There’s a second welcome offer available for the Chase World of Hyatt card. Unfortunately, it’s no better than the first.
This new offer gets you two Hyatt Category 1-4 free night certificates after spending $4k within the first three months, then an additional 25,000 Hyatt points after a total of $12K spend in the first 6 months.
The older, business-as-usual version that’s still available offers 30K points after $3K in 3 months with an additional 1x on all spending (up to $15K) for the first 6 months. We actually think that’s the better one for more folks, so we’ve left it as the featured offer on our Best Offers page, and are listing the new one as an alternate.
If you’re just looking for Hyatt points, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, and Ink Business Preferred cards provide much more bang for the buck, as Hyatt is a 1-1 transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Offer and Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $406 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates Up to 45K points Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler 30K points after $3K in spend within the first 3 months, plus an exta 1 point/dollar on up to $15K spend within first 6 months.$95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: 2 category 1-4 free night certificates after $4K spend in 3 months, plus 25K points after $12K total spend in six months. This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 5x Category 1-4 free night certificates after $15K spend within first 3 months. (Expired 10/31/24) FM Mini Review: Great card for welcome offer and annual free night. Might be worth using regularly for additional free night and as a path to status. Earning rate: ✦ 2X restaurants / cafes / coffee shops, airlines, local transit, fitness clubs and gym memberships ✦ 4X Hyatt and Mr & Mrs Smith Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: One free Cat 1-4 night certificate after $15K spend in a calendar year. ✦ Get 2 elite qualifying night credits every time you spend $5K in purchases Noteworthy perks: ✦ Free category 1-4 night every year upon renewal ✦ Additional free category 1-4 night after $15K spend in calendar year ✦ Discoverist elite status ✦ 5 elite qualifying nights ✦ Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months (must activate by 12/31/27) ✦ $10 monthly Instacart credit |
Quick Thoughts
Hyatt category 1-4 certs can be quite valuable, as they can be used for properties that cost 18,000 points per night at peak pricing. However, like all free night certificates, they have a hard expiry, in this case, 12 months from issue. If you don’t use them by then, you lose them.
In addition, the certs can’t be used for anything above a category 4 property, even though a category 5 at off-peak pricing is less expensive than a peak category 4. That makes them significantly less appealing than the equivalent number of points. For the purposes of our Best Offers page, we value the certs at ~$230 each, while we peg the average redemption of Hyatt points at ~1.8 cents each.
Here’s how the two offers pencil out for at different levels of minimum spend (not counting base earnings, which are equal across both):
- Version “A:” 30K/$3K + 1x on up to $15K
- If you spent $3K only: 33K total points (~$594 in “value”)
- $4K: 34K total points (~$612)
- $12K: 42K total points (~$756)
- $15K (which unlocks the card’s category 1-4 free night cert): 45K points (~$810)
- Version “B:” 2 free night certs/$4K + 25K points after a total of $12K spend
- If you spent $3K only: 0K total points (~$0)
- $4K: 2 free night certificates (~$460)
- $12K: 2 free night certificates + 25K points (~$910)
- $15K: 2 free night certificates + 25K points (~$910)
Effectively, version “A” is better until you hit $12K spend in six months, at which point “B” becomes the slightly better offer, albeit with free night certificates that have a 12-month expiry instead of points. Given that everyone who spends less than $12K in the first six months will do better with offer “A,” we’ve left that as the “best” offer and slotted “B” as an alternate offer. Which one is better for you will depend on how much you want to spend and how easily you can use three free night certificates.
Some significant benefits to the World of Hyatt card make it a keeper for many. These include:
- An automatic 5 elite night credits per year.
- The ability to earn 2 elite night credits per $5K spend
- One anniversary, category 1-4 free night certificate per year
- The ability to earn another category 1-4 free night certificate after $15K spend.
Combined, these will make it appealing for many folks who are invested in the World of Hyatt program.
If you’re not concerned with Hyatt elite status and just want the points, you can currently earn many more of them with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, and Ink Business Preferred cards. Then, you can spend them on any Hyatt property you want without having to worry about a certificate expiration date. Those cards’ offers are easily more appealing if the rest of the Hyatt card’s perks don’t matter to you.
- 5/24 Rule: You most likely will not get approved for a new card if you have opened 5 or more cards (with any bank) within the past 24 months. Most business cards do not count towards that five card total. Business cards that DO count include: TD Bank, Discover and the Capital One Spark Cash Select, Spark Miles and Spark Miles Select.
- 24 Month Rule: If you’ve previously had a card before, you can only get a welcome offer on that card again if you no longer have the card AND if it has been more than 24 months since you last received a welcome offer for that card. This rule does not apply to the Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards (see below). There can be exceptions with some business cards.
- Sapphire cards: The Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve cards no longer have a family rule that prevents you from getting one if you currently have the other. However, both now have significant limitations that may prevent you from being eligible for a welcome offer if you've previously had the same card. In that event, you'll get a pop-up window that tells you that you're not eligible before you get a credit check and will ask whether or not you want to proceed with the application without the welcome offer attached.
- Southwest "Family" Rules: Chase applies additional "family" rules to the Southwest cards. You're not eligible for the welcome offer on a personal Southwest card if you currently have one, or if you've received a welcome offer on any personal Southwest card within the last 24 months. This doesn't apply to business cards. You also can't be approved for the Southwest consumer card if you already have one open.
- IHG "Family" Rules: You're not eligible for the welcome offer if you've received a welcome offer on any personal IHG card within the last 24 months. You also can't be approved for another IHG consumer card if you already have one open. You can have both an IHG personal and an IHG business card.
- 2 per month Rule: Most applicants are limited to 2 new cards per 30 days. Business cards are usually limited to one per 30 days.
- Marriott cards: Approval for any Marriott card is governed by a labyrinthine set of unintuitive rules. You can see the full eligibility chart here.
- Card Limits: Chase doesn't have a strict limit on the number of cards that you can have, but it does place limits on the total amount of credit that they will issue you across all cards. Because of this, reconsideration can sometimes be successful by moving credit from one existing card to the new card that you want.
- Application Status: Call (888) 338-2586 to check your application status.
- Reconsideration: If denied, call (888) 270-2127 for personal cards, or (800) 453-9719 for business cards, and ask for your application to be reconsidered.
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For those without Globalist Status, free night certificates–even just the 1-4 variety–*can* become much more valuable when you parlay one into a couple GOH and/or SUA, which is fairly easy to do. Because Hyatt points are fairly easy to come by via Chase/Ink UR and Globalist Status is far more difficult to obtain, getting these FNA that get be turned into GOH/SUA can be much more valuable than 30k points.
For me, a couple of stays where I am able to get GoH benefits or a free upgrade to a suite, is far more valuable than 30k points.
Thank you for the snort with the headline. As for content: Hyatt 1-4 certificates are pretty much useless to me. For all the work Chase is doing to “refresh” other cards, these cards feel like they’re overdue, but if Hyatt isn’t willing to increase the category spread, it’s hard for me to imagine what could make them more appealing for people who aren’t chasing Globalist through spend. .
Category 1-4 certificates desperately need to be updated to category 1-5 due to many years of category inflation by Hyatt while the certificates are not keeping up. Finding a quality category 1-4 hotel to use your certificate either pre or post Covid wasn’t too tough but now, at least in the USA, it’s very hard. This has gone way beyond Hyatt initiating a Category 7 with just 6 super luxe hotels, it’s where a lot of big cities have little-to-no option to use these certificates. That makes a signup bonus like this much less appealing.
Hyatt 1-4 certs hold very little value to me. They used to be useful, but Hyatt has aggressively inflated property categories since Covid, so 1-4 properties in 2025 are now mostly unappealing. I don’t value a free night at a Hyatt House in rural Mississippi.
Some properties have literally doubled (e.g. Papagayo from 4 to 8.) The WOH program isn’t great (or even really good) like it used to be. After losing SLH, gutting the US based customer service team, dramatically increasing property categories, and devaluing the points, Hilton/Bonvoy are looking more attractive than ever.
At least Hilton/Bonvoy have great footprints. Hyatt doesn’t have anywhere near the footprint to Bonvoy the WOH program. After years of Globalist, I’m out.
I doubt you were a globalist for years, bro. At least not from 60+ stays per year.
Yep. I’m not a loyalist so for me these are by far the least valuable fncs, which is the only reason I will pay an annual fee for a hotel card. Hilton is by far the best, IHG is very useful (get hotels we love with our certs, namely Kimptons, and usually don’t have to top them off). Marriott is a distant third and I’ve never loved any hotels I’ve gotten with them and no longer value the 35k certs (up to 50k).
I can’t relate to this comment. There are a ton of cat4s that aren’t Hyatt House in Mississippi. HC French Quarter, HVC Sedona, HC Fishermen’s Wharf, GH Denver, PH Siem Reap, GH Jeju, GH Melbourne are just a few examples.
I agree. Cat 1-4 are very hard to use at in-demand resort properties and in any major US city. However, I’m burning 3 Cat 1-4 certs in Toronto next month. There are 3 expensive Cat 4 properties in that city. There’s still plenty of opportunity out there. But it won’t be in Manhattan (or Boston).
Tangentially, for luxury travelers, I believe the Edit program will take a bite out of Hyatt’s (and AMEX’s) business. Why not stay at a Ritz Carlton, St Regis, Four Seasons, for roughly the same points as a Park Hyatt, Andaz, or Grand Hyatt? Just watch prices fall as you get closer to your trip date.