World of Hyatt Card Review: Lavish Benefits, Reasonable Cost
The Bottom Line
5.0
If you're a Hyatt fan and you're looking for a fast path to free nights and elite status, this card is a perfect fit.
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$95
Rewards rate
1x-9x
Bonus offer
Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points. 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.
Intro APR
N/A
Ongoing APR
APR: 20.99%-27.99% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: 29.74%, Variable
Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
$0
More details from Chase
- Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points. 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.
- Enjoy complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as your account is open.
- Get 1 free night each year after your Cardmember anniversary at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort
- Receive 5 tier qualifying night credits towards status after account opening, and each year after that for as long as your account is open
- Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year
- Earn 2 qualifying night credits towards tier status every time you spend $5,000 on your card
- Earn up to 9 points total for Hyatt stays – 4 Bonus Points per $1 spent on qualified purchases at Hyatt hotels & up to 5 Base Points per $1 from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member
- Earn 2 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
- Member FDIC
Pros and Cons
Pros
New cardholder bonus offer
Automatic free night annually
Bonus categories
Luxury perks
Cons
Has annual fee
Complicated rewards
Limited redemptions
Detailed Review
Those who hanker for the Hyatt brand when making travel plans will find a lot to love about the World of Hyatt Credit Card. It's a top choice among hotel cards, offering a compelling suite of first-rate benefits: a big sign-up bonus, generous ongoing rewards, high-value points, automatic elite status, a free night certificate every anniversary year and a way to notch an additional free night with enough spending. The free night benefit alone could make up for the annual fee of $95.
World of Hyatt Credit Card: Basics
Card type: Hotel.
Annual fee: $95.
Sign-up bonus: Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points. 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.
Ongoing rewards:
4 bonus points per $1 spent with your card at Hyatt hotels, including participating restaurants and spas. Properties under the Hyatt umbrella include the Park Hyatt, Miraval, Andaz and Hyatt Place.
2 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants, airline tickets purchased through the airline, fitness club and gym memberships, and local transit and commuting.
1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
NerdWallet values Hyatt points at 2.2 cents each. This is drawn from real-world data, but it's not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 2.2 cents or more in value from your Hyatt points.
Points can be redeemed for hotel stays, room upgrades and certain purchases at participating Hyatt locations, such as fitness classes, spa therapy and dining. You can also transfer points to certain airline partners, but the unfavorable transfer ratios make this a low-value option.
Foreign transaction fee: None.
APR: The ongoing APR is 20.99%-27.99% Variable APR.
Other benefits:
One free night each card anniversary year at a Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort. (Categories range from 1 to 8.)
An additional free night at a Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort after spending $15,000 in an anniversary year.
Automatic elite status: Your card grants you Discoverist status, which includes expedited check-in, room upgrades and late checkout when available. Plus, it allows you to reach the next elite status tier, Explorist, through card spending.
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Free nights aplenty
Let's start with the card's valuable sign-up bonus: Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points. 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.
Depending on how you choose to carve up that points cache, you could be looking at as many as 18 free nights at a Category 1 hotel of your choosing, or living the high life with a one-night stay at a swanky Category 8 property. And that's on top of the free annual night that comes with the World of Hyatt Credit Card. Spend $15,000 in an anniversary year, and you can earn a second free night.
Rich ongoing rewards
World of Hyatt Credit Card will earn you 4 points per dollar spent at Hyatt properties. Those points from the card come on top of the 5 points per dollar you earn from the hotel just by being a World of Hyatt member. That adds up to 9 points per dollar spent on Hyatt hotels and resorts, including participating restaurants and spas.
You'll also earn bonus rewards in everyday spending categories, including commuting, dining out and working out. And points are worth a lot more than the standard 1 cent each. Many current hotel programs offer substantially less than a penny of value per point.
Automatic elite status
World of Hyatt Credit Card gives you automatic Discoverist status, which offers:
A 10% bonus on points earned on eligible room rates and incidental charges.
An upgrade to a preferred room based on availability.
Late 2 p.m. checkout, when available.
Waived resort fees on free night awards.
These perks could make your next stay a lot more pleasant. Without the World of Hyatt Credit Card, you'd need to earn 25,000 base points or stay 10 qualifying nights each calendar year to reach Discoverist status.
A path to higher elite status
World of Hyatt Credit Card also gives you an accelerated path to the next level of elite status, Explorist status, which comes with even swankier perks like a 20% bonus points on eligible spending and two club-level passes to fill up on complimentary continental breakfast and evening hors d’oeuvres.
In order to be eligible for Explorist status, you'll need to have 30 qualifying nights. But ownership of the World of Hyatt Credit Card gives you credit for five nights, and you'll earn credit for two additional nights every time you spend $5,000 on the card. This means big spenders could potentially reach Explorist status quickly through spending alone.
Drawbacks and Considerations
Complex rewards categories
World of Hyatt Credit Card rewards you handsomely for Hyatt stays, but you may find its other reward tiers difficult to keep track of or take advantage of. For example, you get 2 points back for airline tickets, but only if purchased directly through the airline. And if you don't normally work out at the gym, the 2 points back on fitness club and gym memberships may not do much for you.
You might fare better with a general travel card that earns a flat rate back on everything and lets you use your rewards for multiple forms of travel. For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns 5 miles per $1 spent on hotels and rental cards booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per $1 spent on other purchases. You can redeem rewards for any hotel or flight you'd like.
Visit NerdWallet's roundup of top credit cards to find out whether this is the best credit card to apply for based on your goals and priorities.
Limited worldwide locations
Although Hyatt is a relatively large hotel chain, that doesn't mean there's one where you want to go — and if your travel inclinations take you somewhere that a Hyatt isn't, it doesn't matter how many free nights you have saved up. Some locations don't have any Hyatt-owned spots; others have only a handful that may not be near your destination.
If a hotel chain that's virtually ubiquitous is more valuable to you than any other attribute, consider the $95-annual-fee Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, which comes with a free night award every year after your account anniversary. While Hyatt has over 900 properties, Marriott has over 7,000.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
World of Hyatt Credit Card is ideal for someone who stays within the brand at least a few times a year and wants perks and hotel status served up alongside their stay. The annual free night certificate alone can easily outstrip the cost of the card's annual fee, and if you’re the sort who puts a lot of spending on your card, you’ll be raking in those plush elite status perks in no time.
Earn bonus rewards in various categories including travel and dining. Get 25% more value when you redeem for travel through the Chase portal. Or, transfer one of several loyalty programs, including World of Hyatt, at a 1:1 ratio. Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Annual Fee: $95.
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Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
