World of Hyatt Credit Card Review

This card is a great choice for people who stay at Hyatt hotels while on vacation or for business. You don’t even need to be a frequent traveler—if you stay in a Hyatt hotel as little as once per year, this card can pay for itself. The fact that you’ll earn extra points on local transportation, restaurants, and fitness facilities is icing on the cake.

• Generous sign-up bonus: This card has the most valuable points of any hotel credit card we’ve evaluated, which makes the large, two-part sign-up bonus competitive and easy to earn (more on this below).
• Many ways to earn points: Like many hotel cards, on an ongoing basis, you’ll earn the most bonus points for Hyatt purchases. But unlike with competing cards, you also earn bonus points for spending on fitness clubs, restaurants, and local transportation. 
• Free annual hotel stay: Each year on your cardholder anniversary you’ll get a certificate for one free night at a category 1-4 hotel. You’ll get a second one if you spend at least $15,000 on your card each year. 
• Automatic Discoverist elite status: Perks of this membership status level include preferred rooms, free in-room internet access, and late checkout. Plus, you’ll get five qualifying night credits per year to get you to the next status level, and you’ll earn an additional two qualifying night credits for every $5,000 you spend on your card with no limits. 

• Annual fee: This card does have a $95 annual fee, and it isn’t waived during the first year.
• Confusing rewards program: You earn two types of reward points by using this card: bonus points and base points. Deciphering the difference between the two can be a little difficult at first (more on this below).

The World of Hyatt Credit Card comes with a unique two-tiered sign-up bonus. On the first level, if you spend at least $3,000 within the first three months of opening the card, you’ll earn 25,000 Bonus Points. Then, if you spend at $3,000 more—for a total of $6,000—within the first six months, you’ll earn an additional 25,000 Bonus Points. The full sign-up bonus is worth $1100 toward free hotel stays, based on our valuations.

Any points you earn from spending with this card are transferred to the World of Hyatt program, which is the rewards program for Hyatt hotels. This program is a little confusing at first, but we’ll break it down. 

When you use your card to make purchases from Hyatt properties, you’ll earn 5 Base Points and 4 Bonus Points, for a total of 9 rewards points per $1 spent. 

You can also earn 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent on the following things:

• Fitness clubs and gym memberships
• Restaurant purchases, including cafes 
• Airline tickets you buy directly from the airline
• Local transportation, such as bus tickets, taxis, and ride-share options like Uber

Every $1 you spend on purchases outside of these categories will earn 1 Bonus Point.

The most valuable redemption option for World of Hyatt points is free stays and upgrades at Hyatt hotels and resorts. The Balance analyzed Hyatt points and found they are worth 2.22 cents each, on average, when redeemed for stays at Hyatt properties.

You can also use points to book stays at Miraval, MGM Resorts Destinations, and Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Each hotel property falls into one of eight categories depending on how fancy it is, and the reward night reservation cost will vary by category. If you don’t have enough points to get a free night, you can combine points with cash to pay. 

Hyatt points are also good for spa services and restaurant purchases at certain Hyatt locations, and car rentals at certain Avis locations. 

Spend $6,000 within the first six months after opening this card to earn the largest possible sign-up bonus. Then, since this card offers points on such a wide variety of purchases, use it as often as you can to rack up points faster.

Don’t forget to use your free night each year, and redeem your points for premium Hyatt hotel stays when possible to get the best value. Stay within the Hyatt network to earn the most hotel points and take advantage of all the perks Hyatt gives cardholders.

This card comes with several exceptional perks that might come in handy throughout your travels. Besides automatic Discoverist status and free annual hotel stays, you’ll also get:

• Trip cancellation, interruption, and delay insurance: If a trip you paid for with your card is canceled or interrupted due to certain circumstances such as foul weather, you and your family could be reimbursed for up to $5,000 and for up to $500 if your trip is delayed.
• Coverage for lost or delayed luggage: Get up to $3,000 if you or a family member’s luggage is lost or damaged while on a trip paid for with this card. You’ll may also be reimbursed for incidentals up to $100 per day for five days if your luggage is delayed. 
• Travel accident insurance: If you or a family member die or become permanently disabled while on a trip, this insurance policy may reimburse you or your beneficiaries up to $500,000.

• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Insurance for stolen or damaged purchases
• Extended warranties
• Lowest advertised price match
• Purchase return protection

Chase is ranked about in the middle in terms of customer satisfaction according to a 2018 J.D Power study, coming in fourth out of 11 card-issuing banks surveyed and scoring 804 points out of 1,000 possible. Industry average was 801.

Chase gives cardholders—or anyone, for that matter—access to its Credit Journey tool. This free service provides a credit score update, limited credit monitoring, and a credit score simulator to show how your financial decisions may impact your credit score.

Chase offers industry standard security features, such as encryption, two-factor authentication, and alerts if the company notices suspicious account activity. 

You can also lock your card from your phone to block new purchases if you’ve misplaced your card, and unlock it if you find the card.

This card comes with pretty standard fees compared to other hotel credit cards, most of which can be avoided with smart card use and on-time payments. Just note the $95 annual fee.