After Hyatt re-launched their credit card, I took my old one out of the drawer and upgraded it to the new version, spending $30,000 on it. I spent this year on the card to help lock in my elite status with a concierge and suite upgrade for next year. Even though those can't be confirmed into suites, I picked up a couple of free nights.
Hyatt points are more valuable than other hotel chain points, and they are also the easiest to use to secure the best rooms at their hotels. I'm a big fan of the card.
There are a lot of things I love about the card.
Great initial bonus Earn earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.
This bonus is worth $700 because I value Hyatt points at just over a dollar per point.
If you accumulate 60,000 points, you can get 2 free nights at any Hyatt hotel up to category 7 at standard award pricing.
Looking Out Over the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
Good earning for ongoing spend. Here’s the earning structure for this card, which is once again in my view the best card for Hyatt spend.
4 points per dollar Hyatt spend
2 points per dollar restaurants; airline tickets purchased through the airline; fitness club and gym memberships; local transit and commuting including ride share services
1 point per dollar other purchases
I use the Hyatt card for Hyatt spend and the old card earned 3 points per dollar. They also give fitness club memberships and class passes. This card is the only one I know of that has bonuses.
Andaz 5th Avenue
Free anniversary night Like the earlier version of this card you get a free night each anniversary year for a category 1-4 Hyatt property. Most Hyatts fall in those categories. These free nights earn elite status credit. And they’re valid even when peak room pricing applies.
Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
Additional free night each year that you spend $15,000 on the card, valid at a category 1-4 property. That makes putting $15,000 annual spend on the card attractive.
View of the Petronas Towers from the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
Automatic Discoverist status (first tier elite), which also matches to status in MGM’s M life Rewards program.
Spend helps you earn status you get 5 elite nights every year just for having the card and you earn 2 elite qualifying nights for every $5,000 spent on the card. There is no cap to the number of elite nights you can earn.
You could earn Globalist with no credit card spend. You can earn Globalist at 60 nights.
Best available room at check-in, including standard suites
Club lounge access at properties with lounges
4 suite upgrades (for up to 7 nights each) confirmed at booking
Full breakfast at properties without club lounges (not just continental breakfast like other chains offer)
A dedicated reservations representative to handle all of your Hyatt needs (‘My Hyatt Concierge’)
Free night at 30 elite qualifying nights. The Hyatt program offers you another free night (category 1-4 property) upon reaching 30 nights. Spend on the card helps you earn 30 elite nights.
Free night at 60 elite qualifying nights. When you hit top tier Globalist status you earn another free night, this time valid at category 1-7 properties.
Park Hyatt Vendome, Paris
Additional bonus for earning more qualifying nights. Hyatt awards an additional (choice of) confirmed suite or 10,000 points at each of 70, 80, 90, and 100 nights so spend on this card helps towards those thresholds too. Your credit card spend can put you over one of these thresholds, so you aren’t ‘wasting spend’ when you keep going with this card.
Points are amazing for high-end redemptions. Outside of all-inclusive Miraval retreat the most expensive Hyatt standard room costs 30,000 points whether it’s the Park Hyatt Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, or New York. And there are plenty of high end hotels that cost less. (Some partner SLH Hotels and Destination Residences cost more.)
Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Maldives
There are no better points for accessing suites. Hyatt lets you spend extra points for suites, and confirming one is j~60% more than a regular room and a premium suite can be redeemed for double the points of a standard room. They’re also better than any other chains for upgrades, too. 6000 points per night upgrades a qualifying paid stay to a suite, and a premium suite upgrade can be confirmed at booking for 9000 points if available. No other chain matches that so if you like upgraded accommodations Hyatt points are a valuable tool.
Easy to get more points, just transfer in Chase Ultimate Rewards. You can transfer points to Hyatt from the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, for instance, so you can generate points from the World Of Hyatt Credit Card and top off your account with other points so you have enough for whatever redemption you want to make.
Points can be combined. Not only can you combine Chase points in your Hyatt account, but you can move Hyatt points between accounts at no charge. So if you get the World Of Hyatt Credit Card and a family member does too, they can give you their points and then you can redeem.
Free nights can be combined for longer stays. The card helps you earn a lot of free nights. But what if they’re not enough? If your travel companion gets the card too and earns free nights, just make a few nights’ bookings in their name and a few in yours, back-to-back. I ran into a couple at the Park Hyatt in the Maldives who had each gotten the Hyatt card and redeemed free nights that way.
The world of Hyatt credit card.
Every year, the World Of Hyatt Credit Card card members receive 5 elite nights and earn 2 more elite nights for every $5000 they spend on the card. Hyatt tells me that new cardmembers who are approved by December 31, 2020 will receive 10 elite nights.
In credit cards.
After your second stay, Hyatt will give you double points and an extra bonus for co-brand credit card customers. It is required to register. Double base points from Hyatt are more generous than double base points from other hotels.
In hotels.
Hyatt points have remained a steady source of value for the last 5 years since they devalued their points, and even when they changed their award categories in late 2013, they weren't that bad.
