Edit: The offer below has been revised to 50,000 total bonus points. 25,000 after $3,000 spend in the first 3 months, an additional 25,000 after $6,000 total spend in 6 months.

Hey Travel Junkies,

There’s been a lot of big news in the points and miles world this week. There’s one big change that really has me excited; The new The World of Hyatt Credit Card by Chase.

Use World of Hyatt Points to Stay at the Park Hyatt Maldives for Only 25,000 Points Per Night

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the World of Hyatt program because of the tremendous value you can get from it. I even booked a stay at the Park Hyatt Maldives for my honeymoon for 25,000 Hyatt points per night!

Just last week, Chase launched a new The World of Hyatt Credit Card to replace the old version. It comes with a number of improvements so let’s dig into the details and see what this card has to offer.

(You can learn more about The World of Hyatt Credit Card by visiting our credit cards page)

Earn 60,000 Hyatt Points Quickly

Chase is offering a tiered sign-up bonus with the new The World of Hyatt Credit Card. You’ll earn 40,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months and an additional 20,000 points after spending $6,000 total in the first 6 months.

The Increased Bonus Can Get You 3 Nights at the Hyatt Regency Maui

The sign-up bonus is an improvement on the bonuses we saw with the old Hyatt card including offers of 40,000 Hyatt points or 2 free nights. The old bonus of 2 free nights and the current 60,000-point bonus can both get you 2 free nights at a top tier Category 7 property—30,000 points per night. However, you’ll have more flexibility with the 60,000 points, especially when you consider that there are only 14 Category 7 Hyatt properties.

This is not considered a new product so, if you have the old version of the card, you won’t be eligible for the new sign-up bonus. As with other Chase cards, you are eligible for the sign-up bonus if it has been 24 months since you last received the sign-up bonus on a card.

At this time, this card is not restricted by the Chase 5/24 rule but it likely will be at some point in the future. When exactly this change will take place is still TBD.

Improved Bonus Categories

Chase has added some bonus categories to incentivize you to use the card. Previously, you would earn 3X points per dollar spent with Hyatt. However, earning 3X Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® was clearly a better option as you could still transfer to Hyatt but also have the flexibility to transfer to an airline partner.

With the new bonus categories, it might be worth using The World of Hyatt Credit Card instead:

The new categories are

  • 4X at Hyatt hotels and resorts
  • 2X at restaurants, airfare purchased directly from airlines, fitness club/gym memberships and on local transit and commuting—including Lyft and Uber

Not many cards offer a bonus on fitness clubs, so this presents a fun opportunity for bonus points. Making the Hyatt bonus category 4X instead of 3X now makes it a bit more competitive with the 3X you’d get from the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

Personally, I end up transferring most of my Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt anyway, so I would gladly get 4X points per dollar at Hyatt versus 3X Ultimate Rewards. If you book a paid stay with Hyatt, the best card for you to use will be determined by your points needs.

A Free Night Certificate (Plus A Chance To Earn A Second)

Use Your Free Nights to Stay at the Hyatt Regency Austin, Perfect for SXSW with Zilker Park Right Next Door! (image courtesy of Hyatt)

The previous Hyatt card provided one free night certificate for a stay a Category 1-4 property on each cardmember anniversary. You will still receive this free night certificate with the new The World of Hyatt Credit Card but you can also earn a second if you spend $15,000 within a cardmember year—not calendar year.

Spend Your Way To World of Hyatt Status Opportunities

With the new The World of Hyatt Credit Card, you’ll have the opportunity to earn elite status based on how much you spend on the card. The card provides complimentary Discoverist status and 5 night credits just for having the card.

While the previous version of the card provided Discoverist status, that’s where it ended. Now, you can spend your way all the way to top tier Globalist status. Now, let’s be clear upfront: the spend required to earn Globalist (or even Explorist) status will NOT be worth it for the vast majority of people.

You can earn 2 qualifying night credits for every $5,000 you spend on the card. Since the card provides 5 night credits already, that means you’d need to spend $140,000 on the card to reach 60 night credits required for Globalist. Of course, if you have paid or award stays, those will count toward your night credits which could reduce the amount you’d need to spend.

If your travel plans happen to include a lot of Hyatt stays—hello, work travelers, this could be a way to get the last several night credits required to get you to Globalist.

Should Current Cardholders Product Change To The New Card?

If you’re a current cardholder, you’re not out of luck. While you can’t get the sign-up bonus, you can product change to the new card. For a limited time, Chase is offering 2,000 Hyatt points to product change.

You’ll want to consider whether the new benefits of the card make the $95 annual fee worth it—a $20 increase from the current $75.

Final Thoughts

The new The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers some great benefits including a better bonus categories, the ability to earn an extra free night certificate and the ability to spend your way to status.

I think the new benefits of the card will make the increased annual fee more than worth it for me, so I’m making the change and looking forward to utilizing the new benefits.

Travel in Style,

Travis