On January 11, 2021, cardholders with the old Hyatt Visa card will be migrated to the World of Hyatt card. Some have asked if it makes sense to cancel their old Hyatt card now so that they can sign up new for the World of Hyatt card and get a new welcome bonus. My short answer is “no”. I don’t recommend it for most. See below for more.
In many ways the World of Hyatt card is better than the old Hyatt Visa. For example, the new card lets you earn elite nights through spend (every $5K earns 2 elite nights) and lets you earn a second category 1-4 free night with $15K spend. The main advantage of the old Hyatt card was that it was cheaper: $75 per year vs. the World of Hyatt card’s $95 per year. Those who kept the card only for the annual free night and are not interested in the World of Hyatt card’s other features will be justifiably disappointed in the change. Those interested in earning elite status and/or a second free night each year, though, should be pretty happy about it.
Tier qualifying nights are often referred to as "elite nights". With many hotel chains, you can earn elite status by acquiring a number of tier qualifying elite nights each year. For example, Hyatt requires earning 30 elite nights per year to achieve mid-tier Explorist status, or 60 elite nights for top-tier Globalist status. Additionally, Hyatt offers "Milestone Rewards" which are perks like free lounge access, free nights, bonus points, etc. Milestone Rewards are earned within a calendar year when you achieve 20 elite nights, and every 10 elite nights after that up to 150. Read more about Hyatt elite status and Milestone Rewards in our World of Hyatt Complete Guide.
Some who want the new card have asked if they should cancel their Hyatt Visa now so that they can sign up new for the World of Hyatt card and get a welcome bonus. The bonus at the time of this writing is 50,000 points after $6K spend plus 10 elite nights in 2020 and 2021 instead of the usual 5 elite nights each year. It is only the latter that is unusual. The World of Hyatt card has offered the same 50K offer for quite a while. But the chance to get an automatic 10 elite nights in 2021 is compelling given the fact that Hyatt has cut in half their elite requirements for 2021 (only 30 nights are required for top-tier Globalist) and they’ve extended their Bonus Journeys promo so that you can earn double elite nights for stays through the end of February 2021. When combined with the new World of Hyatt card offer, you would only need 20 elite nights in 2021 and could achieve that with only 10 nights of stays through Feb 2021. Please see this post for complete details: Ludicrously easy path to Hyatt Globalist status (top-tier status for 2 years!).
The idea of a super-easy path to Globalist status sounds pretty darn compelling, right? Plus a 50K bonus is nothing to sneeze at. Why wouldn’t I recommend it? There are a few reasons:
- 10 elite nights is a nice perk, but keep in mind that you’ll get 5 elite nights automatically if you let the conversion happen. You’ll only come out 5 elite nights plus 50K points ahead.
- There’s no guarantee that you’ll be approved for the new card. If Hyatt elite status and/or an annual free night is important to you, it may be better to keep your bird-in-hand.
- Cancelling and reapplying will use up a 5/24 slot. There are other Chase offers that are arguably worth more than 50K Hyatt points plus 5 elite nights (yes, you get 10 elite nights, but that’s only 5 more than you would get by keeping the old card and allowing the conversion).
Chase's 5/24 Rule: With most Chase credit cards, Chase will not approve your application if you have opened 5 or more cards with any bank in the past 24 months.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely. - Allowing the conversion doesn’t lock you out of a welcome bonus in the future. This is key. Many people seem to think that once they have the World of Hyatt card they won’t be eligible for a welcome bonus for that card in the future. That’s not true. Here are the terms for getting a new member bonus: “The product is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of any Hyatt Credit Card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of any Hyatt Credit Card who received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months.” In other words, if the World of Hyatt card has a great new bonus some time in the future, you could cancel your card and apply new as long as it has been more than 24 months since you got a new member bonus.
Conclusion
In most cases it doesn’t make much sense to cancel the old card and sign up new. The most compelling reason is probably the last one I gave above: allowing the conversion doesn’t lock you out of a welcome bonus in the future. So, my recommendation is to relax and wait to see if Chase introduces a truly exciting offer for this card. If/when that happens, it may be time to cancel and apply.