Update 3/19/24: Just a quick reminder that these award chart changes will be going into effect on March 26. That means there’s only a week left to book at the current lower rates for any properties going up a category level.
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Every year Hyatt reevaluates the category levels its properties are allocated to. This inevitably leads to a devaluation and 2024 is no exception. Hyatt has announced its list of soon-to-be category-changing properties and it’s not a pretty sight. Of all the hotels that are having their award pricing adjusted, 3/4 of them will be seeing an increase in how many points are required.
You can find the full list of award chart changes here. Here are a few of the highlights lowlights:
- 183 properties will be changing category
- 136 properties going up one category level
- 1 property going up two category levels
- 46 properties going down one category level
- 5 properties increasing from category 7 to 8, with only one hotel dropping in the other direction
- 19 properties going up from category 4 to 5, but only five going down from category 5 to 4
- Net loss of six category 1 properties (21 increasing to category 2, 15 decreasing from category 2 to 1)
Quick Thoughts
Although World of Hyatt has announced these changes now, they don’t take effect until March 26, 2024. That means you have four weeks from when this post is published to lock in the lower pricing for properties that will be going up in price, even if those stays are for after March 26.
If the property (or properties) you have your eye on will be going down in price, it’s still worth booking your stay now despite the number of points required being higher. That’s because Hyatt is surprisingly good when it comes to this kind of thing and will proactively credit your World of Hyatt account with the excess points you redeemed once these award changes come into play. That’s not the case in reverse – if you book a property now that goes up in price, they won’t charge more points from March 26 for those existing reservations.
While that’s a good thing, the changes overall are painful. 3/4 of the hotels changing category will see an increase. Note that that’s not 3/4 of all Hyatt properties – only of the 183 changing category.
For anyone who earns category 1-4 free night certificates – whether that’s through a Hyatt credit card, getting 30 elite night credits or earning a Brand Explorer award – you’ll have fewer properties you can redeem those at. That includes some popular properties for certificate usage such as the Grand Hyatt Washington, Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach and Thompson Chicago. A few hotels that’ll become newly bookable with those certificates include the Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco and FirstName Bordeaux in France.
For anyone with a category 1-7 free night certificate, it’s going to be even harder to find a property at which to redeem it. That’s because only one hotel is dropping to the category 7 level (Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas in California), whereas the following five hotels will be increasing to category 8 and so will be priced out of that certificate usage:
- The Everline Resort and Spa in California
- Vail Residences at Cascade Village in Colorado
- Hyatt Centric Park City in Utah
- Alila Villas Uluwatu in Indonesia
- Hotel Du Palais Biarritz in France
Another notable increase is the Andaz Costa Rica Penninsula Papagayo. This was once a favorite redemption option for many people due to its quality and location, as well as it being a category 4 property. In the space of just a few years, it’s risen to category 7 which means at standard pricing it now costs 30,000 points rather than 15,000.
All of the increases are incredibly disappointing, but there is a small sense of relief that Hyatt hasn’t a) introduced even higher category levels than level 8 and b) hasn’t introduced dynamic pricing beyond their existing off-peak/standard/peak structure. There were concerns from some people in the last year or two that Hyatt’s system update was being done in order to introduce the capability to price award redemptions on a dynamic basis. That’s thankfully not the case, at least not yet anyway and I doubt we’d see any change of that nature now until 2025 at the earliest – if at all.
Question
What are your thoughts on this devaluation? Will this benefit you based on the hotels you’re planning on booking, or are the properties you’re interested in staying at going up in price? Let us know in the comments below.
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Any idea what time the change happens? I’m still seeing the old rates…
Would making award booking as Globalist with points advance still lock in the old points rates?
Yes. Be sure you don’t make any changes to the reservation (name, date, # of guests, etc) after March 25 or else it will revert to the new award rate.
Cancelled my Bonvoy Brilliant card today. Looks like the real inflation is in the hotel points devaluation. Hilton Aspire will be gone next. I will just use the points for hotels with Gold status from Platinum card.
[…] award category changes. I won’t go into it here (as you can find full reviews here, here, and here). You can find the whole list of Hyatt changes here. However, you want to make that you are able to […]
I am grateful for the advance notice. I have 11 properties booked that are all going up but I was debating on 2 more, so the moment I saw them on the list going up again, I booked them. Last year I did not see a refund on the points for one of my bookings when it went down, so it took my concierge a while to sort that one out but this year I am prepared. One of my bookings is going down so I will be re-booking it on March 27.
Zilara and Zivas pretty much out of the question at all of them, now. Ridiculous point levels
Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ is being renovated into a Grand Hyatt so that’s not surprising to see a category increase. Interesting that it is increasing even before the rebrand and renovations are complete.
I’m sad to see the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego moving up to Cat 5. I’ve never stayed on points but love that property from multiple conference stays in the past. It’s the nicest property along that stretch of the waterfront. I was hoping to get back on a family trip and book a room there – might need to speculatively plan a trip for later this year just to lock in the lower rate.
The value of Hyatt’s all-inclusive portfolio also continues to take a hit. The insane early redemptions on Ziva/Zilara and the Apple Leisure properties weren’t sustainable but wow have they gone up in a hurry.
While I feel bad for others, for our common booking locations all the hotels on the list were ones that went down one category and only one went up. But it was once we really like so that was unfortunate.
[…] properties are becoming more expensive and only 46 are moving down a category. As pointed out on Frequent Miler, 19 properties went up from Category 4 to 5, but only five went down from Category 5 to […]
Never mind, I found the link! I missed the word here oops
Usually, you publish a link to the list of all the hotel changes. I don’t see that in the article. Can you add to the comments so we see and plan accordingly?
TIA
My eye immediately went to hotels in Peninsula/Silicon Valley/South Bay, as I’m full force in the the using points to fly across the country to help aging parents phase of life. The category decrease on the Hyatt House Belmont Shores (4 to 3) and the Wild Palms (2 to 1) has me thinking about a more aggressive play at Hyatt status this year. The Hyatt House especially is of interest as I’d love to have the kitchen amenities when I’m out there for a week+ at a time.
The parking and fees on many of these (e.g., San Diego) are insane, even with “free” nights.
5/24 continues to mean less and less to me. Not much on Chase at Al any longer.
all
What are you going to switch to?
Basically I will not be trying to keep under 5/24 and trying to get Chase cards in the future. All other cards are on the table!!
Some positives for California: Santa Cruz and San Francisco now have a category 4 again making Category 1-4 free night certs usable again. This alone will inspire me to complete the 15K spend on the card for a 2nd free night. The fact that there is a category 1 in California again is interesting and it’s in Sunnyvale in Silicone Valley of all places where some might need to stay for business. Loss of the Grand Hyatt in San Diego for a free cert is painful as that was a great redemption.
I immediately went there to. I have heard Wild Palms isn’t great but a Cat 1 in the SV? Holy mattress run.