Hyatt Updates Award Chart for 2026: Five Redemption Levels Coming in May

Hyatt just announced big updates to the World of Hyatt award chart, and while the structure remains intact, redemption pricing is expanding from three to five levels beginning in May 2026. While this doesn't mean a change to dynamic pricing, it does allow Hyatt to better align points pricing with cash rates.

Full announcement →

Hyatt is positioning this as a way to maintain transparency and avoid full dynamic pricing. That's true — but the expanded tiers will absolutely affect how many points you'll need for certain stays.

Here's what's changing and how to think about it.

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The Big Change: 3 Levels → 5 Levels

Until now, Hyatt's award chart operated with three pricing levels within each category:

• Off-Peak
• Standard
• Peak

Beginning in May, Hyatt will move to five pricing levels:

• Lowest
• Low
• Moderate
• Upper
• Top

Importantly, Hyatt is keeping its published award chart and fixed pricing structure. That's still rare in the hotel world. There's no move to fully dynamic pricing.

But the added levels give Hyatt more flexibility to push certain nights into higher pricing bands.

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Updated Standard Room Pricing (Categories 1–8)

Here's what standard room pricing will look like under the new five-tier structure:

The key takeaway: peak nights can now price meaningfully higher in certain categories. For example:

• Category 7 jumps to 55,000 points at the Top level
• Category 8 can reach 75,000 points

That's a noticeable increase compared to the previous three-tier system.

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Standard Suite Pricing Is Also Expanding

Standard suite awards follow the same five-tier structure.

For higher-end properties in Categories 7 and 8, Top-tier standard suites now reach 73,000–96,000 points depending on category.

If you regularly use suite awards, this change will likely matter more than standard rooms.

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All-Inclusive and Miraval Changes

Hyatt is also applying the five-tier model to:

All-Inclusive Resorts (Categories A–F)

Category F all-inclusive resorts now range from:

• 45,000 (Lowest)
• Up to 85,000 (Top)

Miraval Resorts

For Miraval properties, standard room double occupancy now ranges from:

• 60,000 (Lowest)
• Up to 95,000 (Top)

Premium suites at Miraval can reach 160,000 points per night at the Top tier.

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What Hyatt Is Saying

Hyatt frames this as:

• A move to allow "more precise seasonal alignment"
• A way to avoid large category jumps in the future
• A reinforcement of its commitment to a published award chart

Hyatt also noted it hasn't made a major structural change to the award chart in five years.

It can be argued that expanded bands allow them to manage peak demand without shifting entire hotels up categories as frequently.

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Category Changes Still Coming

Separate from this structural change, Hyatt will continue its annual category adjustments, which will be announced in April. This means we may see a few properties increase in award rates.

Reservations booked before the new structure takes effect in May will be honored at current rates.

If you have specific properties in mind for 2026 travel, it may be worth locking them in under current pricing.

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New Program Enhancements

Hyatt also announced two new member features:

• Digital points sharing later this year
• Early award access for Explorists, Globalists, Lifetime Globalists, and Hyatt credit cardholders

More details are expected soon.

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My Take

Hyatt deserves credit for keeping a published award chart. That alone keeps it ahead of many competitors.

That said, the introduction of five pricing tiers creates more room for higher peak pricing — especially at aspirational properties.

If you're booking:

• Park Hyatt
• Andaz
• Category 7 or 8 properties
• High-season Europe or Japan stays

You'll want to compare dates carefully once the new tiers go live in May.

The silver lining is that the "Lowest" and "Low" tiers still provide opportunities for great redemptions. As always, flexibility wins.

For a recent example of Hyatt Category 4 value in Tokyo, see our Caption by Hyatt Kabutocho Tokyo review.