Ben Smithson is a senior writer for TPG and is based in London. Originally from Australia and a qualified lawyer with a financial services background, he has almost a decade of experience writing about a broad range of travel and loyalty topics.
May 22, 2026 • 19 min read
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Quick summary
World of Hyatt has shifted from a three-tier to a five-tier award chart, raising redemption rates at many properties as of May 20.
Analysis of 19 popular hotels shows an average 10% increase in points needed for standard room redemptions, though the impact varies by property.
The most expensive Top-tier pricing is used sparingly, with most nights previously at Peak rates now falling into the new Moderate tier.
Average point value has decreased to 1.57 cents per point, slightly below TPG's May 2026 valuation of 1.65 cents.
What to consider
The majority of nights at analyzed properties do not fall into the highest-priced tiers, limiting the impact of the devaluation for most travelers.
Some properties also changed categories alongside the new pricing, influencing the overall increase in points required.
Point value may vary by property and date, so comparing cash and points rates remains important for maximizing value.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of how many nights fall into each new pricing tier at specific properties and how these changes affect point value calculations.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
World of Hyatt's long-awaited, or perhaps dreaded, award chart changes are now in effect. On May 20, the popular hotel loyalty program moved from a three-tiered to a five-tiered redemption pricing model with significantly higher rates on new Upper and Top dates.
The program gave members several months' warning of the upcoming changes — allowing travelers to lock in bookings at existing rates — and disclosed the new award chart and what properties would change categories. What we didn't know until May 20 was how many nights at each property would fall into each of the new award pricing tiers.
For example, some travelers feared all the previous Peak nights would switch to Top pricing, making award nights significantly more expensive. But now we can definitively say how the changes affected award pricing at some of the best Hyatt hotels and resorts, including how many future dates fall into each of the five new award pricing tiers.
To get this information, TPG partnered with Gondola (a free hotel search and direct booking platform for frequent travelers) to analyze thousands of data points from 19 popular Hyatt properties worldwide across multiple categories. Through this analysis, we can compare just how many nights are at each pricing tier pre- and post May 20 and how much your Hyatt points are worth now at these properties. The results may surprise you, so let's dig in.
How did the May 20 Hyatt award chart changes affect average award rates?
Redemption rates were previously split across three pricing tiers (Off-peak, Standard and Peak) and are now split between five pricing tiers (Lowest, Low, Moderate, Upper and Top).
We calculated the average nightly points cost before and after the changes at 19 of our favorite Hyatt properties by counting all available standard room award rates over one year and dividing by the number of nights with standard award availability.
Excluding the three properties that changed categories at the same time the new pricing was introduced, these popular properties will now cost you 10% more Hyatt points than before May 20, which is a fairly mild devaluation compared with how some other loyalty programs increase rates, often without warning.
HYATT
How did the Hyatt award chart changes affect average redemption rates?
Gondola also captures cash rates for Hyatt properties over the course of a year, which is a great way to see what value you are getting from your Hyatt points. As a reminder, TPG valued World of Hyatt points at 1.65 cents in our May 2026 valuations that we published before these Hyatt changes went live.
Here's a look at the mean cash rates pre- and post-May 20 Hyatt award chart changes at the same 19 hotels. You'll also find the average cents-per-point for standard room award stays before and after the changes in the chart below.
Property
Mean cash rate before changes
Value per point
Mean cash rate after changes
Value per point
Change to value per point before versus after changes
Hyatt Regency Cape Town*
$285
5.52¢
$277
3.39¢
-2.13¢
Park Hyatt London River Thames*
$616
2.02¢
$592
1.36¢
-0.66¢
Park Hyatt New York
$1,262
2.85¢
$1,166
2.42¢
-0.43¢
Park Hyatt Sydney
$1,153
2.82¢
$1,132
2.45¢
-0.37¢
Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills
$970
2.26¢
$957
1.87¢
-0.39¢
Grand Hyatt Athens*
$160
1.33¢
$153
0.97¢
-0.36¢
Park Hyatt Tokyo
$884
2.22¢
$863
1.94¢
-0.28¢
Grand Hyatt Kauai
$812
1.76¢
$812
1.50¢
-0.26¢
Andaz Maui at Wailea
$808
1.70¢
$809
1.45¢
-0.25¢
Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
$542
1.27¢
$542
1.07¢
-0.20¢
Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay
$243
1.10¢
$234
1.02¢
-0.08¢
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek
$336
0.83¢
$342
0.76¢
-0.07¢
Andaz Prague
$346
1.29¢
$328
1.24¢
-0.05¢
Alila Ventana Big Sur
$2,264
2.54¢
$2,265
2.49¢
-0.05¢
Alila Ubud
$128
0.83¢
$129
0.79¢
-0.04¢
Hyatt Ziva Cancun
$710
1.18¢
$744
1.15¢
-0.03¢
Grand Hyatt Vail
$316
0.98¢
$316
0.95¢
-0.03¢
Hyatt Regency Danang
$161
1.06¢
$163
1.04¢
-0.02¢
Schloss Roxburghe
$261
1.86¢
$298
2.03¢
+0.17¢
Average
$645
1.86¢
$638
1.57¢
-0.29¢
*Also moved up one category
The numbers show that across these 19 favorite properties, you'll receive less value from your Hyatt points with the new pricing structure than with the previous one. But if you exclude the three properties that moved categories on May 20, you can still obtain a valuation close to our May 2026 valuation of World of Hyatt points. Plus, keep in mind that these 19 properties may not be representative of the entire World of Hyatt portfolio.
HYATT ZIVA CANCUN/FACEBOOK
How many nights are at each pricing tier before and after the changes?
We were also interested in understanding how many nights each year would be at each level under the new five-tier pricing, especially given the higher award rates in the Upper and Top tiers.
If most nights in the calendar suddenly jumped from Standard in the pre-May 20 award pricing to Upper or Top in the new award pricing, that would be cause for concern and a huge devaluation. Luckily, that's not what we're seeing at the properties we considered. (Since Hyatt has different tiers for its all-inclusive properties, we've left those three hotels off here.)
Property
Off-Peak (previous)
Standard (previous)
Peak (previous)
No standard room availability (previous)
Lowest (new)
Low (new)
Moderate (new)
Upper (new)
Top (new)
No standard room availability (new)
Hyatt Regency Cape Town
87
142
122
2
84
143
117
5
6
2
Park Hyatt London River Thames
61
138
92
0
74
183
31
0
0
0
Grand Hyatt Athens
96
141
85
7
96
143
94
0
0
7
Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills
0
21
31
0
0
22
36
0
0
0
Grand Hyatt Kauai
12
77
108
73
7
87
116
37
0
16
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek
91
64
121
0
93
105
77
4
1
0
Park Hyatt Sydney
65
157
130
0
67
172
110
0
0
0
Park Hyatt Tokyo
40
180
33
0
34
157
9
1
4
0
Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay
37
109
156
21
37
101
161
0
0
19
Alila Ubud
73
148
127
0
62
143
116
0
0
0
Andaz Maui at Wailea
42
77
159
48
40
121
76
2
0
82
Andaz Prague
101
109
29
42
82
95
26
9
18
13
Grand Hyatt Vail
34
104
192
0
36
103
172
18
6
1
Hyatt Regency Danang
71
173
95
1
73
179
93
0
1
0
Park Hyatt New York
44
55
106
14
45
96
69
1
0
11
Schloss Roxburghe
152
44
66
0
151
48
72
0
0
0
Average
63
109
103
13
61
119
86
5
2
9
In fact, the data shows that there are very few nights at the new, most expensive Top pricing, and even the slightly cheaper Upper pricing doesn't appear often. For most properties, the previous Peak pricing largely shifts to the new Moderate rates, which carry approximately the same points cost in most categories.
The Grand Hyatt Kauai, Grand Hyatt Vail and Andaz Prague are the three properties on our list that have the most nights moved to the Upper and/or Top prices.
CHRISTOS DRAZOS/HYATT
Bottom line
World of Hyatt's new five-tier award chart raised the cost of redemptions at 19 popular properties by roughly 10%, but the scale of the change varies considerably across the portfolio. The good news is that the most expensive Top-tier pricing is applied sparingly, and for the majority of properties, what was previously Peak pricing has largely migrated to Moderate rather than to the new Upper band.
Across the 19 properties we analyzed with Gondola, average point values have slipped to 1.57 cents, below TPG's May 2026 valuation of 1.65 cents for World of Hyatt points. That is still a respectable return at the right property.
The program retains great value, and savvy members who shop around the calendar will find that most of what made World of Hyatt a terrific loyalty program still holds.
Gondola is a free hotel search and direct booking platform for frequent travelers, making it easy to compare cash and points rates across brands while earning up to an extra 7% cash back.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
