Hyatt's award chart changed on May 20, 2026, and the short version is this: the eight categories stayed, but each one now has five price levels instead of three. That means some nights cost fewer points than they used to and some cost a lot more, depending on which level your dates land on. Hyatt still publishes the chart and still uses fixed prices, so the points game here is the same one it's always been. You just have to check the level for your dates before you move points, and that's what this guide walks through.
What Changed on May 20, 2026
Hyatt announced the change on February 25, 2026. Its release says the chart would "expand from three to five redemption levels within each of its existing eight categories," named Lowest, Low, Moderate, Upper and Top. Hyatt's award chart page gave the date, May 20, 2026, and said reservations made under the old chart would be honored until the change took effect.
Here's a standard room per night, the old chart (Hyatt's page as archived February 4, 2026: off-peak, standard, peak) against the new one (Hyatt's page as archived September 23, 2026: Lowest, Low, Moderate, Upper, Top):
- Category 1: was 3,500 / 5,000 / 6,500; now 3,000 / 4,500 / 6,000 / 7,500 / 9,000.
- Category 2: was 6,500 / 8,000 / 9,500; now 6,000 / 7,500 / 10,000 / 12,000 / 15,000.
- Category 3: was 9,000 / 12,000 / 15,000; now 8,000 / 12,000 / 15,000 / 17,500 / 20,000.
- Category 4: was 12,000 / 15,000 / 18,000; now 12,000 / 15,000 / 20,000 / 22,500 / 25,000.
- Category 5: was 17,000 / 20,000 / 23,000; now 15,000 / 20,000 / 25,000 / 30,000 / 35,000.
- Category 6: was 21,000 / 25,000 / 29,000; now 20,000 / 25,000 / 30,000 / 35,000 / 40,000.
- Category 7: was 25,000 / 30,000 / 35,000; now 25,000 / 30,000 / 35,000 / 45,000 / 55,000.
- Category 8: was 35,000 / 40,000 / 45,000; now 35,000 / 45,000 / 55,000 / 65,000 / 75,000.
Read that list the way I do. The bottom of every category got cheaper or stayed put: a Lowest night in Category 1, 2, 3, 5 or 6 costs less than the old off-peak price. The top got much more expensive: a Category 8 Top night is 75,000 points, against a 45,000-point peak before. The Moderate level matches the old peak price in Categories 3 and 7, sits just under it in Category 1, and is above it everywhere else.
What Stayed the Same
Hyatt's release says it is "continuing to operate with fixed point thresholds rather than moving to dynamic pricing for award nights at Hyatt hotels and resorts." Categories are still 1 through 8, and the all-inclusive chart still runs A through F, now also with five levels (Category A at 12,000 to 25,000 points up to Category F at 45,000 to 85,000 on the September 23, 2026 chart).
Hyatt also said it would roll the new levels in slowly, "with limited hotels moving a limited number of nights into the Upper and Top categories in 2026 and broader adoption in the years that follow." So in 2026, most award nights you search should still price at the three lower levels, and the Upper and Top prices are the ones to watch as the years go on.
The annual category review continues too. Hyatt says it announces yearly category changes in April, with advance notice so you can book at a hotel's current category, and those reservations are honored as booked.
How to Use the Chart Now
Price the level, not just the category. A Category 4 hotel is now anywhere from 12,000 to 25,000 points a night depending on the date, so the category alone doesn't tell you the cost. Search your exact dates on Hyatt's site before you transfer a single point.
Hunt the Lowest nights. Those are the dates where the new chart is kinder than the old one. If your trip dates are flexible, moving a night or two can drop a Category 5 stay from 20,000 to 15,000 points a night.
Use Points + Cash on the pricey nights. Hyatt's chart page describes it as "50% of the points required for a free night and 50-70% off the Standard Rate for the chosen room type," subject to availability.
Point your free night certificates at the dates that cost the most. Chase's World of Hyatt Credit Card page gives one free night a year at a Category 1 through 4 hotel, and a second after $15,000 in purchases in a calendar year. Check on Hyatt's site whether a certificate covers the level your dates price at before you count on it.
Know your Chase rate before you transfer. Chase says Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred points transfer to World of Hyatt at 4:3, so 1,000 points become 750: as of October 1, 2026 for Sapphire Preferred, Ink Business Preferred, Ink Plus and Corporate Flex cardmembers. If yours is a Sapphire Reserve, check the rate in your Ultimate Rewards account before you transfer.
What Else Hyatt Announced
The same February release promised two new features. Members will be able to share points digitally "later this year," and Explorists, Globalists, Lifetime Globalists and World of Hyatt Credit Cardmembers get early access to award night availability, with more details to come. Check Hyatt's site to see whether either is live for your account before you plan around it.
Where This Leaves Your Hyatt Points
The change rewards the reader who checks dates. If you're booking a Category 1, 2, 3, 5 or 6 hotel on a quiet night, you'll often pay less than you would have in April. If you're chasing a Category 7 or 8 property on its busiest dates, price it at Upper and Top and decide whether Points + Cash or a cash rate makes more sense. Either way, the next step is the same: search your dates on Hyatt's site, note the level, and only then move points.
Updated 2026-09-28: We rewrote this guide for after Hyatt's May 20, 2026 award chart change, with the old and new charts side by side from Hyatt's own pages, and removed the advice written for the weeks before the change. Chase says Sapphire Preferred, Ink Business Preferred, Ink Plus and Corporate Flex points transfer to World of Hyatt at 4:3 as of October 1, 2026.
Updated October 1, 2026: We restated Chase's Hyatt rate as current for Sapphire Preferred, Ink Business Preferred, Ink Plus and Corporate Flex cardmembers, and replaced the note about what Chase has not published with a pointer to your own Ultimate Rewards account.
