Hyatt’s Massive Points Devaluation Hurts—Here’s Exactly How My Strategy Will Change

Hyatt’s latest points devaluation means fewer outsized redemptions at top properties—here’s precisely how I’ll shift my strategy to keep getting the best possible value.

When Hyatt announced their devaluation with new award charts, they did not even attempt to spin it as good for customers. I appreciated that.

Their narrative was, basically, it’s been several years since we’ve hosed you, so there you go. But that makes staying at Hyatts and spending on their credit card less attractive since the rebates you earn are worth less. The same points just don’t go as far.

If I were them I would have paired it with positive changes on the earn side that encourage more of the kind of activity from guests that they’re after. They could have offered:

• bigger elite bonuses (globalist 30% is an industry worst) and
  
• more points for Hyatt spend on their card to make up some of the difference.

But while my reaction to this as a customer is quite negative, it should also be kept in a bit of perspective. The top award price will be 67% higher than before! But that is not at all the magnitude of the devaluation. ‘It could have been much worse’ and there are still reasons at least on a relative basis to trust Hyatt and their currency.

They didn’t eliminate award charts. They didn’t move to dynamic pricing. They gave us advance notice of changes. And it isn’t yet clear how many hotels and for how many nights will go into those higher priced buckets.

You might ask what an award chart even means when there will be 78 price points, not even counting Miraval or their hotels that do not price on the chart (points pricing based on room rate). In fact, in my post laying out the changes I made this point explicitly. However,

1. There will be some hotels especially at the lower end that are sometimes cheaper than before. That does not make this change net good, but there will be a modest benefit to some members redeeming those hotels.

2. There is still an award chart and that means when Hyatt changes price ranges they need to update the chart – unlike other hotel chains they will actually tell us they’ve made changes. So they are more honest with customers than their peers.

3. Hyatt picks a category for each hotel and a price level for each room night at the hotel a year out – and sticks with it. The level and price of a given night at a specific hotel will not change its redemption cost, even as room rates fluctuate. This is far more fixed and still affords possibility of outsized value compared to other chains like Marriott.

4. We don’t know how many nights will actually price at the top end of these categories. Hyatt says the effect will be fairly minimal this year. Probably 2027 is worse but that depends on how the overall economy in different markets does, affecting occupancy and room rates and thus Hyatt’s cost to reimburse hotels for redemptions.

Of course Hyatt needs to offer a more compelling value proposition than Marriott, IHG, or Hilton.

1. It has a much smaller footprint. Guests have to work to stay loyal. No effort required with a chain 4 – 6 times as large.

2. They skew premium. That’s a higher margin business and one where the returns to loyalty are greater.

And they still offer a compelling reason: unquestionably their status program is stronger at least for top tier (Globalist).

• Updates: no other major program offers such widespread access to ‘confirmed at time of booking’ upgrades to suites.

• Breakfast: they spell out club lounge access, or if that isn’t offered then the benefit is either the full buffet if there is one or it’s explicitly coffee or tea and juice and an entree from the menu (not limited to a subset of items) and this includes tax and gratuity.

• Late check-out: 4 p.m. is confirmed and only subject to availability at resorts. I find it is usually proactively offered.

• Dedicated concierge: quality of concierges vary (as with Marriott Ambassadors) but this feature opens up at 60 nights vs. 100 and $23,000 spend with Marriott.

So as I think about this devaluation, it’s a bummer to see the best redemptions cost much more. I probably won’t just shrug and say of course I’m going to stay at the best Hyatt in any given city! I probably won’t stay as often at the Park Hyatts in Sydney, Tokyo, and Kyoto as I might have in the past.

But in terms of my actual behavior aside from avoiding a few very expensive redemptions, here’s what will and won’t change.

• Actual stay behavior won’t change. I stay with Hyatt largely for the benefits. I earn those on work stays, and on redemptions, and I prefer to redeem at Hyatt so I can book a standard room and confirm a suite at booking without spending extra points so that I’ll have the room I want for my family.

  As a Globalist redeeming suite upgrades for family stays, I’m getting significantly more value for my redemptions (a suite for the points cost of a regular room) and I’m going to keep doing that. I want to guarantee the suite at booking, not hope one is leftover at check-in. The points I’m earning on my paid stays will be worth less, but I’ll accept that because I (1) value the status benefits more, and (2) am not earning most of my points from paid Hyatt stays anyway.

• I’m already using the Hyatt credit card less. Their points are worth less but that’s not going to change my Hyatt card spend a lot. It’s my intention to mostly move off that card anyway. Chase Sapphire Reserve gets me 4x on hotel stays. Those points were mostly transferring to Hyatt, so 4x for Hyatt stays were still going on the Hyatt card. Maybe I move Hyatt stays off the Hyatt card, preferring to earn Chase points – because how I redeem Chase points likely changes.

• What really changes for me is how I use Chase points. Hyatt and Chase announced that as part of their extended credit card agreement, more Hyatt properties will be joining The Edit. We should see those offered with Points Boost. When I can redeem Hyatt properties through The Edit at 2 cents apiece, it’s likely that’ll be fewer points than why Hyatt wants, plus I’ll get value add from Chase (like a $100 property credit) and will earn points for the room rate.

  In other words, I’ll be more likely to redeem Chase points through Chase Travel for Hyatt stays than I will be to transfer points to Hyatt. I’ll still confirm those bookings into suites with suite upgrade certificates.

At the end of the day what this devaluation means for me is a higher bar (rather than just not thinking about it) booking the best, most expensive properties in Hyatt’s portfolio and a shift away from transferring Chase points to Hyatt.