World of Hyatt is introducing off-peak and peak award pricing for its 1,000 worldwide hotels starting in March 2020. That means on dates that are less in demand, Hyatt may put that under off-peak pricing. However, dates that are expected to be busy (think holidays, long weekends, etc.), Hyatt will likely categorize that as a peak award.
Here is what will be changing.
- Off-peak: Fewer points will be required during Off-peak times – starting at 3,500 points per night (the best value when hotels are less busy)
- Standard: Points required during standard redemption periods will follow today’s point requirements – starting at 5,000 points per night
- Peak – When hotels are the busiest, more points will be required for a free night – starting at 6,500 points per night and will be no more than 5,000 points above the Standard point requirement
A Hyatt spokesperson told Point Me,
Peak, Standard and Off-peak designated days are set centrally – they are not set by the individual hotels.Each day available for award night redemption will be designated as either Off-peak, Standard or Peak, as set by each geographic market.There are no minimum or maximum number of nights that a property can designate as Peak or Off-Peak point redemption periods. However, the majority of days will be set to Standard each year.”
It’s Really Not All Doom & Gloom
Yes, this may be a devaluation for many people, but perhaps not for those that have lots of flexibility to book off-peak and shoulder season dates.
Additionally, the good news is that Hyatt will not change whether a night is designated as peak, standard, or off-peak for a given property once the night is loaded into Hyatt’s systems. That means, unlike Marriott, who changes a hotel’s designation monthly, a customer doesn’t have to go and manually check Hyatt each month to see if the number of points to redeem has changed.
Also, Peak pricing will not be more than 5,000 points above the Standard point requirement.
Other Things To Know
- This new structure will be true for all types of award nights, including free nights in a standard room, club-access room, standard and premium suites.
- Points + Cash awards will also offer Off-peak and Peak rates and will still require 50% of the standard cash rate and 50% of the points required for a free night.
- If a member has an existing award booking for a night that changes to Off-peak in March 2020, they will receive an automatic one-time refund on the point difference. Members will not be charged more if their existing award booking changes to Peak.
- Hotel award categories are not changing and will remain 1-8.
Hyatt Award Charts (Standard Room)
Points + Cash
All-Inclusive Properties
In-Hotel Hyatt Redemptions
Starting January 29, 2020, World of Hyatt members can get more for each points when redeeming for dining, spa, in-room purchases, etc. For example, you would be able to redeem 5,000 points for a $50 USD credit –- half of what was previously required, but still not a good value. However, if you spend $1000 at the hotel, you’d need just 65,000 points.
How To Earn More Hyatt Points
A new World of Hyatt Credit Card comes with a generous 50,000 bonus points, enough to cover a few nights at some really great hotels. The card also comes with a free night each card anniversary that can be used at Hyatt properties up to Category 4.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points, earned through cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve, transfer instantly to World of Hyatt.
The Upshot
Whenever there’s big changes to a loyalty program, most of us immediately default to doom and gloom. This isn’t a great change from Hyatt, but this also doesn’t look nearly as bad as other hotel chains’ programs. We’ll see exactly how this pans out when the time comes in March 2020.
However, you may want to consider making a future booking prior to March, especially if you are planning on redeeming during a busy travel period.
Related: How To Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points To Hyatt
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1 comment
@ Chris — Face it, this is a devaluation, so yes it is all doom and gloom.