Chase World of Hyatt Visa Signature Review
Updated June 30, 2023.
The Facts
The Math
As the annual free night most likely more than offsets the annual fee, you can enjoy the card's other benefits like bonus categories (4x and 2x), elite qualifying night credits, elite status, and waived foreign transaction fees at no cost. However, for general spending you need to value one point more than 2 cents to beat 2% cashback cards such as Citi Double Cash. For example, our current valuation of Hyatt points is 1.2 cents per point, which means you would be better off to use some other card for general spending. However, spending $15K to receive the second free night is actually not a bad idea, because based on our current value, you are essentially exchanging $120 (15,000 points x (2-1.2)cent/point) you lose by not using a 2% cashback card for the free night. If part of your spending is in the bonus categories, it obviously makes more sense. Also note that by spending $15K per year, you will have 11 elite night credits in your belt before staying at their hotels and you just need 19 more nights to get to Explorist and 39 more nights to get to Globalist. If you are just short of a few night credits, putting more spending on the World of Hyatt Visa will also make a lot of sense, compared to the traditional "mattress runs".
World of Hyatt Visa vs. Hyatt Visa ($75): World of Hyatt Visa replaces the old Hyatt Visa for new applications. The new card has an annual fee that is $20 more. With that, there are quite a few adjustments. First of all, category bonus is changed from 3x Hyatt and 2x dining & airline & car rental to 4x Hyatt and 2x dining & airline & local transportation & fitness. Gone is the Explorist status after $50K annual spending, and come the second free night after $15K annual spending and elite qualifying night credits (5 for free and 2 for each $5K spending). While we don't recommending spending $50K a year on the old card to get the mid-tier status, spending $15K on the new card to get the second free night seems reasonable. In addition, if you are just short of a few night credits towards the next tier, having the new card provides a great opportunity. In general, we think the new World of Hyatt Visa represents an overall enhancement over the old Hyatt Visa. We used to recommend the Hyatt Visa as a "drawer card" for the purpose of getting the free night by paying the $75 annual fee; now the new World of Hyatt Visa actually incentivizes cardmembers to spend more on the card.
World of Hyatt Visa vs. Sapphire Reserve: ironically World of Hyatt Visa's biggest competitor is still Sapphire Reserve, also from Chase, as the Ultimate Rewards points you earn from Sapphire Reserve can be transferred into Hyatt points at a 1:1 ratio. Sapphire Reserve's effective annual fee after considering the $300 annual travel credit is merely $55 more than World of Hyatt Visa's, and with that it offer several premium features such as airport lounge access, luxury hotel privileges, primary rental car coverage, and a higher level of consumer & travel protection. Secondly, Sapphire Reserve's rewards are better than Hyatt Visa's in general, since it offers 3x points on travel and dining, and in addition to Hyatt points, you also have flexibility of transferring points to miles of partners such as United, Southwest, British, Korean, Singapore, etc. In comparison, World of Hyatt Visa's strength lies in annual free nights, elite night credits and elite status. The bottom line is that if collecting Hyatt points is your primary goal, you will probably find Sapphire Reserve a better tool, but if you value Category 1-4 free nights and elite night credits you could consider adding World of Hyatt Visa and putting some spending on it.
The Conclusion
World of Hyatt Visa represents an overall enhancement over the old Hyatt Visa. The first annual free night plus 5 elite qualifying night credits probably more than offset the annual fee, which makes this a great "drawer card", while spending $15K a year on the card will get you the second free night plus 6 additional night credits.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $95
- Signup Bonus: up to 60,000 Hyatt points (30,000 points after you spend $3,000 within 3 months of new account opening, and two additional point per dollar spent within the first 6 months, up to $15,000 in purchase or additional 30,000 points). Either bonus is not available if you currently have any Hyatt credit card or have received a signup bonus for any Hyatt credit card in the past 24 months. Historical best bonus of this card: (1) 60,000 points in 2018; (2) two free nights + $50 credit in 2019. Note that these free night certificates expire after 12 months of issuance and can be applied to any Hyatt portfolio hotels, including their top-of-line hotels that require 30,000 Hyatt points per night. Further note that even though Small Luxury Hotels of the World has a partnership with the World of Hyatt program and allows redeeming Hyatt points, you can not redeem free night certificates there. The most expensive Hyatt hotels (consistently retailed for at least $800 per night) to redeem the free nights include Park Hyatt New York, Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, Park Hyatt Milan, Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa, and Park Hyatt Sydney. The following hotels are also great alternatives which mostly retail for at least $400-$700 per night: Park Hyatt St. Kitts, Park Hyatt Zurich, Park Hyatt Vienna, Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow, Park Hyatt Changbaishan, Palacio Duhau - Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills, Andaz New York 5th Avenue, Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya, Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall, Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall.
- Application Landing Page
- Rewards: 4x Hyatt, 2x dining, airfare (purchased directly from airlines), local transit and commuting services (including taxis, mass transit, tolls and ride-share) and fitness clubs & gym memberships, and 1x everywhere else.
- Best Use of World of Hyatt points: You can redeem Hyatt points for stays or upgrades at Hyatt portfolio hotels worldwide, including Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Vivid, Miraval, Alila, Andaz, Thompson, Dream, UrCove by Hyatt, Caption by Hyatt, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Destination by Hyatt, JdV by Hyatt, Impression by Secrets, Zoetry, Secrets, Breathless, Dreams, Alua, Sunscape, and Hyatt Residence Club. Hyatt points are generally more valuable than most other Hotel currencies out there (e.g., Marrriott, Hilton, IHG). The points of other programs are valued less than 1 cent per point, while Hyatt points are valued around 1~2 cents per points. You may also transfer Hyatt points to miles of 30+ frequent flyer programs at 2.5:1 ratio. You can get a better rate at 2:1 if you do bulk transfer (50,000 points = 25,000 miles). However, unless you value miles at 3~4 cent per mile, it is probably better just to use Hyatt points toward hotel stays.
- Hyatt Benefits: (1) One annual free night at any Category 1-4 hotel upon anniversary (the certificate expires after 12 months). (2) A second annual Category 1-4 free night when you spend $15,000 in the previous membership year. (3) Complimentary Hyatt Discoverist, the entry-level elite status and normally achieved after 10 nights or 25,000 base points, as long as you have this card. The benefits are very limited but better than nothing. (4) Receive 5 elite qualifying night credits towards your next tier status every year. (5) Receive additional 2 elite qualifying night credits towards your next tier status each time you spend $5,000 on the card.
- Other Benefits: Waived foreign transaction fees with an embedded EMV chip.
- History: In June 2018, Chase introduced the World of Hyatt Visa, replacing the long running Hyatt Visa which stopped accepting new applications, by increasing annual fees by $20 and adding/removing features. The existing cardmembers have the options of either keeping the old card or upgrading to the new card.
The Math
As the annual free night most likely more than offsets the annual fee, you can enjoy the card's other benefits like bonus categories (4x and 2x), elite qualifying night credits, elite status, and waived foreign transaction fees at no cost. However, for general spending you need to value one point more than 2 cents to beat 2% cashback cards such as Citi Double Cash. For example, our current valuation of Hyatt points is 1.2 cents per point, which means you would be better off to use some other card for general spending. However, spending $15K to receive the second free night is actually not a bad idea, because based on our current value, you are essentially exchanging $120 (15,000 points x (2-1.2)cent/point) you lose by not using a 2% cashback card for the free night. If part of your spending is in the bonus categories, it obviously makes more sense. Also note that by spending $15K per year, you will have 11 elite night credits in your belt before staying at their hotels and you just need 19 more nights to get to Explorist and 39 more nights to get to Globalist. If you are just short of a few night credits, putting more spending on the World of Hyatt Visa will also make a lot of sense, compared to the traditional "mattress runs".
World of Hyatt Visa vs. Hyatt Visa ($75): World of Hyatt Visa replaces the old Hyatt Visa for new applications. The new card has an annual fee that is $20 more. With that, there are quite a few adjustments. First of all, category bonus is changed from 3x Hyatt and 2x dining & airline & car rental to 4x Hyatt and 2x dining & airline & local transportation & fitness. Gone is the Explorist status after $50K annual spending, and come the second free night after $15K annual spending and elite qualifying night credits (5 for free and 2 for each $5K spending). While we don't recommending spending $50K a year on the old card to get the mid-tier status, spending $15K on the new card to get the second free night seems reasonable. In addition, if you are just short of a few night credits towards the next tier, having the new card provides a great opportunity. In general, we think the new World of Hyatt Visa represents an overall enhancement over the old Hyatt Visa. We used to recommend the Hyatt Visa as a "drawer card" for the purpose of getting the free night by paying the $75 annual fee; now the new World of Hyatt Visa actually incentivizes cardmembers to spend more on the card.
World of Hyatt Visa vs. Sapphire Reserve: ironically World of Hyatt Visa's biggest competitor is still Sapphire Reserve, also from Chase, as the Ultimate Rewards points you earn from Sapphire Reserve can be transferred into Hyatt points at a 1:1 ratio. Sapphire Reserve's effective annual fee after considering the $300 annual travel credit is merely $55 more than World of Hyatt Visa's, and with that it offer several premium features such as airport lounge access, luxury hotel privileges, primary rental car coverage, and a higher level of consumer & travel protection. Secondly, Sapphire Reserve's rewards are better than Hyatt Visa's in general, since it offers 3x points on travel and dining, and in addition to Hyatt points, you also have flexibility of transferring points to miles of partners such as United, Southwest, British, Korean, Singapore, etc. In comparison, World of Hyatt Visa's strength lies in annual free nights, elite night credits and elite status. The bottom line is that if collecting Hyatt points is your primary goal, you will probably find Sapphire Reserve a better tool, but if you value Category 1-4 free nights and elite night credits you could consider adding World of Hyatt Visa and putting some spending on it.
The Conclusion
World of Hyatt Visa represents an overall enhancement over the old Hyatt Visa. The first annual free night plus 5 elite qualifying night credits probably more than offset the annual fee, which makes this a great "drawer card", while spending $15K a year on the card will get you the second free night plus 6 additional night credits.