Points of View: Which credit card should you use for Hyatt stays?

Compared to its competitors, World of Hyatt has fewer credit cards available for applicants. Consider that there are six credit cards from Marriott Bonvoy, four cards from Hilton Honors, three cards from IHG One Rewards and three cards from Wyndham Rewards. While Hyatt has a personal and a business credit card, it lacks a luxury credit card.

Is this a good or a bad sign? Should you look elsewhere when paying for stays at World of Hyatt and Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties?

Let’s take a look at some popular cards you might use to pay for your next stay at these hotels and resorts to understand what these cards can offer you in terms of return on spending and perks during your stay.

Comparing credit cards for a Hyatt or SLH hotel stay

Aside from using a Hyatt cobranded credit card, you might also consider using an all-around travel rewards card that earns transferable points on travel purchases, including your next hotel stay. Let’s look at some common credit card options and what you could get when using these cards:

Card name
Earning rate at Hyatt and SLH hotels
Value of the rewards earned*
Hyatt-related benefits from the card
Annual fee

World of Hyatt Credit Card
4 points per dollar.
6.8 cents.

Automatic entry-level Disoverist status for cardholders, offering perks like 10% bonus points, premium in-room internet and late checkout when available.
Five tier-qualifying night credits automatically added to your account each year.
Earn two tier-qualifying night credits for each $5,000 spent on the card.

$95.

World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
4 points per dollar.
6.8 cents.

Automatic entry-level Disoverist status for cardholders, offering perks like 10% bonus points, premium in-room internet and late checkout when available.
Earn five tier-qualifying night credits for each $10,000 spent on the card.
Up to $100 in annual credits for spending with Hyatt.
Earn a 10% points rebate after spending $50,000 or more on the card in a calendar year.
Hyatt Leverage membership offers potential room discounts on paid stays.

$199.

American Express® Green Card
3 points per dollar.
6 cents.
None.
$150 (see rates and fees).

Chase Sapphire Reserve
3 points per dollar (or 10 points per dollar if booked via the Chase travel portal).
6 cents (or 20 cents).
None.
$550.

Citi Premier® Card
3 points per dollar.
5.4 cents.
None.
$95.

* Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer.

The information for the Amex Green card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: Credit card showdown: World of Hyatt card versus World of Hyatt Business card

Which card should you use?

There are two factors to consider when choosing a credit card for your next stay at a Hyatt or Small Luxury Hotels property: the benefits you enjoy during your stay and the points you earn on the card when paying for your stay.

The first part is relatively simple. The benefits and perks of your elite status will apply regardless of whether you use a specific card for your stay. As an example, you don’t actually need to pay with the World of Hyatt card or World of Hyatt Business card to enjoy your Discoverist status, which is conferred automatically by having either of these cards.

(The one exception is using the Chase Sapphire Reserve to book a paid stay at a Hyatt or SLH hotel through the Chase travel portal. This will generally count as a third-party booking. While you’ll earn 10 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on these bookings, you’ll likely forgo any perks of World of Hyatt elite status when staying at the hotel.)

KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY

When it comes to earning points from spending money at hotels that participate in World of Hyatt — as well as SLH properties — using your Hyatt credit card is actually a good option, unlike some hotel programs. Due to the high value of Hyatt points, using these cards will provide a better rate of return than using a Marriott credit card at a Marriott hotel, for example. However, the value to be had here is subjective in some ways. Do you prefer to earn the maximum value according to our monthly points valuations? Are you OK with that even if it means earning points that are stuck in a single program and can only be used with Hyatt (or transferred to airlines in such a way that you lose a lot of value)?

Or do you prefer to earn transferable points because you know how to maximize these for flight awards in premium cabins or during expensive holiday periods, obtaining outsized value for your points? In this case, using a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards may be your best bet, since you would have access to the full range of Chase’s transfer partners and still have the option to transfer points to World of Hyatt for hotel redemptions.

Related: How long do Chase Ultimate Rewards take to transfer?

Bottom line

Sometimes, deciding which credit card to use on a purchase can require tradeoffs. Maybe you earn more points but sacrifice some benefits. Perhaps you’re willing to earn fewer points but access a valuable benefit by using a particular card.

Luckily, the choice of which credit card to use when staying at a Hyatt or SLH hotel is pretty simple. Due to high earning rates from Hyatt’s credit cards and the value of these points, you should be able to earn a high value in rewards while also enjoying your cardholder benefits — without the tradeoffs required by making this decision at some other hotel chains.

Editor’s note: “Points of View” is a series evaluating decisions on which credit card to use. If you’re facing a dilemma about which card is best for an upcoming payment, email us at tips@thepointsguy.com.

Also in this series:

Points of View: Which credit card should you use for Hilton stays?
Points of View: Which credit card should you use for Marriott stays?
Points of View: Can I cash out my points, and is it worth it?
Points of View: Should my partner get their own card or be added as an authorized user?
Points of View: Which card should I use for flights in case things go wrong?
Points of View: Does paying the taxes and fees on award flights trigger trip protections?

For rates and fees of the Amex Green card, click here.