Brutal: Hyatt Will Overhaul its Award Chart, Raising Rates Up to 67%

It's been a rollercoaster of a week for World of Hyatt fans … and the ride isn't over yet. Days after a since-debunked leak about big, bad changes began swirling on Reddit, Hyatt on Wednesday confirmed some major award chart changes – maybe the biggest ever? – taking effect sometime in May. 

And the reality might be worse than the rumors.

Let's start with the bad news: In two months or so, Hyatt is scrapping its current off-peak, standard, and peak pricing in favor of a a five-tier pricing system across its eight existing hotel categories, with a far wider range of award rates from the slowest to the busiest times. It's not full-blown dynamic pricing in the vein of Marriott and IHG … but maybe dynamic-lite. 

Worse yet, award rates are going up (almost) across the board – sometimes drastically: 

• Many standard award stays at the fanciest Park Hyatts or other top-tier Category 8 will jump from 40,000 points a night to 55,000 points – nearly a 38% increase.
• The priciest stays during the busiest times at those same properties goes from 45,000 points to as much as 75,000 points a night – a 67% jump!
• Even if you're not splurging that much, there are some big increases across Hyatt's portfolio whether you're booking a standard award stay and especially during the busier periods.
• To top it all off, Hyatt isn’t guaranteeing that properties will have any nights available at the low end of each category – nor capping how many nights they can charge the highest rates.

This new tiered pricing (with higher rates) will apply across Hyatt's entire portfolio, including suites, a growing collection of all-inclusive properties, and ultra-luxe Miraval wellness resorts.

The silver lining? These changes won't kick in until sometime in May, so there's still two-plus months to lock in reservations at the most sought-after properties at the current rates – book ASAP before availability disappears. Hyatt also teased a couple of genuinely customer-friendly “enhancements” that are coming sometime later this year: Online point transfers to other members (no more paper forms!) and earlier access to award night availability for elites and travelers with *world of hyatt card*. 

There's (obviously) a lot to unpack here – so read on for a full breakdown and analysis about what's changing, and what it means for travelers. 

Hyatt's Award Chart Changes

On paper, Hyatt is the rare hotel chain that still uses an award chart – the cheat sheet for what a “free” night will cost when redeeming points – and they're mighty proud of it.

“I know how important having a published award chart is to our members and to what makes World of Hyatt so special,” Laurie Blair, Hyatt's senior vice president of global marketing and loyalty, said during a media event previewing the changes. “We are committed to maintaining that published award chart.”

But in practice, this new system moves Hyatt ever closer to the likes of Marriott, IHG, and Hilton in using dynamic (supply-and-demand) pricing to determine its award pricing. With the introduction of a new “lowest” to “top” demand-based pricing model, Hyatt went from 24 different price points to 40 across its portfolio of hotels.

So yes, there's still an award chart … but there'll also be a lot more wiggle room for pricing variation starting in May. Take a look at Hyatt's “evolved” award chart for yourself to see what I mean – click to see a larger version!

In every single category, a night could cost double (or in some cases, triple!) the price depending on which demand level it falls into. Only at the lower end – during the slowest of travel period – will you find some savings.

Whether you'll see a “lowest” award rate or the priciest “top” rate will vary more from property to property than Hyatt's current peak- and off-peak pricing in place since 2021. Once those levels are set across the calendar, Hyatt says they won't change. 

The changeover will happen sometime in May – Hyatt doesn't have a final launch date just yet but will follow up to confirm in the coming weeks. And fortunately, Hyatt stressed that these new award rates will be phased in throughout the year – especially for those priciest “upper” and “top” redemptions that might give some travelers sticker shock right off the bat.

Still, this will be a major blow to the value and predictability of what is easily the world's most beloved hotel program. It might not be true dynamic pricing, but if the shoe fits…

Meanwhile, here's a closer look at Hyatt's current award chart – and keep in mind, you can still book properties at these rates until May. 

There's now a 40,000 point gap between the “lowest” (cheapest) Category 8 night and the “top” (most expensive) awards. So while Hyatt didn't technically add any new award categories with this looming overhaul, they still more or less did by increasing the ceiling within the existing categories. 

Luckily, free night awards won't be impacted by these changes. That means the annual Category 1-4 award you get with the World of Hyatt Credit Card – or through Hyatt's unique “Brand Explorer” program – can still be used at any hotel in these categories, no matter the price it's commanding in points. The same goes for more valuable Category 1-7 awards that can be earned as a milestone reward and even Hyatt's Ultimate Free Night Awards. 

Hyatt handles the award chart for its all-inclusive properties a bit differently. As its portfolio of resorts has grown over the years, Hyatt implemented a completely separate award chart, with Category A through Category F: The further down the alphabet you get, the more points it will cost.

Here's a look at Hyatt's current (soon-to-be outdated) all-inclusive award chart:

As things stand today, you'll pay somewhere between 15,000 and 50,000 points per night for a standard all-inclusive award night. But in May, those prices are going up by approximately 20% to 40% across the board, with “moderate” demand nights ranging from 20,000 to 65,000 points – and the “top” demand Category F properties climbing to a whopping 85,000 points per night. Hyatt has said current standard award rates may not map over exactly to these higher “moderate” rates, but some (if not most) certainly will.

Finally, Hyatt gave its priciest Miraval Resorts award chart a five-star five-tiered makeover as well. A word of warning: You may want to cover your eyes before seeing what some of these nights will soon cost.

In fairness, Miraval Resorts typically start at $1,500 per night when paying cash … and only go up from there. These changes are actually the mildest of the bunch – but even so, those are some big numbers on the upper end. 

The faintest silver lining in all this news? “Lowest” demand Category 1-3 properties could get a little cheaper. Off-peak nights used to bottom out at 3,500 to 9,000 points per night in those categories. But with these changes, you may see prices ranging from 3,000 to 8,000 points per night instead (depending on the category). Heavy emphasis on may … and I'm not holding my breath. 

With prices going up (almost universally) across the board, it's hard to paint this news as anything but a big loss for Hyatt fans. There will still be deals, but these higher award rates will eliminate some of the outsized value travelers love from their World of Hyatt points. 

More Pain is Coming with a Spring Award Chart Shuffle

The big unknown in all of this is Hyatt's annual award chart reshuffling. That's still coming too.

Around this time every year, Hyatt releases a 100-to-200-strong list of properties on the move. Some go down in price, making them cheaper to book – but most go up, making them more costly. Hyatt says the full list of hotels on the move will be released sometime in April – but if you've been saving up Hyatt points (or Chase Ultimate Rewards points) for a dream redemption, we wouldn't wait around to find out.

So far, Hyatt has only announced a handful of properties that will be moving categories (effective immediately):

• Five hotels will move up one category: Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach, Hyatt Centric Malta, Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort, Hyatt Place San Antonio-Northwest/Medical Center, and Grand Hyatt Incheon
• One hotel will move up two categories: Grand Hyatt Grand Cayman Resort & Spa (opening in 2026)
• One hotel will move down a category: The Barnett, which is part of the JdV by Hyatt brand 

While we don't have a crystal ball, it will likely make the most sense to start at the top of Hyatt's award chart and work your way down when deciding what you should lock in now before prices go up. Even after years of tweaks and price increases, there's still so much value to be had at the top end of Hyatt's award chart that it's hard not to assume these hotels will be hardest hit. Think the Park Hyatts, Andaz, and Alilas of the world – at least those that aren't already at the highest Category 8.

Hyatt typically gives travelers a three- or four-week window to lock in award reservations before these changes take effect. But that always sets off a stampede to book properties on the chopping block, meaning award space tends to disappear quickly. 

Combined with the looming expansion to a five-tier award chart (with even higher rates at the top end), you'd be wise to lock in any award stays sooner rather than later. It's unlikely many of them will be getting cheaper in the months ahead…

Other ‘Enhancements' Coming Soon

Alright, enough doom and gloom. Hyatt is making two genuinely positive changes later this year.

First, members will finally be able to transfer points online. That might not sound revolutionary, but it’s a long-overdue fix: Right now, sharing points requires filling out a paper form, then scanning and emailing it to Hyatt … or worse yet, mailing it. Moving this process online should make it far easier to pool points with a partner or family member for a big redemption.

That said, the details are still up in the air. When will it go live? Will there be any caps or restrictions on these online transfers? Will transfers clear immediately? We don't know yet. 

Hyatt is also giving those with status – Explorists, Globalists, and Lifetime Globalists – as well as World of Hyatt credit cardholders, earlier access to award availability: another month to book before everyday travelers. Since award nights currently open about 12 months in advance, this will effectively create a 13-month booking window for eligible members. That extra month could be huge at high-demand properties – think peak ski weeks or bucket-list resorts – that is, if you can stomach these new, higher rates.

Again, it's unclear when this change will go live. 

Still, easier point transfers and a head start on booking are both welcome upgrades in a slew of bad news.

Bottom Line

Hyatt is blowing up its award chart in May, ditching peak and off-peak pricing for a new five-tier system that will push award rates dramatically higher – with some top-tier hotels jumping as much as 67% and many others climbing 20% to 40%. You can still lock in current rates for now, but this stands to be one of the biggest devaluations World of Hyatt has ever seen.

To soften the blow, Hyatt also announced new online point transfers and an extended 13-month booking window for elites and cardholders will be coming later this year. But those modest improvements are a small consolation prize as award stays across much of the portfolio are about to get a lot more expensive.