A few weeks ago, we learned that Hyatt is planning to expand its credit card portfolio. Currently, in the U.S. market, they offer the $95/year consumer World of Hyatt card and the $199/year World of Hyatt business card. They’ll likely introduce a more premium card with an annual fee of at least $350. I think $395 per year is likely, but Tim predicts it will be in the $500-$700 range. Regardless of its annual fee, I’ve spent some time daydreaming about what I’d want this new card to offer…
My selfish wishlist
This is a selfish post. In the past, when I’ve suggested credit card features, I based those on what I think would work well for Frequent Miler readers. Not this time. This one is all for me. I’m a Hyatt loyalist with a few gripes about an otherwise terrific loyalty program. And I like meaningful elite recognition. I don’t care whether a desk agent thanks me for my loyalty as a Globalist, but I do appreciate any form of recognition that makes my stay more pleasant. That could include a welcome gift sent to my room, a particularly memorable upgrade, first dibs for reservations at a hard-to-get-into restaurant, etc.
My biggest gripes with the World of Hyatt program center on their free night awards: there’s no way to top off the certs with points or to use them towards Mr. & Mrs. Smith properties, and the free nights earned as Milestone Rewards expire too soon (Milestone Free Night awards, Miraval Extra Night Awards, and 2K Next Stay Awards expire after only 180 days). I’d prefer for Hyatt to fix these issues for everyone, but if they fix them only for premium cardholders, that would be okay too.
Okay, with that behind us, here’s my selfish wishlist:
No coupons
Many premium cards these days are loaded with discounts and rebates to offset their high annual fees. Ugh. Please don’t make us look for ways to spend $10 each month on food delivery, ride-shares, or random fitness apps.
If you must include coupons, keep them relevant to the brand. They should offer a discount on Hyatt stays or, in some way, improve our hotel stays. The business card’s current twice-per-year $50 Hyatt property credit is a good example of one that discounts stays. A rebate specifically for spa services could make stays better. I wouldn’t mind being “forced” to spend $200 each year at a hotel spa.
Decent earning rate
Offer the following number of points for spend:
- 5 points per dollar at Hyatt hotels
- 1.5 points per dollar everywhere else.
The new card should be at least as rewarding as Freedom Unlimited for base spend. Chase’s Freedom Unlimited card earns a minimum of 1.5 points per dollar for all spend, and when paired with certain other cards, like the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve, the points can be transferred to Hyatt.
Elite qualifying nights
The new card should make it easier to earn Globalist status:
- Automatic 10 qualifying nights per year (the consumer card offers 5)
- Additional 5 qualifying nights per $10K spend (same as the business card)
Elite experience
Being a cardholder should unlock elite-like experiences at Hyatt hotels, even for those without top-tier status. One way to accomplish this would be to make it easy for cardholders to book Hyatt Privé rates online. Today, you don’t have to be a cardholder to book through Hyatt Privé, but you do need to find an agent who can do this for you (here’s a way to submit a request online). Wouldn’t it be awesome if Hyatt automatically showed these rates to cardholders online, though? Hyatt Privé offers the following benefits:
- Free breakfast for 2 each day (which consists of restaurant breakfast rather than just club lounge breakfast)
- A 1-category room upgrade, roughly at the time of booking, based on availability (requested with the hotel right away and said to be confirmed within 24 hours; in practice, it takes a couple of days for the hotel to confirm).
- A welcome amenity
- Early check-in (as early as 9 am) subject to availability
- Late check-out at Park Hyatt properties (as late as 4 pm) subject to availability
- A $50 or $100 property credit per stay (it’s always $100 at Park Hyatt hotels, but can vary between $50 and $100 at other brands)
- Full Hyatt elite credit.
- Full elite benefits for those with status.
- Waived resort fees at select properties.
Enhanced Globalist status
I would love it if this premium card somehow enhanced Globalist status. Here are a few examples of perks that could be limited to premium cardholders with Globalist status:
- Locally curated welcome amenity with each stay at full-service hotels (in addition to any welcome amenities, if any, that they already offer Globalists)
- 10% award rebate (with a much higher limit than the business card’s 20,000 point maximum rebate)
- Convert awards to points: Provide an official way to convert free night awards and Miraval Extra Night Awards to points. This way, their value won’t expire, and we can indirectly use them toward Mr. & Mrs. Smith’s stays and higher-category stays. Hyatt agents already sometimes let Globalists exchange certificates for points, but they require that the certificate has already expired. Additionally, they won’t do this for certificates awarded by Chase. I’m proposing that this capability be made official, available at any time, and work for all free-night and extra-night awards.
My wishlist summary
Here’s what I’m hoping for, in short form:
- Earning rate: 5x at Hyatt, 1.5x everywhere else
- Automatic 10 qualifying nights per year plus 5 nights per $10,000 of card spend
- Ability to book Hyatt Privé rates online
- Extra perks reserved only for Globalists with the card:
- Locally curated welcome amenity with each stay at full-service hotels
- 10% award rebate
- Convert awards to points
There you go, Hyatt. There’s my wish-list, delivered in plenty of time before Christmas.
What’s on your Hyatt premium card wish-list? Comment below.
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Globalist benefits must be available begore many will fork over yet another premium card fee. My suggestion is Globalist benefits for X number of nights/yr
Ability to upgrade free nights to higher categories with points. Hard to believe that BONVoY actually does something better than Hyatt
I’ve already written to Hyatt that if they come out with a buy elite status card and it’s perks they’ll destroy the value of elite status. I already hate the 4 PM check outs when check in is typically 3 or 4 PM. No one notices a math problem with this? I waited about 2 hours past check in time last week for a free Hotel du Louvre suite upgrade. That’s rare with Hyatt but it would become common if you could buy status. Actually I guess free suite upgrades would be rare anyway. Leave it alone. There is a reason I prefer Hyatt over the competition.
How much better would it be compared to the WOH Business card? I have that and always get the 150 qualifying nights.
Am I the only one hoping it doesn’t add to manyEQNs just because if you bloat globalist like marriott and hilton you’ll likely also destroy any real benefit like them too
A few ideas on what I would like…..
I like the 10 EQN per year, plus the 5 EQN per 10k spend. I think have the card come with Explorist status, but you still need to put in the work to get Globalist with 60 nights.
I like the idea of a higher FNA at signup and each year, not sure they’d do a Cat 1-7 each year. Maybe make it a Cat 1-5 (or 6), and then at $15k another one Maybe once you hit the $30k spend threshold you get at Cat 1-7 and/or the ability to top off awards with points. Or maybe a double FNA where it counts for 2 nights instead of just one.
I like what AS did with awarding 3x points for foreign spending, so maybe something like that. That would certainly differentiate this card from other hotel products.
I also like the enhanced points earning of 1.5x spend.
I also like what you had said about some Globalist perks for those who are, or reach that status. Free parking on all stays and an enhanced amenity would be cool.
I know there’s been some talk on FT about the fear they’ll add another status tier above Globalist, or give Globalist status as a benefit. I hope that’s not the case.
Overall, they need to find a balance to incentivize both those who don’t have status to spend on the card (and earn perks and or a quicker pathway to status), but also make it rewarding for those who do have status. As a Globalist, if I’m paying $500-$700 for the card, I’d want some value for that (like the points rebates, or other things mentioned), which will make me want to get the card and put spend on it.
unlimited free night cert
Love this post!
The key ask for me is a Cat 8 free night award certificate.
Chase and no coupons? Doubtful.
lol @ assigning Chase as the bank known for coupons when they are just copying Amex’s lead
I would like to see ritz level travel protections.
In additional to a higher annual free night cert at renewal (at least a 1-7, though the dream would be an ultimate free night award), I would also be more encouraged to put spend on my card if I got a FNA with a certain amount of spend like with the $95 personal card. I would gladly put $15K of spend on my premium Hyatt card for another cat 1-7 cert (assuming a bunch of hotels don’t then get pushed up into cat 8 or that Hyatt creates a new cat 9). A cat 1-4 cert just isn’t worth it anymore, IMO, especially when Hilton is giving uncapped FNA certs for the same $15K of spend.
I agree that if the new card does give credits, they should be for use at Hyatt hotels themselves. I think the $200 resort credit on the Hilton Aspire card is something this new, premium card should emulate. Hyatt could also limit the credit to “resorts”, or certain higher-tier brands, like the Aspire card does. I’ll fully admit that the Aspire card ‘s resort credit has a lot of influence over where I stay when I am redeeming my FNAs and HH points.
Basically, I think there is a lot about the Hilton Aspire card and the Hilton card FNAs-for-spend structure that I think Hyatt can and should copy here.
Honestly, I think your wish list is pretty modest.
You don’t mention any free night certificate on renewal at all. I assume you’d expect at least the same certificate as the lesser consumer card (C 1-4), but maybe a C 1-7 or unlimited certificate would sweeten the pot.
And, talking about certificates, they have others in the milestone program they could toss into the mix. How about a GoH certificate, or a SUA certificate, or one of each?
I recognize that it will be difficult to accomplish but one thing that I think hotel cards are badly missing is something vaguely analogous to United’s XN/IN space exclusive to high status or cardholders, perhaps, like the Gateway card, unlocked by a certain annual spend threshold. Allowing cardholders better access to more points night award space, particularly if unlocked by spend, would be a huge win-win both for cardholders and for Hyatt and Chase.
Better earn rates, a category 1-7 at renewal, expanded award space and a slightly easier path to status would easily be worth a circa $500-$600 annual fee. Chase and Hyatt: KISS – keep it simple, stupid(s). NO COUPONS.
Leave Hyatt as it is, it is already pretty good. My selfish Wishlist is to not make any changes. In a blink of an eye it can change to a Marriott, with terrible customer service, dynamic pricing, etc, and then we will be talking about “the good old days” just like SPG.