The World of Hyatt program is the absolute best hotel loyalty program in the industry. There’s a good reason why it’s an absolute favorite among travel hackers. While Hyatt is rapidly growing its portfolio of hotels around the world, it’s still a relatively small hotel chain compared to Marriott and Hilton. That’s the main downside but if you can work with this smaller footprint and stay at least 15 or more nights a year, this is definitely the loyalty program you want to focus on. If you regularly plan on staying 15 or more nights a year, the World of Hyatt credit card is essential.
Note that there is a business version of this credit card that will not be discussed here. While it’s certainly a good card for some people, the personal card is a must-have for Hyatt fans. Since it’s a Chase card, you’ll need to be under 5/24. When you should apply for this card really depends on what your goals are. If you’re trying to rack up the points, the Chase Trifecta is the way to go to start out. If you plan a bunch of Hyatt hotel stays coming up soon, then you’ll want to get this card sooner. You’ll see what I mean in a second.
The basics
SUB: 35,000 WoH points after spending $3,000 (on anything) within the first 3 months plus you’ll earn 2x on everything for the first 6 months or the first $15,000, whatever comes first. So if you max out this SUB, you’ll earn 65,000 WoH points.
Earn an extra 4x on Hyatt stays. This is billed as up to 9x but that’s not really the right way to look at it. By joining the WoH program without a credit card, you’ll get 5x on all stays regardless of what card you use. So even if you just use a basic 1x cash back card, you’ll net 6x on Hyatt stays. If you use a Chase Sapphire Reserve which earns 3x on travel, you’ll earn 8x total. So the WoH card gives allows you to earn 4x for a total of 9x. This is an amazing return on hotel stays and it can really help level the playing field with cheaper hotels. Please be sure to book direct to make sure that you’re getting your points.
Earn 2x on restaurants, airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, local transit, fitness club and gym memberships.
Annual fee: $95
Let’s stop here. 35,000 SUB, short term 2x bonus, 1x more than the CSR on hotel stays, 2x on a few categories and 1 x on everything else. You might be saying that’s not too exciting and I’d agree with you there especially if you already have a CSR. But wait, there’s more.
Free Night Certificates (FNC)
This is where the card pays for itself. Unfortunately you have to wait until your first card anniversary but for every year you have the card, you’ll get a FNC. You can use this for category 1-4 hotels. You obviously want to use this at a Cat 4 hotel. Since Cat 4 hotels are usually over $200, you can see how the card easily pays for itself since you’ll be coming out ahead by over $100 each year.
If you spend $15,000 or more on the card each year, you’ll earn an additional FNC. I don’t think this is going to apply to most people though as the best use of the card is on Hyatt stays.
Elite status
Another great perk of the card is that you get Discoverist status just for having the card. Is this amazing? No but it’s better than nothing. You’ll get late check out, free bottles of water and 10% bonus points on eligible purchases. There’s some value here, especially the late check out.
5 Tier Night Credits each year
This is a great perk for those staying at least 15 nights a year. You’ll get 5 when you open the card and 5 each year that the card is open. Hyatt has milestone rewards starting at 20 nights. Since you are given 5 just for having the card, you’ll start earning milestone rewards after staying 15 nights.
At 20 nights, you’ll get your choice of:
2K Next Stay Award
Earn 2,000 Bonus Points on your next stay at a Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Caption by Hyatt or UrCove hotel.
Club Access Awards (2)
Relax in the Club lounge with continental breakfast and enjoy evening hors d’oeuvres daily.
$25 FIND Experience Credit
Enjoy a credit towards future FIND experiences—around the globe or around the corner.
Is any of that amazing? No, but those 2,000 points are worth $40 so that’s pretty good. Since there’s so few clubs open, most people think that club access awards are mostly useless.
Now once you get to 30 nights, things get more interesting. Of course, you’ll only need 25 nights which makes things a little easier. At 30 nights, you’ll earn a FNC which is separate from the annual FNC that you’ll get from the card. So now that’s 2 free nights you can use at a Cat 4 (or less) hotel. You’ll also get another choice of the same things you got at 20 nights.
So let’s assume you stayed 26 nights in a year and you have the card. The extra 5 nights will allow you to hit 2 milestone rewards (20 nights and 30 nights). You’ll earn an extra 4,000 points worth $80 in addition to a FNC followed by the FNC you’ll earn after you have the card for 1 year. Even if the Cat 4 hotel that you use the FNC at is just $210 per night, you’ll be getting $500 in value!
Conclusion
If you don’t stay at a lot of hotels or you don’t plan on spending a lot of money or nights at Hyatts anytime soon, then this card is not for you. However, if can make Hyatts work for you, this card will pay big dividends. The annual FNC alone will more than pay for the annual fee. All the other bonuses make this card very valuable for Hyatt loyalists. However, it’s not a great card for racking up the points so this is more of a utility that you add once you’ve at least finished the Chase Trifecta and possibly the Inks unless you plan a ton of Hyatt stays or several expensive stays.