World Of Hyatt Credit Card Review 2024

The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers a number of benefits for travelers who stay at Hyatt hotels. Upon approval for the credit card, cardholders will automatically be upgraded to Hyatt’s low-tier Discoverist elite status. Cardholders will also be given five qualifying nights toward higher levels of elite status and can earn an additional two qualifying nights for every $5,000 spent on the card with no limits to the level of status that can be earned.

Each year upon renewal of the card, cardholders will be given a complimentary hotel night certificate, valid at Category 1 to Category 4 Hyatt properties. This benefit alone will, in most cases, make up for the cost of holding the card—as long as the benefit is used. An additional complimentary night can be earned with $15,000 of spending during one calendar year.

Travelers can save money with no foreign transaction fees, complimentary baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement and trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance.

• $95 annual fee
• Earn 9 points total per dollar spent at Hyatt - 4 bonus points per dollar spent at Hyatt hotels and 5 base points per dollar from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member. Earn 2 bonus points per dollar spent at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases
• Welcome bonus: 30,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening, plus up to 30,000 more bonus points by earning 2 bonus points per dollar spent in the first 6 months on purchases that normally earn 1 bonus point on up to $15,000 spent
• One complimentary Category 1 to 4 hotel night each year on cardmember anniversary
• Earn a second complimentary night after spending $15,000 on the card each calendar year
• Automatic World of Hyatt Discoverist elite status
• Five elite qualifying night credits each year
• Earn two additional elite qualifying night credits for every $5,000 spent
• No foreign transaction fees
• Travel protections
• Purchase protection

Earning Rewards

Cardholders will earn 9 points total per dollar spent at Hyatt - 4 bonus points per dollar spent at Hyatt hotels and 5 base points per dollar from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member. Earn 2 bonus points per dollar spent at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

This card offers a welcome bonus: 30,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening, plus up to 30,000 more bonus points by earning 2 bonus points per dollar spent in the first 6 months on purchases that normally earn 1 bonus point on up to $15,000 spent.

With this card, you’ll receive a complimentary night in a Category 1 to 4 Hyatt property each year upon card renewal and it offers the ability to earn a second complimentary night when you spend $15,000 or more on the card within a calendar year.

Cardholders will also receive automatic Discoverist elite status, which normally requires 10 hotel nights to earn. Benefits for this elite status include elite check-in, a preferred room (when available) and 2 p.m. late checkout (when available).

Cardholders who want to earn higher levels of status can benefit from five qualifying night credits with the ability to earn more based on spending. For every $5,000 spent on the card, cardholders receive two additional qualifying nights. So it’s possible to reach the 60 nights normally required to achieve top-tier Globalist status by spending $140,000 with the card.

Redeeming Rewards

Points earned from The World of Hyatt Credit Card can be used to book hotels within the Hyatt portfolio. Points are deposited into the cardholder’s World of Hyatt account each month after the credit card statement closes. Points do not expire as long as there is account activity, including spending on The World of Hyatt Credit Card, every 24 months.

Redemptions start at just 3,500 World of Hyatt points per night. That said, hotels in the most desirable locations typically require more points. Top-tier Hyatt redemptions for a standard room can cost up to 45,000 points per night. Members are also able to redeem points for club rooms, standard suites and premium suites.

For those without enough points to cover the full redemption, Hyatt offers a Points + Cash option. The points requirement starts at just 1,750 World of Hyatt points per night, but the cash portion varies by hotel and check-in date. Hyatt also offers the ability to upgrade paid stays with points starting at 3,000 points per night.

Members can also choose to redeem World of Hyatt points for experiences starting at 1,000 points. These experiences include dining, spa treatments, FIND Experiences and Lindblad Expeditions.

Hyatt allows members to combine points with another World of Hyatt member. There is no charge to transfer, however, members are limited to sending or receiving a transfer once per 30 days. A member can also gift up to 55,000 bonus points each year.

Hyatt does offer the ability to convert points into airline miles and book rental cars with points, but these options don’t generally provide good redemption values.

Rewards Potential

To determine the rewards potential of the World of Hyatt card we have to look at the bonus categories and calculate what the average American household might spend in those areas. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies to determine both baseline income and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage earners bring in $116,000 annually and we base spending on that number.

World of Hyatt Credit Card Rewards Potential
Category	Earning Rate	Estimated Annual Spend	Estimated Annual Earnings
Hyatt hotels	4X	$2,015	8,060
Restaurants, airfare, gyms, and local transit	2X	$7,141	14,282
All other purchases	1X	$27,021	27,021
			Total: 49,363 Hyatt Rewards Points

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This means that the card would earn a total of 49,363 points per year in addition to the first-year welcome bonus and annual free night award at a Category 1-4 hotel. The 49,363 points is enough for one night at a Category 8 Hyatt property in peak season (which costs 45,000 points) or as many as 14 nights at a Category 1 hotel at the off-peak rate of 3,500 points.

Besides earning World of Hyatt points and free nights each year, The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers additional benefits.

• No foreign transaction fees. This saves cardholders on every purchase they make outside of the U.S.
• Purchase protection. Purchase protection covers eligible purchases for 120 days against damage or theft. There is a limit of $500 per claim and a lifetime limit of $50,000 per account.
• Baggage delay insurance. When your baggage is delayed over six hours, you can receive reimbursement up to $100 a day for five days for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing.
• Lost luggage reimbursement. You or an immediate family member are covered up to $3,000 per passenger when your checked or carry-on luggage is damaged or lost by the carrier.
• Auto rental collision damage waiver. Receive secondary coverage for theft and collision damage on most cars in the U.S. and abroad when you decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card.
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance. Trips that are canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather or other covered situations are covered. Pre-paid, non-refundable travel reservations are covered up to $5,000 per person and $10,000 per trip.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: 21.49% - 28.49% variable
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Fees

• Annual fee: $95
• Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater.
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: $0

The World of Hyatt Credit Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card*

Those looking for more versatility in a travel rewards credit card should consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card*. The Sapphire Preferred allows cardholders to earn 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.

Chase Ultimate Rewards® points can be redeemed directly through Chase Travel for 1.25 cents each, or they can be transferred to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, including Hyatt, at a 1:1 ratio. This means that Sapphire Preferred cardholders can earn points at an increased rate on all travel and dining purchases and transfer points to Hyatt, if they choose.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card vs. Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

With a $150 annual fee (terms apply, see rates & fees), the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card offers similar benefits as The World of Hyatt Credit Card. However, Hilton has over 7,000 hotels around the world. The Surpass Card offers automatic Hilton Honors™ Gold status. This provides a free daily food and beverage benefit at participating hotels, which the World of Hyatt’s Discoverist status does not.

Spending $15,000 per year earns a free night reward that is good at almost any Hilton hotel. Plus, if Surpass cardholders spend $40,000 in a calendar year, they’ll be upgraded to top-tier Hilton Honors™ Diamond elite status. The amount of spending required to achieve top-tier status on the Surpass is almost a quarter of the amount required by Hyatt.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card vs. Citi Double Cash® Card

While travel rewards cards offer the ability to maximize rewards, finding the most valuable redemptions can require a fair amount of legwork. For those looking for simplicity, the Citi Double Cash® Card is hard to beat. This no annual fee card offers 2% cash back on all purchases—1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off.

It may not offer as many exciting additional perks, but there’s something to be said for earning cold hard cash. Also, the Citi Double Cash can be a great candidate for pairing with another card, like the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® which has rewards that are transferable to Hyatt.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card is a solid card for travelers who stay at Hyatt hotels. It provides low-tier elite status and a path towards higher levels based on spending. Cardholders receive one free night automatically, plus the option to earn another night after spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year. For many travelers, the benefits of elite status and the annual free night are worth paying the annual fee.

But before signing up, be sure that Hyatt locations track with your travel patterns and future plans. Free nights that you can’t use have no value at all.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual points or miles
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.

Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards

To view rates and fees for Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card please visit this page.