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Lately, I’ve been getting more use out of my credit cards’ perks than I expected when I signed up for them. Examples:
- I just filed my first trip delay claim for a ticket I paid for with my Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
- I recently took advantage of the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection benefit for the first time.
The second one is what I want to talk about. I was floored at how valuable this “hidden” benefit ended up being.
My wife and I used this perk for a little stay-cation at the Park Hyatt Chicago and ended up with a $100 credit toward a fancy dinner, free breakfast, late check-out, and a small room upgrade. Plus, we still earned Hyatt points for the stay. Although we paid cash because we wanted to take advantage of the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection perks, you could book it for free with 25,000 Hyatt points.
Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection benefits
Chase doesn’t publish a list of which cards are eligible for the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection benefits, but these are the Chase cards I have that worked:
- Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Ink Business Cash Credit Card
- Chase Freedom®
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®
The information for the Chase Freedom has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
I noticed that all of my eligible cards were either Visa Signature or Visa Signature Business cards. But I have no idea if Visa Signature cards are the only cards that will work.
Note: Although both of my Chase Freedom & Chase Freedom Unlimited cards are Visa Signature, yours may not be.
If you book through the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, you’ll get the following perks:
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Special benefit unique to each hotel (i.e. hotel credit, etc.)
- Free daily breakfast for 2
- Early check-in (if available)
- Late check-out (if available)
- Room upgrade (if available)
The special benefits I saw ranged from a welcome amenity up to a $100 hotel credit. Each of the hotel credits will have different terms or exclusions. For example, the $100 credit I received at the Park Hyatt Chicago excluded parking, dry cleaning, taxes, and gratuities. To get the benefits, you need to book through the website or with a Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection travel specialist and use your eligible Chase card to purchase your stay.
Park Hyatt Chicago review
The Park Hyatt Chicago is in a perfect location for visiting most of Chicago’s major tourist attractions. You’re less than a block away from Michigan Avenue and all the shops you could possibly want to visit. It’s only a ~15 minute or less walk from Chicago’s best museums, the Bean, the Riverwalk, and Navy Pier. And if you want to catch a game at Wrigley Field or see Chinatown, the Chicago Red Line “L” stop is only a couple of blocks away.
And the hotel is pet friendly. There was even a water bowl and dog bed next to the front desk. They allow pets under 50 pounds and charge a $100 fee for up to six nights ($100 extra for seven or more nights), but 100% of the standard fee goes to PAWS, a local no-kill shelter.
We were upgraded to a Lake View room, which I don’t think is bigger than a regular room, but comes with a nicer view.
The Lake View King room we had is listed at 550 square feet, but it felt much larger because of the long hallway you have to maneuver through when you get into your room. The bathroom had a large tub that was perfect for soaking in after a long day of sightseeing.
The mini-fridge was stocked with overpriced snacks, as expected. But I enjoyed the Keurig style espresso machine, which was a step above the typical in-room coffee pot.
By far, our favorite part of our stay was the food! The NoMi Kitchen is pricey, but it’s a top-notch restaurant. And with our free breakfast perk and $100 hotel credit, we were happy to splurge.
The duck entree I had at dinner was incredibly tender, but I was sure to pace myself and save room for dessert. You gotta finish strong!
We ended up spending more than our $100 credit covered. And it was worth every penny!
While you only receive one $100 hotel credit per stay, you can take advantage of the free breakfast-for-two benefit daily. So it can add up for longer stays.
Is the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection worth using?
One of the best parts about the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection is that you can get the perk with low (or no) annual fee cards. Even if you already have elite status with the hotel you want to stay at, the $100 credit you get at some hotels makes it worth using.
The biggest concern I have when booking a hotel is – am I getting the best price? I compared all of the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection locations in Chicago for the dates we wanted to stay. Almost all of them were the same price as booking through the hotel’s website, and a couple were even cheaper. When you’re comparing prices, remember that the prices you see on the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection search already include taxes.
Our room at the Hyatt looked like it was going to cost ~$10 more per night to book through the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection site. But when we checked out, it ended up being the same price we saw on Hyatt’s website. Not sure what happened, but I’m not complaining.
One thing you’ll be giving up with a Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection booking is you won’t be able to earn extra rewards through an online shopping portal. So be sure to include that in your math when you’re figuring out if it makes sense for you.
Overall, we got a $50 room upgrade, $100 hotel credit (used for dinner), ~$70 breakfast, and a late check-out the following day. I wouldn’t value the improved view of our room upgrade at $50 because I don’t see myself paying for that. But ~$170 in free food is a great deal! Especially when it came as a freebie on a Chase credit card!
Bottom line
The best Chase credit cards give you access to the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection. The benefits of this program largely mimic hotel elite status, but can be even better.
I used it for the first time on a recent stay-cation at the Park Hyatt Chicago. I was pleased at the wide range of perks I was able to take advantage of, including free breakfast (~$70), a $100 hotel credit (used for dinner), a room upgrade, and late check-out.
I found that the room rates on the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection site were usually the same as what you would find on the hotel’s site. But you might be giving up other discounts or shopping portal bonuses if you choose to book with the program. So take that into consideration when you’re making a decision.
Overall, the perks were well worth it for me. Have you ever used the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection to book a hotel stay? If so, I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments. And if you want to receive more posts like this one, please sign up for our email newsletter!