Ritz-Carlton Rewards Category Changes Announced

The number of hotels included in each tier currently and following these changes are:

Today
Tier 1 = 21 hotels
Tier 2 = 28 hotels
Tier 3 = 21 hotels
Tier 4 = 5 hotels
Tier 5 = 3 hotels

Starting May 16, 2013
Tier 1 = 14 hotels
Tier 2 = 28 hotels
Tier 3 = 20 hotels
Tier 4 = 13 hotels
Tier 5 = 3 hotels

The following is complete listing of Ritz-Carlton properties that are changing tiers, with their current and future tier designations:

Hotel Name	Previous Category	New Category
The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa *The only one being lowered	2	1
Hotel Arts Barcelona	3	4
The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai	3	4
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman	3	4
The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami	3	4
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco	3	4
The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas	3	4
The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo	3	4
The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown	3	4
The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation	2	3
The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun	2	3
The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles	2	3
The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey	2	3
The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, Miami	2	3
The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans	2	3
The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka	2	3
The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead	1	2
The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta	1	2
The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland	1	2
The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte	1	2
The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas	1	2
The Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix	1	2
The Ritz-Carlton, Seoul	1	2
The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City	1	2

Unlike Marriott, Ritz-Carlton is not adding any new tiers, but the overall result of these changes are a devaluation of Ritz-Carlton Rewards points since more hotels are going to be more expensive than ever to redeem your points at – though the one positive note is that there are still just three top-Tier 5 hotels still. Where the changes will really hit members’ points accounts is in Tiers 2, 3 and 4, all of which have gone through quite a bit of transition and whose ranks have swelled with newly elevated properties.

Unfortunately, I think this is among the first of several devaluations (other recent ones have included Starwood’s new Cash & Points reconfiguration) that will make maximizing hotel points even harder, and makes it even more important that everyone pays attention to those limited-time credit card bonuses, seasonal promotions and social media campaigns in order to earn the most points possible and use them as smartly as possible.

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