There have been talks for a few weeks about the upcoming Hyatt Business card that would come out shortly, so I wasn’t too surprised when I saw this while researching the Hyatt website for my final Hyatt Categories 1-4 post:
So, have our prayers been finally answered? Well, not mine.
Is the Hyatt Business Credit Card worth it? Here is the gist!
- 75,000 Bonus Points after spending $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months
- 9X for Hyatt stays (5 base points for being a WOH member and 4 bonus points)
- 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent in your top three spend categories each quarter through 12/31/22, then your top two categories each quarter (Dining, Shipping, Airline tickets (purchased directly), Local transit / commuting, Social media and search engine Advertising, Car rental agencies, Gas stations, Internet, cable and phone services) plus Fitness club and Gym Memberships and 1 point for everything else
- $100 in Hyatt credits each anniversary year (spend $50 or more at any Hyatt property and earn $50 statement credits up to two times each anniversary year)
- Spend $50,000 in a calendar year and get 10% of your redeemed points back
- Discoverist status
- Hyatt Leverage membership
- For every $10K you spend in a calendar year you’ll earn 5 elite night credits toward higher status and Milestone Rewards
- $199 annual fee
The new Hyatt Business card doesn’t feel like it has what it takes
I’m a bit disappointed that the $200 card doesn’t have a free annual night certificate. Do the 75,000-point bonus and $100 Hyatt annual credit make up for that? Hardly. For one thing, the earning ratios don’t impress me at all — let’s remember that those of us who have at least one premium Chase UR card can convert Chase Ultimate Rewards points into Hyatt points. In this respect, even the no-annual-fee Chase Ink Unlimited with its 1.5X earning ratio on everything looks much stronger than this newcomer. However (and it’s also true), you can only have one Chase Ink Unlimited card, right?
Yes, although, there is also Ink Cash.
And Ink Preferred. 🙂
And every one of them is a better vehicle for collecting Hyatt points than this WOH Business Card (and the Hyatt personal card, too).
On the other hand, we always need more Hyatt points
And after you’ve got the above three, then what? My appetite for Hyatt points is insatiable. Maybe the Hyatt Business card is a good answer after all? When you deduct two $50 credits from the annual $199 fee, you’re left with $99. That’s acceptable for 90,000 Hyatt points, no?
I say 90,000 because you must spend $7,500 to get the bonus, and the 2X earning structure, no matter how weak, will get you there almost without any effort. The long-term value is another story.
Look, at least there is a new decent Hyatt card. That’s good!
Now is a good time for an ultraluxury “Hyatt Radiant card” or something (because “Brilliant” is taken, you know 🙂 ). Come on, Chase, you can do that, right?
To recap
Is the Hyatt Business Card worth it? Well, a better question would be if it’s a keeper, and I don’t think it is. Don’t get me wrong, with 75,000 Welcome Points and two $50 statement credits, it’s not a bad card, but the $200 price tag gives me pause. In terms of the earning potential, the card is surprisingly weak, which makes me even less convinced about its long-term value. Unless Chase is planning to add some other benefits to keep business owners loyal, the value proposition after the first year is simply not there. On the other hand, status-chasers will be happy they can earn some coveted elite points.
A very mixed bag, indeed.
