Over the last year or so, Hyatt has been making an incredible amount of changes to their loyalty program. They’ve added more properties through SLH, expanded their all-inclusive line and introduced Milestone Rewards. Now, Hyatt has included another credit card bonus option that gives travelers additional flexibility.
In the past, the World of Hyatt card offered two free hotel nights as a sign up bonus. However, that card disappeared and we were offered a flat rate of 40,000 World of Hyatt points, which later was increased to 50,000.
Now, Hyatt is once again offering the option to take those free nights instead of points. This begs the question which option is best: Two free nights or 50,000 points?
Earn Free Nights…
Before figuring out which is better, we need to examine the new terms being offered as the bonus on The World of Hyatt Credit Card free nights version:
- Earn 1 free night after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- Receive 1 additional free night after you spend $6,000 total on purchases within the first 6 months of account opening
- $50 Statement Credit after your first purchase with the World of Hyatt Credit Card.
Unfortunately, the free nights are not good at any of the new Category 8 properties.
…Or Earn Points
Compare that to the terms on The World of Hyatt Credit Card points version:
- Earn 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Earn an additional 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend a total of $6,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of account opening
- No statement credit given
Basically, the difference is earning 50,000 points versus two free nights and a $50 credit.
What Are The World Of Hyatt Card Restrictions?
Unfortunately, as 2018 closed out it was reported that the World of Hyatt Credit Card starting falling under Chase’s 5/24. This was a huge blow.
In addition, Chase also stated that no bonus will be given out if you currently hold this card, or if you have gotten the bonus in the last 24 months. The one upside is that recently Chase implemented an ineligibility popup during applications that will let you know if you are unable to receive a sign up bonus. This takes away the nasty surprise of not receiving a bonus when you were expecting it.
Use the new World of Hyatt Credit Card sign up bonus at a Park Hyatt. Source: Hyatt
The Verdict On The Offers
I think for most people The World of Hyatt Credit Card points version is going to be superior. The reasoning behind that is that:
- If you end up staying at lower category hotels you will get more than 2 free nights. For example, someone staying at only Category 1 properties could stretch this 50,000 bonus to 10 free nights at 5,000 points/night.In fact, we recently reviewed the best Category 1 value at the Hyatt Regency Bali.
- There’s a longer timeline on redemption with the points bonus. If you open the free nights card, those nights must be used within one year. With the points bonus, you will have two years to redeem them, assuming you have no other account activity. Should you need longer, you can charge something to continue extending that two year timeline.
What better deal could you ask for than using the 50,000 points to stay 10 nights at the Hyatt Regency Bali?
So when does it make sense to get the free nights card? Only if you are planning on redeeming those free nights at Category 7 properties within the next year. Those redemptions would cost 60,000 points for two nights. Therefore, you would be ahead a net 10,000 points by going the free night card over the point card.
The Upshot
As a points and miles enthusiast, I appreciate the effort that Chase and Hyatt have put into rebranding The World of Hyatt credit card. Offering another sign up bonus that could be beneficial for consumers is amazing. If my wife and I didn’t each already hold a card, I would be signing up for the points version of the card to earn more free nights at our favorite Hyatt Zilara property.
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