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The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card (See rates and fees) is getting new Hyatt benefits. And the release detailing this hints at an extended credit card deal between Hyatt and Chase.
- More Hyatt brands and hotels will participate in Chase’s The Edit, where Sapphire Reserve’s points are worth 2 cents apiece towards stays and still earn Hyatt points and status credit and qualify for status benefits.
Hyatt will…continue to increase the number of luxury and premium brands, such as Park Hyatt and Alila, participating in The Edit by Chase Travel.
- Cardholders who spend $75,000 per year will receive Hyatt’s mid-tier Explorist status starting mid-next year.
World of Hyatt Explorist status will be added as a benefit for top spending Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve for Business cardmembers beginning in the middle of 2026.
This is going to make Sapphire Reserve even nicer for Hyatt stays, especially stacked with the crd’s The Edit credit – up to $500 annually for prepaid hotel stays of at least two consecutive nights booked through the platform using the card. Starting January 1, 2026, the credit can be used in two $250 increments throughout the year, rather than being limited to once in each half of the year.
Cardmembers spending $75,000 in a calendar year on the card already receive:
- Southwest A-List Status: which means free preferred seat at time of booking, and extra legroom seats within 48 hours; priority boarding; free checked bag; priority check-in.
- IHG One Rewards Diamond Status: which is their top tier, but less valuable than Hyatt’s top tier so mid-tier status makes sense here.
- $500 Southwest credit: for bookings through Chase’s portal.
- $250 Shops at Chase credit: where you can buy things like Tumi bags and Aesop products.
Adding Hyatt status here is a win for those doing significant spend on their Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Although Chase and Hyatt did not say this explicitly, I read their release as saying that these additions are part of an extended co-brand agreement. Chase and Hyatt last renewed their credit card partnership in 2017, and the next year launched the current version of the World of Hyatt Credit Card. The release says,
The impact to adjusted EBITDA recognized by Hyatt related to the economics of the credit card programs and similar third-party relationships is expected to be approximately $50 million in 2025 and more than double to approximately $105 million in 2027, with anticipated continued growth in future years. Hyatt will receive upfront pre-tax cash totaling $47 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, which will be recognized within franchise and other fees over the life of the agreement.
This is the sort of incremental revenue I’d expect from a new agreement, so I think we can assume that the agreement has been renewed – and that we might see a product refresh in the next couple of years.
Will the Edit pricing on these Hyatt properties be competitive with direct rates?
The CSR Edit credit is generally useless because prices are not competitive with direct bookings.
Many of us have status with Hyatt already anyway, but, at least they’re trying to do something more, I guess. Still gotta spend that $75K/year on CSR; glad they included everything already spent (before October 26) for this year’s tally.
This continues the trend of replacing repeat customers with holders of expensive credit cards. Southwest gives top credit card holders almost everything that their top repeat customers get.
Nice pic from the Park Hyatt St Kitts! It’s an awesome property.
Re Chase’s The Edit program, I have been getting fantastic value from the program. I am no longer reliant on Hyatt for my outsized points value for luxury stays, but welcome more Hyatt properties in the program. I simply rebook the hotel as prices drop and often pay about the same number of points via Chase travel portal’s point boost that I would pay via Hyatt. Sometimes Chase is less. For me, I dumped globalist status for 2026, the first time in 4 years.
This means Bilt will be dropped as a Hyatt transfer partner in 2026… just like Citi-AA’s expanded partnership dumped Barkclay’s
@Travel Hacktivist — Wise prediction. I suspect BILT 2.0 is actually the beginning of the end for itself.
Huh, if the Chase Sapphire Reserve gets me Explorist status, why keep the Chase Hyatt credit card?
I don’t know, I read this as Chase paying Hyatt a bunch of money to “pointsboost!” it’s sub-par Edit program and to try and offer CSR members who are running for the hills “something” to get excited about. Get Marriott and Hilton Gold with Amex Platinum, or spend $75k to get Explorist with Hyatt? Those statuses are basically circling around the same square. If there was an accelerated path to Globalist, that would be valuable!
Bottom line, nothing for anyone other than Hyatt to get excited about here. Chase knows it has work to do, and I’m not sure it really fills much of a gap. The problem with the CSR is they changed the underlying fundamentals and it is now a much less desirable card.