Last Updated on February 22, 2026 by Melissa Vines

The best way that we’ve earned Hyatt points in the past is by earning Chase Ultimate Rewards® and transferring them to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. With the recent changes to Chase’s Ink application language and tighter approvals overall, earning Hyatt points isn’t as easy as it once was. But here’s the good news:

If you’re strategic in 2026, you can still earn a TON of World of Hyatt points. You just have to be a little more intentional.

Here’s exactly how I’m earning Hyatt Points in 2026 and on.

Why World of Hyatt is still the best hotel program in 2026

Before we talk strategy, let’s talk about why this program is still worth the effort.

World of Hyatt remains my favorite hotel loyalty program because:

• They still publish an award chart, and the value is unmatched
• You can easily get 2 cents per point or more
• Standard rooms are easily bookable with points
• They have incredible luxury, all-inclusive, and family-friendly properties
• Suites upgrade awards actually work, and suites are bookable with points
• Zero resort fees when booked with points
• Hyatt Globalist is the best hotel status

Unlike other programs that have gone fully dynamic, Hyatt still has hotel categories. That means you can plan ahead. You know what a Category 4 costs. You know what a Category 7 costs. In other words, you know exactly how many points you will need for a redemption.

And their footprint keeps growing with new brands and brands we already love, like Alila, Andaz, Park Hyatt, Thompson, Secrets, Dreams, and more. If you’re a family traveler like I am and often book two rooms, your points will stretch further than any other program.

How to sign up for World of Hyatt

If you don’t already have a World of Hyatt account, you can sign up for free.

Go to Hyatt’s website, create a loyalty account, and download the World of Hyatt app. You’ll earn points on paid stays, dining, and partner activity, and you’ll be ready to receive transferred points instantly.

Now let’s talk about how to earn them.

The best way to earn Hyatt points in 2026

The primary way to earn Hyatt points has always been transferring flexible bank points. That has not changed. What has changed is how easy it is to get those bank welcome bonuses due to new rules and limitations.

Here are the main transfer partners for Hyatt:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• Bilt Rewards

Currenly both transfer 1:1 to World of Hyatt. However, moving forward, you may need to hold a higher Bilt status to keep the transfer ratio at 1:1 for Bilt Rewards. That means 100,000 Chase points = 100,000 Hyatt points.

With Chase tightening approval language on Ink cards and more pop-up denials happening, we have to diversify.

Here are the ways I’m planning to earn points moving forward.

If you decide to apply for any of these cards, please head to my best credit card offers page or reach out to me via Instagram.

1) Chase Sapphire Preferred® and Chase Sapphire Reserve®

New for 2026! You can now hold both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® and Chase Sapphire Reserve® at the same time. So if you have one but not the other, I’d recommend opening the one you currently don’t hold and earning the bonus by meeting the minimum spend.

My plan this year is to open the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and go after the elevated 125,000 point welcome offer if available. Yes, the annual fee is high. But when you factor in:

• The annual travel credit
• Restaurant credits
• Lounge access
• Strong travel protections

It also earns 4x on flights and hotels booked directly with the airline or hotel. You can earn 8x the points when booking through Chase Travel℠. It earns 3x on dining worldwide.

It can absolutely make sense for at least one year, but you might find that you love this card. My husband opened this card last year, and I’ve loved using the restaurant credit and travel credit. If, after a year, you decide it’s not for you, you can downgrade or close it.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is still a fantastic option, too, especially if you want a lower annual fee and it earns 3x on dining worldwide and also 3x on online groceries.

If you decide to apply for any of these cards, please head to my best credit card offers page or reach out to me via Instagram.

2) Using the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for dining worldwide

When we travel, both within the U.S. and internationally, I plan to prioritize using my Sapphire for dining since earning 3x points really adds up, and those points transfer directly to Hyatt. I’ll also use it for restaurants at home for the same reason.

When I’m not focused on meeting a welcome bonus, I’ll make sure to use Sapphire for online grocery orders to earn 3x there as well. That said, I may still grab my American Express Gold card for 4x at grocery stores simply because it’s easy and already part of my routine.

3) Chase Ink Cash® at Office Supply Stores

The Chase Ink Cash® will always be in my wallet because it earns 5x at office supply stores up to $25,000 each year. I will continue to make regular stops at the office supply stores to earn 5x on purchases. While these points are cashback on their own, they become transferable to Hyatt points when paired with a Sapphire or Ink Preferred account.

Related: How to Turn Ink Business Cash® and Ink Business Unlimited® Cashback Points Into Transferrable Points

4) Chase Ink Business Preferred®for earning Hyatt points

In the past, many people were able to earn multiple Ink bonuses across different businesses because there was no strict lifetime language. That has changed. Now you may receive a pop-up saying you’re not eligible for the bonus.

However, if you’ve earned the Ink Cash or Ink Unlimited bonuses but have never earned the Ink Business Preferred®, you may still be eligible.

If you are not eligible, Chase typically shows a pop-up before you submit the application. So this would be a great option if you haven’t earned the bonus on this card before.

If you do have this card, keep in mind it earns 3x the points on all travel-related purchases.

If you decide to apply for any of these cards, please head to my best credit card offers page or reach out to me via Instagram.

5) The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card®or World of Hyatt Card

The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card® and World of Hyatt Card earn Hyatt points directly and help you earn elite night credits through spend. If you’re chasing Globalist as I do, the elite night earning can be very valuable. You can earn 5 elite nights for every 10,000 dollars of spend on the business card and 2 elite nights for every 5,000 dollars of spend on the personal card.

The personal card also comes with 5 elite nights, just for holding the card. Elite nights are qualifying nights that help you earn status.

And even though the business card is one of the best cards to have when trying to earn Globalist status, I have yet to get approved for this credit card. This credit card is one of the cards I plan to get for 2026, and I will have my husband apply for it, too. I’ve had the World of Hyatt personal card since early 2015, and it’s one I will always have in my wallet. It comes with an annual free night certificate valid at Category 1–4 properties, which alone can easily justify keeping the card year after year.

You can typically earn the welcome bonus once every 24 months on the business card, and because it’s a business product, it can be a great addition if you’re running any type of side business.

Related: How Almost Anyone Can Apply for a Business Card

If you decide to apply for any of these cards, please head to my best credit card offers page or reach out to me via Instagram.

6) Rakuten Shopping Portal

You can now choose to receive your Rakuten earnings as Bilt points instead of cash back. In the past, Rakuten allowed you to earn Membership Rewards points or cash back, but you needed an eligible American Express card to earn those Membership Rewards. Now there’s another powerful option. You can route your Rakuten earnings to Bilt, and then transfer those points directly to Hyatt. The best part is that you do not need a Bilt Card. You can sign up for a free Bilt loyalty account and then simply link your Bilt account to your Rakuten account.

Here’s my referral link: Get $50 off $50. Offers change frequently, so check the link to see what the current offer is.

If you don’t already have a Rakuten account, it’s free to join, and you’ll usually receive a small welcome bonus after your first qualifying purchase. Rakuten is a shopping portal where you can earn points on stuff you’re already buying just by clicking through the Rakuten offer first. Most offers are for online purchases, but there could be in-store offers too. That’s an easy way to generate extra Hyatt points for shopping you were already planning to do.

I run most of my online shopping through Rakuten. It’s especially important to watch for holiday promotions and elevated earning periods. Sometimes Rakuten will offer 15x or even 20x at certain retailers. If you time this right, you could book tours, activities, or even prepay travel experiences during those multipliers and earn a large amount of Bilt points that can later be transferred to Hyatt.

Also, keep an eye out for simple opportunities like checking account bonuses or low-cost offers that generate a high number of points. Some of these promotions make it absolutely worth participating because the return in transferable points can be significant.

7) Bilt Rewards

Bilt 2.0 has released three new credit cards. There are various options for annual fees and benefits, and may depend on your spending patterns. For earning Hyatt points, I recommend the Bilt Palladium Card that helps you earn/maintain Bilt Gold status, has a 50,000 point welcome bonus, and earns 2x on every purchase.

In the past, Bilt allowed you to earn points on eligible rent payments without paying a transaction fee. In 2026, the program expanded to mortgages. Bilt now allows you to use the card for mortgage payments and potentially earn points on those as well. That said, there are several details and limitations involved, and the program is still evolving as we learn more about how it works in practice.

There are 3 New Bilt Card Offers:

1. Bilt Blue Card

2. Bilt Obsidian Card

3. Bilt Palladium Card

Between the three offers, the Bilt Palladium Card with a welcome bonus of 50,000 Bilt points plus several hundred dollars in Bilt Cash with a minimum spend of $4,000 in 3 months is my favorite choice. Plus, with 2x on every purchase and Bilt Gold status, this will be the best option for earning Hyatt points.

8) Buying Hyatt Points

I don’t love buying points speculatively, but when Hyatt runs a 25 percent to 30 percent bonus sale, and you have a specific redemption in mind, it can absolutely make sense. Especially if you’re booking a high-end property during peak season.

If I’m booking two rooms and the math works, I’ll run the numbers, but so far, I’ve only purchased a few thousand Hyatt points just a couple of times when I was short points.

Just know that it may not be the best option for you, but it is an option when trying to reserve Hyatt points for maximum value redemptions or if you are short on points.

There is also a points + cash option that could make sense if you’re short on points. However, it’s typically a bad deal, plus I’ve heard that the resort fee is not waived when you make a points plus cash booking.

9) Earn Points through Promotions

Hyatt promotions are easy to overlook, but they’re worth registering for every time. Even if you don’t think you’ll use a specific offer, plans change, and you could end up qualifying without realizing it. Since registration is free and only takes a minute, it’s one of the simplest ways to earn extra Hyatt points.

10) Refer a Friend

Referring friends and family to your Chase or Hyatt cards can still be a great way to earn a good amount of transferable points.

Chase has lowered referral bonuses on the business cards recently from 40,000 to 20,000 points per referral, and you can now only earn referral points on business cards if the applicant is a first-time Chase business customer.

There are definitely more rules than before, and yes, it’s frustrating. But it should still be fairly simple to earn referrals on personal cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® if you have friends or family who are just getting started.

11) Dining, Spa, and Activities at Hyatt Hotels

Whenever you’re staying at a Hyatt property, charge everything you can directly to your room. Dining, spa treatments, activities, parking, and other on-property purchases often earn points when billed to your folio. If you pay separately with a card at the restaurant or spa, you may miss out on Hyatt points, so it’s always smarter to route those charges through your room and use your World of Hyatt Credit Card.

You should also explore Hyatt’s Find Experiences platform. Per Hyatt, you can:

• Earn 10 Base Points per eligible $1 USD spent when booking experiences

• Earn an additional 4 Bonus Points per eligible $1 USD spent when you book with your World of Hyatt Credit Card.

• Earn up to 30% additional Bonus Points depending on your tier status

This allows you to book curated activities, tours, wellness events, and destination experiences directly through Hyatt. Depending on the offer, you can earn bonus points or additional qualifying credit for booking through the platform instead of a third-party site. It’s especially useful for things like guided excursions, cultural experiences, or special events in major cities. If you’re already planning to book activities on a trip, checking Find Experiences first could turn something you were going to do anyway into extra Hyatt points.

12) Sapphire Reserve for Business^SM Credit Card

This newer business card from Chase launched last year and quickly became a great addition to the lineup. The welcome bonus requires a high minimum spend, but when it first debuted, the spending period stretched over six months and allowed you to earn up to 200,000 points. That’s a massive opportunity.

So far, this card does not appear to be impacted in the same way by the newer eligibility language, which makes it worth considering. If you have significant upcoming expenses or a business that can comfortably meet the required spend, this could be a powerful way to earn a large stash of transferable points.

Ways I’ll save on Hyatt Points

If cash rates are reasonable, I’ll often pay cash for the second room and save my points for a higher-value redemption. Hyatt also offers family rates at select properties that can significantly reduce the cost of a second room for kids, sometimes by close to 50 percent. Not every property participates, but it’s always worth calling or emailing the hotel after you’ve secured your first room on points to ask.

I also tend to book shorter stays at Hyatt properties. That’s something I already do because it allows us to experience more resorts while using fewer points overall. And while I love luxury properties, I may choose to reserve those higher-end stays for trips with just my husband and save more practical options for when we’re traveling with the kids.

My 2026 Hyatt earning plan

Here’s what I’m personally focusing on:

• Open the Chase Sapphire Reserve® while the elevated bonus is available
• Open the Hyatt Business Card
• Consider a Sapphire Reserve for Business^SM Credit Card if I can meet the spend
• Keep using the Chase Sapphire Preferred® for dining and groceries
• Earn 5x categories with the Chase Ink Cash®
• Consider opening the Bilt Palladium card
• Use Chase Reserve for booking flights and hotels to earn 4x the points
• Continue earning through Rakuten and moving those points to Bilt, then transferring to Hyatt

Yes, earning Hyatt points is harder than it used to be. But it’s far from impossible.

And in my opinion, World of Hyatt is still the most valuable hotel currency for families who want outsized value and predictable, affordable award pricing.

Let me know below how you’re planning to earn Hyatt points this year!

Continue Reading…

How to use your Chase Ultimate Rewards® at Hyatt Hotels and Resorts for a nearly free stay!