Bottom Line

Hyatt points are the creme de la creme of hotel points, far outpacing any other hotel chain when it comes to redeeming your points. Even the 30k sign-up bonus currently on offer can get you as many as 6 free nights in a Hyatt property. Or can be combined with Chase Ultimate Rewards points (a Hyatt partner) for a stay in one of Hyatt’s all-inclusive properties around the world. The one free night per year perk, Hyatt Discoverist status, along with the spend multipliers, make this a card you'll probably want beyond the first year.

Why You Might Want This Card

If you’re at the stage in the points and miles game where you’re reading about hotel-specific cards, then you likely know Hyatt is the top hotel chain regarding points redemptions. Even more, they're the top hotel partner for Chase cards, and they offer the biggest bang for your buck as far as CPP (see the personal experience section below for what’s possible). The current 30k sign-up bonus comes with a super reasonable spend of just $3,000 in the first 3 months. We usually don’t recommend spending heavily on cards once your hit the sign-up bonus. But with this card, you'll be rewarded up to 30k more bonus points by earning 2x points in the first 6 months on purchases that normally earn 1 point, up to $15,000 spent.

The sign-up bonus alone allows you great flexibility when it comes to redeeming those points, as you can find rooms for as little as 5k points/night (albeit in smaller cities and towns). Or you can pool your points from this card with Chase Ultimate Rewards points to take an unforgettable all-inclusive vacation completely with points. Add in a free night every year (in any category 1-4 Hyatt), 9x points for Hyatt stays (4x per $1 spent on qualified purchases and up to 5x per $1 as a World of Hyatt member), 2x points on restaurants and airline tickets, and elevation to World of Hyatt Discoverist status as long as you own the card, and this is a card you may want to keep around, even with the $95 annual fee.

Exceptions To The Rule

Here are some exceptions where the card might not be good for you:

• You don’t ever stay at hotels and prefer rentals like Airbnb/VRBO
• You are near 5/24 and can find better value with a different personal card (or the Hyatt Business card) that will put you at the limit

About World of Hyatt

Hyatt points are the most valuable hotel points available. Not only are the actual points worth more, but Hyatt is the best hotel transfer partner for Chase Ultimate Rewards. The other great thing about Hyatt points is that they can be used for all-inclusive resorts. We also love Hyatt Hotels in general. They're more universally clean with quality service, whereas many other chains are hit and miss. The drawback to Hyatt is that they don’t have hotels in many smaller cities or more exotic locations.

Hyatt cards are relatively strict on getting second cards, so make good use of your points. We would equate Hyatt Points to dollar bills, Bonvoy to fifty cent pieces, Hilton to quarters and the rest to dimes and nickels.

Where World of Hyatt Fits In This Point Ecosystem

The World of Hyatt credit card is the only personal Hyatt-specific card on the market that will earn you Hyatt points. There is also a Hyatt Business card that won’t count against your 5/24 and currently has a 60k point sign-up bonus. The business card offers several extra benefits the personal card does not, but it also comes with a $199 annual fee. Any Chase card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to Hyatt as well, so you can take top off your Hyatt points with Chase points for hotel stays and/or a luxurious all inclusive trip.

Personal Experience

As a father who travels with his family of 5, we stay in Hyatt Places quite a bit since they have a max capacity of 5 (2 queens and a sofa sleeper) for a standard room that is not a suite. They are great when we’re road tripping and just need a hotel for a night to break up the drive, and we’ve also utilized them for big city stays in both Chicago and New York (receiving a 4 cent per point redemption in NYC - 100,000 total points for a stay that would have cost $4055 cash!). My wife and I also used Hyatt points for a 5 night stay at Secrets Impressions Moxche in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, a luxurious all inclusive that costs well over $1k/night in cash but only 28k points/night (when we booked a couple years ago - it has since gone up). There are a lot of possibilities when it comes to Hyatt points, so don’t sleep on this card.