World of Hyatt Changes
Update 10/25/21: This change goes into effect tomorrow so book any hotels you have your eyes on now. If the pricing drops you can always rebook but if it is a popular hotel / time it will likely be going up.
Update 10/14/21: These changes should go into effect any day now so you may want to book popular hotels now and lock them in. Remember that you should be able to cancel a points booking if it ends up working out without penalty (double check cancellation terms for each hotel).
Hyatt is often considered one of the best hotel loyalty programs out there. One reason for that is the fixed award chart with reasonable pricing. And if you have Elite status the experience gets much better.
But now there’s some worrying news as the World of Hyatt program updates have been announced for 2020. One of the main changes is the introduction of peak and off-peak pricing.
Off-peak and Peak Point Redemption
Starting in March 2020, World of Hyatt is introducing off-peak and peak redemptions, which it calls “more free night award flexibility”.
- Off-peak – Starting at 3,500 points per night – the best value when hotels are less busy
- Standard – Stays the same, starting at 5,000 points per night – the most common rate
- Peak – Starting at 6,500 points per night – when hotels are busiest
Here’s some more information about the new pricing:
- If the redemption amount for a night on an existing award reservation is lowered to Off-peak in March, we’ll automatically refund the point difference, and if it goes to Peak, you won’t be charged any more points.
- Points + Cash will also offer Off-peak and Peak point redemption. The cash required will still be 50% of the rate.
- Free nights in suites will also be offered at Off-peak and Peak redemption.
- You’ll have plenty of time to plan ahead. Redemption rates for free nights will be announced as soon as nights are available for reservations (usually 13 months in advance), and won’t change once posted. A new online calendar will help you plan (coming soon).
- Hotel award categories aren’t changing – there are still 8.
Standard Room Chart
| HOTEL CATEGORY | OFF-PEAK | STANDARD | PEAK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
POINTS PER NIGHT
|
||||
|
1
|
3,500
|
5,000
|
6,500
|
|
|
2
|
6,500
|
8,000
|
9,500
|
|
|
3
|
9,000
|
12,000
|
15,000
|
|
|
4
|
12,000
|
15,000
|
18,000
|
|
|
5
|
17,000
|
20,000
|
23,000
|
|
|
6
|
21,000
|
25,000
|
29,000
|
|
|
7
|
25,000
|
30,000
|
35,000
|
|
|
8
|
35,000
|
40,000
|
45,000
|
|
Standard Room Points + Cash Chart
| HOTEL CATEGORY | OFF-PEAK | STANDARD | PEAK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
POINTS PER NIGHT
|
||||
|
1
|
1,750 + Cash
|
2,500 + Cash
|
3,250 + Cash
|
|
|
2
|
3,250 + Cash
|
4,000 + Cash
|
4,750 + Cash
|
|
|
3
|
4,500 + Cash
|
6,000 + Cash
|
7,500 + Cash
|
|
|
4
|
6,000 + Cash
|
7,500 + Cash
|
9,000 + Cash
|
|
|
5
|
8,500 + Cash
|
10,000 + Cash
|
11,500 + Cash
|
|
|
6
|
10,500 + Cash
|
12,500 + Cash
|
14,500 + Cash
|
|
|
7
|
12,500 + Cash
|
15,000 + Cash
|
17,500 + Cash
|
|
|
8
|
17,500 + Cash
|
20,000 + Cash
|
22,500 + Cash
|
|
All-Inclusive Award Chart
| HOTEL | OFF-PEAK | STANDARD | PEAK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
POINTS PER NIGHT
|
||||
|
Hyatt Zilara Cancun
|
21,000
|
25,000
|
29,000
|
|
|
Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana
|
21,000
|
25,000
|
29,000
|
|
|
Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall
|
21,000
|
25,000
|
29,000
|
|
|
Hyatt Ziva Cancun
|
21,000
|
25,000
|
29,000
|
|
|
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana
|
21,000
|
25,000
|
29,000
|
|
|
Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
|
17,000
|
20,000
|
23,000
|
|
|
Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta
|
17,000
|
20,000
|
23,000
|
|
|
Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall
|
21,000
|
25,000
|
29,000
|
|
You can see the charts here.
Dining, Spa & More Awards
You can enjoy up to 100% more starting January 29, 2020, when you use points for U.S. Dollar credits toward dining, spa, in-room purchases and more.
| U.S. DOLLAR CREDIT | PREVIOUS POINTS REQUIRED | NEW POINTS REQUIRED |
|---|---|---|
|
$10
|
2,000
|
1,000
|
|
$25
|
5,000
|
2,500
|
|
$50
|
10,000
|
5,000
|
|
$75
|
12,000
|
7,500
|
|
$100
|
15,000
|
8,000
|
|
$150
|
20,000
|
12,000
|
|
$250
|
32,000
|
20,000
|
|
$500
|
60,000
|
35,000
|
|
$1,000
|
120,000
|
65,000
|
Conclusion
This type of news usually ends up being bad, although it is often described as a change that benefits customers. Most people prefer using their points to travel during peak season, since that is where you get more value. And those awards are now more expensive. Plain and simple.
Sure there’s off-peak pricing that is now cheaper, but that is not the time when you want to go to a beach. We’ll see how bad it is once these changes go live.
Let us know what you think of these World of Hyatt changes that are coming next year.
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Its alot less painful then if they simply uped most of the hotels by 1 Cat. Now should they up the Cat of the hotels most folks ca$h in for come March, then Id agree
Oh how they spin it to try and make it Not look like a devaluation.
You have to love corporate speak don’t you 🙂