AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
The offer on The Hyatt Credit Card has expired and the card is no longer open to applications. You can find all the details for the new Hyatt co-brand card in our dedicated review.
Per One Mile at a Time, Hyatt has announced a change to The Hyatt Credit Card, which will come into effect as of June 29, 2017. The new change will be viewed by many as a devaluation, although some people will prefer the new bonus since it adds more flexibility. Remember, earlier this year Hyatt went through a significant overhaul with changes to its loyalty program in March 2017, if any of this is related, we don't know.
The Current Bonus
Until June 29, 2017, if you sign up for The Hyatt Credit Card you will receive the following sign up bonus:
- Two free night certificates valid at any Hyatt Properties worldwide after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months
- An annual free night certificate valid at any category 1-4 properties
- 5,000 bonus points when you add an authorized user, and they make their first purchase within 3 months
- Hyatt Discoverist status as long as you have the card
This is a huge signup bonus, for a card with a $75 annual free, especially when redeeming your free nights' certificates at the Park Hyatt Maldives, or the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa, which can sometimes retail for over $1,000 per night.
The New Bonus
Starting June 29, 2017, they'll be scrapping the 2 free nights certificates, and the bonus will be 40,000 World of Hyatt points after spending $2,000 within 3 months of opening your account. It is not clear whether there will be any other changes to the other card bonuses.
The new bonus, while being more flexible is not as valuable as the old one, if you can redeem your free night certificates for a stay in a category 6-7 Hyatt property. Looking at the Hyatt redemption chart, it becomes clear your points will not go as far as your certificates.
Those who were looking forward to redeeming their certificates for an aspirational award will be disappointed since redeeming the points for a Category 6-7 stay, will leave you 10,000 to 20,000 points short. If you redeem your signup bonus for a Category 5 stay, you will break even. Redeeming for hotels in categories 1-4 will leave you better off, and you should have points left over after a 2-night stay.
Overall
Whether you view the changes to The Hyatt Credit Card as positive or negative, depends on what you were planning to do with the bonus. Ultimately some people will be disappointed, while some will be pleased with the new offer. If you are interested in an aspirational redemption, you will have to hurry since you only have a few days before the changes are implemented.
Source: One Mile at a Time
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
If you’re a domestic traveler, this probably won’t affect you and if anything is a good change for you. However, if you like to use these certs in exotic or expensive locals, this is a massive devaluation. Mine were well spent in Milan…..
I’m using my two free nights at the Park Hyatt Vendome in a few months. 40k points is solid though, gets you more than 2 nights at some lower category hotels, which I may prefer. But Park Hyatt Vendome will be an experience
I will take the points anytime ! More valuable to me!
I’m not sure which I prefer. Although it is true that the two free nights are most valuable when staying at a top tier property, those destinations may not be accessible to many people. So in that case, the points would be better.
In a perfect world, they would let you select which you prefer as a sign up bonus! But of course, it’s only a perfect world in my dreams!
Hard to decide which I prefer. While I’d prefer less expensive options whether I’m paying or redeeming points, sometimes, based on location, there are no ‘less expensive’ point redemption options.
I love the change as I use the points at Hyatt Place properties. Most of them are 8,000 points per night so that will mean 5 nights and I won’t have to keep transferring Chase UR points to get this rate.
Too many times, people in this hobby are all about “luxury.” As for me, a hotel room is just a place to sleep. I explore the surroundings, the place, the people. Points are better.
points is more flexible so i do not need to figure out how to use it to the max value
I personally prefer the points as none of my upcoming trips are in a location with a Category 6 or 7 Hyatt property, and I don’t know if I would be able to find a good use in the next year. Agree with the poster who mentioned the ability to make cash and points bookings, which can be extremely favorable to customers.
I prefer points as I rarely stay at cat 6-7 properties. I can also get eligible nights when using c+p. It’s much flexible
I consider this a negative change. I used my two free night certificates at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto.
I don’t think it’s that big of a deal for most people. 40,000 points still gets you two nights at Category 5, and Cat 7 only shows as 30,000/night. It’s not like Hilton where top hotels jump to 100,000 points. I do consider it a devaluation, but for a lot of folks, the points can end up being more flexible and thus more valuable.
so is it worth getting a card if I currently don’t have one?
I think so, but it depends on which you’d rather have — free nights or bonus points.
Clearly there’s a tradeoff, but on the whole many of us (myself included) will value the flexibility (esp. the lack of time restriction) afforded by points more than the value-maximization potential of the free nights.
Mixed feelings on this latest change, cat 4 are ok but prefer the old version tbh!
This is a great offer for those not needing rooms in top-tier markets! Frequently travel to Omaha, Little Rock & Memphis – Hyatt points go a long way in those towns.
Glad I got my card when I did.
I think we can be sure that If this isn’t a negative change right now there are sure plans in Hyatt’s pocket to devalu the “points” within a short period of time. Just saying.
I think 40K version is out there for a while already. Kind of heads-up?
I only want to redeem @ the high end properties. Total devaluation IMO.
On the bright side, 8 nights at cat 1. Unless those cat 1 properties are all in some hellholes…
I view it as a very negative change.
If they want to offer points instead of FN certs, they should offer at least 50K points.
40K points is a big drop from the current offering IMO.
Hopefully there will be increased points offers.
While overall the reduction is certainly there for some folks, it’s actually a better deal for me, someone who often redeems at a Cat4 in New Orleans (Hyatt Regency) when he is in town (fairly often). It’s almost 3 free nights for me that way. So my wife will probably get the card when it changes. So, as often is the case, it’s a YMMV situation on how things work out best.
This seems to me to be change for the sake of change… Hopefully we’ll see the Certs come back occasionally as a LTO.
Points are valid for much longer than free night certificates, plus you can use them for Points + Cash and get status credit, etc.
Highly curious though, that they bring in free night certificates for 30/60 nights in a year, then remove them from the credit card
I think actually those free night certificates are only good at categories 1-4 but I may be mistaken.
The certificates associated with the signup bonus are good at any category property — the annual one is Cat 1-4 only.
Sorry, it just is a devaluation:-(
I’m not sure about that. Sure, if you’re solely focused Cat 6/7 properties, you’ll get less value from the initial bonus with the card. However, if you’re looking to lower category properties you’ll have more options available — and just because a property is a lower category doesn’t mean it isn’t a great value. Check out some Hyatt Sweet Spots: https://awardwallet.com/blog/sweet-spots-world-hyatt-awards/
Absolutely.