The World of Hyatt Credit Card is one of the best hotel rewards credit cards available right now. It’s worth considering if you spend a lot of time in hotels, Hyatt is always an option where you travel, and you’ll be able to both earn the initial bonus and avoid interest charges by paying the bill in full monthly. The card’s
$95 annual fee will be worth paying if you do those things.
You also need a credit score of
700 or higher to have a good chance of getting approved. Below, you can find more information to help you decide whether or not to apply for the World of Hyatt Credit Card.
What I Like About the Hyatt Credit Card
Valuable initial bonus
Spending at least
$3,000 within
3 months of opening your Hyatt Credit Card will score you
30,000 points. That’s a pretty good deal, considering 1 Hyatt rewards point is worth more than 2 cents, on average, according to
WalletHub research.
In fact, this bonus is worth roughly
$630 in Hyatt reservations and is among the biggest reasons why the Hyatt Credit Card is so good.
Sneakily rewarding points
The World of Hyatt Card offers
1 - 4 points per $1 in ongoing rewards on purchases, yielding a nice percentage return when redeemed for free nights. More specifically, you will earn:
• 4 points per $1 spent at Hyatt properties
• 2 points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants
• 2 points per $1 spent on fitness club and gym memberships
• 2 points per $1 spent on airfare purchased directly from airlines
• 2 points per $1 spent on local transit and commuting.
• 1 point per $1 spent on everything else (except for the first 6 months of account opening, when those purchases yield 2 points per $1 spent, up to 30,000 points).
That might not sound like a lot compared to hotel credit cards offering 10+ points per $1 spent. But each World of Hyatt point is worth an average of
2.1 cents, according to WalletHub research. That means your earning rate equates to 2.1% to 8.4% “cash” back.
Free night after each account anniversary
This anniversary gift is good at category 1-4 hotels, which are the least expensive locations in
Hyatt’s portfolio. This can help take the sting out of the card’s annual fee.
You can also get an additional free night after spending $15,000 in a calendar year.
Automatic elite status
Simply having the Hyatt Card scores you Elite status in the World of Hyatt rewards program, which gets you extra perks at Hyatt properties.
What I Don’t Like About the Hyatt Credit Card
Very high APR
You need good or excellent credit for approval, and the average credit cards for people with good and excellent credit charge
23.93% and 17.68%, respectively. That means you’re almost guaranteed to pay interest at an above-average rate if you carry a balance from month to month with the Hyatt Credit Card.
Annual fee demands regular use
The Hyatt Card’s
$95 annual fee isn’t the highest among hotel credit cards, but it’s certainly not the lowest, either. It’s also several times higher than average for a credit card offer overall.
While the free night you’ll get on each account anniversary will help offset this cost, you’d ideally like that gift to help you save more, not just break even. You’ll need to make a lot of purchases to take your savings to the next level.
Requires good credit or better
The Hyatt Credit Card's credit score requirement is 700, considering you need at least
good credit for approval. Make sure to
check your credit score for free on WalletHub before applying.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.
