TERRIBLE NEWS: Hyatt Credit Card Free Nights Killed in Favor of 40,000 Points

Holy crap. If you don’t like bad news, stop reading now.

I’ve just been notified that the Hyatt Credit card is removing its 2 free nights bonus offer for getting the card, in favor of 40,000 Hyatt points.

From their corporate communications folks:

I wanted to give you the heads up that effective June 29, all new Hyatt Credit Card members will now earn 40,000 Bonus Points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This offer will replace the current new cardmember bonus of 2 free nights. Benefits of this change include:

• Flexible Redemption: New cardmembers have been asking for flexible redemption options and this change reflects that. Cardmembers will be able to use the points however they like, including free nights, spa and dining, suite upgrades, and airline point transfer.
• No Expiration Date: Points don’t expire as long as the account is open. Cardmembers can also combine the 40,000 Bonus Points with their current World of Hyatt points.
• Free Nights Start at Just 5,000 Points:  For example, with 40,000 Bonus Points, cardmembers can redeem for as many as 8 nights at the Hyatt Place Los Cabos or 3 nights at the Hyatt Regency Miami. There are also no blackout dates.

This is terrible news, as 2 free nights could have been used for Category 7 properties which run as high as 30,000 points a night. Under the 40,000 point new total, you’re essentially “losing” 20,000 points.

I used my 2 free nights at the Park Hyatt Sydney, where room rates run in the low $1000s on many nights, so it’s an excellent value.

I’m curious as to why they are marketing this change as helping to make things more flexible – the old 2 free nights could have been used so long as a standard room was available, so this new change doesn’t seem much more flexible at all. In fact, it’s the same.

Grab the Hyatt Credit Card before June 29th – you can do so here.

Well, this sucks.