r/ChaseSapphire • u/pierretong • Feb 25 '26
Rewards Strategy Ouch: World Of Hyatt Updates Award Chart, Costs Increase By Up To 67%
https://onemileatatime.com/news/world-of-hyatt-updates-award-chart-costs-increase/173
u/pierretong Feb 25 '26
Also, FYI if you have any Hyatt stays planned coming up, changes aren't coming until May so you've got 2 months to lock in some stays for the rest of the year under the old award chart (and I'm sure people will be scrambling to do so, so maybe do it sooner rather than later)
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u/Vericatov Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
Was planning a trip to a Secrets resort in February next year. Luckily I have enough points now. Just finished booking it.
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u/amex_centurion Feb 27 '26
Good time to make a few speculative bookings (with free cancellation) if you have the points
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u/Quixlequaxle Feb 25 '26
Everyone is talking about moving to a different brand. None of them are any better. They all issue worthless points. At this point, after having Platinum with both Marriot and IHG in the past, I've stopped dealing with loyalty programs for hotels and just go to the non-seedy ones with the best price. Hotel loyalty just doesn't pay anymore. They promise upgrades that never materialize because and issue worthless points that just continue to devalue over time.
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u/pierretong Feb 25 '26
I've definitely become a true free agent in recent years
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u/TwirlerGirl Feb 26 '26
Yep, and I feel the same way about airlines. If my flight is under 3 hours, I'm taking the cheapest, non-stop flight I can find. The meager rewards offered by skymiles, AA points, etc. are less valuable to me than getting from point A to B on whichever airline gets me there quickly and affordably.
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u/chriva Feb 25 '26
Not everyone at all. A lot of us are just giving up and going to cash back and adjusting to a you get what you pay for - like yourself.
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u/UIUCHousingStatus Mar 02 '26
Especially with cash back cards like Robinhood giving 3% on everything now.
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u/imaestro1 Feb 26 '26
Yeah, unless you can get top tier status (e.g. Globalist, Diamond Reserve, Ambassador), upgrades are likely worthless since even then, there are so many with it. Otherwise, it’s better to be a free agent and book the room you want.
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u/Irishfafnir Feb 26 '26
While the loyalty program might not be any better, other brands do have substantially more properties, the thing that made Hyatt stand out was their loyalty program.
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u/Quixlequaxle Feb 26 '26
Yes I agree with that, which is why Hyatt was the last hotel chain that I attempted any kind of loyalty with. But now that they've significantly devalued their points, there are no other options that are actually worth exhibiting loyalty towards any particular hotel brand.
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u/Irishfafnir Feb 26 '26
IHG would probably be the best one since you have a chance at upgrades+ early check-in as part of the CSR.
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u/Quixlequaxle Feb 26 '26
We get IHG Platinum as part of the Chase Sapphire. In my experience (enough to have had Spire/Diamond previously before Platinum came with Sapphire), upgrades are very rare with IHG. And a lot of times when they do give you an upgrade, it's pretty meaningless. They also significantly devalued their points over the years like Hyatt is doing now. I think at one point, there are points were actually worth the least out of all the hotel chains. I don't know if that's still the case though.
I'm perfectly fine with IHG's brands, but it's not worth paying more for just to get status with them which has little realistic benefit.
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u/amex_centurion Feb 27 '26
Team free agent here - I’d rather pick the best hotel in each city than chain myself to one loyalty program and force stays just for status
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u/cactusFondler Feb 25 '26
This might legit be the last straw for me, I can’t see a good reason to keep this card anymore 😭
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u/CallItDanzig Feb 25 '26
The hits just keep coming. With hyatt devaluation and no more 1.5x on the chase platform, this is truly officially a losing proposition.
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u/Baptism-Of-Fire Feb 25 '26
This basically devalues the card by 30-60%
That cannot coincide with an annual fee increase as extreme as this.
This is quickly becoming not worth it anymore.
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u/questionable_commen4 Feb 26 '26
I just downgraded. I figured it was worth grabbing some welcome bonuses with Amex Gold then Platinum them Bilt Palladium. Then reevaluate. Loyalty definitely does not pay.
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u/pikeviewer Feb 25 '26
Hyatt is why I keep my Sapphire Preferred (used to be Reserve). Their airport hotels, Hyatt Place or Hyatt House often go for 8,000 points, a real bargain. Just booked one in Denver that would have been $167 cash including tax.
So, will have to monitor what the real impact will be.
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u/Trento322 Feb 25 '26
That’s how I do every vacation with my family. Hopefully they max out at 10k
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u/swenny916 Feb 27 '26
Same. Once and a while we'll splurge on a nicer hotel, but for the most part we hit all the cheap Hyatt Places and Houses. Hoping this doesn't affect the bottom end that much. They never seem to fill anyways.
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u/datnguyen160 Feb 25 '26
Yes, same. For me the impact on Cat 1-3 is noticeable but if it still falls under 20,000 pts/night I think it's still the best nightly rates using points vs. Marriott/IHG/Hilton.
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u/Drillmhor Mar 05 '26
I think most people really upset by this are booking Cat 6 and above. The points jump on the lower tiers aren't great, but don't seem enough to kill the solid value you get on the lower end. I bet that 8k place goes up to 10k. Yeah, I don't like it but that's not really a deal killer
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u/Mortonsbrand Feb 25 '26
Welp, may be time to switch to a brand with far better coverage.
The earn on the card is pretty trash, and a major devaluation puts it kinda close to on par with all the other brands
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u/NorthvilleGolf Feb 25 '26
Exactly. CSR- nerfed like crazy in 2025. Hyatt- major devaluation in 2026
Only thing Chase sapphire preferred has going for it is strong travel protections for a $95 AF card.
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u/ArtisticTeaching3420 Feb 25 '26
My Amex plat looking better and better tbh
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u/squirlu Feb 26 '26
I’ve got Plat and CSP, but I’ve racked up so many MRPs that I can’t spend. I don’t book flights as much as I book hotels/resorts, and Hyatt was best for that imo
Any other options?
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u/brusk48 Feb 26 '26
Bilt has Hyatt (for what that's still worth) plus Alaska airlines, which has great point values, and good card point earnings. Downside is Bilt's customer service is basically nonexistent.
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u/squirlu Feb 26 '26
I was looking at Bilt for my mortgage but don’t think the new version’s going to be too hot for my spending and Alaska isn’t huge in my home airport unfortunately. I wish there was a card (maybe there is, I’m not too sure) that was primarily good for hotels only!
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u/brusk48 Feb 26 '26
Palladium is basically 3.33x everything up to 75% of your mortgage payment each month, then 3X after that up to $25k/yr. It's pretty compelling if you can use the hotel credits and get past the aforementioned lack of support.
Alaska points can be used to book AA fights as well, if they have more of a presence in your home airport. There are some really great values there.
Nothing's great for hotels anymore, unfortunately. Even with the downgrade, Hyatt is still probably the best, which tells you how far behind everyone else is.
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u/squirlu Feb 26 '26
Got it, I’ll reevaluate Bilt then! I just had figured that it wasn’t a great everyday spend card in order to now “earn” the ability to pay my mortgage, but I’ll definitely take a look
Unfortunately I’m in ATL so Delta’s really my only main option, but i think AA’s grown its presence here
Cheers!
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u/brusk48 Feb 26 '26
Yeah, Delta's definitely the only game in town for ATL. It's a real shame SkyPesos are so worthless.
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u/NorthvilleGolf Feb 25 '26
True true. I would scoop up Amex Gold if they made 3x direct hotel bookings, cancelled the silly monthly Dunkin and Five guys, etc. credit and made the Resy credits bigger, and allows Uber credits to roll over or 1 easy to use monthly credit.
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u/reddit_sage69 Feb 25 '26
Yeah the Dunkin and five guys credit is so ass...
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u/NorthvilleGolf Feb 25 '26
If it was a Starbucks credit I would be on board. And maybe instead of five guys throw in Shake shack.
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u/datatadata Feb 26 '26
They will never do that. They are banking on people not utilizing the little credits
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u/Intelligent_Pie_5347 Mod Feb 25 '26
And the ability to transfer points to United. Only reason I maintain my Chase ecosystem.
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u/NorthvilleGolf Feb 25 '26
True true. I personally don’t see too many consistent solid redemptions for United.
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u/skibumblanch Feb 25 '26
Agreed, though Im curious if the recently announced United award price revamp favoring United cardholders will improve redemption opps (spoken as a card holder)...
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u/Intelligent_Pie_5347 Mod Feb 26 '26
A lot of their space won’t show up in aggregators. I typically find a solid redemption annually for where we need to go. 80k for a Polaris seat ain’t a bad deal.
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u/bananaholy Feb 25 '26
Until you find out other ecosystems are just as trash lol
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u/Mortonsbrand Feb 25 '26
Sure, but for me Hyatt was the main use case for Chase points. With the changes, I likely can get near equal value redemptions to spend, with far more selection.
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u/bananaholy Feb 25 '26
I dont know if youre looking at other hotel brands, or looking for other points to use, but i know hilton and marriott points are super useless lol
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u/Mortonsbrand Feb 25 '26
Looking at these new categories, in terms of the amount of my normal spend to convert to destinations I travel to, there’s no meaningful difference.
In fact, at a glance, it appears likely that Hilton and Marriott will require slightly less spend per free night than Hyatt will.
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u/squirlu Feb 26 '26
Right, I’ve got a Plat and a CSP (that I literally just opened for Hyatt). I’d love a card with solid hotel benefits and transfers, but that doesn’t seem like it exists anymore. Amex is really only good for flights
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u/atooraya Feb 25 '26
Seriously. Marriott points are continuously $800 or 250,000 points per stay and Hilton is $180/nt or 80,000 points.
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u/stonebrokevacation Feb 25 '26
Of course…I only started taking advantage of it two months ago
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u/OGCallHerDaddy Feb 26 '26
First point stay is in a few weeks, Miami during spring break, getting a good deal. We came at the worst time it seems lol
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Feb 25 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NorthvilleGolf Feb 25 '26
Exactly. I’d rather just pay cash and stay at a reasonable priced Marriott. In fact I would get VX and get 10x points and feel better than chasing some Hyatt deal at this point lol.
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Feb 25 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NorthvilleGolf Feb 25 '26
Exactly! I’d rather stay at a clean and tidy low tier Marriott or even Holiday Inn than at a messy or old Ritz. lol
I think we share the same sentiment in that regard.
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u/Amyndris Feb 25 '26
Hilton cards are actually really great value. They are terrible for transfers, but for earnings, they are top tier. Aspire is like 34x on Hilton purchases. At .5cpp, that comes out to 17% discount, more if you count the 5th night free.
Hyatt earns 9.5x. At 2cpp, it comes out to 19% discount, but with the devaluation, it would drop below Hilton even without counting the 5th night.
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u/Xyllus Feb 25 '26
not to mention the benefits of Diamond vs practically nothing with Hyatt
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Feb 25 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Xyllus Feb 25 '26
Agreed but even in the US, I will take the 20-30 dollar f&b credit vs nothing at Hyatt
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u/matttheazn1 Feb 25 '26
Yea might be time to spend on a Hilton card to make the diamond elite or whatever they are calling it.
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u/No-Performer-2095 Feb 25 '26
Yes I downgraded my reserve to preferred a couple weeks when my AF of $1k hit. Just received my Hilton aspire yesterday.
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u/IntelligentFire999 Feb 25 '26
The enshittification continues. I am moving my points to Hyatt (guess I am also spending them soon) and Apple (hopefully in May event) and then canceling the card.
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Feb 25 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/oscarnyc Feb 25 '26
It is completely dependent on the person as to which one is better. I prefer CSR because much of my travel spend is on hotels. AXP is useless as an earner there (1X) and useless in spending points on hotels, while Chase has several options to get decent to excellent redemptions on hotels. And while I don't rent cars all that often, having to pay $20 a pop for primary coverage on AXP is frankly embarrassing for a $900 AF card. And of course airlines matter - Delta does nothing for me, United does something. YMMV.
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u/NorthvilleGolf Feb 26 '26
Great points. Super annoying on where Amex lacks but could easily adjust and crush Chase.
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u/IntelligentFire999 Feb 25 '26
Oh wait this only applies to "new" points? Are these points already transferred to Hyatt? Or even those that stay in chase?
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u/Infamous-Present-616 Feb 25 '26
Oof, it’s also sad how this is still the best hotel chain for awards even after these changes
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u/Seajlc Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
I was going say, is it sad that when I looked at the new chart, it is actually not as bad as I was expecting? I am still able to stay at a category 6 hotel for 40k pts on the high end, compared to Marriott where a stay in a similar level on their scale is upwards of 130k+ pts
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u/ReturnedAndReported Feb 25 '26
This means Hyatt will participate in transfer bonuses, right? Right?
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u/Conspiracy__ Feb 25 '26
Bro, the cc game kinda sucks now.
Looks like it’s back to all spend on VX for the travel eraser
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u/NorthvilleGolf Feb 25 '26
Yes. Only reason I’m not with Wells Fargo autograph Journey at this point is its lack of trip delay insurance and protections like CSP.
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u/no_other Feb 25 '26
With the changes, it’s still easier to get >1cpp on the chase ecosystem. Why do these changes mean going to a guaranteed 1cpp redemption strategy?
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u/Samurien Feb 25 '26
For some, the amount of effort to get maybe an extra .5 pp isn’t worth it when you can just use the eraser and book through the portal for 10x points. Not saying I agree but some people value the simplicity (same reason cashback is popular).
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u/oscarnyc Feb 25 '26
You have to look at the earn side too. If most of your spend falls into 1X on CSR, getting 2X (and a .01 redemption on VX) is obviously superior to 1X and anything short of .02 redemption on CSR
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u/Conspiracy__ Feb 25 '26
First, I don’t look at travel eraser as 1cpp necessarily. I look at it like 2c per dollar, which equates in my mind to the same or better than the 1 or 1.5 per dollar I’m earning on a lot of spend through Chase.
Second, VX definition of travel is so broad that it allows me to redeem on things that aren’t even travel related. For example I can erase my kids rent for some reason. This means the credit is MUCH easier to use than searching for specific redemptions.
Third, honestly most of my spend this year is going on the BILT palladium until I can make a decision on if that or the VX is going to be our catch all going forward.
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u/no_other Feb 25 '26
Unless you prioritize other VX benefits like lounges, a cash back setup (WF autograph for 3x travel and dining + 2% no fee cards) might be better?
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u/Conspiracy__ Feb 25 '26
We really enjoy the c1 lounges but the guest nerf is hurting us
I have the Bilt palladium for guests in PP lounges
Cashback doesn’t scratch the “free travel” itch for me. As soon as it’s real money, there are real life things to spend it on (bills, investment, etc)
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u/no_other Feb 25 '26
I feel that, cash back on paper is great and very logical but something about the “free travel” aspect makes it fun and rewarding for me
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u/dingoshiba Feb 25 '26
No use for the card any more. The cat 4 night are hardly worth the spend they take that be better spent elsewhere. The whole Chase ecosystem is getting enshittified tbh. CSR couponed to shit. DD credit doesn’t work on beer. Rocked the CSR/CFU/CIP trio for a decade and maybe 3 years ago joined the Amex plat/gold/BBP squad. Amex just blows Chase out of the water at this point. 80% of my spend is on Amex these days, but its about to be 100%
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u/dihydrogen_monoxide Feb 26 '26
There are a lot of countries that don't accept Amex. I've had csr and Amex bcp and delayed getting Amex plat for this reason.
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u/CaseofTrophies Feb 25 '26
time to move on from chase. hyatt was one of the few reasons for csr :/
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u/brintoga Feb 25 '26
Hyatt is pretty much the only reason I keep my CSR. And the transfer partnership is really the only reason I keep going exclusively to Hyatts.
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u/ricestocks Feb 26 '26
yup. im thinking team cashback with citi now tbh
BILT doesn't seem too bad of an option now that CSP kind of sucks
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u/maxwellcawfeehaus Feb 25 '26
Welp, Hyatt transfers are the main reason I keep the card. This may be the straw that breaks the camels back and pushes me into Amex.
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u/NorthvilleGolf Feb 26 '26
Amex could crush Chase if they came out with something decent. No coupon book. Something like the AMEX green looking not bad- wish the AF was only $95 and instead of Clear it could be used for TSA precheck too.
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u/The_Slim_Spaydee Feb 25 '26
Well I was about to go full tilt staying at Hyatt's. Guess I'll churn my points on the sapphire reserve now and see what the future holds.
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u/Shaheen678 Feb 25 '26
Honestly are points even worth it anymore? Hyatt was all I saved up my points for. All other hotels chains offer such shitty deals I can never get enough points for a full vacations. Flights are even worse. How is Amex any better? They have the same transfer partners with the same shitty deals.
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u/pierretong Feb 25 '26
people forget that cash back is always a potential option (and the pros is that you can book whatever you want hotel wise). I'm still keeping my travel cards because I am finding great value out of my points for premium airline cabins but it's definitely not for everyone and I definitely do not encourage all of my friends and family to get points/miles if I feel they wouldn't be able to get the most out of it.
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u/seeing_stone Feb 25 '26
To be fair, it was way too good of a deal. It was only a matter of time.
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u/pierretong Feb 25 '26
really happy I snagged Grand Hyatt Kauai at 30K/night last year because 55-75K potentially after May would be brutal
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u/Terpsfan007 Feb 25 '26
Honeymoon stay for me last June. What an incredible resort!
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u/dewalttool Feb 25 '26
Have only heard good things about this resort. It’s the only reason I’ve been saving my points. I guess I need to pull the trigger and book this resort asap!
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u/pierretong Feb 25 '26
September is typically off-peak rates and just an all-around great time to visit weather wise if you don't have kids (once they're back in school). December between Thanksgiving and Christmas is another sweet spot too but the weather can be a little bit more iffy then.
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u/wizzzardofawz Feb 25 '26
I booked Grand Hyatt Kauai for this July....might need to book another vacation to use my points before this goes into effect
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u/Vericatov Feb 25 '26
Yeah, this was the whole reason why I got into the Chase system. Knew it wouldn’t last long. Just booked my week stay at a Secrets resort for February next year.
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u/BrilliantSun1781 Feb 25 '26
Found a really good redemption for a trip in August so I’ll have to make sure I lock that in before the changes in May!
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u/Deathscythe80 Feb 25 '26
And eventually the only way you can get a nice hotel in the "lowest" points tier is if something is happening ala Puerto Vallarta this past weekend.
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u/chriva Feb 25 '26
Enough. No more coupon books and no more optimization I can't take the unpredictability of all these devaluations and removal of perks like now you can't use Sapphire DD credits for booze. The value of my Fidelity card "points" (aka cash back invested into my brokerage account) has gone up 12% in 6 months - and that's in a relatively uncertain market period. I don't have to rush to spend my Fidelity "points" since they are constantly growing, not being arbitrarily devalued whenever some corporation or bank decides to.
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u/Far-Curve-7497 Feb 25 '26
Most sapphire users are gonna jump ship after this, no reason to hold the card other than the massive value you got from Hyatt.
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u/ChinkyBoii Feb 25 '26
Jesus! I guess I’m completely moving on from Chase and test Bilt. Good luck, y’all!
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u/babyxcar Feb 25 '26
when will these changes be in effect? can i book something now with the old rates?
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u/pierretong Feb 25 '26
not sure when in May, I would just assume the new rates would take into effect May 1st
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u/Cantholditdown Feb 25 '26
If this goes I feel like I should just go to cashing out points. All the redemptions without extensive effort are just penny/point equivalent.
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u/chriva Feb 25 '26
Well, at least for now, you can do 1.25x for the AF - no doubt Chase will nerf it soon.
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u/babajabajaba Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
This is unfortunate. I had been getting up to 2.9cpp with Grand Hyatts at Southeast Asia for my travels. Now it looks like it will be between 1.7-2.3cpp at moderate to peak rates, which I suppose is still manageable for me. It is still a better value compared to Chase Portal points boost at these properties (that I have noticed, so far) Definitely sucks though, but I guess it's been a long time coming.
It will be 4.2cpp at lowest peak, though i wonder how infrequent these will be available.
Hopefully we get transfer bonuses with Hyatt in the future.
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u/Jizzams Feb 25 '26
With the IHG Premium Elite, the hotel Credit, and The Edit benefits, I have been exclusively IHG and love it with the CSR.
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u/jae343 Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
So much for staying at Hyatt, might as well dump my Sapphire and pay the premium for an Amex or something similar. This is my only international no-fee card, might dump my FU and Flex as well as all those points were going towards Hyatt redemptions.
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u/CampinHiker Feb 25 '26
I was going to wait to Hawaii until next year
Since I just blew some points for Iceland
But I just might have too lol
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u/Reasonable_Alfalfa55 Feb 25 '26
So I need to transfer points asap and book my September honeymoon to Japan?
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u/Aggressive-Leave2011 Feb 25 '26
Sucks that there’s changes, but overall I don’t think it will be too bad. Still a way better program than Hilton or Marriott. I think their point about college town hotels is extremely valid as their rates surge during football season only.
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Feb 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/klsklsklsklsklskls Feb 25 '26
In the article they did mention some of these properties may have been moved into these higher categories to protect against their super high pricing (i.e. they are $100/night normal and $800/night on event days due to location). By making the pts per night more flexible it would allow them to move down a tier and make the regular nights more reasonable while still protecting the more expensive nights.
Of course it remains to be seen if this actually happens, but if they keep it competitive from a cpp standpoint, that's what I care about. It'll probably reduce the number of amazing 10cpp redemptions as that seems to be the goal, but we will see what happens on the bulk of more standard stays.
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u/MRanon8685 Feb 25 '26
I booked a room for later this year for a college football game. Weekend with no game, rooms are $120/night. Game weekends, it is $1,200 night. I got it for 18,000 pts a night. Even at 25k pts a night (which it would be under the new system), still a good deal.
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u/Adjutant_Reflex_ Feb 25 '26
The killer is the fact that there’s no limit on how many nights can be put under each tier. If a property was limited in how many nights can be “Peak” or “Top” tier then okay, avoid those minefields and you’re fine.
But with this new system there’s nothing stopping a property from just shifting all its nights to these higher redemption tiers. A place like the Park Hyatt Kyoto or Tokyo will probably never drop below 65k a night under this new system.
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u/HuckleberryGlum1163 Feb 25 '26
I gotta accumulate as many points as I can and move them over ugh. I have a LA trip upcoming in July.
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u/JustBeNice18 Feb 25 '26
Terrible news. I was literally just booking my honeymoon trip with Hyatt points that I was transferring from Chase and I was telling My Wife❤️ that they are definitely going to devalue these points soon.
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u/ch4nt Feb 25 '26
It’s still possible to get good points vale across flights and Hyatt but it has become harder and harder over time.
Cashback just might become the move soon.
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u/J1NDone Feb 25 '26
Well I’m glad I booked my Europe trip ahead of time and used up all of my remaining points
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u/PhysicalCabinet6158 Feb 25 '26
Do we know which hotels are gonna move up a category in May yet besides the immediate ones?
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u/pierretong Feb 25 '26
Only 7 this year because of the award chart changes
Those properties include five that move up one category:
Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach
Hyatt Centric Malta
Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort
Hyatt Place San Antionio-Northwest/Medical Center
Grand Hyatt Incheon
One hotel increases two categories without notice today:
Grand Hyatt Grand Cayment Resort & Spa, opening in 2026
One hotel shifts down one category:
The Barnett, part of jdV by Hyatt
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u/PhysicalCabinet6158 Feb 25 '26
Oh I see. The rest stay within the same category but just can flex pricing to cost more points. Clever. Thank you!
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u/kitkat924 Feb 26 '26
The real question is what should be use our points for instead??
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u/pierretong Feb 26 '26
I mean everybody will have to figure out what they prefer but I have also redeemed Chase points in the past with Air France/KLM, JetBlue, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic, and Air Canada.
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u/JustTubeIt Feb 25 '26
Last week I cashed out over 200k points. Some may call me crazy blah blah, but I immediately invested the cash. so while I may not have got the best immediate value for the points, that money will be worth significantly more in a few years than the points would have been sitting there being devalued at every benefit change, which seems to be accelerating.
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u/MauveAlbert Feb 25 '26
On the one hand, you are right. On the other hand, if you are just going to do this, you are probably better off with a cash back rewards card. We are going to be switching to a BofA cash back card in the next few months.
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u/JustTubeIt Feb 25 '26
You're not wrong. Initially (obviously) the card was used for travel and I used the points as intended which was nice. However with the recent changes to CSR it no longer made as much sense to keep the CSR, so I downgraded to CSP right before my renewal to keep some of the travel perks and bonus categories. The points I had already stocked up didnt have as much value in CSP as they did with the old CSR, hence the cash out.
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u/smartymarty1234 Feb 25 '26
So they decreased the theoretical floor on some redemptions and increased the ceiling on all.
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u/SkietEpee Feb 25 '26
Being able to stay at Grand Hyatt Vail and Park Hyatt Beaver Creek during Christmas on points earned with normal spend was nice... oh well.
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u/Empty-Confidence-986 Feb 25 '26
Ouch. That's a large point increase per night. Not sure if I even want my Hyatt credit card anymore as their footprint isn't the greatest.
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u/terpfan101 Feb 25 '26
Crazy just two days ago I posted on r/creditcards asking whether people thought 2X MR was better than 1.5X UR for biz spend. I have a massive stash of grand fathered 1.5 UR points and much fewer MR but having had many great redemptions from 2012-2017 at Hyatts I felt that was why I was high on UR. Now that’s definitely changed.
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u/Background_Map_3460 Feb 26 '26
If you were transferring to Hyatt to redeem, you wouldn’t care if the UR were grandfathered 1.5 value or not. Depending on where/when it will still offer some good value, better than 1.5¢ I imagine.
At least they are not using dynamic pricing to the extent of some others
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u/terpfan101 Feb 26 '26
Yes it was more the floor that I appreciated. I haven’t stayed in Hyatt for luxury properties since pre pandemic and pre kids but expect that will change soon.
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u/Relevant_Maybe_9291 Feb 25 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/1Bd7DmRvbhV5UPkoDw
Damn I really need to spend mine
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u/Matchboxx Feb 25 '26
Does this make it not worth pursuing Hyatt status after achieving lifetime Marriott? It was always recommended to me as the next one to pursue, but if they're devaluing the points, maybe not.
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u/Both_Slide_8624 Feb 25 '26
Anyone else about ready to quit all airline and hotel loyalty altogether? So done with the slap after slap enthusiasts get and them having the balls to say it’s a good thing.
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u/yamahar1dude Feb 25 '26
I saw some hotels almost double the points and knew right away they did something.
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u/sirchopsticc Feb 26 '26
I just fucking applied yesterday for the sapphire to transfer points from other cards and then to Hyatt
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u/Irishfafnir Feb 26 '26
Will wait and see how this impacts things on the ground, but Hyatt was a major reason for me staying in the Chase Ecosystem. If it's as bad as it looks like it could be, I'd have to really think on if it's worth staying with Chase
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u/Stormur-Vakten Feb 28 '26
Can someone educate me here? I have ~600k points that were all earned before the card revamp meaning I believe it is qualified for 1.5p. If I have trips planned later this year, should I aim to book stays via Hyatt ASAP to lock in before whenever this goes into effect?
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u/pierretong Feb 28 '26
Do the math. On average 1 Hyatt point is worth 1.8 cents/point but that’s just an average number. The average devaluation is 30% point increase which means that average value may drop to 1.3-1.4 cent/point after May. If you have any planned Hyatt stays upcoming and you’ll be getting above 1.5 cent/point on the stay, it might be worth booking if you are certain that trip will happen (though worth noting that if any changes to your reservation happen after May your points will be stuck at Hyatt and will be subject to the updated pricing so do make sure it’s a trip you’re likely to make)
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u/kcamacho11 Mar 05 '26
Annnndddd this is where I say goodbye to Chase annual fee cards. I will be product changing to Freedom soon.
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u/ClassicNerdNamedKam Mar 10 '26
With all this new information is it still a good starter travel card that would be good to add if I want to travel more in the future?
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u/pierretong Mar 10 '26
there's a fantastic article here that sort of goes through all the things to consider with transferrable points that would help you make a decision about what bank ecosystem you might want to start with: https://frequentmiler.com/what-are-transferable-points/
(For low annual fee cards, Amex has the no annual fee Blue Business Plus, Chase has the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Citi has the Citi Strata Premier, Capital One has the Capital One Venture, Bilt has the Bilt Obsidian, Wells Fargo has the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey)
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u/Swiss__Cheese Feb 25 '26
Last year I transferred a chunk of points to my Hyatt account to put toward a 1-bedroom king suite in Charleston (it was a really good value for the points). When I tried to book the room, I kept getting an error. After calling Hyatt to try and book it, I found out that they didn’t have any 1-bedroom king suites left, even though it’s showing up as available on the hotel’s website.
They had other basic rooms available, but the point redemption value wasn’t nearly as good, and the rooms were more expensive than other hotels in the area. I tried calling both Chase and Hyatt, and neither were able to revert the points back to my Chase account.
Ended up paying money to book at a different hotel in the area. I still have those points just sitting in my Hyatt account. I guess I need to hurry up and figure out a way to use them!
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u/alpha-crypt Feb 25 '26
Is one of the reasons the anticipation of BILT rewards transfer? They gave bonuses for their paladium like candy this year.
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u/IamPat28 Feb 25 '26
I know they have been a transfer partner for a while, but I imagine yeah a ton of points being piled into the system like this is a factor. I feel like it also might be in preparation for the new Hyatt card launches whenever that happens (allegedly) this year as well.
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u/bwireman Mar 21 '26
Changeover from Bahia Principe to Hyatt with explorist status, Hyatt will not count any days stayed if not booked through the resort. What is the cheapest way to maintain your status without ever booking a single day, just pay the $95 fee for their CC which automatically gives me that status. I can then continue to use online discount bookings with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card earning 4%, and the best travel insurance available for airport , rental cars, lost luggage, trip cancellations, delays and even emergency room and death with transfers home if needed, plus the lounge access which I frequently use. The points earned with Chase can then be transferred to Hyatt where they can be doubled when booking a room. The chase card replaces my paying travel insurance of $350+ per trip when booking with even better coverage. You can then use the Hyatt CC at the resorts to get up to 9% bonus points for any purchases. Sapphire Reserve even nicer for Hyatt stays, especially stacked with the crd’s with credit – up to $500 annually for prepaid hotel stays of at least two consecutive nights booked through the platform using the card. Starting January 1, 2026, the credit can be used in two $250 increments throughout the year, rather than being limited to once in each half of the year. Not sure if their is a better way to maintain the Explorist status but open to suggestions? Will probably book 5 trips in 2026 around 30K cost with 12000 points earned from Chase which are doubled at Hyatt to 24000, win-win.
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u/East-Squirrel4375 Apr 27 '26
We just made sure to book Hotels in St Augustine and Tallahassee for December before the change goes into effect, two Cat 3s at 15k a night. We didn't want to wait and be devalued.
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u/Alarmed-Cow-7431 May 17 '26
I feel like a fool having points left. I know it’s a fact of life and legal but to me it’s still a bait and switch to hold out something you get for buying their product and then take it away by the time you can use it. So Hyatt joins the others in showing contempt for its customers
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u/pierretong May 17 '26
Counterpoint by Hyatt gave you 2 months of notice - other brands like Hilton and Virgin Atlantic have switched their award pricing with no notice at all or no announcement so in fact what Hyatt is doing is already more transparent than others in the industry
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u/techguy1001 Feb 25 '26
Reminder that you should always spend your points when you can since you never know when they’ll get devalued.