The United Explorer Card is a co-branded credit card between Chase and United Airlines. This card offers unique perks for regular United customers including free checked bags and expanded award seat availability for redeeming miles. Right now, there is a limited-time offer boost until 1/8/19.  Here are the highlights:

• Up to 65,000 bonus United miles. 40,000 bonus United miles after spending $2,000 within the first 3 months. Plus, earn an additional 25,000 bonus miles
  after spending $10,000 total in the first 6 months.
• Free first checked bag for both you and a companion (a savings of up to $120 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket.
• Priority boarding + 2 United Club one-time passes every year.
• 2X miles at restaurants and on hotel stays.
• 2X miles per on purchases from United.
• 25% Back on United inflight purchases (Wi-Fi, Food and Drinks).
• Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Fee Credit
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Your miles don’t expire as long as your credit card account is open, with no limit to the number of miles you can earn.
• Use your miles for any seat, any time, on any United flight.
• $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

Keep in mind the following terms and conditions:

This product is available to you if you do not have this Card and have not received a new Cardmember bonus for this Card in the past 24 months.

This card is very focused on rewarding you for being a United customer. Before you board, you might use one of your free United Club lounge passes. You have the first checked bag for free on United flights, both for your and a companion traveling on the same reservation. The fee is usually $30 per person, each way, so that this how they get the value of $120 each roundtrip. You also get Priority Boarding, which helps you find space for your carry-on. While onboard, you get 25% back on your inflight purchases of WiFi, food, and drinks.

Expanded award availability. You earn United miles for all your purchases (double miles on restaurants and hotel stays), but then they also make it easier for you to redeem those miles on Saver level tickets with no blackout dates. Expanded award seat availability is another of the top perks from this card, and it is actually a significant difference. Saver Award ticket redemptions start at 12,500 miles one-way within the continental U.S. and Canada.

Another unique feature of this card is that it offers primary coverage on the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. On most other consumer cards, this coverage is offered as secondary coverage, meaning it only kicks in after your personal auto insurance has been exhausted.

Bottom line. The United Explorer Card offers great perks for folks that fly United even just once or twice a year. The card provides lounge passes, a free checked bag, priority boarding, and inflight discounts. There are bonus categories to earn more miles, and special expanded award seat inventory for credit card holders to make it easier to actually redeem those miles for flights. Since you can only get this bonus at most once every 24 months, it is best to apply during a limited-time offer.

I have added this limited-time offer to my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Updated Southwest card info to add +20,000 point offer. Southwest Airlines offers a unique feature called the Companion Pass, which lets you pick one person to fly with free when you book your own paid and/or award flights. If you either fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 110,000 Qualifying Points in a calendar year, you’ll earn the Companion Pass for the remainder of that year plus the following full calendar year.

Right now might actually be a great time to apply, because if you manage things to earn the points in January 2019 (or anytime in early 2019), you would have the benefit for the rest of 2019 and all of 2020. You would just want to make sure you don’t reach the spending hurdle until 2019 to be safe, even though the points probably won’t post until sometime after the billing cycle ends. You can change your designated companion up to three times each calendar year.

Points earned from credit cards count, including sign-up bonuses. You can earn very close to the 110,000 points required by signing up for Southwest co-branded consumer and/or business credit cards. In addition, the points are easy to redeem for “Wanna Get Away” airfare without having to worry about blackout dates or seat availability. There are some slight variations between them:

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus credit card

• 40,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• Additional 20,000 points after you spend $12,000 within your first year.
• 3,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $69 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier card

• 40,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• Additional 20,000 points after you spend $12,000 within your first year.
• 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $99 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority card

• 40,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• Additional 20,000 points after you spend $12,000 within your first year.
• 7,500 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• $75 Southwest annual travel credit.
• Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
• 20% back on inflight drinks, WiFi, messaging, and movies.
• Earn tier qualifying points towards A-list status.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $149 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business card

• 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $99 annual fee.

60,000 Rapid Rewards points redemptions vary in a narrow range, but a reasonable approximation from my experience is $900 in Wanna Get Away airfare (you are still liable for taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way). Importantly, Southwest does NOT have blackout dates or seat restrictions when you redeem with points. These points are much easier to use than a “saver award” on the traditional airlines.

Restrictions. All of these Southwest credit cards are subject to “5/24” restrictions, which means that your application will be automatically denied if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months (check your credit reports). Our household strategy is to have one person only apply for Chase 5/24 cards, and the other person applies for everything else. There is also this language on the consumer card:

The product is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Cardmembers of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Card and Employee Credit Card products.

Basically, you can get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest consumer card once every 24 months. You can also get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest business card once every 24 months. (Previously, you might apply for both a Plus and a Premier close together for example.)

If 110,000 Rapid Rewards points would have theoretically covered 16 free one-way flights, then with the Companion Pass you’d now be getting 16 free one-way flights for two people! You also can’t forget that Southwest still has the customer-friendly perk of two free checked bags per person. That’s a lot of free and flexible travel.

Another option to consider is gift card redemptions. You can still redeem 5,000 points for a $50 a Amazon.com or Wal-Mart gift certificate. That makes 50,000 points still worth $500 in Amazon or Walmart gift cards.

Our family policy is to not try out a new credit card unless it offers us $500 in total value. Just the free award flights from the points from any one of these cards is enough to satisfy that rule, and then you can add on the value of the companion tickets.

Bottom line. Right now, you can earn 100,000 Southwest points (or more) from just two credit card sign-up bonuses, which is very close to the 110,000 points needed to qualify for the Southwest Companion pass (and a lot of free Southwest flights). This would get you a free companion ticket on every flight bought with cash or points for the rest of 2018 and all of 2019. Southwest also still includes two free checked bags per person.

Limited-time offer. The Capital One Spark Cash for Business is a rewards business card offering a big early spend bonus offer in addition to ongoing 2% cash back rewards. They’ve just added a limited-time offer for businesses with sizable spending, boosting the total bonus value to $2,000. Here are the highlights:

• Learn more about this card HERE

• Unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases.
• Up to $2,000 cash bonus. First, earn a $500 cash bonus when you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months. In addition, you can earn another $1,500 cash bonus if you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months. This is a limited-time offer.
• $0 annual fee for the first year, then $95 annual fee after that.
• Cash back rewards don’t expire as long as your account is open.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Free additional employee cards.

Consider that if you meet the $5,000 spending requirement within 3 months, you will end up with $500 + $100 from 2% cash back – that’s $600 on $5,000 spending (12% cash back). If you do meet the $50,000 spending requirement, you’ll earn the $2,000 cash bonus from the limited-time offer and 2% cash back for another $1,000. That is a total of $3,000, amounting to a rate of 6% cash back on $50,000.

Note that “Existing or previous Accountholders may not be eligible for this one-time bonus.” For comparison, there is also a Spark Select for Business and Spark Classic that are different cards with lower sign-up bonuses but no annual fee.

The 2% cash back for all purchases is a strong rewards structure, and you get no annual fee during the first year as well. From the second year onward, you’ll have to weigh that against the $95 annual fee after the first year. The math says that you would have to spend more than $19,000 every year ($1,583 a month) to make the 2% back and $95 annual fee (Spark Cash) pay out more rewards than 1.5% cash back and no annual fee (Spark Cash Select).

Here is some info taken from the Terms and Conditions regarding rewards cash back redemptions:

How do I redeem my rewards?
You can get your cash back upon request in the form of a statement credit or a check. You can also set up an automatic redemption preference; options include: (1) at a set time each calendar year or (2) when a specific threshold ($25, $50, $100 or $200) has been reached. Just go online to capitalone.com or contact our Rewards Center. You can also redeem for credits for previous purchases, gift cards, and more. Rates for these redemption options may vary and are subject to change without notice.

Alternatively, the Capital One Spark® Miles for Business has a limited-time offer now up to 200,000 miles – redeemable for $2,000 statement credit towards travel. That is broken down into 50,000 miles when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, and then another 150,000 miles when you spend $50,000 within the first 6 months. The travel can be booked directly through airlines and hotels, and there are no blackout dates or award seat limits to worry about. $0 annual fee for the first year, then $95 annual fee after that. No foreign transaction fees. Similar to the offer above, the Spark Miles offers 2 miles per dollar with the $95 annual fee but there is also a Spark Miles Select for Business that offers 1.5 miles per dollar with no annual fee.

• Learn more about this card HERE

Capital One now allows you to transfer your “miles” into select airline miles programs as well, on a 2:1.5 ratio (ex. 20,000 Capital One miles = 15,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles). Here are the 12 transfer partners:

• Aeromexico
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France/KLM
• Alitalia
• Avianca
• Cathay Pacific
• Etihad
• EVA
• Finnair
• Hainan
• Qantas
• Qatar

Unless you know how to leverage one of these international airline miles programs, I would prefer earning cash rewards over the “miles”, since these Capital One “miles” only get their maximum value when redeemed against a travel purchase.

If you are looking for a comparison with other strong business cards, check out my updated list of Top 10 Best Small Business Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The Gold Delta SkyMiles American Express Credit Card has a limited-time offer if you are referred. It’s a lot better than the standard offer, but it ends very soon on Wednesday, November 7th, 2018. Highlights:

• 60,000 bonus Skymiles after you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first 4 months. Limited Time Offer ends 11/7/2018. The standard offer is 30,000 bonus miles + $50 statement credit.
• That’s worth $600 in Delta airfare minimum. With this card, you get a minimum value out of your Skymiles via the “Pay with Miles” option. 60,000 Skymiles can reduce the price of your Delta ticket by $600 at the very least. (5,000 mile = $50 minimum redemption.) You can still book the traditional award tickets and possibly get better value.
• First checked bag free. Delta now charges $30 for the first checked bag, each way. That means this perk is worth $60 per person each roundtrip. For a family of four, this perk is worth $240 per person each roundtrip.
• Priority Boarding. Get a good chance of there being room for your carry-on in the overhead bins.
• Annual fee is waived for the first year, then $95.

Here is my link for the Gold Delta SkyMiles American Express referral offer. Thanks if you use it. There is also a Gold Delta Skymiles Business version with a similar limited-time offer.

American Express is trying to shake off its stodgy image – with a new Pink card! They prefer Rose Gold. The new American Express Pink Gold Card has a 50,000 bonus point offer if you apply via a referral link (that’s mine). Here are the highlights:

• 50,000 Membership Rewards points when you make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Up to $100 dining credit. 20% back (up to $100) on dining purchases at U.S. restaurants within the first 3 months. They are “picking up the tip”. That means spending $500 over 3 months will max out the $100 dining credit.
• Up to another $120 in Grubhub and Seamless credit. Up to $10 in statement credits each month when you pay with The Gold Card at participating partners – Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and participating Shake Shack locations.
• $100 airline fee credit. Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $100 per calendar year in statement credits when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your AmEx Gold card. Examples are checked baggage fees and inflight meals.
• 4X points at US restaurants.
• 4X points at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 per year.
• 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
• $250 annual fee. Additional cards (authorized users) are free.

The Pink card color and limited-time welcome offer is available through January 9th, 2019. They are treating this as a rebrand of the Premier Rewards Gold Card, so you can’t have gotten that bonus already:

Welcome Offer not available to applicants who have or have had this card or the Premier Reward Gold Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.

Membership Rewards points can be converted to the following airline and hotel programs (there are more, this is just a selection):

• Delta SkyMiles
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue
• ANA Mileage Club (partner of United Airlines)
• Air Canada (partner of United Airlines)
• British Airways (partner of American Airlines)
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Singapore Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Rewards (Starwood)

The bonus math depends on a few factors. I’m going to be conservative and value the 50,000 Membership Rewards points at $500. (There are a lot of mileage transfer bonuses so you could value them much higher.) If you spend $500 in any US restaurant over 3 months, you’ll be able to get the full $100 statement credit. Spending $10 a month at Grubhub and Seamless will depend on if you’ve become addicted to these hyper-convenient food delivery apps. The airline fee credit will depend on how much you travel, but checked bag fees are everywhere (and rising). Minus the $250 annual fee. If you max out all the perks, the first year value is $570 without taking into account the 4X and 3X bonus categories. I don’t think it’s a perfect fit for me, but worth a look.

Bottom line. The new American Express Pink Gold Card has a bunch of new features more targeted at the young, urban traveler. There is also a limited-time 50,000 point + dining credits offer if you apply via a referral link.

The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express is a business rewards card that features double Membership Rewards points and no annual fee. Therefore, if you can redeem for more than 1 cent per point of value, this card has the potential to beat a flat 2% cash back card. Here the highlights:

• Learn more about this card HERE.

• 2X Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in purchases each year. 1X Points on purchases thereafter.
• 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, then a variable rate, currently 12.99%, 16.99% or 20.99%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors.
• No annual fee.

Note the usual language regarding the sign-up bonus. This is a newer card, but you can only get the sign-up bonus once per lifetime.

Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product.

Better than 2% cash back? Membership Rewards points can be converted to the following airline miles (there are more, this is just a selection):

• Delta SkyMiles
• Hawaiian Airlines
• ANA Mileage Club (partner of United Airlines)
• Air Canada (partner of United Airlines)
• British Airways (partner of American Airlines)
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin America

If you value any of these miles at more than 1 cent per mile, then you would be getting more value than a 2% cash back card. For example, this card can earn the equivalent of 2 Delta miles per dollar spent.

Unfortunately, there are many redemption options for Membership Rewards points that are worse than 1 cent per point value. Here are a few examples:

• Shop with Membership Rewards Points (~0.5 cents per point)
• Shop with Points at Amazon.com (~0.7 cents per point)
• Use points at BestBuy.com (~0.7 cents per point)
• Gift Cards (varies from 0.5 up to 1 cent per point max)

If you don’t expect to get at least 1 cent per mile value, then you should stick with a 2% cash back card.

Business credit card eligibility. Many people aren’t aware that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. Any individual can be a small business. Perhaps you sell items on eBay, Craiglist, or Etsy. Maybe you do some graphic design, web design, freelancing and/or consulting. If you received a 1099-MISC tax form and filled out a Schedule C, that means you have business income, you pay self-employment taxes, and you’re a sole proprietorship. This is the simplest business entity, but it is fully legit and recognized by the IRS. On a business credit card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

This card will require you to personally guarantee that you’ll pay them back what you charge on the card, which means they’ll check your personal credit score like any other consumer card. However, as the card is a business card, American Express won’t have it show up on your personal credit report, so it won’t change things like your credit limits, average account age, or credit utilization ratio.

Bottom line. The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express is a unique small business card in that it earn 2X Membership Rewards points on ALL purchases up to $50,000 per year with no annual fee. The ability to transfer to miles means that you’re effectively earning 2X miles per dollar spent with no annual fee. Finally, linking this card also allows you keep Membership Rewards points earned from other cards active while having no annual fee.

• Learn more about this card HERE.

The Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express is a great way to earn Membership Rewards points with no annual fee. Right now, there is also a welcome bonus and no balance transfer fee offer for new cardholders. Here are the details:

• Learn more about this card HERE.

• 15,000 Membership Rewards Points welcome bonus after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers for new card members. After that, a variable APR applies.
• $0 balance transfer fees on balance transfers made within the first 60 days of account opening.
• 2X points at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1X). 1X points on all other purchases.
• 20% more points if you make 20 or more purchases in a billing period (less returns and credits).
• No annual fee.

Note the following:

Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product.

No fee 0% APR balance transfer. It has been a long time since I recall an AmEx with a no balance transfer fee offer. If you have high-interest balances on other card issuers (Chase, Citi, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc), this may be a good opportunity to lower your interest charges and pay off that debt faster.

Earn Membership Rewards (MR) points with no annual fee. American Express has historically been a “premium”-only brand and most every card had an annual fee. This no-annual fee card is a move towards “EveryDay” consumers. In addition, if you have Membership Rewards points earned from other American Express cards, having this card would keep all of your MR points from expiring even if you closed those other cards (perhaps to avoid the annual fees). This way you keep the flexibility to transfer the points into a variety of frequent flier miles as needed. As there is no annual fee, I can keep this card open forever.

Membership Rewards points can be converted to the following airline miles (there are more, this is just a selection):

• Delta SkyMiles
• Hawaiian Airlines
• ANA Mileage Club (partner of United Airlines)
• Air Canada (partner of United Airlines)
• British Airways (partner of American Airlines)
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin America

With the 20% bonus for 20+ purchases per billing period, you would be getting 1.2 miles per dollar on all purchases and 2.4 miles per dollar at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year). A lot depends on how much value you can get out of those airline miles.

Unfortunately, there are many redemption options for Membership Rewards points that are worse than 1 cent per point value. Here are a few examples:

• Shop with Membership Rewards Points (~0.5 cents per point)
• Shop with Points at Amazon.com (~0.7 cents per point)
• Use points at BestBuy.com (~0.7 cents per point)
• Gift Cards (varies from 0.5 up to 1 cent per point max)

Bottom line. The Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express allows to you earn and maintain Membership Rewards points with no annual fee. The sign-up perks have been improved to include a 15,000 Membership Rewards points welcome bonus and a no fee 0% APR balance transfer offer. If you have high-interest balances on other card issuers, this may be a good opportunity to lower your interest charges and pay off that debt faster.

• Learn more about this card HERE.

Hilton Hotels has two American Express consumer cards, a no annual fee and a $95 annual fee version (with more perks of course). There is also a business card version. Right now, all of them have a limited-time increase to their welcome offer, from 75,000 to 125,000 points. (Up from 50k and 100k.) Each person can only get one welcome offer, per card in your entire lifetime, so it’s best to apply during one of these temporary bump-ups. (You could get all three of these welcome offers separately, but only one per card per person per lifetime.)

What are 75,000 or 125,000 Hilton Honor points worth? The best value is from booking free hotel nights or using their “Points & Money” option where you pay with a combination of Hilton points and cash. Hilton has some really nice properties, but the value varies from hotel to hotel. I just ran a search and for the same 60,000 Hilton points, I could book rooms that cost $320 or $532 cash. I’ve seen some valuations around 0.6 cents per point, which I think is fair on average, but I would be more conservative at 0.5 cents a point. That would make 75,000 points = $375 value and 125,000 points = $625 value towards Hilton hotel stays.

The good part of Hilton points is that they have so many different hotel brands, from business-class DoubleTree to luxury Waldorf Astoria. Hilton also lets you transfer and pool points with other with other family or household members. As long as you keep them active (once every 12 months), I do like to keep some around. Here’s a tip on how to keep Hilton points active with $1 Amazon gift codes.

Hilton Honors Ascend Credit Card from American Express

• Learn more about this card HERE

• 125,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Earn a Weekend Night Reward certificate after you spend $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
• 12X Hilton Honors points on purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio.
• 6X Hilton Honors points on purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations.
• 3X Hilton Honors points for all other eligible purchases.
• Free upgrade to Hilton HHonors Gold status (free breakfast, room upgrades based on availability, 5th standard reward night free).
• Spend $40,000 in a calendar year on this card and get HHonors Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year.
• $95 annual fee.
• Terms apply.

Hilton Honors Credit Card from American Express

• Learn more about this card HERE

• 75,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• 7X Hilton Honors points on purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio.
• 5X Hilton Honors points on purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations.
• 3X Hilton Honors points for all other eligible purchases.
• Free upgrade to Hilton HHonors Silver status (5th standard reward night free, 2 bottles of water in your room).
• Spend $20,000 in a calendar year on this card and get HHonors Gold status through the end of the next calendar year.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• No annual fee.
• Terms apply.

Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

• Learn more about this card HERE

• 125,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Earn a Weekend Night Reward certificate after you spend $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
• Earn another Weekend Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend an additional $45,000 in purchases in the same calendar year.
• 12X Hilton Honors points on purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio.
• 6X Hilton Honors points on Select Business & Travel Purchases (ex. U.S. gas stations, U.S. restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines)
• 3X Hilton Honors points for all other eligible purchases.
• Free upgrade to Hilton HHonors Gold status (free breakfast, room upgrades based on availability, 5th standard reward night free).
• 10 free airport lounge visits each year once enrolled in complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership, which offers access to over 1,000 lounges in over 120 countries.
• $95 annual fee.
• Terms apply.

Bottom line. If you can use the points towards Hilton hotel stays, the best time to apply for a Hilton co-branded American Express card is during a limited-time increase to their welcome offers. This is because American Express has changed their policy to only allow each person to get a welcome bonus once per card per lifetime.

“The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.”

Chase has launched a new The World of Hyatt credit card, which replaces their previous Hyatt co-branded card. There is a sign-up bonus of up to 60,000 Hyatt points (enough for 2 nights at any Hyatt) and a $95 annual fee. Here are the highlights:

• Learn more about this card HERE

• Up to 60,000 bonus points – 40,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Additional 20,000 bonus points after you spend a total of $6,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of account opening.
• Receive 1 free night every year after your cardmember anniversary at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort.
• Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year.
• Get automatic World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as your account is open and 5 qualifying night credits toward your next tier status every year.
• Earn 2 qualifying night credits towards your next tier status every time you spend $5,000 on your card.

If you’ve gotten a bonus from any Hyatt Card within the last 2 years, please note the following:

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.

If you have the old Chase Hyatt card, you can call them up and ask for upgrade options. Supposedly they will offer you 2,000 Hyatt points to upgrade to this new card, although this new card also has a higher annual fee ($95 vs. $75).

For now, the 5/24 rule does not apply to this card. On many Chase cards, there is an unofficial rule that they will automatically deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This is applied on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers. As of right now, the 5/24 rule does not apply to this card. I think Chase is working to apply it to all their cards, but it needs to wait for certain agreements to expire.

What can you get with 60,000 Hyatt points? Here are all the Hyatt redemption options, but the most popular options are for free hotel nights, points+cash hotel combinations, or room upgrades. Hyatt allows you the flexibility of combining your points with any other World of Hyatt member to redeem an award.

Below is their points award chart along with points+cash option, and here is their award search tool. Free rooms start at 5,000 points. A suite upgrade is 6,000 points.

Essentially, 60,000 points can get you two free nights at the fanciest Category 7 properties like Park Hyatt Tokyo, Park Hyatt Paris, or Park Hyatt Sydney, which can cost $500 to $900 per night. Alternatively, you could get 5 free nights at a Category 3 like Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach Honolulu or Hyatt Regency Tokyo. Finally, you can get 12 nights at 5,000 points per Category 1 night. Keep in mind there is that $95 annual fee (although you get a free Cat 1-4 night award at renewal).

Hyatt points expire after 24 months of inactivity, so if you keep up your activity then you can save up these free nights for later. Chase Ultimate Rewards points also convert to Hyatt points.

Ongoing rewards structure. I might book my Hyatt nights on this card, but the rest of the rewards aren’t terribly exciting to me.

• 9 points total per $1 spent at Hyatt – 4 Bonus Points per $1 when you use your card at Hyatt hotels & 5 Base Points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member.
• 2 points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other card purchasesoffer details reference link*

Bottom line. The Chase World of Hyatt card is the new co-branded Hyatt credit card. As with most of these types of card, the best value is obtained by regular Hyatt customers. There is currently a 60,000 point sign-up bonus, an anniversary free night award, and a $95 annual fee. The total first-year value of this card is easily over $500, so it is worthy of a mention. Also, it currently does not fall under 5/24 restrictions.

• Learn more about this card HERE

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