That sounds about right.

We can guesstimate PCE inflation (that's the Fed's preferred inflation measure) of roughly 20% between the last major devaluation in March 2022 and the current one coming up in May 2026. [Looking at the dates devaluations go into effect.] On top of the "major" restructurings, WoH has annual category creep (e.g., in 2025, 118 hotels moved up, 33 moved down; in 2024, 137 hotels moved up, 46 moved down etc.).

Overall, I would argue this devaluation is sizable in real terms, significantly bigger than what Hyatt needed to do to keep up with the general price level. Of course, you could argue that luxury hotel price inflation exceeded general inflation, particularly in the US or Japan. Still, it seems quite a massive hike to me, all things considered. Not happy.

I will say, as my $0.02/point, that I wish Hyatt had done three things differently:
(1) Commit to a cap (even an approximate one) of the number of nights that can be in the higher categories. A 1:1 ratio of "higher category to lower category" seems fair, or alternatively have a capped average tier. Alternatively, require that at least X% of nights be/remain in the lower categories.
(2) Cram down some share of the hotels that have gone up over the last few years. A lot of the 22% or 37% or whatever in hotel rates has been "covered" by lots of properties sliding up - multiple categories in many cases. I think a lot of animus would go away if Hyatt had said "Yeah, we're knocking about 150-200 hotels down a category as part of this shift."
(3) Start moving category redemptions in smaller amounts on an annual or every-other-year basis (with some downward pressure on hotel categories alongside it). For the most part, this might be 500 or 1000 points at a time - ideally it would roughly track hotel prices and limit category inflation.

The thing is, I can see where there aren't going to be many (if any) hotels where a 3000 point night "makes sense", so I get the need for some re-adjustment in pricing over time.

At the same time, if Miraval and Park Hyatt both evaporated tomorrow I wouldn't even notice and I'd be just as glad if they dumped Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I remember when SLH got brought in and they initiated Cat 8 - my thought at the time, as I recall, was that I'd rather they just not have those hotels...I just don't "get" them.

I won't lie - a shift to a straight revenue earn/revenue burn program wouldn't bother me (as long as there was a decent correlation to the lowest-available member rate and the point value wasn't a total gutting - though I know Southwest has played games on this front as well). What annoys me about Marriott isn't that there's variability or dynamic pricing - it's that the pricing is all over the place with little rhyme or reason. Hyatt's got some similarly bad rates (e.g. NYC hotels that are $120 as a Globalist but would require 23k points to book), but at least the chart is what's doing that.

1. It is of course caused by a variety of factors but more points generated by inflation over the years without corresponding increase in cost to redeem is definitely an important one.

2. Isn�t that is what CPI is about? It is just like you getting a salary increase for CPI adjustment without getting a promotion to a job where you have to put in more efforts.

3. I am not disagreeing with you entirely on this.

Doctor of Credit cited a range of +20% to +37.5%, not a flat +37.5%. But without a clear methodology it�s hard to know what that range is actually measuring.

If you look at the published tables, the outcomes depend entirely on which categories and which price points you end up booking. For example, comparing like-for-like price points within a category, the change can be negative at the low end and very large at the high end.

At the extremes, a traveler who only redeems Cat 1 at the lowest price point could see a decrease, while someone redeeming mostly top-category hotels at the highest price points could see a very large increase. Real-world impact will sit somewhere between those extremes depending on booking patterns and availability.

Using the tables, that�s roughly -14% if you compare the old lowest Cat 1 price point to the new lowest, and roughly +67% if you compare the old highest Cat 8 price point to the new highest.

It'll be difficult to please everyone but coming from Netherlands without a Hyatt co+brandedcreditcard or transferable pointscurrency option, a quick calculation shows that as base level member with base earning rate, it would take a lot of spending to even attempt to gather points to be redeemed at the cat 8 aspirational hotels.
And that's even taken into account in doing effort to go out of my way to stay at their hotels due to limited coverage,.

However now also knowing that higher elite WOH can even get earlier access (+1 month) to those awards for prime dates, i realise my chances will be nil. It seems Hyatt has destroyed my chance to switch over from IHG.
Only outcome is just grift and dangle my twin brother for those GOH.
It might have the added effect of flattering his ego but can i survive the bragging ?
Thus i think i pass on Hyatt for now, i do love though everyone's reviews and insights on the fancy Hyatts in the portofolio..
So as an armchair traveller, i do thank everyone in advance for their effort and investment while still sticking to WOH and providing us all with a glimpse in the lifes and updates of the global aspirational properties.

I'd bet that few posters here would be interested in the properties with the "Lowest" award prices (if they're made available at all), and the redemptions that interest most of us are in the higher end properties that would likely be priced in the two highest tiers during the periods we'd be travelling. If so, the real-world impact on the value of Hyatt points will be severe.

Are we going to abandon Hyatt over this? Probably not. But would this massive devaluation cause us to respond accordingly in how we choose hotels and how we spend on Hyatt and other Chase credit cards? I'd think so.

If the premise is that most posters are only interested in higher end properties, and �we� are not going to abandon Hyatt over this, then how would reduced spending help to accomplish this?


Seem like people will need to spend and earn more points, which is Hyatt�s goal here.

We don't abandon Hyatt, but that doesn't mean we necessarily wouldn't reduce spend on Hyatt or other Chase credit cards. There're plenty of alternatives to those cards for spending (or extra spending beyond what's necessary to help achieve status with the Hyatt card).

By no means limited to those markets.

Luxury hotel prices around the world have climbed faster than inflation. Obvious examples (from my personal experience) are Paris, Rome, and even Bangkok.

Maybe you�re right for a subset of members, but I�m not sure it represents �most� real-world redemption patterns. Hyatt�s footprint is still heavily weighted toward lower and mid categories rather than the very top end, and plenty of members redeem there because the value can be excellent.

Just as a data point from my own bookings this year so far:

• 10 award nights booked, all Cat 2 (5 airport, 1 city, 4 leisure/sea)
• 78,500 points total
• saved about $2,450 in room rates (not including the substantial parking savings)
• value: ~3.12�/pt

Why do you think this is an unpopular way to redeem? For many travel patterns, focusing on solid value where award pricing doesn�t perfectly track cash can be more repeatable than chasing a handful of top properties on fixed dates.

You are right. My stays were certainly not peak. I was estimating Hyatt payment per point although they do not pay in points
A 5k Hyatt stay would likely pay 20$ at most off peak to the hotel - about 1/5th of their daily rate if Marriott and Hilton are comparable
Peak times, if Hyatt is like SPG then they pay 90% ADR and that is costing them money - so they caused devaluation of points overall.

Inflation has crept in and a 20% hike in $ cost has led to 40% average inflation in points redemption cost
They are the middle man holding the printing press and they can turn it on and off
The main point is keep some Hyatt or UR or now Bilt for availability but don't store them as value - for heavy spenders, cash is king.

That�s the range of increases for the middle �bins� within each of the eight categories. FM used the same numbers to provide one way to evaluate the impact of the change:

�If we just take the middle column of the charts � today�s �standard� versus the May 2026 �Moderate� price, each category increases by 20% to 37.5%. Ouch. And that�s probably the least painful way to look at things.�

https://frequentmiler.com/mayday-hya...t-in-may-2026/

I don�t think it�s an unpopular way to redeem, but it�s an unpopular way to write about one�s award exploits here

I don�t think I have ever redeemed at a cat7 or cat8 property (at least during the WoH era; I think there are some (now) cat7s that I booked during the Gold Passport days)

Only time that I ever redeemed at a Category 7, is when I was awarded a Category 1-7 certificate, but I already have documented my “atypical” award pattern.

I�ve never stayed at a Cat 8 property. Cat 7 only via Cat 1-7 certs. I�ve had a couple dozen stays at Cat 6 properties, almost always on cash rates, often via Priv�. Most of my stays are in the Cat 2-Cat 4 range.

My WoH year started with a Cat 1-7 cert redemption at Park Hyatt Bangkok on New Year�s Eve, when the cash rate was north of $2,000. Maybe that�s part of why I�m not going nuclear over this devaluation - between certs, benefits, and picking the right cash vs points opportunities, WoH still works well for my travel patterns.