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If you spent last Tuesday night staring at a spinning loading icon on the Hyatt website, you weren’t alone. The Hyatt award chart changes were about to hit, and the site was buckling under the last-minute rush.
It was absolute chaos.
I was sitting at my desk at 8:00 PM on May 19th, trying to beat the 8:00 AM CT cutoff before the new award chart went live. The site was glitching, the app was unresponsive, and for a solid twenty minutes, I thought I’d missed the window to lock in one last Category 4 win.
But the glitch held.
I finally pushed through a reservation for the Hyatt Regency Jersey City for 15,000 points. After a decade of running the points-and-Hyatt-points dance, watching this devaluation hit was personal. Since that property just jumped to Category 5, that same room would now cost me significantly more under the new tiered pricing. This wasn’t just a category change; it was the final curtain call for the old Hyatt way of doing things.
As of May 20, the World of Hyatt award chart has officially moved from three pricing levels to five. We used to just deal with Off-Peak, Standard, and Peak. Now, we’re looking at a range of Lowest, Low, Moderate, Upper, and Top. While Hyatt claims this makes things more flexible, for most of us, it just adds layers of complexity to a system that was already getting tighter.
About 136 hotels changed categories last week. The vast majority, 112 of them, moved up.
My Jersey City booking was a perfect example of why you had to move fast. That property transitioned from a Category 4 (maxing out at 18,000 points) to a Category 5, which now tops out at 35,000 points under the “Top” tier pricing.
It’s a massive jump.
Hyatt says only a limited number of nights will hit those “Upper” and “Top” bands in 2026, but let’s be real. Worst-case scenario for popular weekends. If you’re looking at a popular weekend or a holiday, you can bet the “Moderate” price is going to be the new floor. The days of predictable 15,000-point stays at solid urban properties are fading fast.
If you missed the Hyatt boat, you still have a few days to get ahead of Air Canada. Aeroplan is overhauling its partner award chart on June 1, and the “sweet spots” are the primary targets.
This is particularly relevant if you’ve been hoarding Amex or Chase points to book partner business class. Right now, Aeroplan’s distance-based partner chart is one of the best tools in the kit for booking Star Alliance carriers like EVA Air, ANA, or Lufthansa. After June 1, those mid-range distance bands are getting a price hike. If you’ve been eyeing a trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific hop in a lie-flat pod, book it before Sunday.
So the strategy is simple. Lock it in now. Aeroplan allows for changes, though they’ll charge you a fee. But securing the current mileage rate is the priority. Once the new chart hits on June 1, those 75,000-point one-way business class tickets to Europe could easily jump by 10,000 to 15,000 points. It’s the kind of move that makes affordable luxury travel hacks more critical than ever.
Bank of America officially rebranded its Preferred Rewards program today, and they’ve hidden a nasty surprise for the “middle-affluent” tier. If you’re a Platinum Honors member — meaning you have between $100,000 and $999,999 in assets with BofA or Merrill — your credit card rewards bonus just took a hit.
Previously, Platinum Honors members enjoyed a 75% bonus on their credit card rewards.
That made the Premium Rewards card a powerhouse, earning effectively 2.62% back on everything.
As of this morning, that bonus has dropped from 75% to 50%.
Quiet, but not subtle.
To get that 75% bonus back, you now need to hit the new top tier, which requires a cool $1 million in assets. That is a 10x increase in the threshold for the same benefit. BofA is framing this as “loyalty for everyone,” but it’s a clear devaluation for the people who were doing the heavy lifting in that six-figure range.
If you’re in that $100k tier, you’re now earning 2.25% back instead of 2.62%.
It sounds small until you realize it’s a 14% pay cut on your rewards.
For the Occasional Upgrader, this might be the nudge you need to look closer at the Chase or Amex ecosystems where your spend isn’t tied to the size of your brokerage account.
There’s some movement in the Avios world as well. Qatar Airways and Philippine Airlines have quietly launched a partnership that allows for Avios earning and redemptions. It’s a niche play, but for anyone flying into Southeast Asia, having more ways to burn Qatar Avios is a win.
And a final reminder: the Chase to Flying Blue 20% transfer bonus ends tomorrow, May 27. I’ve said it before: Flying Blue is the king of the “Promo Reward,” and with a 20% kicker, you can find some insane value on KLM or Air France business class.
Check your balances.
Modhop Splurge Math compares the cash rate to the points rate to surface cents-per-point value — anything above 2 cpp is a win for Hyatt.
Let’s look at the math on my last-minute Hyatt win. I booked a standard king room at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City for a Saturday night in late June.
In the new system, this stay would likely fall under Category 5 “Moderate” pricing, which would be 25,000 points. At 15,000 points instead of the new 25,000 Moderate rate, I’m getting a massive return on my spend. Even if the hotel is “just” a Regency, the location right on the water with that skyline view is hard to beat for that price.
Modhop Score
The math works.
Verdict: Worth It.
If you can find a way to get over 2 cents per point out of Hyatt, you take it every single time. Locking this in at the Category 4 rate before the May 20th shift was the right move.
Now that the new tiers are live, we all have to be a lot more surgical about when we pull the trigger.
The Hyatt award chart changes took effect on May 20, 2026, after the 8:00 AM CT cutoff that ended the old pricing window.
A Category 8 property now tops out at 75,000 points per night at the Top tier.
If you already found award space and you’re ready to book, maybe. If you’re just transferring speculatively, I’d slow down, because Flying Blue pricing can move around and orphaned points are annoying.
The old 75% rewards bonus now requires $1 million in assets instead of $100,000, which is the real story here.
Did you manage to snag a last-minute Hyatt booking before the tiers shifted, or did the site glitch get you too? I’m curious to hear if anyone is planning to move their assets out of BofA after this Platinum Honors news. Drop a comment below and let’s talk strategy.
Modhop Host & Founder Jake Redman brings years of global exploration and travel tips to the podcast and our videos at Modhop. Jake is also a Producer and Host for SiriusXM.
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