- Receive instant elite status and credit towards the next level.
- Earn 4x points at World of Hyatt Properties.
- Earn 2x points at restaurants, on airline tickets, transit and gym memberships.
- Free nights start at 5,000 points.
- Earn up to two free night certificates each year.
- $95 annual fee.
- Hyatt recently announced changes that will raise the number of points needed during peak seasons.
Hotel credit cards can be extremely valuable, as they can combine valuable benefits with points towards free night awards that can be far easier to redeem than frequent flyer miles. The World of Hyatt Card from Chase may be the best hotel card out there. You immediately get entry level elite status with Hyatt, five night-stay credits toward the next level of status and another two night-stay credits for each $5,000 spent on the card. You also get a free night stay each year (for a Category 1-4 room) on your cardmember anniversary, plus a second free night stay if you spend $15,000 or more in a cardmember year.
Rewards include 4x points at Hyatt hotels, and 2x points per dollar spent at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, local transit and commuting as well as fitness club and gym memberships. You earn one point per dollar spent elsewhere, and free nights begin at just 5,000 points per night. Better yet, Hyatt allows you to redeem your points for any unsold standard room, with no blackout dates or capacity controls. This is a sharp contrast with airline programs where you can rarely find an award seat at the lowest mileage level.
This card does have a $95 annual fee, which is pretty standard among premium travel rewards cards like this.
