Book Hyatt award stays without enough points in your account

World of Hyatt recently announced its list of annual category changes. Through this announcement, we learned that you’ll soon need to redeem more Hyatt points for award stays at 118 properties.

Luckily, World of Hyatt announced its planned category changes in advance. So, you can still book Hyatt hotels and resorts at their current award rates through March 25 at 8 a.m. CDT.

I recommend looking through the list of properties increasing in award category and determining which, if any, you want to book ahead of the category changes. Even if you don’t currently have enough Hyatt points in your account, you could still use one of the following ways to book your stays before the category changes March 25.

Transfer points from a partner program

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Bilt Rewards Points to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio.

Transferable points are valuable because you can convert them into different types of points and miles. World is Hyatt is one of the highest-value partners of both programs, so you’ll usually get good value when transferring your rewards to World of Hyatt.

Transfers usually occur instantly, but be sure to check for award availability at the Hyatt property that you want to book before transferring your points.

Related: Should I get the World of Hyatt Credit Card or transfer points from Chase instead?

Transfer points from another member’s account

If you have a friend or family member with a healthy stash of points, they can transfer Hyatt points to your account for free. There is no minimum or maximum number of points you can combine, though you can only transfer or receive points once every 30 days.

Transferring points between Hyatt accounts is an antiquated — but worthwhile — process. Hyatt requires you to fill out this form (PDF file), get signatures from both members and email it to combinepoints@hyatt.com. You can alternatively mail in the form, but I suspect few members do so.

Related: The ultimate guide to redeeming your World of Hyatt points

Get another member to book you an award stay

Hyatt lets its members book award stays, including Guest of Honor stays, in another member’s name. So, if the member doesn’t want to transfer points to your account but is willing to book an award stay for you, they can do so.

The other member must use their points to book the award stay in your name. To do so, they must contact World of Hyatt customer service.

You must show photo identification at check-in and provide a credit card or cash deposit for incidentals. However, unless the member books a Guest of Honor award for you (which gives you on-property Globalist perks), you’ll get elite benefits and earnings on incidentals based on your own Hyatt elite status (not the member’s status).

If you need to change your reservation, you’ll need to have the member who booked cancel the reservation and rebook.

Related: Your guide to the World of Hyatt award chart

Book a points-advance reservation

Normally, Hyatt will remove points from your account within three days of when you book an award stay. However, you may be able to book an award stay even if you don’t have enough points in your account if you have Hyatt elite status.

According to the World of Hyatt terms and conditions, “In some instances, a Member with elite status may be permitted to make an Award Reservation even though the Member does not have a sufficient number of points or the applicable award required for that Award Reservation, in anticipation of the Member accumulating the necessary points or award before the check-in date of the Award Reservation. If the elite Member does not have the sufficient number of points or the applicable award in their account as the check-in date of the Award Reservation nears (as determined by Hyatt in its sole discretion), the reservation may be canceled or changed by Hyatt in its sole discretion to the then-current Standard Rate for the applicable room.”

So, you can contact World of Hyatt if you have elite status and want to make a points-advance reservation. However, any changes, including applying a suite upgrade award, will likely cause the stay to reprice at the new rates. It’s also smart to ask the agent when you must have the points in your account to cover your stay.

Be sure to keep an eye on your account, as some members in recent years have said Hyatt used the new rates when deducting points ahead of stays. However, if you contact World of Hyatt, you should be able to get the award price at which you booked honored. To avoid this potential issue, you may want to contact Hyatt once you have enough points in your account so the agent can manually deduct the correct amount.

Related: 22 best Hyatt hotels in the world

Buy points

Buying at least 5,000 Hyatt points can unlock a 25% discount through April 14. This brings the purchase rate of Hyatt points down to 1.95 cents apiece, which is higher than TPG’s February 2025 valuation of 1.7 cents apiece.

While this isn’t the best promotion on buying Hyatt points you’ll likely see this year, it’s worth considering if that’s what you need to do to book a stay before the property moves to a higher award category.

Related: How to earn World of Hyatt points to redeem for your next vacation

Bottom line

The annual Hyatt category changes usually bring more bad news (category increases) than good news (category decreases). But there’s still time to book stays into 2026 at the current rates — you just need to book by March 25 at 8 a.m. CDT.