Hyatt Award Category Changes

Hyatt has announced award category changes for a large number of its hotels. Although I would classify this as a devaluation, it’s by no means a massive one.

These changes won’t take effect until March 18, 2019. You can book at the old award rates until then. The entire list of changes can be found at Hyatt’s website here.

In total, 259 properties are changing categories. 129 hotels are moving to a lower category and 130 are getting more expensive. That looks fairly balanced at first glance. Lets dig deeper.

World of Hyatt Categories

The Hotel Award Categories determine how many World of Hyatt points are required to be redeemed for each night:

• Category 1 – 5,000 points/night
• Category 2 – 8,000
• Category 3 – 12,000
• Category 4 – 15,000
• Category 5 – 20,000
• Category 6 – 25,000
• Category 7 – 30,000

In addition, holders of the Chase Hyatt Credit Card receive a free night award each anniversary year. These awards can be used at any category 1-4 hotel or resort. Given that restriction, card holders will be particularly sensitive to hotels moving from category 4 to 5 as these will no longer qualify for the free night. At the same time, they’ll welcome hotels moving from category 5 to 4 as new free night options.

There are 18 hotels moving up from Category 4 to 5 and 12 moving from Category 5 to 4. I’ll list them below.

Properties Getting Cheaper

Of the 129 hotels that are moving to a lower category, 52 are moving from Category 2 to Category 1 (8,000 points/night to 5,000 points/night). 36 are moving from Category 3 to Category 2 (12,000 to 8,000).

At the other end of the spectrum, only 6 properties are moving from Category 6 to Category 5 (25,000 to 20,000). You can see that the favorable changes are weighted towards already cheap properties.

Here are the hotels and resorts that are moving from Category 5 to 4 and will now be eligible for free night awards:

• Park Hyatt Zanzibar
• Park Hyatt Hangzhou
• Park Hyatt Istanbul – Macka Palas
• Hyatt Regency Kiev
• Andaz San Diego
• Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
• Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach
• Hyatt Centric Chicago Magnificent Mile
• Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago
• Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina
• Hyatt House Jersey City
• Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson

Properties Getting More Expensive

Of the 130 hotels that are moving to a higher category, 18 are moving from Category 1 to Category 2. 39 are moving from Category 2 to Category 3. On the higher end, 39 properties are moving up from at least Category 4 to a higher tier.

Here are the hotels that will no longer be bookable via the free night award due to the category change:

• Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui
• Park Hyatt Busan
• Hyatt Regency Guam
• Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo
• Hyatt Regency Cologne
• Park Hyatt Hamburg
• Hyatt Regency Amsterdam
• Hyatt Regency Sochi
• Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco
• Hyatt Place Dewey Beach
• Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami
• Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa
• Hyatt Regency Boston
• Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown
• Grand Hyatt DFW
• Hyatt House Virginia Beach / Oceanfront
• Grand Hyatt Seattle
• Hyatt at Olive 8

I think, as a whole, there are more desirable hotels/resorts moving up from Category 4 as opposed to moving down into Category 4. For many, that’s where the devaluation resides–in the free night sweet spot that just got a little less sweet.