Compare the Features and Benefits of World of Hyatt Credit Card and
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

For World of Hyatt fans, the World of Hyatt Credit Card is easily worth its $99 annual fee. Just the annual free night earned on each cardmember anniversary can provide that much value. Plus, cardholders will get automatic Discoverist World of Hyatt elite status with the ability to earn even higher elite status levels by spending on the card.

Not surprisingly, the Hyatt Credit Card offers bonus points on Hyatt stays. Cardholders earn 4X bonus points on Hyatt stays. Add in the 5X base points you earn as a World of Hyatt member and 10% elite status bonus points from Hyatt Discoverist status, and cardholders earn at least 9.5x World of Hyatt points per dollar spent at Hyatt properties.

Bonus points aren’t just limited to your Hyatt purchases. World of Hyatt Credit Card holders earn 2 Hyatt bonus points per dollar spent in the following categories: local transit and commuting; dining out at restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops; flights purchased directly from the airline; and fitness club and gym memberships. All other eligible purchases earn 1x Hyatt points.

Although Discoverist elite status is the bottom tier in the World of Hyatt program, it still offers valuable benefits like waived resort fees on free night awards, premium internet, preferred room upgrade, 2 pm late checkout, and bonus points when flying American Airlines.

But you don’t have to be content with Discoverist tier status. You can use the World of Hyatt Credit Card to earn even higher elite status in the World of Hyatt program. Each calendar year, World of Hyatt Credit Card cardholders will start with five qualifying night credits. Then you’ll earn two qualifying night credits for every $5,000 in purchases every calendar year.

Another reason to spend on the World of Hyatt Credit Card is to earn free night awards. Like many co-branded hotel cards, cardholders get one free night certificate every cardmember anniversary. However, World of Hyatt Credit Card account holders can also earn an extra free night certificate by spending $15,000 in a calendar year.

That means cardholders will get a total of two free nights and 11 qualifying night credits each year they spend $15,000 on the World of Hyatt Credit Card. That puts you more than one-third of the way to World of Hyatt Explorist status.

These free nights can are limited to Category 1-4 Hyatt properties. While that’s somewhat limiting, you still have plenty of options for redeeming your Hyatt free nights. For example, you can redeem your free night certificates at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay — a waterside Category 3 hotel that averages $266 per night.

World of Hyatt Credit Card holders are protected when traveling with extensive travel protections like trip delay reimbursement, lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, and travel accident insurance. Plus, the World of Hyatt Credit Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

Plus, you’ll get benefits from several partners. Get up to $10 in statement credits each month toward GoPuff purchases through December 2023. Plus, get lower service fees when you use DoorDash by enrolling to get one complimentary year of DashPass through December 2024.

While there are plenty of travel rewards enthusiasts that want to earn points and miles with a trendy new credit card, the Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card is made for others that just want to earn a free trip with a few fees and hassles as possible. It also offers 1.5 points per dollar spent on all purchases, and those points are worth one cent each as statement credits towards any travel or dining purchases. Points can also be used to pay for baggage fees in addition to other travel expenses such as flights, hotels, vacation packages, and dining/takeout purchases. (Most people would assume the credits are only towards travel so it’s nice that Bank of America includes the statement credit to be applied against dining purchases.

But the best value is offered to Bank of America Preferred Rewards members who can earn a 25%, 50% or 75% bonus, depending on their status within the program. Those with top status can earn as much as 2.62 points per dollar, which is truly exceptional for Preferred Rewards members. These points never expire so long as you account remains open.

Best of all, there’s no annual fee for this card, and no foreign transaction fees imposed on purchases made outside the U.S., so you don’t have to worry about that when traveling.

Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card vs. Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card

Editor’s Note: It’s a question I had, so I thought you might too. The primary differences are that the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card has no foreign transaction fees but redeeming your points is slightly limited in that they can only be redeemed against travel and dinning purchases whereas the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card has no limitations on cashing out your points for cash, but does charge a foreign transaction fee. So, they are pretty similar, but you would choose this one if you travel internationally and probably choose the Unlimited if you don’t leave the USA.