200	$600	600	$400	400
Gas (1x)	$0	0	$100	100	$200	200	$100	100
Airfare (2x)	$700	1400	$200	400	$0	0	$400	800
Hotels (4x)	$1 000	4 000	$200	800	$0	0	$300	1 200
Gen Travel (2x)	$400	800	$0	0	$300	600	$100	200
Dining (2x)	$600	1 200	$300	600	$300	600	$0	0
General (1x)	$1 000	1 000	$500	500	$500	500	$400	400
Total	$4 000	8 700	$1 500	2 600	$1 700	2 500	$1 700	3 100
Average points/$		2.18		1.73		1.47		1.82

The Hyatt card’s bonus categories means that the average points earned is 1.47 – 2.18 points/$, which is worth 2.5 – 3.7 ¢/$, with the valuation of 1.7 ¢/point. The high value of Hyatt points means that this card offers a very strong earn rate, given the potentially comparatively low number of points. 

Specific examples

Card	World Traveller ($750)  (% return)	Hyatt Hotel night ($230/night)	Points values (WT/Hotel)
No rewards card	2 728 (4.9%)	1 100 HP (8.1%)	$37.10 / $18.70
General 1% cashback card	2 728 + $7.50 (5.9%)	1 100 HP + $2.30 (9.1%)	$44.60 / $21.00
Chase Sapphire Preferred	2 728 Avios + 1 500 UR (7.9%)	1 100 HP + 460 UR (11.3%)	$59.60 / $26.06
Amex Green Card	2 728 Avios + 2 250 MR (9.1%)	1 100 HP + 690 MR (12.6%)	$68.60 / $29.05
Hyatt Card	2 728 Avios + 750 HP (9.1%)	2 090 HP (15.4%)	$49.85 / $35.53

Is this credit card right for you?

Like a lot of hotel credit cards, if you can make use of the free night certificate, this credit card is worth holding onto in the long run because, if you don’t spend any money on the card, you’re basically just prepaying $95 for a night at a Hyatt hotel.  If you never stay at Hyatt hotels, then this card has little use for you. 

I think this card has substantial value, but Hyatt’s footprint in Europe was too limited for it to be helpful for me. Now that I’m back in the US, however, this card’s appeal has grown substantially for me, especially given Marriott’s continued devaluations.