Hyatt Award category changes Jan 22, 2015 with 22 hotels up and 48 down

Hyatt Award category changes January 22, 2015 take effect with 22 hotels moving up one category and 48 hotels moving down. This is about 4% of hotels worldwide moving up and 9% moving down.

Make your 2015 award reservations by January 21 to lock in lower points rates for hotels moving up in category. Hyatt will proactively redeposit points for awards already reserved for hotels going down in category. The new award rates become effective at 12:01am CST (Chicago time) on January 22, 2015.

Hyatt Properties Moving Down in Award Category

I like seeing twice as many hotels dropping to category 1 at 5,000 points per night than hotels moving out of category 1. There are 14 hotels, all in the USA, in Hyatt House and Hyatt Place brands moving from category 2 to category 1 award nights. There are 7 hotels moving up from category 1 to category 2.

The hotels of note are category 5 hotels dropping to category 4. These properties become available using the Hyatt Visa Anniversary night.

Grand Hyatt Washington D.C.
Hyatt French Quarter New Orleans
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa, Bonita Springs, FL
Hyatt Grand Cypress, Orland, FL
Hyatt Regency La Jolla, San Diego, CA
MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV

Hyatt Regency Savannah, Georgia stands out to me since I stayed at the hotel this year and it was no contest in the choice between the boutique Andaz Savannah and convention style Hyatt Regency Savannah, both at category 4. The category change will likely reduce award pressure on Andaz Savannah for Hyatt Gold Passport members choosing to spend 12,000 points for Hyatt Regency Savannah rather than 15,000 points for Andaz Savannah.

What are the current point redemption values for each free night award category?

Category 1 = 5,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points

Category 2 = 8,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points

Category 3 = 12,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points

Category 4 = 15,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points

Category 5 = 20,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points

Category 6 = 25,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points

Category 7 = 30,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points

Hyatt Properties Moving Up in Award Category

There are no real surprises here, except for the fact that so few hotels are rising in award category. The new Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar outside Nassau in the Bahamas is rising in award category prior to opening. This is one hotel to consider for the Hyatt Visa anniversary certificate limited to category 4 hotels, but it may not even be available to book before the change.

Amsterdam, Nice and the Maldives are not a surprise to see going up.

*****

Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.

Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. Check out current hotel loyalty program offers across all the major chains in Loyalty Traveler’s monthly hotel promotions guide.

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2 Comments

Mitch December 10, 2014

What’s the precedent for changing to the adjusted category if you have a future booking past the category change date.

One of the hotels I have booked a night at as a Cat 5 is going down to Cat 4. Do you have any experience getting the points refunded without cancelling and rebooking the room? It’s a high traffic weekend so I don’t want to risk cancelling my room.

Thanks!
Ric Garrido December 10, 2014

@Mitch – Hyatt Gold Passport states they will proactively redeposit points for hotel awards already reserved for hotels dropping category on January 22, 2015. Sounds like you do not need to do anything, except check to see you get your points redeposited to your account.