Update: Hyatt has confirmed these changes and more. See this post from The Points Guy for more details.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Hyatt fan. However, I’m really bummed about some rumored changes coming to the Hyatt program.
As I first saw on View From the Wing, Hyatt is rumored to be changing Points + Cash rewards. Instead of a fixed chart, the cash portion of the reward will change to half the price of the standard rate. Other blogs have confirmed this likely change, along with rumored changes for booking suites.
I have used Hyatt Points + Cash rewards many times. For my family, using this rate reduces our out-of-pocket cash cost for a trip and sometimes enables us to book two rooms for my family of five at a reasonable price. Using the Points + Cash rate allows me to stretch our Hyatt points for more reduced price trips.
Example of Rumored Price Change
The current Hyatt Points + Cash chart looks like this:
I’m considering a trip to Denver with my oldest son to visit family and attend the Denver Comic Con (recently renamed the Denver Pop Culture Con). I want to stay at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center since it’s connected to the convention center. The cheapest cash rate (World of Hyatt member rate, not a pre-paid rate) is currently $285/night.
Under the current World of Hyatt redemption rates, I can book this hotel for 12,000 points a night or 6000 points + $75.
Under the rumored new rules, the rate is 6000 points + half the standard rate. The standard rate for my time frame is $299, so my cost would be 6000 points + $149.50. Yikes! That’s double the current price.
Of course, I could always just book using the full points price of 12,000 points per night and not worry about the Points + Cash changes. However, my husband and I are saving our Hyatt points for a potential anniversary trip, so I’m not willing to part with that many points.
We currently have two rooms reserved on a Points + Cash rate at the Hyatt MCO the night before our cruise. Cash rates are also around $300 a night per room, so again under the new Points + Cash rules our cash portion would double.
What Should You Do?
If you were planning on booking a Hyatt Points + Cash rate for a trip within the next 13 months and you have the points, I recommend locking in the rate now, before the end of October, if the math works out in your favor. Pay attention to the cancellation policy of the hotel for your dates. If your trip is still a ways out, you can always cancel your reservation with no penalty if your plans change.
I went ahead and made a Points + Cash reservation at that Hyatt in Denver. While my trip plans aren’t set in stone yet, I can always cancel up to 48 hours before without penalty.
Are you planning on making any Hyatt Points + Cash reservations before the rumored changes? Is anyone excited about possible changes to booking suites?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I hate this change. Trying to figure out dates to book trips 13 months out stinks.
@Natasha I get it. I feel like I’m constantly changing/adjusting my travel plans, so it’s hard to nail down a hotel stay that far in advance. But at least it’s refundable.
It’s official. I’m just joint this means I can somehow use my massive horde of Hyatt and UR points to book a suite at Grand Hyatt Kauai instead of the standard doom we have for 5 nights.
@Cheapblackdad A suite at the Grand Hyatt sounds nice!
Honestly, I never found Cash + Points rates all that attractive to begin with, unless you were using the suite upgrade. Though I understand the appeal of being able to stretch your points. If Hyatt implements this change, it will pretty much kill value of this option for most properties.
@Leana The only possible advantage I can envision is that maybe under the new rules booking on Points + Cash will always be an option, unlike now when the rate seems to have limited inventory.
True. I’m sure there will be instances where some will come out ahead due to this change.
I sure hate to hear this. I sometimes took advantage of the cash + points rate to stretch my points further.
I can’t believe it’s going to be half the standard rate. That’s ridiculous! $150 is what the points + Category 6 was not a Category 3. I have only taken advantage of the points + cash rate 3 times: Hyatt Place DC/National Mall, Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport, and Hyatt House Fishkill in NY. I just looked at a date for the Hyatt Place DC and it was going for $500 for 1 night; so it would be 6,000 pts + $250 (ouch)!
I sure hope Hyatt reconsiders this move because I may need to start collecting Hilton and Marriott points.
@Stephanie I really hope that somehow this is a false rumor, although it comes from many sources. I haven’t received any notification from Hyatt on the change, and you would think they would give some notice.