Devaluations draw the ire of people who collect travel points more than any other negative thing a program can do. This anger intensifies when programs devalue points without notice — something we’ve seen repeatedly in recent years, from hotel programs quietly raising redemption caps to airlines ratcheting up dynamic award prices without warning.
I concur that unannounced changes to a program are terrible and destroy trust between a program and its members, if any trust is left to begin with. However, we need to understand that if programs keep offering bigger and bigger bonuses, the only logical response to keep things in balance is to make points less valuable.
To reference (and change) this lyric from the Broadway show Avenue Q:
Bonuses and Devaluations
They’re like two brothers who go on a date
Where one of them goes
The other one follows
You invite large bonuses
He also brings devaluations
Big Bonuses Keep Rolling In
When offers like these show up regularly.
And Then Come the Devaluations
More than likely, you’ll see headlines like these shortly thereafter.
Why These Examples Matter
I picked out these three examples because they’ve all happened in just the last few months — and they cover a range of programs and tactics, from hotels quietly raising award caps, to airlines increasing surcharges, to loyalty programs hiking award costs across entire route maps. This cycle has been going on for a while. There’s not a direct correlation between a large bonus and a devaluation. The equation can stay out of balance for a while, and that’s when we, as the consumer, need to take advantage. But sweet spot redemptions only last as long as programs want them to.
Even Hyatt Isn’t Immune
Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing this for a while, but devaluations are nothing new. Even Hyatt — the darling of hotel loyalty programs — is not immune. In the 2025 award chart update, 151 properties shifted categories, with a staggering 78% moving up in redemption cost, including luxury favorites like Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills, Park Hyatt Tokyo, and the Grand Hyatt Kauai.
That last one is especially telling for us — when we visited just a few years ago, the Grand Hyatt Kauai was a Category 6 property. It’s now a Category 8, requiring up to 45,000 points per night in peak season. That’s a massive jump in a relatively short amount of time. If you’re sitting on Hyatt points, those “book later” plans can cost you far more than you expect.
Final Thought
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of huge sign-up bonuses and big category multipliers — I love earning points as much as anyone. But every time a program floods the market with points, you should expect the other shoe to drop eventually. Whether it’s higher redemption rates, steeper surcharges, or quietly moving a favorite hotel up the award chart, devaluations are the counterweight to those bonuses.
The trick is to enjoy the imbalance while it lasts. If you see a redemption you’ve been eyeing — book it. Waiting “for the right time” often means paying more points later. And as we’ve seen, even beloved programs like Hyatt aren’t immune. Earning is only half the game; using your points before the rules change is what really locks in their value.
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2 comments
While no devaluations would be nice there’s simply no way that will happen. A much more reasonable ask is for any devaluations 1) be mild both in number of hotels in a hotel context 2) not be ridiculous 25% increases every three years or something like that. Keep in line with actual USA inflation. 3) give 90 days notice.
As you say, loyalty programs are based on trust; the more trustworthy a program the more I’m willing to buy into it. Conversely if a program is like Skymiles and works tirelessly to provide ever less value then I keep away and studiously try not to hold on to their currency.
Exactly! It amazes me how many bloggers and comments to their blogs whine about “devaluations”. You correctly pointed out one of the issues and that is more points/miles in play lead to lower value since there is a relatively fixed basket of nights/seats that can be bought with points/miles.
However the other issue, which mainly impacts hotels with dynamic pricing, is that if the underlying cost in dollars to book the room goes up so, of course, it takes more points to book an award. I don’t even consider this to be a devaluation as relative value of a point may not change. For example, I value Hilton points at .5 cent so booking a $200 room for 40,000 points is equal value. If the cost of the room goes up to $250 and Hilton now charges 50,000 points that isn’t a devaluation since the value is still .5 cent a point. It is just that the underlying cost of the room went up.
Look I like great deals as much as anyone but also understand how basic economics works and also that these are businesses, not charities, and their goal is to maximize revenue