Though the noise has died down a bit on the new World of Hyatt card, it isn’t because the card is not still an awesome get – for anyone, not just elites! There are so many things to like about the new World of Hyatt card and there is one thing in particular that has been mentioned in many of the posts I have read (including ones I have written) but I wanted to highlight it because I see it as an excellent, thoughtful move in the bonus category for spending.
Hyatt’s New Credit Card Made a Smart, Thoughtful Move in the Bonus Category
I am not going to rehash everything that is great about the new World of Hyatt card. Instead, you could view those previous posts here:
- Overview of the new World of Hyatt Card
- 3 Reasons the new World of Hyatt Card is the Best Hotel Card
- Should You Upgrade to the New World of Hyatt Card?
- Who Should Upgrade to the New World of Hyatt Card?
So, here are the bonus categories for spending:
- 4X points on spending at Hyatt properties
- 2X on Airfare, taxis, mass transit, tolls and ride-share services
- 2X at Restaurants, cafés and coffee shops
- 2X at Fitness club and gym memberships
What I want to highlight is how Chase and Hyatt really went out there a bit on that last bonus category – 2x Hyatt points for spending at fitness clubs and for gym memberships.
Why This Bonus Category Is a Smart Move
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A Niche Use with Set-and-Forget Ability
For far too long, credit card issuers have been content with rolling out cards that had cookie cutter spending categories – restaurants, travel, gas stations, office supply stores, shipping, advertising, supermarkets, pharmacies, etc. True, the bulk of spending by Americans on credit cards does exist in those categories, but it is definitely time to branch out a bit and market some bonus spending for more niche categories.
US Bank made a nice move with their Altitude Reserve card by allowing the earning of 3 points per dollar on purchases made with mobile wallets. Barclays made a good move with their Uber card in allowing 2% back on online purchases.
It is thinking like this that could really work a credit card into the wallet and use of the market of consumers that exist today. Now more than ever, people set and forget credit cards for repeat transactions like gym memberships. Things like this are not going to be a scaleable category (I mean, it is not like you are going to go to everyone in the office to get their gym memberships on your card every month!) but it is a category that we typically put a credit card on file for and forget it.
Perfect for the Fitness Market
Hyatt wants their card to be that card that is used for things like fitness clubs and gym memberships. While some are on the cheaper side like Planet Fitness, there are many clubs that cost quite a bit more in monthly membership fees. These fees can really add up in bonus points for people using their Hyatt credit card.
Other Great Bonus Categories for Future Use?
I am not sure how these things are all exactly coded but I could see other useful ones being things like automotive insurance, utility bills, kennels, Netflix/entertainment, etc. People are paying for these things all the time and they are not categories that people are going to really be able to game for points so they are ripe for an issuer to offer a bonus on this spend.
It Fits In Hyatt’s New Focus
The new World of Hyatt program has definitely made it a point that they intend on highlighting fitness and well-being for members. This means that their new category bonus fits perfectly in with their focus point. This is perfect for the customers that may really embrace this with Hyatt and it gives Hyatt one more way to push this vision throughout their products.
I would love to see this expand even further. There are no cards that offer bonuses on things like fitness/race event fees. It would be awesome to have a credit card that earns me bonus points on a marathon fee (some of which can get pretty pricey).
Takeaway
In the end, I really like the direction Hyatt and Chase have taken with their new credit card. I think they have ticked a lot of the right boxes and things like this new category bonus is just one of those boxes that show they are moving ahead with focus and doing it in a smart way.
At the end of the day, this bonus category will likely not earn most of us a free Hyatt night over the course of a year, but it could definitely get us closer to one! For fitness clubs and gyms, the Hyatt card is a clear winner.
