Michelle: Welcome to the Savvy Travel Moms podcast. If you are a mom who wants to travel more with your family without spending a fortune, you're in the right place. I'm Michelle, the bougie one.

Joy Smith: I'm Joy, the practical one. are two moms with different travel styles, but the same savvy mindset. In our show, we will break down family-friendly travel tips, points and miles, and realistic strategies that fit into a busy mom life. From hotel robes and room service to free breakfast and budget wins, we will help you turn everyday life into unforgettable family memories.

Michelle: Real moms, real travel, real strategies. Hyatt has long been one of the favorite hotel programs for people who use points and miles, but some major changes are coming to the Hyatt Award Chart. Today we're breaking down what's changing, what it means for travelers, and how you can still earn Hyatt points for amazing hotel stays. Today we're doing a quick update episode because Hyatt just announced some pretty big changes to their award chart. Hyatt has always been known for having one of the best hotel programs for points and miles, but these new changes could affect how many points your stays cost going forward. So today we're going to walk through what's changing and how you can still earn Hyatt points.

Joy Smith: Awesome. Okay, Michelle, for quick reference, I want to give some context for our listeners. Hyatt has long been one of our favorites for points and miles people, just because it's so valuable. when we look at using our points, we want to stretch them as far as possible. we want to find the best deals for the least amount of points ⁓ to make last longer so we can continue to travel more. the thing with Hyatt is that they have these sweet spots for hotels. that historically and still do as of now, range anywhere from 3,500 points a night to points, 45,000 points a night. ⁓ And what's so amazing is when you start to compare their amount of points needed for hotels compared to like Hilton or Marriott, it's so many less points. Hilton and Marriott, you're looking at double to triple the amount of points per night needed, especially when you get up to these luxury properties where ⁓ If you were going to pay cash, you'd easily pay like $500, $700 or more per night. And the Hyatt ecosystem, you can get that for 25,000, 45,000 points a night. When you get over to the Hilton or Marriott ecosystem, you're looking at 150,000 points a night. that is why we love Hyatt. And just to give some context for the listeners out there who maybe aren't as familiar in points and miles. Hyatt is a really big deal in our world and that's why we talk about them all the time.

Michelle: 100 % and it's great because the award chart is fixed, right? So it's you 45,000 a night hotel could actually be a $2,000 cash a night stay. So that's why Hyatt is so amazing because that Hilton that's 200,000 points a night, it's because it's 2,000 points a night. You know, it flows with the cash rate and that's why we love Hyatt so much because you can get those luxury stays for a fraction of the cost.

Joy Smith: You really can. And at the end of the episode, Michelle and I are going to tell you some of our favorite places for a high at points. So stick around and the places that we are panic booking before these changes come out.

Michelle: Yes, yes. we're going to quickly talk about what has changed. Hyatt used to have a three tier point system. There was off peak, standard and peak. And those were the only choices. So it does not matter what the cash price is, the points for each category is always going to stay the same. And there are eight categories currently. for Hyatt and it sounds like moving forward, it's still going to stay those eight categories and then within those eight categories, you have those three pricing tiers. So, I'll go ahead.

Joy Smith: Now, no, I want to jump in really fast and talk about the eight categories because I think to some people that is confusing. And it was to me when I first started too. the way that Hyatt works is they take all their hotels ⁓ the world and they lump them into categories of similar service, similar type, similar location. ⁓ And why you have Hyatt Place, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, ⁓ On Daws.

Michelle: Yeah. Yep. Mm-hmm.

Joy Smith: And you have all these, the Thompson, you have all these different types of hotels that are all part of the Hyatt family. And that's where the categories come from. the Hyatt, ⁓ the category when you're looking at those start as low as 3,500 points right now. And then they go all the way up to category eight. So the nicer the hotel is, the higher the category it will be. ⁓

Michelle: Yep, and the new system is gonna go to five tiers. it's probably gonna be a little confusing when you can't see it. But now instead of that off peak, standard and peak, we now have lowest, low, ⁓ moderate, upper, and top. So now you've got a wide range that one hotel could be all throughout the year. And they've also increased up to 30 % what those pricing levels are. now that peak pricing, let's just use a category A as an example, which is the highest category for Hyatt. That used to be $45,000 at peak. That's the highest it's ever going to go. Doesn't matter the cash price. But now at top pricing at seventy five thousand points a night. So thirty thousand more points a night and that's huge. you don't see it as much ⁓ category ones and twos that are going to mainly stay around that lowest low moderate. You're not going to notice as big of a change, but every single category is going to go up no matter what.

Joy Smith: Yes. And that is no fun because 75,000 points when you're looking for a week long vacation and you used to be able to get a hotel for 30 to 45,000 points a night, that's a huge difference in points that you have to get now to cover five nights at 45,000 points was already a stretch. Now you're looking five nights at 75,000 points. You know, it's just such a large number that you have to find. ⁓ But I mean, in reality, it's still less than what you're going to be paying for a Hilton or Marriott endpoints too. that the upside. We have to still keep our bearings here. ⁓

Michelle: And I think too, you know, that's why it's important to, the more you do points and miles to diversify with everything. that way you're not ⁓ staying at Hyatt's. You can stay at Hyatt's and then get a Hilton card and then get a Marriott card. So you don't have to ⁓ loyal to Hyatt. I think a lot of us were very loyal to Hyatt and we tried to only stay at Hyatt because the value was so good. But I think it's gonna be kind of fun to open up some new opportunities and maybe cities and hotels that we normally wouldn't be able to stay at because they didn't have a Hyatt. And now we can branch out a little bit and try those. So I think it's gonna be fun, even though it sucks ⁓ we wish it was staying exactly the same. ⁓ do think that there still are going to be some deals. ⁓ to be had, especially if you can be a little flexible with your dates.

Joy Smith: Very much so. mean, thing too is Hyatt's footprint when you compare them to Hilton Marriott or IHG even is so much smaller. So there are a lot of places that you travel, you're either specifically planning a trip around the hotel because you want that experience the Andaz Papagayo in Costa Rica or the Dominican Republic to get some of those big all-inclusives.

Michelle: Yeah.

Joy Smith: There are people that will specifically plan trips around certain hotels because they can get the experience for so many less points. But what this does is this puts us back in a place of loving travel and having to rethink a little bit creatively, okay, how can I use my points because there's not a Hyatt here or I'm no longer stuck to only traveling here because there's not a Hyatt, now we can look at other options. So diversification is actually really key.

Michelle: It really is. let's ⁓ about ⁓ we have panic booked or what we recommend that you might want to book. So ⁓ you have any joy that instantly pop in your mind? the listeners should this if they're interested in this location or wherever.

Joy Smith: Well, I just booked Spring Break 2027 for the Hyatt Regency in Maui. It is currently 29,000 points a night, it was a really good deal to go ahead and grab it. And I'm really excited about that trip. I know you're going there this year in May. My mom has been there many I'm really excited to jump on the Maui train. been to Hawaii, but never Maui. I think another really popular one in the Hawaii area is going to be the

Michelle: That's a good one. Yep.

Joy Smith: one in Kauai? Is that also a high regency or is that a grand height?

Michelle: Yep. That's a grand Hyatt. Yep. Yeah, for sure I bet. Yeah, I bet that one will go to the 75K a night.

Joy Smith: Yeah. Those are two I've heard amazing things about.

Michelle: quite a bit because that's a category eight. ⁓ one is probably going to see a pretty big jump, which is interesting because ⁓ heard that it's really outdated. So I don't know why it's a category eight. ⁓ don't know if it's just because of the location and that's why it's a category eight, ⁓ ⁓ there will be some ⁓ of those like lower dates, but a hundred percent. I agree with you for both of those. Like Hawaii is a big one where there's lots of Hyatt choices, I think on all the islands. And those of course, especially in peak season are going to be that top pricing. if you wanna lock it in now, and I think we forgot to mention that, that the changes don't take effect until May 1st. we still have some time. You don't have to panic in the sense that you need to do it today, but you do need to book something before May 1st of 2026 to be able to

Joy Smith: Mm-hmm.

Michelle: in the pricing as it is now.

Joy Smith: And the Hyatt calendar is open 13 months in advance. So right now you can book through the end of March, 2027. Now I will say I have been scoping out a lot of the top properties, especially looking at all inclusives. Because my kids have a long weekend in February and I was going to do Grand Cayman, but with this announcement, I'm like, let me look at some all inclusives and see. And a lot of those calendars are either

Michelle: Yep. Yep. Yep.

Joy Smith: already sold out or they are just blocked out at this point probably awaiting until we get a little closer. I don't know but a lot of those calendars are already booked out.

Michelle: Mm-hmm. think, ⁓ I was gonna say, I think the globalists got to it. ⁓ Because you they can book ⁓ advanced ⁓ points.

Joy Smith: ⁓ yeah, that's right.

Michelle: So I think that's what happened is because there's quite a few, mean, lots of people are globalist, which if you're new to Points and Miles or to Hyatt, that's the highest level that you can achieve with status with Hyatt. And Hyatt has this really fun feature for globalists. It's not fun for the rest of us, but it's fun for them that they can book as many books. I think I don't, I guess I shouldn't say that you can, but I'm pretty sure you can book as many bookings as you want. you don't need the points. You just need the points by the time you take the trip. So I've seen in different groups, there are people that are booking like 10, 20 trips and they're probably gonna take two of them, but they don't want anybody else to steal these low prices. and they wait to book it later. So I think that's unfortunately why we are seeing a lot of booked up places because the globalists have taken them. And unfortunately they probably will cancel them after May 1st and everyone else is going to have to book them for the higher prices. But I have a feeling that that's what a lot of that is, unfortunately, especially for the really popular properties. Yeah, I know.

Joy Smith: That sucks. I didn't even think about the globalist jumping in because I was looking and why are all these calendars completely closed out? I just didn't get it. Now, you where I did find availability though was the Alila Ventana in Big Sur, the adult only all inclusive that ⁓ you're to in September. There was some availability in March that was still out there a couple of days in January. ⁓ Yeah.

Michelle: Yep. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. yeah. the 45k? You did you book it?

Joy Smith: I didn't because it because we're already going to Hawaii in March of 2027 and I don't know if those are two. mean, from where we live, those are two big trips. So. ⁓

Michelle: true. It is, it is so, ⁓ it's annoying. takes, it's going to take me so long to get there from Michigan. I wish it normally I would have never booked it, right? Because it's a pain to literally go for three days. It's eight hours of travel each day. ⁓ I don't normally do that three days, but I'm I'll never get to go again. So I'm, ⁓ I'm going no matter what. ⁓

Joy Smith: Yeah! I know, the availability left, March was a little different, but in January and February was only weekday availability. So that was the other ⁓ hard part is my husband, max him out for his days off work with our big trips. So anything else I try to make like a long weekend where he just has to take Friday or Monday. But if you have flexibility and you want an amazing adults only getaway in the United States at an all inclusive,

Michelle: Yes, I know. I know. Yes.

Joy Smith: I would go for the Alila Ventana. But I think I am going to set a reminder in April to check it for May and try to get in for May. Because I think May the weather would be better anyway.

Michelle: Yep. Yes. No, that'd be perfect. 100 % because I think that the weather there in January is not great anyway. It's not we think of California as this warm, sunny place. I'm pretty sure that there January is really cold and rainy. it kind of...

Joy Smith: Wasn't it in the mountains? I don't know where Big Sur is. I need to look on a map. But I think it's in the mountains, right?

Michelle: Kind of. It's nearish the water too, but I think where it is in California, because of where it's situated, they do get really cold weather. Because when we go in September, I've heard that September's a really great time to go because it still is nice and warm, but their winter is cold and rainy. So if you're wanting to be outside at the pool, going on walks, it's going to be ⁓ wet. and cold. just have to plan for that if you're gonna go in the winter. Because it depends what type of trip you're wanting. If you're wanting warm sunny out at the pool, you're just not gonna get that in January there. So maybe it'll actually work out well to wait. I know, cause that's one that will never be, it'll always be 75K to go there. yeah, that's a good one to book, if you can book that while it's still 45. Can I? Cause it's over $2,000 a night in cash. So it's an amazing deal to get it on points. It is, yes. Which is crazy, I know.

Joy Smith: And it's an all inclusive in the United States. Let's talk about some water slide properties within the United States that could be a really great thing for families. I know the Hyatt ⁓ Pines right outside of Austin. I've not personally been to that one, but it's on my list. I think my kids would really enjoy it. I think that's a really great one with awesome water park.

Michelle: Yup, that's one. Yep, I think the other one that's over there, not right next to it, but in Texas is the Hyatt Hill Country. That's the other one that people really like too, for watery type things in the Texas area. So I think both of those would be really good.

Joy Smith: Mm-hmm. And they're one in San Antonio,

Michelle: That's what that is, think. I Hyatt Hill Country is the San Antonio one.

Joy Smith: I'd have to look them up. Don't quote us. Just know there's some great ones in Texas. And then when you go over to Florida, the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point. That's another good one I have on my list that I would love to take my kids to. And then there's a really good one in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Arizona, too, that I've read a lot about.

Michelle: Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep, that's the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale. Yep.

Joy Smith: Michelle, where are some places that you've stayed that you would recommend people look into?

Michelle: Ooh, I haven't done ⁓ well, I guess I've done beachy, not in the United States, but you know, we love luxury. that would be my biggest tip. would be those ones that I talked about that are the category 8, 45,000 points a night that are going to probably move up to that 75k. Those are really the ones that I would be trying to book right now because that's such a massive points jump. last year we did Park High at New York City. that is one of my favorite properties that we've stayed at and that is perfect for Christmas in New York. You want to do the Christmas markets, the lights, know, go to Central Park. It's right around the corner from Central Park and the Columbus ⁓ Market. That 100 % at Christmas time is going to be $75K a night. There's no way around it. There's no way they're not going to have that because when we booked that, I think the cash rate was like $2,500 a night for that room. So there's no way, yeah, there's no way that's going to be lower than $75K. It's going to be at the top top. pricing. So 100 % Park High at New York City. We also really loved Park High at Chicago. That's only a category six. So I don't think that that will be as high. ⁓ But still, when you're thinking of peak Christmas time, a lot of people love to go to Chicago for the Christmas markets. ⁓ Again, that's probably going to be at the top pricing for a category six. ⁓ Another one we loved is the Andaz, Papagayo, and Costa Rica. Again, that's a great one. That's a category eight. So currently, the peak pricing for that is the 45K. It's going to go up to the 75K. And Costa Rica has kind of their dry sunny season and they have their rainy season. So the dry sunny season right now, when you look at their calendar, is pretty much always peak.

Joy Smith: ⁓ yeah.

Michelle: again, that probably will always be 75K in the dry sunny season. I loved the, mean, and that's the thing is I love all of these hotels, but I would never pay 75K a night to stay there. I'm just too cheap. So I think, I think they're still worth it, right? Because if you were to cash out those points, that would be $750 and you're getting a $2,000 a night room. You still are saving when you think about the cash price, but I would of course never pay $2,000 a night to stay at a hotel. One, I don't have the money, but even if I did, I feel like I wouldn't because I just wouldn't want to spend that much money. So I think for me, my value is really in those luxury properties and just trying to book those luxury properties before they become really expensive per night.

Joy Smith: Okay, I looked up the Park Hyatt New York for their points calendar, which by the way, Hyatt has a points calendar. So if you're on Hyatt app or go to Hyatt.com, you can go search specific dates and then it'll tell you what's available. What's not, when you click on that hotel and go view rates, there's a little button that says points calendar and you can go month by month and see all the open dates. So right now the Park Hyatt in New York.

Michelle: so nice. Yep.

Joy Smith: has every single day open at 45,000 points a night. So if you want a Christmas market weekend in New York City, I would jump on this right now for December, 2026. Every weekend is wide open, 45,000 points a night. Go ahead and book it. You can cancel it later, but I would secure it now and start planning that Christmas market trip to New York.

Michelle: Yeah, and you know the Thompson's right next door, which I think, I think that, I don't know if, I don't think the Thompson's a category eight. I think it's a category seven, but it's the same, right? I mean, they're all going to go up. I think there's, there's a Hyatt by, Grand Central Station in New York City, you know, they're all gonna go up. So that's the thing is you don't have to stay at the Park Hyatt. The Park Hyatt is just the highest category, most luxurious. That's just how we like to travel a lot of times. ⁓ Cause we, I'm the bougie one, right? You I like fancy. I just like fancy. I can't help it. I like it. It's who I am. So. ⁓

Joy Smith: Mm-hmm. Mwa ha ha!

Michelle: But they're all gonna go up. So it doesn't matter, you know, if you are wanting to do New York City at Christmas, you're going to want to book your Hyatt now. Doesn't matter which one it is, because they're all going to cost more come May 1st.

Joy Smith: All right, I'm checking the points calendar for Costa Rica, by the way.

Michelle: Well, I don't think there's much left there, unfortunately, because that's one that the globalists got to.

Joy Smith: ⁓ January is wide open.

Michelle: Well, are you sure? Click on it. Because it might only be a king room. Is it just it? Well, click on it for because it's usually what's ⁓ all that's left king rooms. a family of four can't book it.

Joy Smith: Does it not have a sleeper stuff in it? Nope, it doesn't, does it?

Michelle: No, it sleeps two. So you, that's the problem is all these properties, the two queen or two double rooms are gone.

Joy Smith: Hold on, let me set, you know what, I didn't set my parameters to two adults and children. So, let me do that really fast and then we'll see what it does. I just was looking at the points calendar, which, I mean, I think a Christmas market we can get away to New York would be a fun, adults-only trip.

Michelle: You should, yeah, yep. Yep. It would. And some of them will let you, some resorts, depending on how small your kids are, if you don't care, some of them will let you have four and a king room. I'm not saying, I actually just encountered this with the park Hyatt Cabo del Sol in Mexico because I booked a king room because that was all that was left. I wanted to jump on that before that increases, because that's one of those category eights, 45K a night. And I emailed the hotel, and they actually switched me to a two queen room on points. yeah, it never hurts to ask, because you never know. ⁓ Again, Hyatt New York City told me that we could, all four of us could be in the King Room. So ⁓ if see King Room, I would still book it, and then email the hotel and ask.

Joy Smith: and then call.

Michelle: And then if they tell you no, then you can cancel it, but I would still book it to save it. then at book it and ask questions later is my motto right now.

Joy Smith: Alright, I'm looking at the Hyaziva Capcana in the Dominican Republic. And there is nothing.

Michelle: Yeah.

Joy Smith: Yeah, that's what sucks is people have jumped on these really nice, more popular ones, but you know, it is what it is. And we just got to grab the ones we can that we want. I jumped on the Hyatt Regency in Maui for spring break, 2027. Kauai still had availability when I was checking too. So. ⁓

Michelle: It is. Yep. Yep. And yeah, that was my, that was my panic booking was my Park Hyatt Cabo Del Sol. that we're going January 2027. that one looks really pretty and it's new. So I really want to stay ⁓ there. ⁓ I'll get go again. This is my last chance. So I want to, I want to stay there while I can. But ⁓ I couldn't really of anywhere else I don't know, I really wanna stay at the standard in London as an example, because they fit four to a room and it's really hard to fit four to a room in Europe. But as Joy was talking about the points calendar. ⁓ Again, that's what I really love about Hyatt that they have that points calendar because those of us that do have flexible schedules, ⁓ can look after May 1st and I can look through that points calendar and I'm gonna be able to see ⁓ and I'm gonna be able to go, ⁓ hey, I found these random three days ⁓ March that are ⁓

Joy Smith: Mm-hmm.

Michelle: I'm gonna be able to book them for almost what I can book them for now And it's really not going to affect me I but like I said there are that the standard in London places like that ⁓ I I'm not really gonna panic book them because I I don't consider them Busy enough that they're always going to be top now. We have no idea what hi, it's going to do right, so ⁓ maybe it's gonna try to push all the properties all towards top and there's hardly ever gonna be low we don't know so it is just a mystery at this point but my hope is for those of us that have flexible dates we can still get some of those deals so I really wanted to focus on panic booking something that I know is going to stay top And those everything that Joy and I have mentioned, those will, know, Maui, Kauai, New York, those are just gonna be top. And it is what it is. those are popular destinations. And that's the other thing is that's where Hyatt's award chart, that's where they're trying to get closer to that cash value, right? Where maybe right now the park Hyatt New York, I don't know, is $800 a night as an example. It's going to, but at Christmas it's over $2,000 a night because that demand is there. So it's just, we know those are going to be top. So those are the ones that you wanna focus on booking right now. But I don't think you need to panic book everything because like I said, all the other properties, hopefully you're gonna have some good deals that we can kind of look through that calendar and study it and find something good.

Joy Smith: Well, plus there's only so many, A, you only have so many points, and B, you can only go so far out. right now, we can only go through March 2027, and then, you know, in April, well, wait, it's now March. So have they opened up April yet? Since it's 13 months out? I should check that.

Michelle: Yes, true. Yeah. Well, some of them open up, but I don't know if you've ever noticed, but some of them open the full 13 months and some of them don't. So you do have to study the calendar for each one.

Joy Smith: That's true. So you might. Yeah, so at this point you may or may not be able to find April availability and then the change takes effect May 1st. So at that point you're only going to really be able to book up through May 2027. So I would just really think about what you want to do between now and May 2027 and figure out where you want to go, where you want to use your points and then just be strategic on it.

Michelle: now that we've talked about that, let's wrap things up with how you can ⁓ earn Hyatt points we could have new listeners who are like, why are they so obsessed with Hyatt now? And they're thinking, well, geez, I better get some points so I can stay at these Hyatt's too. let's kind of quickly give them few options of how you can earn some Hyatt points.

Joy Smith: the first is going to be a credit card signup bonus. our favorite card for all beginners that you can earn points that turn into these valuable high up points is going to be the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It comes with a $95 annual fee, but it comes with the ability to transfer your points to partner, which if you're not familiar with what that is, Go back and listen to our episode where we do a walkthrough for beginner to points and miles and how it works. But the Chase Sapphire Preferred is going to be your best starter card to earn those points. What you get for the welcome offer is 75,000 points. After spending $5,000 in three months, we're talking your groceries, your gas, kids activities, appointment, anything that you're spending in your everyday spending. You just have to spend 5,000 within 90 days. That's going to be the quickest and easiest way to get you a large sum of points to book a vacation with.

Michelle: Yep, I love our chase cards. And they're getting a little bit harder to earn, if you don't have them, now's a good time to get them. ⁓

Joy Smith: And... Hahaha! Yes, yes, yes. Now there are some other chase cards that you can always add in once you have that one So if you already have that card you can look at adding the chase freedom unlimited or the chase freedom flex Those are good options to add in. It's not gonna be a huge sum of points, but you're gonna get $200 cash back which when you combine it with your Sapphire preferred it then turns into transferable points, which gives you 20,000 points Some easier ways to earn these points that you can work through are if you are interested, now this is a rabbit hole I'm not going to go down today because it will take us another hour or longer to dive into it, is going to be the built rewards ecosystem. ⁓ rewards, if you pay rent or if you have a mortgage, they have a credit card that you can put those things on a credit card. It's not something I'm encouraging for everyone yet because it does require doing the math to make sure it's gonna work for you and that it is a good choice for you to do it. that is another way you can really earn a good stash of points. Once you have that built rewards relationship, then you can pair it with Rakuten. Rakuten has a, right now a signup which we'll link in here for you guys. ⁓ if you sign up and use our link, all you have to do is spend $50 through Rakuten within 90 days and they give you $50 back and we earn $50 as well from using our link. But the way that works is your money, your cashback that you earn on Rakuten, you can link to your built rewards account and then every 90 days it's deposited into your built rewards account. I actually just had $400 worth of cash back from Rakuten deposited into my built account. ⁓ which gave me 40,000 points. So that was actually a huge lump sum that I had deposited. Yeah, so if you can watch that and I think already this for this next deposit that's coming in May, I'm already at $150 cash back.

Michelle: That's amazing. What? Okay, that's awesome.

Joy Smith: Girl, you gotta watch those offers and jump on them. There's some crazy offers that you can get in there, but you just have to watch them. ⁓ will do that. I will do that better. ⁓ those are really if you're up for it, it's a really great and lucrative way to earn some Hyatt points. Now, Bilt does come with a lot of caveats. Like you need to know what you're doing.

Michelle: I You gotta text me, text me. Text me, text me, text me. It is.

Joy Smith: I will say it is not a beginner friendly area to jump into. It is something that you need to do your homework on before you jump into the built rewards ecosystem.

Michelle: Yep. Did we talk about the Hyatt credit cards or no? I can't remember. No, didn't. Yes. Okay. Yes, I do not either, but that would be the last way that you could get some more Hyatt points. So right now, Hyatt a personal credit card and a business credit card. So a lot of people actually use those together to earn globalist status. I don't know with all the new changes.

Joy Smith: No, we did not. I will let you take that one because I do not have a Hyatt credit card.

Michelle: how lucrative that's going to be moving forward. But you could also get their personal card and their business card. And that would be another way to earn some extra points. And the personal card comes with a free night, which is a category one through four currently. I don't know with all the new changes, if any of that's gonna change, but that does come with a free night every year. So that would be kind of a fun card. I think the annual fee is only $95 on that. So you definitely could get way more than $95, especially by using that free night out of that card. And there are rumors that there might be a new premium card coming out in 2026. that's gonna be another way to earn some more Hyatt points. at some point, I think I'm hoping that that premium card is going to come out this year because I'm planning to get it. I'm trying to stay at under 524 for that card. the rumors are maybe spring. I'm hoping in the next few months it comes around because I've exhausted all of my chase options at this point and I'm kind of at a standstill. and we don't have any plans to get the bill credit card. So for us, this is kind of the last ditch effort. I have no other I'm out of options. So I want more Hyatt points, I'm going to have to get a Hyatt card or you know, there is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Did you, you said that, didn't you? Yeah. And then there's like the, yeah, the Sapphire preferred. Yeah. It is. Yes. It's as a high annual fee. Yeah. And then the reserve business. ⁓

Joy Smith: said the Sapphire Preferred, because the Reserve is definitely a premium card. Yeah, I mean, I love it.

Michelle: as a big spend. you know, they're kind of, those cards are harder for most people, you know?

Joy Smith: am a fan of my Chase Sapphire Reserve. Well, it's in my husband's name, so it's technically his, but since I do everything, I treat it as it's mine. ⁓ But I do really love the perks on that.

Michelle: Yep.

Joy Smith: love it. I do want to jump back to higher credit card though really fast. ⁓ I have a sneaky suspicion. Now this is just me out of my brain and my thoughts and feelings. This is nowhere near factual, but I have a feeling they're going to launch the new cards with the changes in May ⁓ or leading up to the changes. Yeah, I have a that's when it's going to come out.

Michelle: ⁓ that's a good idea. Okay. Okay, well good. ⁓

Joy Smith: Cause they're going to have to increase the amount of earnings you're getting on the credit card to match the increase. Cause right now, I mean, I'm not going to lie. I think the Hyatt cards are crap. That's why I don't have one. 60,000 points and you have to spend $15,000 for 60,000 points. that's ridiculous. I can spend $2,000 and get a hundred thousand Hilton points. Granted they don't go as far, but ⁓ still just, I think the Hyatt card is crap.

Michelle: ⁓ They are, they have like the points you get for them is yeah, I know. I know, know. ⁓ is. ⁓ Yeah. Yup.

Joy Smith: So I'm really curious what they're gonna redo with it and I'm on the fence if it's gonna be on my list or not But I'm also not a Hyatt loyalist. I will choose Hilton or IHG any day over Hyatt now granted I do I did just panic book the Hyatt Regency Maui because I really want to go there

Michelle: I know. Yeah, but that actually got me excited. maybe you're right and it's gonna have a really good welcome offer. ⁓ would be amazing. ⁓ well.

Joy Smith: I don't know. We'll see.

Michelle: be back. I think I go to 424. Actually, I think I'm at 424. I think it was March 1st. I went to 424. So I'm excited because I'm hoping in the next few months there's gonna be a Hyatt card calling my name. We will see. We will see.

Joy Smith: We'll see. ⁓

Michelle: even with these changes, HIA is still one of the most viable hotel programs in Points and Miles. ⁓ if you're earning chase points, HIA is still one of the best ways to redeem them. ⁓ you found this episode helpful, share it with a friend who loves traveling with Points and Miles. And don't forget to leave us a five-star review. ⁓ It helps our podcast grow. ⁓ Thank so much for listening, and we will see you next time. ⁓