By the way, Hyatt is a business like any other. Their sole reason to exist, especially in the system we have today, is one reason and one reason alone: to make a profit and return value to shareholders. The CEOs and the board have a fiduciary responsibility to make decisions that work towards those goals.

In that sense, I'm sure the economics of branded credit cards (and devaluations of points from those cards) make tons of sense - why would this trend be so pervasive across the entire industry otherwise?

It just means that loyalty would be dead, and Hyatt would unfortunately be one of many in a long, long list of similar brands that have gone this route. In the short-term, I am positive that it will make the financials look good. Great, even!

Over the long-run? Who knows if this race-to-the-bottom will be a winning strategy. I guess all of us will see given enough time! One thing is for certain - if these rumors are true, I will no longer be directing my focused business towards Hyatt. I'd been on the fence all year whether I should become a mercenary - it's often inconvenient to stay at Hyatts (and more expensive) than other brands. If Globalist is diluted, my decision will be cemented. Bye bye Hyatt!