What happened
- Categories are now vast ranges rather than fixed price tiers.
- Hotels within the same category can have vastly different point costs for the same dates.
- Free night certificates (particularly from the World of Hyatt credit card) are now more valuable as they can be redeemed for up to 25,000 points (Top of Category 4) or 35,000 points (Top of Category 5), effectively capping the dynamic pricing upside for certificate holders.
- The change mirrors the dynamic pricing models used by Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy
World of Hyatt is implementing a new award chart structure that moves away from fixed category pricing toward dynamic pricing. Under this new system, Hyatt categories (e.g., Category 3, 4) no longer correspond to specific point costs but instead act as boundaries within which prices fluctuate based on demand. Key implications include: