@jsucool76 wrote:I would say Hyatt has the most valuable sign up bonus out of ANY credit card.
2 free nights at ANY hyatt property worldwide can easily be worth over $1000
For instance, park hyatt NYC, December 24-26 would cost $1607.77(nonrefundable) or 1785.62 (refundable)
Dec 24-26 in beaver creek park hyatt - $2195.71 (nonrefundable) or $2428.57 (refundable)
Other than the Ritz cards 140k bonus (which isn't a standard thing) I'd say hyatt is the best out there. Doubtful you'll get $2000+ value from 70k marriott points.
+1 at least best signup value of any hotel card.
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@Anonymous wrote:
Ditto brclark82. Sent SM for $50 cr. don't know if it would have come automatically since I had to call and recon so I didn't technically apply under the link I followed that had the $50.
We just stayed two nights at a Hyatt. There's a Diamond Challenge Right now also that I signed up for so got an extra 1k pts per night. You get that for the first 6 nights, then if you hit 12 nights within the window, you get Diamond status. I don't see hitting the twelve, but may collect more than a couple thousand points out of it.
We actually have 7 nights planned in the next 6 weeks. I could figure out a way to get the other 5 pretty cheap. Cheap enough to outweigh their cost anyay. 
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Ditto brclark82. Sent SM for $50 cr. don't know if it would have come automatically since I had to call and recon so I didn't technically apply under the link I followed that had the $50.
We just stayed two nights at a Hyatt. There's a Diamond Challenge Right now also that I signed up for so got an extra 1k pts per night. You get that for the first 6 nights, then if you hit 12 nights within the window, you get Diamond status. I don't see hitting the twelve, but may collect more than a couple thousand points out of it.We actually have 7 nights planned in the next 6 weeks. I could figure out a way to get the other 5 pretty cheap. Cheap enough to outweigh their cost anyay.
I wish there were cheap hyatts near me so I could make the challenge worthwhile.
@icyhot wrote:
I would love this card. I have the Hilton which is nice but their reward nights require a hefty number of points. I was just excited to finally be approved for a hotel card. But all the good ones are held by Chase and they always give me a hard time.
Indeed, Chase does underwrite some of the best hotel cards (and credit cards in general, imo). Their hotel cards offer the anniversary night, as well as include some very hefty sign up bonuses. The Hyatt and IHG cards are two of my favorites, and I will have them for a long time. I've been very pleased with the redemption values for Hyatt points.
I've moved on from Starwood, and I will soon abandon Hilton once I expend the remaining points in my account.
@jsucool76 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Getting that card would have been a terrible decision for me. I'm not interested in the lower category options and what I did find appealing required 80k or more for 2 nights so even with the 70k offer it wouldnt work. Hyatt on the other handMy two nights are worth about $1900 and during the New Years holiday at a 4 star all-inclusive. Love it!
Marriott is still a nice card it just depends on how you want to use it and your preferences. Personally I would rather have two hassle free nights anywhere worldwide than deal with points.I liked the points as I paired them with the 140k from my ritz card. Between my 210k points from the signup bonus and the free cat1-4 night from my marriott card, and the cat 1-5 night from the "free nights for new members" promotion I got plenty of value =]
70k by itself isn't fantastic, but you can get decent value using it for a top tier Ritz/Edition - Rates at the miami beach edition can top $1100 a night for a standard room, and the ritz central park can top $1200/night
Easily 1.6-1.7 cents per point.
I'm a little doubtful about this. Maybe you have a more specific example, like a web-page booking that shows how this works out? In the first place, the "Rewards room" is the relatively basic room, correct? Not the penthouse. Which at the Edition New York and Miami Beach edition are $400 - $550, right? With 60,000 to 70,000 points per night, that works out to 0.6 cents to 0.78 cents per point. Better than many of the lower tier Marriott, but still a lot of points to spend on one night, even for 600 thread count sheets.
Even if the point value were 1.6-1.7 cents per point, it still presumes the cardholder wants to spend 70,000 points on one night, that they really would "save" the $1,000 they were going to spend anyway, vs a lower tier property potentially for more nights.
Hotel points and airline miles are a form of currency, just like if they were from a foreign country. So one must watch what the cardholder would spend for anyway, to get the best "value" from the points.
In the case of the Hyatt two free nights, yeah, that's a free-for-all where you want to go for the toppiest tier you can find, because it's essentially a blank check, no currency conversion needed 
