The value of points in nearly all hotel loyalty programs has decreased significantly in recent years. And since the prices for award nights are now predominantly dynamic, these devaluations can no longer even be tracked transparently.
Now, major changes are also on the horizon for World of Hyatt. While the program is not switching directly to dynamic pricing, two devaluations will take effect simultaneously starting May 20, 2026. These have the potential to significantly reduce the maximum value per point:
- New Award Chart with 5 Seasons: Hyatt’s current award chart uses Off-peak, Standard, and Peak seasons. These are clearly defined for all hotels. In the future, there will be 5 seasons with varying prices. In the best-case scenario, you will save about 13% compared to the old award chart; in the worst-case scenario, it will be 67% more expensive.
- Annual Category Adjustments: Starting May 20, 112 hotels will move up by (at least) one price category. 24 hotels will drop in category. Combined with the changes in point 1, all these hotels will become even more expensive.
You can read more about the individual changes here:
Hyatt has not yet communicated exactly which dates will fall into the most expensive season. However, in almost all cases, it is likely to become more expensive rather than cheaper. Even when looking at the middle season, we are talking about an average increase of 20% to 25% across all categories.
If you still have Hyatt points sitting in your account, you should try to redeem them by Tuesday, May 19, at the latest. If you realize later that you don’t need the stay, you can usually still cancel for free up to 1–2 days before your planned arrival.