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UPDATE: The World of Hyatt promo offering additional elite qualifying nights and Milestone Rewards has now expired. You can catch the Covid-19 responses from all issuers in our comprehensive guide to Covid-19 credit card changes.
Chase and Hyatt just launched a great new promotion for co-branded cardmembers. For a limited time, it'll be easier to earn World of Hyatt elite status and Milestone Rewards—like free nights, bonus points, lounge access awards, gift cards, and more—even from home. Plus, new cardmembers of The World of Hyatt Credit Card will get double the standard number of elite night credits for applying now.
Woes of the Travel Industry
With the world of travel at a standstill, a lot of people have stopped applying for—and spending on—travel credit cards. Many have also started shifting spend away from travel-related cards in favor of more well-rounded everyday-spend cards.
With that in mind, Hyatt and Chase have devised a promotion to simultaneously attract new applicants and entice current cardholders to continue spending on their co-branded cards.
How the World of Hyatt Card Helps with Earning Status
Considering Hyatt is one of our favorite hotel brands, it's not surprising that Chase's World of Hyatt Card (review) is also one of our favorite hotel credit cards. This is for a slew of reasons, not the least of which is the ability to spend your way to elite status.
As a quick recap, in addition to a bonus of up to up to 60,000 Bonus Points points and a free night certificate (on your account anniversary), World of Hyatt Card cardmembers ordinarily receive five elite night credits, as well as two elite qualifying nights for every $5,000 spent on the card.
This incentivizes cardmembers to continue spending on the card, even after completing the sign-up bonus. It's also possible—if not a little impractical—to earn top-tier Globalist status without spending a single night in a Hyatt hotel!
Now, it looks like these benefits are getting even better.
Earn Additional Elite Night Credits for Spending
In an announcement shared via email, Hyatt states that for a limited time, the World of Hyatt Card will earn three elite-qualifying night credits for every $5,000 spent. These are the terms:
- Limited to purchases made between April 15, 2020 – June 30, 2020
- Total of 3 elite-qualifying night credits, which is one additional night credit than what cardmembers typically earn
- Statement-closing date does not matter, only the date the purchase posts
- Credits may post at different times
Additional Elite Nights for New Cardmembers
New Cardmembers who apply for the The World of Hyatt Credit Card by June 30, 2020, will receive ten elite-qualifying night credits towards Hyatt status. This is five nights more than what cardmembers usually receive.
- Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points. Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 more Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.
- Enjoy complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as your account is open.
- Get 1 free night each year after your Cardmember anniversary at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort
- Receive 5 tier qualifying night credits towards status after account opening, and each year after that for as long as your account is open
- Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year
- Earn 2 qualifying night credits towards tier status every time you spend $5,000 on your card
- Earn up to 9 points total for Hyatt stays - 4 Bonus Points per $1 spent on qualified purchases at Hyatt hotels & up to 5 Base Points per $1 from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member
- Earn 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships
- Member FDIC
- Up to 9X points total per $1 spent at Hyatt - 4X points per $1 when you use your card at Hyatt hotels & 5X points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member
- 2X points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships
- 1X point per $1 everywhere else
The Hyatt Credit Card (Legacy Product)
If you hold the older version of the Hyatt co-brand card (which is no longer open to new applicants), there's good news for you too. The legacy Hyatt Card—which typically doesn't award any elite nights for spending—is now offering two elite-qualifying night credits per $5000 spent on the card.
- Limited to purchases made between April 15, 2020 – June 30, 2020
- Statement-closing date does not matter, only the date the purchase posts
Is It Worth It?
Here is the real question: should you start putting your spend on your Hyatt cards now?
The answer to this will, of course, be different for everyone based on their current situation. How much do you value Hyatt elite status? How close to the next tier level or milestone reward are you?
Considering a lot of current spending is probably going towards groceries, restaurants, and non-bonus categories, you also need to consider the opportunity cost of moving that spend from the cards you'd otherwise use.
In my case, I'm currently Explorist status, and—thanks to Hyatt's status extension—I'll remain an Explorist until at least February 28, 2022. Before COVID-19 brought travel to a halt, I only managed to earn 9 elite-qualifying nights this year, meaning I'd still need to earn 51 more elite nights before reaching Globalist status. As much as I'd like to be Globalist, I definitely won't be able to spend enough to get there without some actual hotel stays.
Milestone Rewards
However, elite status isn’t the only consideration. Last year, Hyatt extended its Milestone Rewards program, offering additional rewards independent from status tiers. These rewards can make it lucrative to continue collecting night credits even if your status is already locked in for 2021.
While I won't be able to reach 60 nights for Globalist status, I might be able to reach 30 through credit card spending and stays later this year. Doing so would earn four Club Lounge Awards and one free night certificate for a category 1-4 property. The Milestone Rewards only get better the more nights you collect, so make sure you consider those before deciding if it's worth it or not.
Final Thoughts
With airlines flying fewer passengers and hotels hosting fewer guests, it's not surprising that major travel companies are working extra hard to keep their customers engaged. For example, we've seen a lot of programs offering elite status extensions over the past couple of weeks (American Airlines, Marriott, Delta, and Hilton, to name a few).
But what companies are ideally looking for is a way to convince customers to continue investing in the relationship, even while they're unable to travel. Hyatt's hoping that by making it easier to spend your way to elite status, it'll be the hotel chain you think of first when the world eventually starts returning to normal.
I think they may have gotten it right. Depending on your situation, now might be the perfect time to leverage yourself into the next tier or earn the next Milestone Reward.
Will you be taking advantage of this promotion?
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The World of Hyatt Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
