By MTM in hyatt — 26 Feb 2026

Thoughts on the Hyatt award chart updates

Many other blogs have already covered their response to the World of Hyatt changes announcement and the changes to the award chart, but I think many have over-reacted.

Details

Most of the blogs I've seen have focused on so many wrong things.

#1 the median number of points required

the median number of points ("Moderate") increasing over the existing level. Yes, it increased, but many fail to mention the Lowest level is less than the existing Off-Peak.

As an example, for Cat 1, Moderate is 5K and will become 6K. Off-Peak is 3.5K and Lowest is now 3K. The Lowest requires less points up to Cat 6.

#2 Hyatt is pretending to not be dynamic pricing

Some blogs also got into the discussion of Hyatt becoming dynamic pricing like Marriott. This is nonsense. Hyatt is also dynamic in that not all nights require the same amount of points and currently already has 3 redemption levels per category and adjusts accordingly. Marriott just operates based on points to cash value. That is not anymore dynamic than having different points requirements.

#3 Redemptions are more expensive under the new chart

This is also nonsense by other blogs. Introducing more redemption levels per category does benefit the loyalty member just as much as it can penalize. Moderate is at the median, and the maximum points decrease is the same as the increase. e.g. At Cat 1, Lowest is 3K lower than Moderate, and Top is 3K higher than Moderate.

As most blogs talk about points value and getting good redemption values, the additional points required for Top have minimal impact to the loyalty member. Hyatt is not saying the points charts are resulting in pricing changes, so the points redemption mechanics are the same as before; use points if a better deal than cash. Pay cash if not a good deal using points.

Sure, Hyatt hasn't said much about how it will work, but it does sound promising there is some family pooling type of mechanism.

#5 Hyatt is not for the points crowd

Fact: Hyatt rooms cost more than Marriott or Hilton on average. Hyatt's CEO has publicly said that in interviews. Hyatt is not targeting the crowd that targets status as much as Marriott or Hilton, which is why you don't get a Hyatt top tier status via a credit card with free breakfast and lounge like Marriott and Hilton.

Fact: Hyatt requires you to "work" harder by putting Globalist at 60 nights. Going from 50 nights (Marriott Platinum) to 60 nights is a bigger jump in commitment than going from say 10 to 20 nights. Not that many people are willing to spend that much time away from home and family.

Fact: Points are a plus for Hyatt fans given room costs are more than Marriott and Hilton. Hyatt fans care less about redemption points and more about the service quality, breakfast quality and of course the average room size, which is larger than Marriott.

Conclusion

The new updates offer better points redemptions in some cases. Hyatt's goal is for you to redeem points, which are an accounting liability on the books. It's not primarily for you to get a better deal, which is subjective depending on the loyalty member.