Hyatt’s loyalty program announced a fundamental overhaul of its reward table in February. Unlike Hilton, IHG, and others, the program continues to use fixed price bands. However, in the future, there will be five seasons instead of the previous three. Within the predefined categories, hotels will become up to 67% more expensive when booking a night during the peak season.
Until now, only the month of May had been mentioned for these changes. Hyatt has now clarified the details: the new system applies to bookings made from May 20, 2026. As if that weren’t enough, the annual revision of point categories will take place on the same day. This will see 112 hotels move to more expensive categories, while 24 will become cheaper. Simultaneously, Germany is losing one of the last three remaining Category 1 hotels.
New Seasonal Points System Applies From May 20
Back in February, Hyatt announced some details regarding the new points system. Each hotel will define five seasons, which will determine the rates for award nights. In the future, the maximum cost for a night will be 75,000 points instead of the current 45,000.
Below, you will find the current award chart on the left and the new one on the right:
For example, hotels in the cheapest Category 1 currently cost between 3,500 and 6,500 points, depending on the season. In the future, this range will change to between 3,000 and 9,000 points. In other categories, the maximum increase is even more significant, reaching up to 67%.
Read more about this development in the following post:
New Categories for 136 Hotels
This year once again sees a large number of hotels changing categories. You can find an overview of all hotels on the Hyatt website:
A total of 112 hotels are moving up at least one category, while 24 hotels are becoming cheaper. However, for those decreasing in category, the supposed price advantage on your preferred date might evaporate due to the new seasonal system.
In Europe, the following devaluations (price increases) will occur:
- Hotels:
- Me and All Hotel Ulm
: Category 1 → 2 - Story Hotel Stockholm North
: Category 1 → 2 - Hyatt Place Rouen
: Category 1 → 2 - Hyatt Centric Malta
: Category 2 → 3 (since February 2026) - Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki
: Category 2 → 3 - Grand Hyatt Athens : Category 3 → 4
- Hyatt Regency Lisbon
: Category 4 → 5 - Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid
: Category 4 → 5 - The Standard Ibiza : Category 6 → 7
- Hôtel du Louvre : Category 7 → 8
- Hotel Fluela Davos
: Category 7 → 8 - Park Hyatt London River Thames
: Category 7 → 8
- Me and All Hotel Ulm
- Resorts:1
- AluaSoul Ibiza : Category A → B
- Dreams Lanzarote Playa Dorada : Category B → C
- Dreams Jardin Tropical Resort & Spa : Category B → C
- Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa : Category B → C
- AluaSoul Ibiza
1 – Category A aligns with Hotel Category 4, thus starting at 20,000 points per night.
Options for Category 1 hotels are looking increasingly slim in Europe. Starting in May, there will be only four left across the entire continent (Hyatt House Eschborn, Lindner Frankfurt Höchst, Lindner Bratislava, and Hyatt Place Krakow). At the beginning of 2024, there were more than 20 European hotels in the lowest points category, including many in Germany.
Only one hotel in Europe is moving down a category:
- Hyatt Place London City East : 4 → 3
- Hyatt Place London City East : 4 → 3
Existing Bookings Not Affected
Due to the double devaluation (new award chart and category shifts), it may be wise to redeem existing points by May 19, especially since award nights can usually be canceled until shortly before arrival. Existing bookings will remain valid under the original terms.
If a hotel changes category and becomes cheaper, Hyatt will even automatically refund the point difference. However, this is quite unlikely as nearly everything is becoming more expensive.
Source: Hyatt | via The Mile Lion