World of Hyatt Credit Card Review

The information related to the World of Hyatt Credit Card has been collected by Money Crashers and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card from Chase is a hotel rewards credit card with a $95 annual fee and an attractive rewards program that favors frequent guests at Hyatt hotels and associated brands, including Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Andaz, Hyatt Centric, and Hyatt Place, among others.

Does it deserve a place in your wallet? That depends on how often you travel, where you stay when you do travel, and how much you spend on credit cards each year.

What Sets the World of Hyatt Credit Card Apart?

First, here’s where the World of Hyatt Credit Card really shines in comparison to competing hotel rewards credit cards.

• Complimentary Discoverist Status. World of Hyatt Credit Card cardholders are automatically enrolled in Hyatt’s World of Hyatt travel loyalty program, and cardholders in good standing automatically earn and keep Hyatt Discoverist status. Discoverist’s many valuable perks include accelerated point earnings, complimentary room upgrades, and guaranteed room availability.
• Generous Rewards Program. Eligible Hyatt purchases earn up to 9 points per $1 spent when accounting for bonus points earned with the card and base points earned on all eligible stays.
• Excellent Sign-up Bonus. This card has a category-leading sign-up bonus, in part due to the fact that Hyatt points are more valuable at redemption on average than many other hotel families’ points. See below for more details.

Key Features of the World of Hyatt Credit Card

Now that you have the 30,000-foot view, let’s dive into the details of the most notable features of the World of Hyatt Credit Card. Understand them before you apply.

Sign-up Bonus

The World of Hyatt Credit Card has a 2-part sign-up bonus.

Earning Hyatt Points

This card earns an unlimited 4 bonus points per $1 spent on Hyatt hotel and resort purchases. This comes in addition to up to 5 base points per $1 spent you’ll earn on all eligible Hyatt purchases as a World of Hyatt member, so you’re actually earning 9 points per $1 spent on eligible Hyatt purchases.

This card also earns unlimited 2 points per $1 spent on restaurant purchases, airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, and local transit and commuting purchases. All other eligible purchases earn unlimited 1 point per $1 spent.

Redeeming Hyatt Points

You can redeem your accumulated Hyatt points for free nights’ stays at any participating Hyatt or Hyatt-operated property worldwide, including Hyatt Vacation Club Resorts and All Inclusive resort properties (Ziva and Zilara), which aren’t covered by Hyatt’s category system.

Within the category system, standard room redemptions start at 5,000 points for budget-friendly Category 1 properties, and range up to 30,000 points for ultra-luxe Category 7 properties.

Suite redemptions range from 8,000 points for Category 1 properties to 48,000 points for Category 7 properties.

Ziva and Zilara redemptions range from 20,000 to 40,000 points per night (and 12,500 extra per person after the first two guests), depending on the property and room type. Hyatt Vacation Club redemptions range from 12,000 to 30,000 points per night, depending on room or unit size.

If you don’t have enough points to cover the full cost of a room, you can combine points and cash (Points + Cash feature), starting at 2,500 points plus $50 for a Category 1 property and 15,000 points plus $300 for a Category 7 property.

Redemption thresholds are subject to change at any time and can vary depending on demand, so check Hyatt’s website before you book.

Transfer to Airline Partners

You can transfer Hyatt points to a number of popular airline partners, including American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Transfers usually occur at a ratio of 5,000 Hyatt points to 2,000 airline points. However, this is not recommended as you can get much better value by redeeming for hotel nights within the Hyatt ecosystem.

Discoverist Status in World of Hyatt

The World of Hyatt Credit Card automatically entitles you to Discoverist status in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. Discoverist benefits include:

• A 10% bonus on all base points earned on Hyatt stays
• Late checkout (2pm)
• Complimentary premium Internet in your room
• Preferred room upgrades where available.

To achieve Discoverist status without the World of Hyatt Credit Card, you need to rack up a minimum of 10 paid nights or 25,000 bonus points (points earned on stays only) in a calendar year. So this is definitely a good deal.

Credits Toward Further Elite Status

The loyalty benefits don’t stop there. As a cardmember in good standing, you get 5 free night credits toward your next tier status each year. Plus, with every $5,000 in qualifying purchases, you get an additional 2 qualifying night credits toward your next tier status.

Free Anniversary Award Night

As long as your account remains open and in good standing, you receive a free award night on your cardmember anniversary. This benefit can be redeemed for a free night’s stay at any Category 1-4 Hyatt property. Note that this excludes choice Hyatt properties like Zilara or Ziva resorts.

Annual Free Night With Eligible Spend ($15,000)

When you spend at least $15,000 in eligible purchases in a cardmember anniversary year, you get an additional free award night redeemable for a free night’s stay at any participating Category 1-4 Hyatt property. Your cardmember anniversary year begins on the date you opened your card account.

Important Fees

The annual fee is $95. There is no foreign transaction fee.

Additional Benefits

This card has some useful additional benefits for travelers and consumers:

• Complimentary loss and damage coverage on car rentals charged in full to the card
• 24/7 concierge assistance
• Premium travel insurance benefits, such as lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay reimbursement, trip cancellation and interruption coverage, and purchase protection on select covered purchases

Credit Required

This card requires good or excellent credit. Any significant blemishes are likely to disqualify your application.

Advantages of the World of Hyatt Credit Card

There are lots of reasons to consider the World of Hyatt Credit Card. Here are our favorites.

• Easy to Attain and Potentially Valuable Sign-up Bonus. The World of Hyatt Credit Card’s generous sign-up bonus is easy to attain if you routinely travel for business or pleasure and use this card for general spending. It’s potentially quite valuable too.
• Automatic Discoverist and Opportunities to Earn Higher Status. As long as your account remains open and in good standing, you earn automatic Discoverist status in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. That’s good for a host of valuable and convenient perks, including 10% faster point earnings on hotel purchases and complimentary room upgrades where available. You also enjoy 2 opportunities to earn higher loyalty status: 5 free qualifying nights toward your next tier status and 2 free qualifying nights toward tier status with each qualifying $5,000 spent.
• Automatic Anniversary Award Night Potentially Offsets Annual Fee. The World of Hyatt Credit Card’s first anniversary award night accrues to all cardholders in good standing, no matter how much they spend, and it’s redeemable at Category 1 to 4 properties. Category 4 properties’ standard rooms often cost more than $300 per night, more than offsetting the card’s annual fee. Many competing hotel rewards cards don’t offer free anniversary nights at all, let alone deals this generous.
• Second Annual Award Night With Qualifying Spend. Spend $15,000 in a calendar year for the opportunity to earn another complimentary award night, also good at Category 1 to 4 properties.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees. The World of Hyatt Credit Card has no foreign transaction fees. This is a big benefit for cardholders who frequently travel abroad, especially in light of the fact that many of Hyatt’s most desirable properties (such as its Zilara and Ziva properties) aren’t in the U.S.

Disadvantages of the World of Hyatt Credit Card

These are the biggest downsides of the World of Hyatt Credit Card. Consider them carefully before you apply.

• Has an Annual Fee. This card has a $95 annual fee. If you don’t take full advantage of its benefits, that’s a definite drawback compared with fee-free travel cards such as the Expedia+ Card from Citi.
• Airline Transfers Don’t Optimize Point Values. It rarely makes financial sense to transfer your Hyatt points to Hyatt’s airline partners. These transfers typically occur at a 5-to-2 ratio, meaning you need 5,000 Hyatt points to earn 2,000 airline points. Since airline partners require at least 7,500 points (and often much more) to redeem for a one-way economy segment, and 5,000 Hyatt points is enough to earn a free night in a Category 1 room, you’re better off keeping your Hyatt points for future travel. If you’re looking for a travel rewards card that offers generous point transfers, consider Chase Sapphire Preferred instead.

Final Word

The World of Hyatt Credit Card is an awesome credit card for people who travel frequently and enjoy staying at Hyatt properties, of which there are many hundreds to choose from. However, it’s important for casual travelers to understand that it’s less than ideal for consumers who wish to keep their travel redemption options as open and flexible as possible.

More versatile cards, such as Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture Rewards, allow you to redeem your accumulated points for pretty much any type of travel purchase – and at flat point-to-dollar values, so that you don’t have to expend mental energy to know you’re getting the right deal.