I recognize why people are upset, but I suspect many (including the bloggers) are not fully thinking these changes through.

Both Hilton Diamond and Marriott Platinum are available, with no spend, to holders of the chain’s premium credit card. This new card is both more expensive ($795 is a steep proposition for many, and $150 more than the other chains) and requires $30k in spend just to make Globalist.

I expect people are dramatically overstating the impact in terms of inflating the elite ranks. I would expect most people this committed to the Hyatt ecosystem were likely already using a GOH or booking through Hyatt Prive for their high-end stays. On the margin, this probably makes SUAs more important — good thing Hyatt gives you 5 by the time you stay 60 nights and has by far the best policies vs. its peers.

On the award changes, Hyatt reimburses hotels for the full daily rate cost of a points room when the hotel is full. There was probably a huge chunk of these reimbursements going toward “essentials” properties during event days. (Think about booking a $800 Hyatt Place for 5,000 points 13 months out before a college graduation. Hyatt is on the hook for $800, and you earned them $75 or so worth of points from Chase/Bilt). They probably calculated that ~XX% — maybe even >50% — of their reimbursement “losses” were coming from these super-peak days, and that was threatening the future of the award chart. If this ensures long-term viability, which I suspect it helps, we should all be extremely supportive.