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The first hit to the program goes into effect on November 1st. Hyatt has confirmed that Cash + Points rates will change from being a fixed cash portion based on category to flexible based on 50% of the standard rate.
The second is the creation of a new category of redemption, category 8.
The last time we saw the creation of a new category was in 2014 when category 7s were introduced.
Hyatt has pushed back saying that the creation of this 8th category is based on their partnership with SLH, insinuating a need to introduce an entirely new category because their fleet has some aspirational properties. They’ve said that no plans are on the table for Hyatt properties to be included.
- There are a lot of very high end properties in the SLH portfolio, but are they more expensive or aspirational than Park Hyatt NY, Paris, St Kitts, etc?
- Hyatt needs a way to compensate SLH hotels for point redemptions without undermining reimbursement of their franchisee redemption rates – a 40k rate helps
- This creates a pathway for folding in Hyatt properties down the line
- This is the biggest hit and why I think this is a masked devaluation
I don’t mind that SLH properties may be more expensive, but…
Miraval
Pizza in Motion points out that there is a pirate ship up for redemption via SLH, and that would obviously require more than the 30k needed for category 7. I totally agree. In fact, I’d say there are multiple hotels in the SLH portfolio that you could argue could price outside the normal chart. But I also say… How about Miraval?
Miraval doesn’t abide by the normal Hyatt redemption rates. They created it’s own chart, and could have easily done so for SLH properties
Belmond
I’ve written about Belmond wanting a buyer, and how Hyatt would be suitable. Clearly with a category 8 redemption level, the road is paved to fold in a truly high end brand into the portfolio with aspirational prices to match.
Overall
My expectation is that sometime next year we will start to see cat 4,5,6 hotels inch up the award chart and then finally Hyatt branded hotels bump into Category 8. The Hyatt award chart, competitively speaking, is still one of the best out there even after these devaluations, but the news is confounding.
SLH has some dope properties – I’m looking forward to gaining access to them via Hyatt, but certainly not at category 8 prices. Hopefully we see some come in well below that.
We’re roughly 2 months away from the end of the year and Hyatt had been on a roll of good press, active measure being employed to incentivize and attract loyalty, and then that’s undermined with two reasons for loyalists to perhaps second guess their loyalty for 2019.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
$300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- $300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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