I'm interested in lower-category hotels in Dallas or Houston area and from this prospective this 'develuation' is actually quite favorable as:
Hampton Inn Dallas-Addison will be Category 2 (10,000 points) vs. 25,000 points now
Hilton Houston Southwest will be Category 3 (20,000 points) vs. 30,000 points now

Though I empathize to those interested in Bora Bora, NYC Time Square and other top-end redemptions, for those interested in staying in not-so-hot properties in not-so-popular destinations the recent changes actually brought the program within reason (previously in my view for Dallas and Houston redemptions Marriott was way ahead of Hilton, now I would say they are somewhat on the same level)

I keep point balances across several programs (SPG, Marriott, Hyatt, and Club Carlson) so I'm never fully invested in any single program. I use my points for stays in not very aspirational places and consider the points I earn from paid stays as a rebate towards future stays. I don't keep large point balances, and will burn points if I can get a decent value from them. What I call a decent value is probably lower than what most FT'ers would value a point at, but my focus on points is to save cash, not to take an amazing vacation somewhere exotic.

The few times that I have saved for an exotic vacation, the rule of thumb is that I have to earn those points in 10 months or less, or else I'll consider paying cash. The devaluations that occurred this year are not the first, and won't be the last. There are usually warning signs, but the general rule is that most points/miles lose value over time.

my UA, AA, US mile balances are never so high. I have tried to burn them at good rates to save cash out of pocket. SPG points saved for mainly transferring to AA on every 20k each, so far only 10k SPG points are used. Hyatt balance is only 1k, just used 2 certificates for free nights. Marriott points and Hilton points are used most recently. Points and miles are good to collect, but not for a long time. Devaluations can happen at any times. Use them whenever you can or you need to.

Before the announcements, I opened the Hawaiian Airlines CC, and one each of a Citi HHonors card and an Amex HHonors card (the ones with no annual fees). My plan was to add to my current bank and empty it all out for a stay at the Grand Wailea in Maui this summer. This is still my plan. I am down to the last few weeks waiting for the rest of the points to post, but I should make it before the change date. Citi closed my statement before my spend from the same day posted last month, so my bonus got shafted to the next closing date which is this week.

But I am done with accumulating HHonors points. Seems like every time our hotel plans involve a possible stay at a Hilton, I can't get the my HHonors points to work in my favor. Last summer it was like burn 30k points or spend $100 for a night in Albany. That's just dumb. Instead I spent $100/nt at Marriott for their stay 2-get 1 free promo. Internationally we stayed at the Hiltons in Sorrento and Prague last year. Again, the points ratio was whack compared to what I could pay in just cash using codes I found on this forum. When we stayed at the Cavalieri, I paid for it because we wanted to ensure access to the Imperial Lounge and not have to chance some upgrade roulette. When we went to London last Christmas, I thought finally I would have a chance to use those HHonors points. There were several 50K hotels available for our nights there. Except my husband decided he wanted to stay at the W London and I sorta agreed, so the HHonors points continued to sit there.

Contrast that to SPG where I have gotten good value for my redemptions so far, mostly all at European properties and some USA properties using cash and points. Though SPG isn't all rosy. Luckily we stayed at the St. Regis Kauai on a great conference rate last year. It is now sneaking up to category 7 making it a tough place to spend points. But I am keeping my SPG Amex for now and they are still our first choice for hotels when we travel.

Even for this upcoming trip to Hawaii, the stay in Maui is not at the lowest redemption level (80K) for Waldorf Astoria because I guess those rooms are gone. Free nights aren't even available for my dates at the HHV in Waikiki. But I'm tired of hanging onto these points that are only going to devalue further so I'd rather spend them even at a higher rate if it means staying at the Grand Wailea and being done with them.

I was banking for a week at Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista in June 2014. Just not sure what to do now about that. Can't book that far out and don't want to move the trip up. Bleh.

some resorts have availability thats far out.