diesteldorf

The $95 WOH card still offers a free night certificate for any category 1-4 hotel WITHOUT any annual spend. It also offers the benefit of earning an additional certificate if you spend 15K on the card. The $75 original Hyatt card never offered (except for certain targeted promotions) the ability to earn another certificate with spend.

If you value Hyatt and routinely spend 15K per year, the WOH card isn't a bad deal. However, many people, including myself, were never interested in upgrading since the additional benefits of the WOH card do not justify the higher annual fee when you aren't putting spend on the card.

notquiteaff

I think I would have to to spend a significant percentage of that $15k at Hyatt properties earning 4X to make it worth going for that free night.

I have a CSR and a CFU. Let’s say I shift $7500 in 3X spend (say dining, airfare) from the CSR to the WoH card and $7500 in unbonused 1.5X spend from my CFU.

Instead of 7500*3 + 7500*1.5 = 33,750 URs I would then earn 15,000 + 7500 = 22,500 Hyatt points and a cat 1-4 cert. The cert is worth 5000-15,000 points, so if I were to redeem at a cat 4, I would effectively get 15,000 points and thus 37,500 Hyatt points for my $15k. That’s the best case; a redemption at a lower cat property reduces the value earned. I think the flexibility of URs ultimately makes me prefer the 33,750 URs. The Hyatt cert also has an expiration date.

Let me know if you think my math is wrong.

serpens

Just so. I like Hyatt and it is my go-to chain when it has competitively priced properties. For most of my travel, Hyatt has no properties at all. Even when there is a Hyatt available at a reasonable price, why would I put the room on the Hyatt card rather than the Sapphire Reserve? It's 3x in either case, but a UR point can do so much more than a Hyatt point, including becoming a Hyatt point.

The math looks right to me, as well as your non-math comments.

diesteldorf

I agree with Serpens. Your math is spot on. It's always hard offering recommendations and analysis because you never know how many tools (credit cards) people have in their toolbox. I have many of the different hotel cards from Chase, Amex, Barclays, US Bank and like them because they all offer points/free nights which justify the value of the annual fee, even with minimal annual spend. I also have a CSR and would put restaurant/travel spend on it before using Hyatt. However, not everyone has one and I have thought about downgrading/product changing my CSR more than once. Keeping cards with annual fees always requires analysis to see if the benefits justify the fee.

I agree. Part of the problem with hotel cards is the multipliers aren't great compared to some universal travel cards, so provided you can keep justifying the CSR, I would keep doing what your doing and just keep the Hyatt card for the free night benefit with minimal annual spend.

As an aside, one of my favorite acquisitions is this card:

https://cards.barclaycardus.com/bank...business-card/

But not because I am a Wyndham loyalist. For me, the benefits justify the annual fee and I wanted to maintain a relationship with Barclays when I am able to travel again, since they offer chip and pin technology instead of signature. One of the best things about the card is the multipliers on gas purchases, since a lot of my other cards treat gas as non-bonus spend, except during certain parts of the year. Compared to Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Wyndham is lower on my list of places to stay, but having more tools in the toolbox is a good thing.

UVU Wolverine

Anybody call in to cancel yet? I’m assuming that the response from Chase will be a flat “no” if we ask for any type of offset for being forced to switch.

I’ll probably cancel anyways and put my Hyatt spend on a 3% cash back card.

beltway

Is chip&pin that advantageous anymore? On my trips last year (Central Europe & Spain/Portugal), contactless readers seemed to be more or less ubiquitous.

IMO you’re throwing away a free anniversary FN cert for no reason.

notquiteaff

I keep an AF-free Arrivals card from Barclays just in case and also have a European MC, but I haven’t had a recent problem with my CSR. About five years ago I had some problems, which is why I got those cards.

$95 “free” night cert, no?

I have the IHG, Marriott Boundless, Club Radisson and Hyatt cards pretty much only because of some basic status level and the free night (40k points for Club Rad). But as annual fees increase, I am no longer convinced that it is worth the hassle. More than once I have stayed at a less convenient hotel to avoid having one of those carts expire. I think Club Rad, Marriott, and perhaps Hyatt will be canceled over the course of the next year.

diesteldorf

It's funny, and a little annoying, but I had the Arrival Plus card with $95.00 annual fee and asked multiple times to downgrade to the no-fee Arrival so I keep my history and relationship with Barclays. They shot me down multiple times, but apologized and were nice about it.

Club Radisson has some nice properties overseas and it's my only card with U.S. Bank so I'll plan to keep that one if possible, just for the business relationship, though realistically they offer no-fee cards as well.

If you have the personal Marriott card, you could consider upgrading to the Ritz as it offers a lot of the same benefits as the CSR at a cheaper price, but that is a separate discussion.

Regarding the Hyatt card, I've noticed that they tend to have properties in the city center (downtown area) for Chicago, Boston, Paris, where some of the others, like Marriott, IHG only offer airport hotels or ones in the suburbs. Plus, I've just had good experiences at Hyatt, so I'll probably hang onto that card for awhile.

UVU Wolverine

I understand the sentiment, but it is also a $20/yr increase in the AF. While I could certainly still find value in the free night cert, I’m getting to the point where I find it harder to use the free nights associated with hotel credit cards. I used to be able use them several times a year when my family and I would take road trips etc.

Im starting to value simplicity more though and that means less credit cards for me.

beltway

I think you’re missing my point. You’ll get a cert shortly before your anniversary. You can cancel & keep the cert. And initial reports (unconfirmed, to be sure) state that Chase won’t whack holders of converted cards with the higher fee until their next anniversary after July 2021.

Keep your card. Get another cert at no cost. Cancel your card thereafter & avoid the $95 fee if you like. Close now & you’re leaving your own money on the table.

beltway

No. The anniversary cert for the legacy Hyatt card posts before the fee is due.

LAX

That's what I had initially planned, but mine doesn't renew until after the conversion, and there is no concrete proof that canceling the upgraded (even involuntary) card would allow me to maintain eligibility for the SUB (I did read your comments about value of SUB). Thus, it's free night vs the risk of no longer being eligible for SUB. Now, I am not sure if I would even end up applying for the new card in the future, but not being eligible would definitely deter me from applying.

LAX

notquiteaff

Sorry, I was interpreting your post as advice to keep the card “forever”. I agree that it probably would be wise to keep the card until the annual fee is due.

UVU Wolverine

Ok, we’re on the same page now! I believe my anniversary is in May, but I’ll have to double check. Thanks for the info!

xfisgsm

If we allow the card to convert, will we receive the 5 night stay credits next year (or will the conversion year be treated like the "first year")?