Last week starting October 1st, Hyatt made some positive changes to their branded Hyatt Rewards credit card. Initially, using the Hyatt credit card would earn you 1 point per dollar spent on all purchases except at Hyatt hotels (which earns 3 points per dollar spent), but now you will earn 2 points for every dollar spent at restaurants, airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, and car rental agencies (all other purchases will still earn the existing 1 point per dollar). This is a great addition to the Hyatt card as it now puts it in the same playing field as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card for bonus spend categories. The main advantage that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has, however, is that the points are flexible and do not need to be redeemed solely at Hyatt hotels.
The other enhancement made to the card was that if you spend $20,000 on the card annually, you will earn an additional 2 stays/5 nights towards status. If you are able to spend $40,000 on the card annually you’ll earn an additional 3 stays/5 nights credit, for a total of 5 stays/10 nights. Since the Hyatt card gives you yearly Platinum status anyways, the only thing you’ll be trying to reach is Diamond status, which you will need a total of 25 stays or 50 nights in a calendar year. I personally think spending $40,000 on the card solely to get 20% of the way to Diamond is a lot, but I do love Hyatt Diamond status perks!
The other change coming to the card starting tomorrow October 9th is the minimums spend requirement to earn the 2 free night sign up bonus. Currently, you can still apply for the card and by just using it on one purchase you can get the 2 free nights. Going forward, the minimum spend required to get these free nights will be $1,000 in three months – still not a lot in my opinion, but definitely not as easy as a candy bar purchase. UPDATE: The offer now requires $1,000 spend in three months to receive the offer of two free nights.
If you were thinking about getting the Hyatt Rewards credit card anyways, I’d recommend getting it before the terms change so you do not have to worry about the minimum spend requirement. Yes, the two free nights do expire in 12 months, but that is after your first purchase on the card. So if you get the card today, but do not put your first transaction on the card for 6 months, the 12 month expiration period will not start until then. UPDATE: You now only have three months to meet the minimum spend.
Info on the free nights:
- Two free nights after your first use of the card – starting tomorrow it will be after $1,000 in spent within 3 months
- Free night awards are valid for use on any available standard room at any Hyatt hotel or resort worldwide
- Free nights expire one year from opening your account
- Free night awards are not transferable
- Free nights will post to your account within 10 days of opening your account
These free nights have no blackout restrictions and as long as there is a standard room available, it is yours. These free nights, for example, can be used at the $600/night Park Hyatt Tokyo, $850/night Park Hyatt Maldives, or a $99/night Hyatt Place – the choice is yours! Clearly I’d recommend using them on an aspiration stay and not a $99 Hyatt Place. I personally haven’t applied for this card yet (but I will!) as I do not have any aspirational vacations currently planned with Hyatt – although I will at some point! I’ve been to the Grand Hyatt in Kauai, which I’d highly recommend, especially when two nights are free. The Park Hyatt Beaver Creek is also on my short list, which goes for over $500/night on peak Winter weekends.
Now if you are already a Platinum member when you apply for the card you’ll get 2 free suite upgrades to use on a paid stay – unfortunately they cannot be combined when using points or the free night certificates. If you are already a Diamond member, however, those two free nights you receive will actually be in a suite, which is great! If you do not have status, you can try to get a status match (if you have status at another hotel) and then apply for the card.
This card is highly recommended for those looking to get two free Hyatt nights and those who stay at Hyatt hotels often and can charge their stay to the card. If you and your significant other both get the card, that can give you 4 free nights at an extremely nice, expensive hotel that you probably would not have stayed at otherwise. While I personally hate paying for many annual fees, this one will actually give you a free night certificate (category 1-4) each anniversary year. For $75 year (waived the first year), the free night certificate can definitely be worth it. This is a similar benefit to the Marriott credit card where I’ve always been able to use the free night certificate for a $150+ hotel night. One of my favorite Hyatt category 4 hotels is the Hyatt Escala Lodge which is a ski-in/ski-out resort at The Canyons Mountain in Park City, Utah. I’d happily pay $75 for a night at this hotel! The free night certificate also doesn’t expire for 12 months what it is received, which is great (the Marriott one is 6 months which can be more limiting).
Some have been targeted for a special offer which gives a $75 or $100 statement credit. Others have been able to access this offer by making a mock booking on the Hyatt.com site.
Key Links:
- Hyatt Rewards Credit Card: 2 Free nights at any Hyatt hotel after you spend $1,000 within the first three months. Earn 3 Hyatt Gold Passport points for every $1 spent at Hyatt properties; Earn 2 Hyatt Gold Passport points for every $1 spent on airfare and at restaurants; Earn 1 Hyatt Gold Passport point for every $1 spent on all other purchases; Annual category 1-4 free night; No foreign transaction fees; Automatic Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum status. $0 introduction annual fee, then $75 annually. Card application link. Blog Post
Disclosure: This post does NOT contain affiliate links.  The information for the Hyatt Rewards credit card has been collected independently by Deals We Like. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
you will see this same offer and a $100 statement credit after first purchase when going through a booking on hyatt.com
@Scott C – Correct, sorta. I had that in the post, however, the $100 statement credit by doing a mock booking has the $1,000 minimum spend requirement.
That looks like a pretty good deal. $1000 min spend in 3 months is very reasonable for most people. Would love to have a couple of free nights in New York at a really nice hotel. Can someone recommend a Hyatt hotel in Time Square (or very close) with a large enough room for 3 adults. I only have Gold with Hyatt. Thanks!
The Hyatt beside Grand Central Station is very nice; it is a bit of a walk to Times Square, but is right beside Grand Central so it is easy to take the subway everywhere. I stayed there with a free Hyatt night last October; we had a room with two double beds and it had little seating area with a table; two flat screens, so was roomy enough to be comfortable (we were 2 adults and two kids).
It says the free night awards are “not transferable”, they also have the same rule for the Priority Club Anniversary Free Night certificate but I have used my parents’ PC free night e-certificate before and added my name under the reservation and I was able to check-in without them physically being there. Does anyone know if this is possible with the Hyatt free night award? I called them up and asked and they said my parents would have to physically be at the hotel if I wanted to use their Hyatt free night award…
@Robby – While technically free night certificates can’t be transferred, you can just call the hotel and tell them that X person is checking in as they will be arriving before you and have them put their name on the reservation.
I used my Hyatt Visa in Costa Rica because there are no foreign currency transaction fees. However, when I got my statement, one of the vendors put charges through as a cash advance rather than a credit charge. This resulted in a $10 fee and $0.50 interest charge. I called Hyatt VISA and their solution was to call the vendor in Costa Rica and have them reverse the entry and to reenter as a credit charge. This obviously is impractical and I had no idea that this card even had a cash advance feature. All of my other transactions came through as credit charges as I intended. Even after talking to the supervisor Susi, Hyatt VISA refused to be helpful and would not reverse the minor fees or offer any other viable solution. In frustration, I told them to cancel the card. Totally worthless customer service.:mad: