Award Chart
An award chart is a published table of fixed point prices for flights or hotel stays, organized by region, distance, or hotel category. World of Hyatt still uses one — Category 1 hotels start at 3,000 points under its May 2026 five-tier chart — while most US airlines have switched to dynamic pricing.
An award chart is a contract of sorts: you know in advance exactly how many points a redemption costs, which makes saving toward a goal rational.
How it works. Charts group destinations into zones or categories with a fixed price per cabin or room type. Hyatt's chart, updated May 20, 2026, spans Categories 1-8 across five seasonal tiers: Category 1 runs 3,000-9,000 points and Category 8 runs up to 75,000. Airline programs that keep published charts (or close to them) include Air Canada Aeroplan, Alaska Atmos, and British Airways' distance-based Avios pricing.
Example. Under Hyatt's chart, a Category 4 hotel tops out at 25,000 points regardless of whether the cash rate is $250 or $600 — expensive dates are exactly where fixed charts shine.
Why it matters. When programs drop charts for dynamic pricing, point values usually fall and planning gets harder. A chart also exposes sweet spots — categories or zones priced below their real-world value.
Common mistakes: assuming a chart price guarantees availability (it doesn't — award space is still capacity-controlled), and not rechecking charts after devaluations. See the Hyatt award chart guide.