Updated 05.11.2026

Hyatt implementation date is May 20for the first time. Hurry up with your appointments.

Updated 04.06.2026

Korean Air, Asiana May 2026 domestic flight sale announcedIt's done.

This is a 4.5x increase from $7,700 to $34,100.

International flights are expected to be announced in mid-April, so I'm guessing we're looking at the biggest increase.

April is also a big increase, but if you need to redeem miles, you may not want to wait until May.

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It's one of those days when you feel like the world is going to end.

I hope you're all doing well and staying healthy...?

Today's post is about

• Spike in oil prices due to the US-Iran war = One is the news of increased fuel surcharges on national airlines starting 4/1.
• 5/1 Another is the news of a Hyatt points deduction increase scheduled to go into effect in May.

Neither is good news, but I think you should act sooner rather than later to minimize the damage.

1. Significant increase in fuel surcharges on flag carriers starting with April ticketing 

First up is the news of fuel surcharge increases on national carriers.

Fuel surcharges, also known as fuel surcharges or YQ-charges, are a last-ditch effort by airlines in the era of high oil prices. Since airfares cannot be raised by as much as the increase in oil prices, the airlines use the fuel surcharge as an excuse to raise the actual fare.

For South Korea Calculate fuel surcharge based on the average price of Singapore jet fuel (MOPS) from the 16th day of delivery to the 15th day of the monthFor example, the April fuel surcharge is based on the average price of jet fuel from February 16 to March 15.

But as we all know, Singapore Airlines oil went through a crazy spike because of the war in Iran. In February, it was around $$90 per barrel, On March 4, it spiked to an all-time high of $$240 per barrel.. As a result, fuel surcharges for Korean flag carriers are scheduled to rise vertically in April from 6 to 18 tiers (out of 33).

Specifically, the For Korean Air Based on a one-way trip from South Korea,

• For relatively short distances such as LA, Seattle, and San Fran, the fuel surcharge will more than triple from 79,500 won for tickets issued through March to 276,000 won for tickets issued in April.
• For relatively long distances, such as New York, Chicago, Washington, and Atlanta, the price will increase from 99,000 won to 303,000 won.

That's a huge increase, so if you've been holding off on redeeming miles, it's a good time to do so, preferably in March.

2. There are a few things you should know about retention.

1) Validity is as of the date of ticketing.

It doesn't matter when you board, so if you can still get a ticket now, we recommend doing so.

2) Save on one-way tickets to save on fares

Unlike departures from South Korea, where the government sets fuel surcharge thresholds, departures from the United States do not.

So for a while, fuel surcharges were more expensive for flights originating in the U.S. (US departures have already increased by $$50 without warning since the war. There's plenty of room to go up ;;)

So, for round-trip mileage ticketing from the U.S., there is a way to save on redemptions by booking a one-way ticket instead of a round-trip ticket.

Let me give you an example.

Let's say you want to use Korean Air miles to find a round-trip itinerary from LA on 4/8 and Incheon on 4/15.

(1) If you ticket a roundtrip from the US, you'll pay $698.43 in taxes + fuel surcharges for 70,000 miles at the US rate.

(2) On the other hand, if you split the booking in two and issue a single one-way ticket from the US and a separate one-way ticket for the return from Korea.

First, the US outbound award is 35,000 miles + US blackout dates, which is $334.90.

A return ticket from South Korea would cost 35,000 miles + South Korea's Yuhan, which is 166,000 won = $110 at the current exchange rate.

In other words, it's the exact same journey, but

• If the ticket is ticketed as a round-trip from the US, the taxes + fees will be based on US prices, resulting in $698.43.
• A one-way + split ticket would cost $334.90 in the US + $110 in Korea = $434.90 in total.

That's a whopping $263.53 in savings with just a few more clicks. 

Of course, there are downsides. If you need to cancel your entire itinerary, there's the potential downside of paying the 3,000 mile ticket cancellation fee twice because you're canceling two tickets instead of one. However, that's only in the case of a post-trip cancellation, and I'd have to say that the savings outweigh the downside in most situations.

In the case of Korean Air, fares from the US have always been higher than from Korea, so I'm assuming this will continue to be the case after April, but you'll have to check this at the time of ticketing as it may not be the case. At your own risk.

3. Hyatt seasonal segmentation increases point deductions, coming in May

Here's some Hyatt news.

Hyatt has always adjusted its hotel tiers every spring - a hotel that was a 5 last year would become a 6 this year, or a 4 if you're lucky. Of course, the number of hotels going up in tiers far outnumbered the number of hotels going down, so it's undeniable that this has had the effect of raising points in real terms.

But this year, the rules of the game have completely changed.

There was a lot of speculation that we were going to add a 9th and 10th tier to the existing 8-tier system, which was completely wrong, and we ended up keeping the 1-8 tiers, but breaking down the seasons that the tiers were applied to and increasing the point deductions.

In other words, we broke down the existing 3 seasons (off-peak, standard, peak) into 5 seasons (lowest, low, moderate, upper, top), while simultaneously increasing the deductions for the upper and top seasons.

Shortcuts: New Applied Formula Chart

As you can see in the table below, the current peak redemption for a standard room is 45,000 points, while the peak redemption in the upcoming chart is 75,000 points. That's a 67% increase.

All-inclusive is also slated for a 47% increase, from the current maximum redemption of 58,000 points to 85,000 points.

4. 3 things the Hyatt change means for you

The chart change, which is scheduled to go live in May, has three important implications.

1) Luxury hotels, book now.

As you can see from the table above, the peak season (Top) markup for an 8 star hotel is a floodgate.

So if you've been planning to book an eight-star hotel like the Park Hyatt in New York, the Vendôme in Paris, or the Park Hyatt in Kyoto, now is the time to do it.

The deductions are still low, but compared to the deductions since May, they're child's play.

Also, while we don't know exactly when it will start in May, we recommend that you book in April to get in on May 1.

Most of the last Hyatt hotels allow free cancellation up to 3-4 days before your stay, but some don't, so I'd be wary of that.

2) Increase the value of your stay

It's not exactly a positive change, but it does feel like the value of a Hyatt stay has gone up with the increased deductible.

For example, if you have a Hyatt personal card, you'll receive one night valid up to level 4 every year.

If this night was valid for 18,000 points on the current chart, it would be valid for 25,000 points on the new chart.

That's not to say it's a great thing, though.

I think you'll just have to weigh the redemption amounts required by the hotel at the time of your stay and decide which option is more beneficial to you, redeeming points directly versus redeeming for a night.

3) Hilton stays with no tier restrictions?

Some have said that Hyatt's increased deductions at top-tier hotels makes Hilton look like the good guy for offering unrestricted stays.

In the case of Hilton, you can redeem standard awards as long as they are available (Some hotels don't accept vouchers. Please note).

I just happened to see a promotion going on for Hilton's partner cards.

Shortcuts: Hilton Card Offers with Good Deals, Free Stays, and More

‘If you're thinking, 'I'll just stay at a fancy Hilton," you might want to seriously consider the Hilton offer.

Let's wrap up today's post.

The general consensus is that oil prices are set to rise due to the aftermath of the war, and that the price of cash-purchase paid tickets will increase across the board. One could argue that if ticket prices increase too much, demand will decrease and therefore mile redemptions will be easier than expected, but I think this is speculation.

If you were planning on redeeming miles on your favorite airline, and if you were planning on staying at Hyatt, we encourage you to make your reservations before the deadline.

featured image: depositphotos (153577244)