A reader in the private MilesTalk Facebook group asked my opinion on the new Hyatt credit card. Not one to give a short answer when I can give a longer one, here’s my take on the new product and associated signup offer.
The most important thing to many is its 5/24 status. And apparently it is NOT currently subject to 5/24 but is expected to be at some point in the future (and we don’t know when), so if you finish reading this and want the card and are already over 5/24, go for it sooner than later….
Link to apply for Hotel Rewards Credit Cards
The bonus offer on this card is fairly rich:
60,000 total World of Hyatt points if you spend $6,000 in your first 6 months. (Limited Time Offer)
If you spend only $3,000 in the first 3 months, you would get 40,000 points rather than the full 60,000.
Card Benefits:
- 4 Bonus Points per $1 when you use your card at Hyatt hotels (stacks with the 5 points per dollar you earn at Hyatt)
- 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships
- 1 Point per dollar on other purchases
- Receive 1 free night every year after your cardmember anniversary at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort
- Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year
- Get automatic World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as your account is open and 5 qualifying night credits toward your next tier status every year
- Earn 2 qualifying night credits towards your next tier status every time you spend $5,000 on your card
Annual fee:
$95 (not waived the first year)
Analysis:
I thought it was going to be hard for me to like this card for the simple reason that you can simply transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points into Hyatt at a rate of 1:1. Given that you can earn 50,000 – 80,000 Ultimate Rewards from many Chase signup bonuses, not to mention 3x bonus categories on the Chase Sapphire Reserve (meaning 3x Hyatt points if that’s how you want to spend them) opening another Chase card and filling a 5/24 slot just for this bonus wasn’t ever going to scream at me. For comparative purposes, I value Hyatt points at around 2 cents a point and think they are one of the best uses of UR points aside from First and Business class award tickets when transferred skillfully to airline partners.
But I think that’s the point – this card offers a number of reasons to actually HOLD the card if you stay somewhat frequently at Hyatt or are looking to build up your Hyatt point bank.
Reasons to get this card:
- The signup bonus is definitely rich. My most common stays are at 12,000 point a night Hyatt properties (and usually when the room rate is around $300-$400 for that night. This signup bonus equates to 5 free nights at that category level meaning I’d probably get between $1,500 and $2,000 for those points. That’s a great bonus!
- A free night every year up to Category 4 (15,000 points). This covers your $95 annual fee and then some each year.
- A second free night when you spend $15,000 on the card. While some will say that you could just spend 15,000 on a Chase Sapphire Reserve to get the same, that’s not true – because spend on the Hyatt card you will get 15,000 points for the spend PLUS the free night cert. However, if you spend just $10,000 on travel and dining on the Reserve, you’d get 30,000 UR points (which would transfer as 30,000 Hyatt points). Since the Hyatt card earns 2x for dining and airline tickets purchased direct, you will no doubt have a middle break-even point. If you spend a lot on Hyatt hotels anyway, though this becomes a no brainer since you get 4x on Hyatt spend.
- World of Hyatt Discoverist status: It’s a light status but if you have several Hyatt stays a year, the free premium Internet, bottled water, 2pm checkout (subject to availability), and upgrades to a nicer room are worth something. You can also match this to MGM’s MLife Pearl status for some casino perks.
- Not currently subject to 5/24: If you are over 5/24 and haven’t been able to get any Ultimate Rewards bonuses in a while, then these 60,000 points are extra-rich since it’s that much harder to build your UR balance. As mentioned, it could become subject to 5/24 at any point.
- If you are a big spender, you can actually spend your way to Top-Tier World of Hyatt Globalist status just from credit card spend. You need 60 night credits a year for Globalist. You get 5 credits a year just for having the card, so you’d need 55 more. As you earn 2 credits per $5,000 spent, you would need a whopping $140,000 in spend (minus any actual stays) to achieve this, but I know that some most certainly will do this. Globalist includes suite upgrades and lounge access among other benefits at Hyatt.
Reasons to not get this card:
- I never advise getting a card just because the signup bonus looks shiny. Do you ever stay at Hyatt? That’s worth thinking about before taking a hard pull on your credit and poking the Chase beast.
- If you have hundreds of thousands of UR points already and don’t stay at Hyatt much, it may not be a worthwhile wallet addition – especially if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve which earns you 3x on all of your travel and dining purchases already.
- Even though it’s not subject to 5/24 now, it will take a 5/24 slot. So think through what else you may want instead if you are currently under 5/24.
What if you already hold the old version of the Chase Hyatt card?
You’d only be eligible for this signup bonus if you got the signup bonus on that card more than 24 months ago and close your existing card. You’d also need to wait 30 days before applying for the new one. And there’s the risk that this card becomes subject to 5/24 by then as well.
What do you think? What other angles am I missing? How would you advise someone to look at this card yourself? Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
And of course, if you sign up for any Hotel Rewards Credit Cards and choose to use the MilesTalk links, the commission earned goes to more articles like this, so thank you in advance for your support.
New to all of this? My new “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available now.
