Hyatt's New Award Chart Is Live: 19 Properties Repriced — Here Are the Ones That Got Worse and the Ones Worth Booking Now

Hyatt flipped the switch on its new five-tier award chart May 20, and the 19 properties analyzed in depth by The Points Guy and Gondola tell the real story: most got modestly more expensive, but a handful took it personally.

Across thousands of nights, average points required rose 12%. Strip out the three that also jumped a category and it's a still-not-fun 10%. World of Hyatt points, still transferable 1:1 from Chase Ultimate Rewards, now deliver 1.57 cents per point at these spots on average — below TPG's current 1.65 cent valuation. Translation: your stash lost a bit of swagger overnight.

The ones that got worse, and why you should care.

Hyatt Regency Cape Town saw the biggest spike, jumping 59% in average nightly points from 5,160 to 8,178. Park Hyatt London River Thames climbed 42% to 43,507 points on average. Grand Hyatt Athens rose 30%. These three also bumped up a category, which explains the violence. If your dream itinerary included them during what used to be peak season, the new Upper and Top tiers can make redemptions feel like paying ransom in points.

Category 7 and 8 properties took the hardest hits overall. Top-tier nights at a Cat 8 can now hit 75,000 points — a 67% increase from the old 45,000 peak. That's the kind of math that turns aspirational redemptions into "maybe I'll just pay cash and sulk." Few properties are flooding the calendar with those highest tiers yet, but the trend is clear: popular dates are migrating upward.

On the flip side, not everything is a tragedy. Andaz Prague actually averaged 1% fewer points post-update. Alila Ventana Big Sur barely budged at +2% while commanding cash rates north of $2,000 a night on many dates. At those levels, even 90,000 points can deliver north of 2.2 cents per point if you're strategic. Schloss Roxburghe in Scotland also held value nicely against rising cash prices.

Other notable increases that still warrant a look if cash rates are stupid: Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills (+19%), Grand Hyatt Kauai (+17%), and Andaz Maui at Wailea (+17%). The new Moderate tier often lands where old peak used to sit, so shoulder dates remain somewhat civilized.

Properties that moved down in category are rare bright spots in the broader 136-hotel reshuffle (118 up, 25 down). The Barnett dropped a category, and a handful of others like certain Andaz and Dream properties got friendlier pricing. No major Park Hyatt or Alila luxury flagships appear to have slid downward, unfortunately.

The actionable truth: this isn't the bloodbath some feared last February, but it's also not the generous Hyatt of old. The program remains one of the better ones for points travelers — especially compared to the dynamic pricing disasters elsewhere — but only if you hunt. Defaulting to high-season Cat 7 or 8 stays is now a fast way to burn through a Chase balance with regret.

What to do now.

Pull up your target dates on Hyatt's site immediately. Compare the new Lowest/Low/Moderate rates against real cash prices for the exact same room. Anything clearing 1.8+ cents per point is still worth booking with points, especially at properties like Alila Ventana or Park Hyatt Sydney where cash rates remain unhinged. For the ones that ballooned, consider cash if the effective nightly rate beats your points valuation, or shift to true shoulder seasons where Lowest tier pricing still feels like a steal.

Your Chase points haven't evaporated, but their best use cases just got more selective. Book the remaining high-value nights before Hyatt gets more aggressive with Upper and Top availability in 2027 and beyond. The chart is live — act like it.