Hyatt’s Devaluation Isn’t the Disaster It Looked Like

This data shows that average points prices rose between 2% and 12% across every category, but the typical price you’ll pay for a room outside of peak periods like holiday weekends stayed flat, and many high-value sweet spots that define Hyatt’s program were largely left alone.

If this is what a Hyatt devaluation looks like, the program isn’t just surviving; it’s continuing to set the standard for hotel loyalty programs.

On average, every category got more expensive by between 2% and 12%, with the largest increases in Categories 4, 7 and 8.

But the median data, which represents “typical night” pricing, paints a much rosier picture. Categories 1 and 2 show a median decrease because the new Lowest pricing tier falls below the old Off-Peak floor. There were no material changes to pricing in Categories 3 to 7, and Category 8 is the only median price increase.

This makes sense. Hyatt’s new award chart added Upper and Top tiers that only kick in on the priciest nights. Those high-end nights push the average up across every category, but they don’t move the median because most nights still price at the same standard rate they always did.

That’s why average costs rose between 2% and 12% in every category while the median held flat for most of them. It’s not that the whole chart got more expensive, it’s that the ceiling got higher.

Gondola’s data found that the biggest hit came from the 129 standard properties (excluding all-inclusives) that changed categories at the same time the new award chart was rolled out, rather than award chart changes. Those properties now cost 36% more points per night on average, or about 3,100 extra points, and the damage looks different depending on how you measure it.

Midmarket brands like Hyatt Place and Hyatt House saw the largest percentage increase in award-night pricing, but that’s due to scale. A property moving from Category 1 to Category 2 nearly doubles the floor price of a stay, but the overall price is still relatively low compared to fancier properties. The largest raw-point increases were at premium properties priced at the top end of the award chart.

But that hasn’t happened.

Gondola looked at a subset of 50 properties where you could get above 2.5 cents each for your Hyatt points before the award chart changed. Across those properties, an average night increased slightly from 11,913 points per night to 12,122 points (a 0.3% increase). But when you look at median redemption value, which compares the number of points to the cash rate of a stay, there was no change.

Among the 1,078 properties that Gondola reviewed, there are still 163 properties where your points are on average worth more than 2.5 cents each. Most surprising to me is that the list still includes some popular high-end aspirational properties, including Park Hyatts in Paris, Milan, the Maldives and St. Kitts. Properties with the best average redemption rates are shown below.

The practical takeaway is that the math hasn’t changed as dramatically as I had feared. If you’re eyeing a Hyatt redemption, check whether your target property changed categories. If it didn’t, your points are worth roughly what they were with the old award chart.

Sure, average costs went up, and the properties that changed categories took a real hit. But the typical night at most Hyatt properties costs about the same as it did before May 20. The new Upper and Top pricing tiers raise the ceiling on peak dates without touching the floor.

We’re still calculating the new median value of Hyatt points (previously 1.8 cents) to see if it’s changed, but overall, what I’m seeing is reassuring. Hyatt points remain the strongest currency in hotel loyalty.

Top photo courtesy of Hyatt.

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