Hyatt just warned its own members that this year's award chart changes are 'only the setup' - and the bigger damage lands next year. That sentence alone should tell you everything about where hotel loyalty programmes are heading in 2026.

Under Hyatt's new five-tier award chart, what is the maximum number of points a Category 8 standard room can now cost per night at Top-level pricing?

The answer is waiting near the bottom... keep scrolling 👇

The World of Hyatt award chart overhaul that's been looming for months went live on 20th May - and the numbers are blunter than many expected.

The old Off-Peak / Standard / Peak three-tier model is gone. In its place: five tiers - Lowest, Low, Moderate, Upper, and Top. That sounds reasonable until you look at the actual point spreads.

At Category 8 (the top category), a standard room at Lowest pricing costs 35,000 points per night. The same room at Top pricing? 75,000 points. That's a 40,000-point gap - more than double the cheapest rate, and a 30,000-point increase from what Peak used to cost under the old chart.

For Premium Suites, the Category 8 spread from Lowest to Top is also 40,000 points. And across the programme, 136 hotels are changing category this year - with the majority moving up, not down.

There are some genuine positives worth noting. Hyatt is still holding onto fixed award bands - unlike Marriott and IHG, which have moved to fully dynamic pricing. And Explorist members (and above) will get early access to award night bookings later this year, which could be significant at high-demand properties where award space is already scarce.

The bottom line: if you have Hyatt points sitting idle, the pressure to use them at good-value properties is now higher than ever. Searching for availability sooner rather than later makes sense - especially before next year's second wave of changes lands. You can check your Virgin Atlantic Points value and other currencies using our calculators if you're weighing up where to park your points balance.

Heads up: Hyatt credit cards (which will give access to early award availability) are not available in the UK. But if you have Explorist status or above, that early access window applies to you regardless.

The Amex Preferred Rewards Gold card is currently offering 40,000 Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus - double the usual 20,000 - and the first year's fee is waived. This offer ends this Tuesday.

Those 40,000 MR points convert 1:1 into Avios, making them worth around £400 at our standard 1p-per-Avios estimate. Though depending on what you redeem for, you could squeeze considerably more value - especially if you're using Avios for long-haul business class where we'd put the value closer to 1.5p+ per point.

Not sure if you're eligible? The Amex welcome bonus eligibility tool can help you check before you apply. If you've held an Amex card in the past two years, the welcome bonus rules can catch people out.

Warning: You must meet the minimum spend criteria to qualify for the bonus. Standard eligibility rules apply. This is genuinely one of the better UK card offers available right now - especially with no annual fee in year one.

There are two things happening with Etihad Guest right now, and both are worth your attention.

First: Etihad is running a 40% transfer bonus from HSBC Premier credit cards and various hotel programmes into Etihad Guest miles. If you have HSBC Premier points sitting unused, this is a meaningful uplift.

Second - and this is the more urgent news - Etihad is withdrawing from American Express Membership Rewards on 22nd June 2026. After that date, you will no longer be able to transfer Amex MR points to Etihad Guest at all.

If you have MR points and Etihad redemptions in your plans - particularly for flights to destinations like Abu Dhabi, the Maldives, or onward connections through the Gulf - you need to act before 22nd June. After that window closes, those points will need to find a different home.

And honestly? With Etihad's award prices on some long-haul routes still reasonable compared to BA surcharges, this is worth a look before it disappears entirely.

If you're doing any online shopping or booking travel experiences this month, a quick click through Avios.com before you buy could be one of the easiest Avios earns you'll find. Rates are currently boosted across a wide range of retailers.

Some of the standout rates right now:

To put FUL London in perspective: spend £200 there and you'd pick up 10,000 Avios - worth around £100 at 1p per point. On a hotel stay - say, a £2,000 booking via Hotels.com at 8 Avios per £1 - you'd earn 16,000 Avios (worth ~£160) on top of any hotel loyalty points. That's genuinely additive and takes about 30 seconds to set up.

Heads up: These boosted rates can change without notice. Check Avios.com before each purchase to confirm the rate is still active.

Hilton Honors has opened registration for its summer 2026 'More Nights, More Points' promotion. Stays between 1st June and 15th August 2026 earn 2,000 bonus points for stays of 1-3 nights, or 4,000 bonus points for stays of 4 nights or more.

It's not the most generous promotion Hilton has ever run - but registration is free and takes 30 seconds. If you have any Hilton stays planned over summer (and at 1p-equivalent per Hilton point, 4,000 bonus points is worth a useful top-up toward a free night), there's no reason not to register.

Worth noting: these bonus points are valid even on award stays at some properties, which makes it more useful than a standard spend-based offer. Register directly through the Hilton Honors website before your check-in date.

The answer was 🟣 75,000 points. Under Hyatt's new Top-tier pricing, a Category 8 standard room now costs 75,000 points per night - up from 45,000 at Peak pricing under the old chart. That's a 30,000-point increase on the same room, at the same hotel, on the same type of date. And Hyatt has already signalled that next year's changes will go further.

With Hyatt moving to five-tier pricing and more hotel programmes shifting toward dynamic awards - are you changing where you park your hotel points? Or are you doubling down on a programme you trust? Hit reply and let me know - I read every single response.

That's it for today - but one final nudge: the Amex Gold 40,000-point bonus (first year free) ends this Tuesday. If you've been sitting on the fence about applying, that's your deadline. Don't let 40,000 Avios-worth of sign-up bonus expire while you think about it.

These are the top credit card welcome bonuses we're tracking. Offers change frequently - see all cards.

1. Platinum Card: 75,000 points after spending £10,000 in 6 months (£6.5/yr)

2. HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard: Receive 60,000 reward points when you spend £3,000 on your card in the first 90 ... (£2.9/yr)

3. Gold Card: 40,000 points after spending £5,000 in 6 months (£1.95/yr (waived first year))

Looking to redeem your points? Here's what's available right now (via Award Travel Finder):

Hotels:

Status Matches:

• Flying Blue Status Match - Air France / KLM (SkyTeam)

• Flying Blue UK (BA Status Holders) - Air France / KLM (SkyTeam)

• Flying Blue (Iberia) - Air France / KLM (SkyTeam)

Buy Points & Miles Deals:

Browse every award deal we track at AwardTravelFinder.com →

Award Travel Finder hunts down the best redemptions so you don't have to.

See all deals at AwardTravelFinder.com →