Hyatt is our favorite hotel chain, so go figure we also consider The World of Hyatt Credit Card to be one of the best hotel credit cards out there.
Chase recently rolled out an offer where you can earn up to 60,000 points with the World of Hyatt Credit Card. It's a tiered bonus that works like this: You'll earn 35,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of card membership. Then, you can earn another 30,000 points over the first six months of opening your card with a 2x points bonus on up to $15,000 in spending.
That's up from the standard tiered bonus on this card of up to 60,000 points. And considering Hyatt's reasonable redemption rates, another 5,000 Hyatt points are good for another free night … and then some. With free nights starting at just 3,5000 points, this new bonus is enough to book up to 18 free nights!
But this card offers other great benefits that can easily make it worth its $95 annual fee.
World of Hyatt Credit Card Overview
- Welcome Offer: WoH Bonus Offer
- Earn 4x points for every $1 spent at Hyatt hotels.
- Earn 2x points for every $1 spent on dining, airfare (purchased directly with the airline), local transit, and fitness club & gym memberships.
- Earn 1x points for every $1 spent on all other card purchases.
- Receive one free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort each year after your cardmember anniversary date (beginning in your second year).
- Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.
- Get complimentary Hyatt Discoverist status.Â
- Includes trip interruption and cancellation insurance, secondary rental car coverage, lost or delayed luggage reimbursement, and purchase protection.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Annual fee: $95
All information about the World of Hyatt Credit Card has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler and has not be verified by the issuer.
Learn more about the World of Hyatt Credit Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
Full Benefits of the World of Hyatt Credit Card
Welcome Offer Bonus
Earn up to 60,000 points with the World of Hyatt Card's current, tiered sign up bonus. You'll get 30,000 points after you spend $3,000 on the card in the first three months of card membership. You'll also earn 2x points on every dollar you spend on up to $15,000 in the first six months of card membership. That gives you the chance to earn up to a total of 60,000 World of Hyatt points.
Annual Free Night Certificate
In our opinion, this is the best perk offered by the World of Hyatt Credit Card and easily justifies the card's $95 annual fee.
Each year of card membership on your account anniversary, you will be given a free night certificate that is valid at any Hyatt category 1-4 property. There are no blackout dates, and as long as a room is available at the hotel, you should be able to redeem the certificate. Your free night will even count towards elite status!
Get One Additional Free Night
You'll earn an additional free night certificate at any category 1-4 Hyatt property if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year.
There are a number of great category 4 properties where the certificate can be used. See our post on the best uses of the free Hyatt Anniversary night. For a full listing of Hyatt properties by category, visit here. Many of these hotels cost north of $250 a night.
Category Spending Bonuses
You will earn 9x points total per dollar spent at Hyatt – 4 bonus points per $1 when you use your card at Hyatt Hotels and 5 base points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member.
You will also earn 2x bonus points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting, and on fitness club and gym memberships.
You'll earn 1x point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Get 5 Elite Qualifying Night Credits
Get 5 elite night credits towards World of Hyatt Elite Status each year. You will earn 2 additional elite qualifying night credits for each $5,000 you spend on the card. There is no limit on how many additional elite night credits you can earn.
Hyatt is making it easier than ever to earn status in 2021. You'll only need 30 nights to reach their top-tier Globalist status (normally 60 nights required).
Hyatt Discoverist Status
You will receive Hyatt's Discoverist status for as long as you have the card. Discoverist status gets you:
- A preferred room within the category booked
- A 10% points bonus
- Complimentary bottle of water
- Free Premium Internet
- Priority check-in
- 2 p.m. late check-out
See the World of Hyatt website for a full breakdown of Hyatt's elite status tiers.Â
The Hyatt Card Makes it Easy to Earn Top Hyatt Status
This is a big reason why we think having the card makes sense. Just for opening it, you automatically get five elite nights. Additionally, you'll get two elite nights for every $5,000 you spend on the card – with no limit to how many you elite nights you can earn through spending.
That provides an easy avenue to climb the status ladder from Hyatt Discoverist to Explorist to Globalist – one of the best status levels in the world of hotels thanks to suite upgrade certificates, free lounge access, waived resort fees, and two free night stays a year. Here’s how it looks for earning Hyatt status:
- Discoverist:Â Stay 10 tier-qualifying nights
- Explorist:Â Stay 30 tier-qualifying nights
- Globalist:Â Stay 60 tier-qualifying nights
Learn more about the World of Hyatt Credit Card.Â
Transfer Partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards
The World of Hyatt program is a 1:1 transfer partner of the Chase Ultimate Rewards Program. This means you can transfer points earned on cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® to bolster your Hyatt points balance and extend your award stays.
We feel that booking Hyatt stays is the best way to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book hotels.
Read our master guide to earning and burning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.Â
The Chase 5/24 Rule
As with all Chase credit cards, the World of Hyatt Credit Card is impacted by the Chase 5/24 rule so you may not be able to get this card depending on your credit history.
Here’s what it boils down to:
- If you have opened five or more credit cards in the past 24 months from any bank (not just Chase cards), you will not be approved for Chase credit cards, regardless of your credit score or history with Chase bank.
- The rule does not count credit inquiries, but rather card products you have applied and been approved for.
Learn more about the Chase 5/24 rule by watching our YouTube video.
Annual Fee
The World of Hyatt Credit Card has an annual fee of $95, and it is not waived for the first year.
But thanks to the free anniversary nights and other benefits, this is a small price to pay. You should have no issues getting more than $95 dollars in value out of this card each and every year you hold it.
Learn more about the World of Hyatt Credit Card.Â
Great Companion Card to Chase Sapphire Cards
Because Hyatt is a 1:1 transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the World of Hyatt Credit Card makes a great companion card to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
Transferring from Chase into Hyatt is an easy way to replenish your Hyatt points balance to book award stays, and we think it's the best way to use Chase points to book hotels.
Learn more about the *csp*.
Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.
Using World of Hyatt Points
The World of Hyatt program has some of the best rates to book nightly stays using points of any hotel program, period.
While Hyatt's footprint is smaller than the likes of Hilton and Marriott, that is slowly changing as the hotel chain adds more and more properties to its roster. But the program took a hit recently with Hilton announcing a new partnership with Small Luxury Hotels (SLH), a former bright spot within Hyatt's portfolio.
But as is the case with most things, quality is greater than quantity – and Hyatt has some really high-quality properties scattered around the world that you can book using points. From a luxury resort in the desert to a private island in the Carribbean, and even all-inclusives in Mexico, Hyatt is sure to have a property for every type of traveler.
Standard Hyatt award nights start at just 5,000 points per night for Hyatt Category 1 properties, and up to 40,000 points for Category 8 hotels like top-tier Park Hyatt locations in New York and Beaver Creek (Colorado). Even with Hyatt's annual award chart changes, there are still plenty of
Here's a look at Hyatt's full award chart. With the implementation of peak- and off-peak pricing, your next stay could cost you more (or fewer) points than these standard rates.
| Hotel Category | Standard Room Points Per Night | Standard Suite Points Per Night | Premium Suite Points Per Night |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5,000 | 8,000 | 10,000 |
| 2 | 8,000 | 13,000 | 16,000 |
| 3 | 12,000 | 20,000 | 24,000 |
| 4 | 15,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 |
| 5 | 20,000 | 32,000 | 40,000 |
| 6 | 25,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 |
| 7 | 30,000 | 48,000 | 60,000 |
| 8 | 40,000 | - | - |
Hyatt has a ton of amazing properties that you can use points to book. This includes some of our favorite all-inclusive resorts like the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara all-inclusive resorts (and a growing number of other brands like Secrets and Dreams) that are scattered throughout Mexico and the Caribbean. If all-inclusive properties are your thing, these are some of the best resorts in the world that can be booked with points. The downside here is that with Hyatt's latest award chart reshuffling, many all-inclusive properties booked after March 26, 2024, are going to cost a pretty penny.
Hyatt handles the award chart for its all-inclusive properties a bit differently than the standard Category 1 through Category 8 award chart you'll find for Hyatt's regular hotels. Instead, Hyatt uses Category A through Category F to price these free nights at all-inclusive locations. Award rates range from 15,000 points to as much as 50,000 points per standard night stay. Here's a look.
In addition to these all-inclusive hotels, the top-of-the-line Park Hyatts scattered throughout the world are a favorite as well, starting as low as 12,000 points per night depending on the location. Hyatt also gives members the ability to book suites online using points, which opens up some extra value.
Read more: A Fun and Easy Way to Earn Free Nights With Hyatt
Bottom Line
New World of Hyatt Credit Cardholders can earn up to 60,000 points with the card's current offer. Beyond the big bonus, the World of Hyatt Credit Card is worth holding onto long-term for the annual free night certificate and other perks like complimentary elite status.
Learn more about the World of Hyatt Credit Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
Seems like a great deal on this card. My question: Why didn’t this card make your list for top Credit Card offers for December?
Hey Nadeem, it is a great deal and should absolutely be on that list. I published that before getting into the details of this card. I’ll make sure to add. 😊
Thanks Nick. I am thinking of applying for this card. Do I need to sign up and create a World of Hyatt loyalty account first? Also, I was on the card registration website and didn’t read anything about the “New cardholders will get 10 of those tier-qualifying nights in 2021”
Hey Nadeem. I would recommend creating your World of Hyatt account before you apply. That way you will have your number to use on the application. If you don’t they will automatically create one for you, and it can be a pain to track it down and get logged into your account.
Very interesting, I am looking at the application and I too don’t see any mention of the 10 free nights for 2021 any longer. The blue banner I used above in the post was directly from the application last week. This may be worth a call to Chase/Hyatt to see if this is still being offered.
I just signed up for this card but only noticed 5 nights credit, did I miss something? Are they issued after the new year? I was not a Hyatt member prior to signing up for the card.
Thanks
Hi Freddy. The 10 nights will be applied for 2021, which should be reflected in your account after the start of the year.