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Our quick take: The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card helps business owners maximize rewards on business purchases, and all while enjoying perks like automatic World of Hyatt Discoverist elite status and up to $100 in Hyatt credits each account anniversary year
Pros:
- Generous, easy-to-understand sign-up bonus.
- Earn more points on paid Hyatt stays and in popular bonus categories.
- Redeem rewards for stays in more than 1,150 hotels and resorts worldwide.
- Get automatic World of Hyatt Discoverist elite status.
- Gift Discoverist elite status to up to five employees.
- 10% redemption bonus with $50,000 or more in spending in a calendar year (up to 20,000 bonus points per year).
- Receive up to $100 in Hyatt credits each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5 tier qualifying night credits toward Explorist or Globalist status each time you spend $10,000 on your card in a calendar year.
- World of Hyatt points are highly valuable.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Cons:
- $199 annual fee applies.
- Hyatt has a smaller hotel footprint than some other brands.
- Low earning rate for regular spending.
- Rewards are somewhat inflexible.
- High APR if you carry a balance.
Current welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 World of Hyatt points after spending $5,000 on purchases within three months of account opening.
Best for: The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card is best for those who travel for business and want to redeem rewards for Hyatt hotel stays around the world.
Learn more and apply for the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card.
Digging into the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card is issued by Chase, and it is geared to small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to enjoy elite status perks when they travel while earning rewards that can be used for hotel stays.
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card earns World of Hyatt points, which are more valuable than hotel points from competing brands. In fact, frequent flyer website The Points Guy says World of Hyatt points are worth an average of 1.7 cents each when redeemed for hotel stays. This compares favorably to Hilton Honors points and Marriott Bonvoy points, which are worth an average of 0.6 cents and 0.84 cents each, respectively.
While business owners can earn World of Hyatt points just for being a member and staying with the brand, the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card helps accelerate their earnings. First off, cardholders earn 9 points for each dollar spent with Hyatt, including 5 base points for being a World of Hyatt member and another 4 points per dollar for paying with the card.
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card also offers 2 bonus points per dollar spent in three top spend categories each quarter through December 31, 2024, after which this goes down to the top two categories each quarter. Categories that qualify for these bonus rewards include:
- Dining.
- Shipping.
- Airline tickets when purchased directly with the airline.
- Local transit and commuting.
- Social media and search engine advertising.
- Car rental agencies.
- Gas stations.
- Internet, cable and phone services.
On top of that, cardholders always earn 2 points per dollar spent on gym membership and fitness clubs and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.
Advantages of the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
On top of the welcome bonus and bonus points cardholders earn for using their card for business purchases, there are other perks to be aware of. For starters, individuals who sign up for this card get automatic World of Hyatt Discoverist elite status and the ability to give this status to up to five of their employees right away.
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card also includes $50 in statement credits up to two times each anniversary year for purchases with the Hyatt brand, as well as discounts on paid hotel stays through the Hyatt Leverage program. According to Hyatt, discounts offered through this program can help businesses save an average of $350 per year.
Further, the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card also comes with a 10% redemption bonus for those who spend $50,000 in a calendar year. This bonus leads to getting 10% of redeemed points back for the rest of the year it’s earned (on up to 200,000 points redeemed).
As an added bonus, the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card comes with primary auto rental coverage when renting a car for business purposes, trip cancellation and interruption insurance worth up to $1,500 per traveler and up to $6,000 per trip, travel and emergency assistance services, purchase protection against damage or theft and extended warranties on eligible items that come with a manufacturer’s warranty.
A final benefit of this card is the fact cardholders earn 5 tier qualifying night credits toward Explorist or Globalist status and Milestone Rewards each time they spend $10,000 on their card within a calendar year. This can help Hyatt elites climb the levels of elite status faster, which unlocks new benefits along the way.
Disadvantages of the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
While Hyatt points are considered more valuable than most hotel loyalty points, one major downside of this program (and thus, the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card) is the footprint of World of Hyatt worldwide. Where World of Hyatt encompasses more than 1,150 hotels and resorts you can redeem points with, many competing hotel loyalty programs have 7,000 hotels and resorts worldwide or even more.
As an example, Hilton Honors has 7,000 properties and Marriott Bonvoy lets you redeem points at more than 8,500 hotels and resorts around the world. Whether you’re looking for properties to book for a business hotel stay or you want to cash in rewards for a vacation in a new destination, having more properties to choose from is always good news.
Also be aware that the World of Hyatt Discoverist elite status you get with the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card isn’t that valuable. In fact, the main perks are premium internet, bottled water, preferred room type, elite check-in and late check out at 2 p.m, based on availability.
Finally, it’s worth noting that this card has a $199 annual fee that isn’t waived the first year. The high variable APR (21.49% to 28.49% variable) can also make carrying a balance on this card incredibly expensive.
Stacking the the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card up against our benchmark
CNN Underscored uses the Citi® Double Cash Card as our “benchmark” credit card, which means we use it as a basic measure for comparison. This helps us see whether other credit cards have perks or features that are more valuable in general.
The chart below shows how the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card compares against our benchmark card. Items highlighted in green indicate a card feature that’s better than our benchmark, whereas items in red indicate the feature is worse than our benchmark. Features left white indicate the feature is either equivalent or cannot be directly compared to our benchmark.
View this interactive content on CNN.comAs you can see from the chart above, the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card offers a lot more in terms of travel perks and protections. This makes sense considering it’s a hotel credit card that’s geared to frequent travelers, but it’s still worth keeping this information in mind as you select a new card.
That said, the Citi Double Cash still comes out ahead in a few areas in this comparison. Not only does it come with no annual fee, but it has an introductory 0% APR offer for 18 months for balance transfers (then 19.24%-29.24% variable). Rewards are also considerably more flexible. In fact, you can redeem Citi ThankYou points for cash back, gift cards, merchandise and charitable donations. You can even redeem Citi points for airfare, hotel stays and other travel, or transfer them to Citi’s hotel and airline transfer partners if you pair the Citi Double Cash with a Citi Premier® Card.
Other business cards to compare to the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
If you’re looking for a business credit card that lets you earn World of Hyatt points, you’ll definitely want to consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card from Chase. This business credit card doesn’t earn Hyatt points directly per se, but it does earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points that transfer to World of Hyatt and other airline and hotel programs at a 1:1 ratio.
The Ink Business Preferred also offers a huge stash of rewards you can use toward Hyatt hotel stays right off the bat. At the moment, the bonus is worth 100,000 points if you can spend $8,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. Just remember that the Ink Business Preferred is a flexible rewards credit card and not a hotel credit card, so you won’t get any hotel-specific benefits for being a cardholder.
Also note that other major hotel brands have their own co-branded credit cards for business, including The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. These hotel credit cards for business come with their own earning rates and perks, so they’re worth checking out if you’re not necessarily set on earning points with Hyatt specifically.
If you are pretty set on earning World of Hyatt points but you’re not quite sure about this business credit card, you can also look into the personal World of Hyatt Credit Card. Also offered by Chase, this consumer credit card comes with automatic Discoverist status, a generous earning rate on paid Hyatt stays and the chance to earn a generous sign-up bonus after meeting a minimum spending threshold.
Should you get the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card?
If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur who is constantly spending time in Hyatt properties, picking up this hotel credit card for business makes a lot of sense.
With the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card, you’ll get automatic elite status for being a card holder, and you can earn five elite qualifying nights toward the next level of elite status each time you spend $10,000 on your card within a calendar year. Earning World of Hyatt points for each dollar your business spends can also help you earn more free hotel stays in Hyatt properties around the world.
While Hyatt doesn’t have as many hotels and resorts as some of its competitors, it’s known for its selection of all-inclusive properties, Miraval Resorts and the fact you can redeem points for boutique hotel stays at properties in the Small Luxury Hotels of the World portfolio. Also note that free night awards start at just 3,500 points over off-peak dates, so maximizing your rewards may be easier than you think.
Learn more and apply for the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card.
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