Why I’m Canceling My Chase Hyatt Card
A lot of bloggers have said that the Chase Hyatt credit card is one of the cards to keep and pay the annual fee on every year because the card offers a free anniversary night certificate redeemable for a category 1-4 Hyatt property for an annual fee of $75.
Since the annual fee just posted on my account, I was forced to think about whether this made sense for me. Even though paying $75 for a night at a category 4 Hyatt property makes sense in comparison to paying the cash rate at many hotels, that’s more than I’d typically spend on a single night since I’m often content skimping on lodging and doing things like staying at capsule hotels or using Airbnb. The card does offer double points on restaurants and some travel expenses and has no foreign transaction fees, which is nice given that I no longer have a Chase Sapphire Preferred.
But then I realized that all of this thought process was irrelevant. It makes almost no sense for me to keep the credit card given that I regularly apply for new credit cards. Chase cards can be churned every 24 months, and you keep award night certificates earned in your Hyatt account even if you close your credit card. Thus, I can cancel my credit card right now, keep the free category 1-4 certificate that has already posted to my Hyatt account, and then reapply for the same credit card in 12 months and get two annual free nights.
Scenario 1: Keep the credit card and pay the annual fee.
October 2013 – Applied for credit card. Received 2 free night certificates and $50 statement credit.
October 2014 – Pay $75, receive 1 free night category 1-4 certificate
October 2015 – Pay $75, receive 1 free night category 1-4 certificate
etc.
End result: Pay $100 ($75 annual fee x 2 – $50 statement credit), get 2 free night certs and 2 free night cat 1-4 certs.
Scenario 2: Close the credit card and churn at next opportunity.
October 2013 – Applied for credit card. Received 2 free night certificates and $50 statement credit.
October 2014 – Close card, receive 1 free night category 1-4 certificate.
October 2015 – Apply for credit card #2. Receive 2 free night certificates and possible additional statement credit.
etc.
End result: Receive $50 (or more), get 4 free night certs and 1 free night cat 1-4 cert.
Granted, in scenario 2, there might be a slight delay in terms of when I can apply for credit card #2 since the terms do state that it should be 24 months since the last time receiving the bonus and not the last time applying for the credit card, but still, scenario 2 is strictly better for almost everyone. And while scenario 2 does require meeting another minimum spend requirement, it’s only $1000 for this credit card.
Did the exact same thing for the exact same reasons last week! Good post. I still get to keep the category 1-4 free night this year, don’t have to pay the fee, and can apply again in 12 months for another 2 unrestricted free nights!
I thought free night (As opposed to hotel points) cards can’t be churned even after 24 months
As far as I know, you can still churn free night cards. I’ve heard of successful reports for both the Chase Hyatt and Citi Hilton Reserve cards.
Good point. Never thought about that. So if I still want the free night certificate do I still need to pay this year’s annual fee and then cancel? Or cancel before the annual fee is due and I’ll still get the certificate.
Wait until the certificate posts to your Hyatt account (you can see it under your profile if you log into Hyatt’s website) and then cancel the account. You should get a refund of the annual fee if you cancel within 60 days (maybe it’s 30 now? not sure off the top of my head) of the fee posting.
Will do thanks!
WOW! Never looked at it that way. Thanks for the heads up.
I canceled the card with the same reason. Did you successfully get two free nights after 24 months? Did you use the same goldpassport number? Thanks.
I have not yet reapplied as it has not been 24 months, but others have reported success.
Stumbled on this blog. I read Chase is applying the 5/24 rule, i.e. anyone who applied for more than 5 credit cards within previous 24 months is automatically declined. Thus it’d make more sense to keep the card if you enjoy staying at Hyatt hotels.