For context: I've just logged back into my account after a long break because of how exhausted I am by the travel rewards industry as of late (both the producers and the consumers that participate in this "market"), but this really got me. This is somewhat of a meta rant post, but consider reading it with an open heart.

There are distinct demographic and philosophical differences between FlyerTalk and Reddit that take deep interest in World of Hyatt, and I happen to sit tidily between them. The main criticism that I have of the collective response that I've read here (keeping in mind it has been less than 24 hours):

- Minimal due diligence. Yes, the original source of this rumor was posted on Reddit and this thread title is clear to denote it, but the original posting account was created on January 10, 2025, and post history is completely bare (with no evidence of caching on possible now-deleted posts that might have been used to boost the account's karma/rating) apart from the supposed "leak". If there was any air of legitimacy to this, the proper way to have gone about it was to pre-clear this with the sub/topic's moderators, and have some indication by them that the poster was verified or vetted. You are free to draw your own conclusions, but it pains me to see no scrutiny of the details surrounding its legitimacy here (not even a single "Source?").

- Doom. Why...? Yes, this was posted eerily close to the expected timing for annual category changes, which has historically and reliably been upsetting to see every year, but just wait to see the official press release. If even some of the claims turn out to be true, you can rationally make adjustments with how you interact with the program when you know the full picture. There is no amount of preparation that you can do to change course in the meantime, but once they formally publish the details, you will presumably have a grace period when you can make as extreme of adjustments as you see fit.

- Misdirected effort. For those of you that theorize that the "leak" is a trial balloon, emailing consumeraffairs or your MHC is far more productive than expressing your disdain here or on another blog site. Even if it is unsubstantiated, you still have the power to steer the ship by voting with your $/£/€/¥/₩, especially if you're a demonstrated spender and not strictly a points grinder.