Good morning everyone. In January, my fiance was approved for the Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card (my referral link) that offered 25,000 Hyatt points after spending $3,000 in 3 months and an additional 25,000 Hyatt points after spending $6,000 total in 6 months. We are planning a wedding, so spending $6,000 in 6 months was not a problem. This credit card also offers an extra free night certificate (for category 1-4 Hyatt properties) if you spend $15,000 during the cardmember year. So the dilemma is, after spending $6,000 on this credit card and earning 50,000 Hyatt points, is it worth spending an extra $9,000 on this credit card to get an extra free night certificate? Here are my thoughts…
Before I did anything else, I wanted to see how close my fiance was to the $15,000 spending threshold. To check her spending, she logged into her Chase account, clicked on her Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card, clicked the drop down menu, and clicked the Spending Report link.
She got this credit card in late January, so she only needed to check the year-to-date tab (if she got this credit card in 2018, she would need to look at the 2018 year-end summary tab as well as the year-to-date tab). According to her Spending Report, she spent ~$6,700, just enough to get the 50,000 Hyatt points, but not very close to the $15,000 mark to earn the extra free night certificate.
She would need to spend an additional ~$8,300 on the credit card to get the free night certificate (not so free anymore, is it?). If she spent the ~$8,300 on this credit card, she would get ~8,300 Hyatt points and a free night certificate. It is hard to put a value on the free night certificate, but if we assume she will redeem the free night certificate for a category 4 Hyatt property, that is the equivalent of redeeming 15,000 Hyatt points. Adding the 8,300 Hyatt points from the spend plus the 15,000 Hyatt points from the free night certificate, that equals 23,300 Hyatt points. According to Frequent Miler’s reasonable redemption value (RRV) table, Hyatt points are worth 1.74 cents per point (CPP). 23,300 Hyatt points x 1.74 CPP = $405.42 in value.
However, if she were to spend that ~$8,300 on her Citi Double Cash Credit Card, she would earn ~$166 cash back. I know $405.42 is much more than $166, but the majority of that value (15,000 Hyatt points x 1.74 CPP = $261) comes from the expected value of the free night certificate. You can definitely find category 4 Hyatt properties going for more than $261, but you can also find them going for much less also.
Since she has 9-10 more months to spend the extra ~$8,300, we (ok, mostly me) decided that I would do a mini App-O-Rama and get a few new credit card sign up bonuses to focus on. After we take care of those minimum spending requirements, we can circle back to the ~$8,300 remaining on the Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card and see if we want to complete that spending.
Do you think we made the right decision? What would you do if you were in this situation? If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Thank you and have a great day.
P.S. Check back later today to see which new credit card I was instantly approved for and how I was able to start spending money on the card right away.
I’m currently working on the $15k spend on my WoH card after taking the upgrade offer of 2,500 points after $3k last month. I’m well over 5/24, have maxed out my American Express options, and need to put spend on something that makes sense, so in my case, the free night from the card, plus the free night at $15k of spend, plus a free night certificate as a brand explorer makes for a pretty nice stay without being out any points. Good luck on the app-o-rama.
Hi Jeff, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the $15k spend requirement. I currently have the old Chase Hyatt CC, so I’m not eligible for the extra free night certificate after spending $15k.
I use to my SPG for everyday spend and my wife was an authorize user. After all the events of last year I decided to get a Chase Hyatt and have my wife as an authorized user. I told her to use this card for her everyday spending while I use a combination of AMEX Everyday Preferred, CFU and CSR (I do most of the credit card transections). She will put about 10 – 12 thousand herself on the Hyatt card and all I have to do is top it off to get the second night.
That is a great strategy. Spending $15k over 12 months is not very challenging (only $1,250/month). I decided to focus on hitting more sign up bonuses now and then return to the Hyatt CC.
Don’t conditions clearly say that the free night certificate is during an “anniversary year”? I read that as meaning that it’s not available during the first year – that’s covered by the 50K bonus — but as an extra inducement so people don’t cancel the card but continue to use it.
I also just got this card and am upset at the untrue advertising that you get 5 nights toward the “next tier status” in addition to Discoverist (which is Explorist at 30 nights, which is 20 nights more than Discoverist). It turns out that you do get 5 nights, but not toward the “next tier status” but starting from 0. So instead of being 15 nights from Explorist (Discoverist plus 5 nights=15 nights), I’m 25 nights away. The 5 bonus nights plus the next 5 nights I stay at Hyatt just gets me to the 10-night requirement for the Discoverist level they’ve already given me. Totally misleading, if not outright untrue, advertisement.
That is very confusing and misleading. I’m satisfied with my Hyatt Discoverist status, so I’m not worried about getting Explorist or Globalist.
I am in a similar position, having to complete $9K in spend. However, all that gets me is a Cat1-4 free night. Most places that I would go to for a weekend where I would only use a single night have hotels (Hyatt included) for a lot less than what I would get in cashback if I spent the $9K on the BoA Premium Rewards card (no less than $236.25). Plus the cash gives me flexibility and also points on bookings. If it were a Cat1-6 it would be a different story, but alas it isn’t
I agree, all the great Hyatt properties are category 5 or higher. I honestly look at the free night certificate as a $95 prepaid hotel room and I try to get a room that is worth $100-$150.
It totally depends on your travel habits. Do you guys travel to cities where you can use the Cat4 cert? Do you usually book Hyatts or would you rather use an OTA? Also, do you have other offers to put the spend on that’s better?
It’s worth it for me since I mainly stay at Hyatt or Marriott. I’m getting a great return on the Capital One Spark business right now until I hit $50k, but then I’ll go back to Hyatt spend and/or Ritz 75K spend.
I’m a hotel free agent with points all over the place. My loyalty is strongest with Hilton, but I do enjoy nice Hyatt hotels too. Our travel plans after the summer time are not set yet, so I’m not sure where we would use the Hyatt free night certificate. There is a Hyatt in Santa Cruz that is decent but not amazing either.
I think it depends on where you are going to use it. With the recent category changes, a lot of the hotels that were great deals with a certificate are no longer available; my favorites were the Grand Hyatt in Seattle, and the Hyatt Regencies in Boston and Amsterdam. If I were you, I would look at the presently available hotels and determine if any that you might stay in seem to be a good value for the upcoming year. It looks like your criteria would be a nightly rate of at least $261.
Realistically, I will probably get $100-$150 value out of the free night certificate. I haven’t thought much about where I would use the free night certificate.
used to be the go to card for Chase but everything is under 5/24 now. not good for most of us old time gamer
I miss those good ol days too :(
Not a dilemma at all – $8,300 can get you much more miles/points/value if you App-O-Rama 3 or more cards.
I think 1 of my pending applications is conditionally approved. Let’s see how the others turn out :)
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I had this dilemma, too, and I decided to go ahead and try for the 15K in order to get the extra free night. It’s a good deal for us, because I plan to use the free night at a Hyatt Place in Chicago that will fit 5 of us, and the prices for when we need to go are almost always $200 or more.
You have a good strategy. Knowing exactly where you want to stay and use the free night certificate makes your goal and plan much clearer. Enjoy your trip to Chicago!
I have the WoH card also but I don’t understand why anyone would put $15k of spending on this card IF they have a Chase Sapphire card (especially the CS Reserve).
Why spend $15k on the WoH card if you’re only going to get a free Cat 1-4 cert? It’s one free night.
With the CSR, you can earn and transfer your Chase UR points to Hyatt if you need to. Although you lose 1 Hyatt point if paying for a Hyatt stay (WoH 4 HYATT points/$ vs. CSR 3 UR points/$), the flexibility of the UR is worth more, imho.
And yes, all of my Hyatt stays go on the WoH card. But other spend? Straight to the CSR for more options later.
But do as you like. As a Globalist, my Cat 1-4 cents come and go like water.
Haha, I like your thinking. Enjoy being a Globalist :)
I am still going for the $6k initial sign up bonus and was thinking the same thing. I was considering going for the $15K for the additional free night but I can get so much more with new apps that it’s not worth the spending.
I think that is my conclusion too. Who knows, I may change my mind, but I have a full year to figure it out.
There are some fantastic Hyatt properties in Asia in the lower categories, but you may not even go there before the certificate expires. I don’t recommend pursuing the free night certificate unless you have a specific plan to use it and know you will get a great value from it. I find certificates that expire after a year to be a nuisance because I always struggle to figure out how to use them and get good value. If you spend the money on the double cash card you can use your cash whenever and wherever you wish, which sounds better to me!
I agree! I have the original Hyatt CC that comes with a free night certificate when my annual fee posts. My fiance will get a free night certificate when her annual fee posts. I think having 2 free night certificates will be plenty for us.
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Hey bro, I also have the WoH credit card as well but I paid my AF in Sept, now gotta wait up to 10 weeks. Do you know if I would get a confirmation email letting me know that my FN will be deposited like the IHG or how would I know when it will be deposited? Thanks.
Yes, you should get an email when your free night posts to your Hyatt account. If you use AwardWallet, you should also see the free night listed directly under your Hyatt account.