The World of Hyatt Visa Signature is a travel card for certain hotel loyalists. It earns points in multiple categories and can be a good generalist card. It’s issued by Chase Bank, and in 2018, the card was relaunched with increased value. Hyatt isn’t the most prolific hotel brand in terms of locations though. Whether this card is useful depends on how often you’ll use Hyatt or Hyatt-linked hotels.
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
- $95 annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees
- 4x points on Hyatt stays (+5x for World of Hyatt members for a total of 9x)
- 2x points on dining
- 2x points on flights
- 2x points on fitness clubs and gym memberships
- 2x points on transit (taxis, buses, trains, tolls, rideshare, etc.)
- 1x points on everything else
SIGN UP BONUS
The card is advertised with “you can earn up to 60,000 bonus points,” but it’s really 45,000 bonus points. The sign-up bonus (SUB) is split into two parts. You’ll earn 30,000 points by spending at least $3,000 within 3 months (some targeted offers may instead offer 35,000 points). At the same time, you can get up to 30,000 points through “other” spending. The World of Hyatt card will earn 2x points on non-category spending instead of 1x, up to $15,000 spent, within 6 months of opening the card. So if you spend $15,000 solely on the “1x points on everything else” then you’ll earn 15,000 points + 15,000 bonus to these base points on that spending. This brings your total points earned to 60,000 although the bonus points only add up to 30,000 + 15,000. The base rate of 1x points shouldn’t be considered a “bonus”—it’s standard for all credit cards to have this as a minimum earning rate.
This isn’t Hyatt’s best-ever SUB, so it might be worth waiting for a better offer. A 2020 offer gave 25,000 points for spending $3,000 in 3 months with another 25,000 points if you instead spent $6,000 in 6 months. Even though it appears to be a lower bonus than the current offer (advertised as 50k points vs 60k points) you actually get more bonus points (50k vs 45k) and only have to spend $6,000 instead of $15,000.
30,000 Hyatt points are typically worth a minimum of $420 to $600.
OTHER BENEFITS OF THE WORLD OF HYATT CARD
- Visa Signature benefits, including:
- Trip Cancellation / Interruption Insurance (up to $10,000 per trip)
- Baggage Delay Insurance (up to $500)
- Lost Luggage Reimbursement (up to $3000)
- “Receive one free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort every year after your cardmember anniversary.” plus “Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.”
- Automatic Discoverist member status
- Credit card gives 5 annual qualifying night credits toward Explorist/Globalist status, plus 2 extra credits for each $5,000 in annual spend on your card (works out as 10 extra credits for each $25,000 you spend each year)
- MGM Rewards status match (Pearl or Gold)
- American Airlines AAdvantage bonus points with a linked account
- Milestone Rewards with Hyatt (Club Lounge access passes, free upgrades, bonus points, etc.)
RESTRICTIONS AND CREDIT SCORE
Recommended credit score: 670+
As a credit card issued by Chase Bank, the anti-churning 5/24 rule may apply. If you’ve opened 5 or more cards in the past 24 months, you may be automatically denied on new applications for Chase cards. You’d have to wait up to two years to become eligible for a Chase card.
Hyatt points can expire if your account is inactive for 24+ months. Using your credit card for purchases at least once a year is an easy way to reset this clock.
MAXIMIZING REWARDS WITH THE WORLD OF HYATT CARD
Hyatt points are more valuable than other hotel brands. They’re usually worth around $0.02 (2 Cents Per Point, 2 cpp) each, although it varies by a lot. Lucky people have reported getting more than 4 cpp from their points. The lowest redemption option we’ve personally seen was 1.4 cpp ($0.014 per point). Whether you want to use points or cash for a Hyatt stay will depend on point redemption values for that stay. Peak and off-peak pricing may also apply.
Hyatt has Experiences and Expeditions for non-hotel point redemptions. This can be especially helpful if you’re accumulating a lot of points and can’t find a good use for them. For example, Antarctica for 14 days in 2019-2020. Normally $15-73k, or 942,500 to 4,568,750 points (1.6 cpp). The Antarctica option is no longer available, but other options are around.
Hyatt frequently has bonus offers to earn more points. For example, 5x points on all purchases (instead of 1x or 2x) up to $1,500 in spending. Keep an eye out for opportunities.
With 2 cpp values, the card would give you:
- 18% cash back on Hyatt stays
- 4% cash back on dining
- 4% cash back on flights
- 4% cash back on fitness clubs and gym memberships
- 4% cash back on transit (taxis, buses, trains, tolls, rideshare, etc.)
- 2% cash back on everything else
For the Free Night Certificate, category 1-4 hotels are worth 3,500 to 18,000 points per night, depending on peak/off-peak times (as of 2023-2024). Standard rooms are usually 5k/8k/12k/15k (Club rooms and Suites are extra). Each “free night certificate” is usually worth at least $70-100, and caps out around $300-360. (Also: you don’t get a free night the first time you pay the annual fee—you only get it on cardmember anniversaries, ie, after 12 months of holding the card.)
For people who regularly use Hyatt, this is all definitely worthwhile.
For status-earning:
Discoverist status normally requires 10 nights or 25,000 base points (equivalent to $5,000 at Hyatt) earned in a year. Explorist status is 30+ nights or 50,000 base points (equivalent to $10,000 at Hyatt) earned in a year (and barely different from the Discoverist tier). Each hotel stay earns 5 Base Points per $1 spent with Hyatt. This is calculated separately from credit card cash back rates.
With the Hyatt credit card, you need 25 nights for Explorist, or 19 nights if you spend $15,000+ with the card each year (for the extra free night award). Most casual travelers don’t spend more than 1-2 weeks a year in hotels, so keep in mind that higher status tiers are only for frequent travelers and high spenders.
Globalist status is 60+ nights or 100,000 base points (equivalent to $20,000) earned in a year. You can get Lifetime Globalist status by earning 1,000,000 base points over your lifetime, which is equivalent to spending at least $200,000 on Hyatt hotels.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE WORLD OF HYATT
Over a dozen general-use credit cards earn at least 2% cash back on all purchases. If you value Hyatt points at $0.02 (2 cpp) though, the Hyatt card will typically outperform these. The 1x category would equal 2% back while the 2x categories equal 4% cash back. No-fee cards usually stay at 3% cash back in a particular category, and rarely higher than 4-5% back. Hyatt can earn 3-6% cash back on everything with 3 cpp redemptions. That doesn’t even include free night certificates or other Hyatt perks.
The closest comparison is probably the Capital One Venture. It earns 2x points on everything and has the same $95 annual fee. It doesn’t have Hyatt as a transfer partner though, so it could be more flexible or less flexible. The main downside of the Venture is a lack of perks, and that it’s much worse than the Venture X card.
If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred card, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt for extra Hyatt points. Utilizing the “Chase Trifecta” may have more flexibility than a standalone hotel credit card. It may also have more perks and higher cash back rates.
Best no-fee alternative for travel: Penfed Pathfinder Rewards
Best no-fee alternative for restaurants: US Bank Altitude Go or Citi Custom Cash.
Best no-fee alternatives for fitness club and gym memberships: Venmo Visa, US Bank Cash+ or Max Cash Preferred, or Citi Custom Cash.
CONCLUSION
The World of Hyatt Visa is worthwhile if you spend at least one night per year at Hyatt properties. Annual free night(s), typically worth $100-250 each, can cancel out the $95 annual fee. The downside is that free night certificates are valid for approximately 4 months after earning one, and they can only be used at Category 1-4 properties. Hyatt sometimes changes hotel categories for extra unpredictability. Hyatt also doesn’t have as many locations as other major brands. You may not find Hyatts at your next travel destination.
Another downside is the lack of downgrade options. If for some reason you don’t want to pay the annual fee anymore, you’d have to cancel the card, which can potentially lower your credit score in the long term. Hotels like IHG and Marriott Bonvoy have no-annual-fee options next to their annual-fee cards. Lastly, the Hyatt card doesn’t have nearly as many Visa Signature perks as other cards. The perks are ok, yet outclassed by many other travel cards. Hyatt’s card doesn’t include travel accident insurance or trip delay protection, for example.
Overall, the Hyatt credit card is a good option for people who like Hyatt hotels. It earns a lot of points. Perks are great for both low spenders and high spenders. This is one of the better travel cards on the market. They introduced a business version as well. If you’re not a Hyatt loyalist, we’d recommend a Chase Sapphire card instead, since that affords greater flexibility. You can transfer points as needed, if you don’t care about Discoverist status.
We rate the World of Hyatt card 4 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Note: This review was last updated in March 2024. Details may have changed since then. Please do your own research where applicable, to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Or contact us directly to benefit from our personalized consulting services!