Last chance: World of Hyatt category changes go into effect Tuesday
World of Hyatt announced a pretty substantial devaluation in February.
Some 137 Hyatt hotels and resorts are getting higher award categories, which means booking them will cost you more World of Hyatt points. It's not all bad news, however, as 46 are shifting to a lower award category.
Our early calculations show that among the hotels increasing in award category, the average award cost will come in at more than 2,361 points more per night once these changes take effect. That's not as bad as the 5,000-point cost increase last year, but it still hurts. It's also an increase of more than 16% for the affected hotels on average.
Those who like to use free night certificates will find themselves with fewer options to use the Category 4 and 7 certificates once these changes take effect Tuesday. Higher-end and popular hotels and resorts in leisure-oriented locations were hit hard.
The list of hotels getting more expensive includes some of our favorites. The Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch will go up to a Category 6, as will the Park Hyatt Washington D.C. and the Grayson Hotel in New York City. That means the entry-level points price is now 25,000 World of Hyatt points per night.
The free night certificates you get with certain elite thresholds or with the Hyatt credit cards also become less valuable. For example, the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego was a great place to use a Category 1-4 certificate, but now it will be a Category 5. That means you won't be able to use your annual Category 1-4 award from the World of Hyatt Credit Card (see rates and fees). It's the same deal with the Andaz Bali, which now goes to Category 5.
Even hotels you might not think of as all that luxurious are out of reach with Category 1-4 certificates under the new pricing system. This includes the Hyatt Centric Milan Centrale and Rome's The Tribune, part of JdV by Hyatt — both hotels move to Category 5.
Four Hyatt properties will go up to Category 8, which takes them to the most expensive Hyatt redemption category and puts them out of the range of the Category 1-7 awards. This list includes popular redemption hotels such as the Everline Resort and Spa in California, Vail Residences at Cascade Village in Colorado and Hyatt Centric Park City in Utah.
Related: Why the World of Hyatt Credit Card is great for families
Unfortunately, there will also be substantial changes to Hyatt's all-inclusive award chart, which will result in several popular resorts becoming significantly more expensive on award stays. This includes Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort, Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta and Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos, which will all increase one level.
Some of these category jumps are substantial, as several resorts — like the Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana — will go from costing 30,000 points per night for double occupancy to 40,000 points per night.
As we mentioned, there is some (limited) good news, as 46 hotels move to a lower award category.
The FirstName Bordeaux in France and Alila Wuzhen in China are two hotels going down a category. Both will move to Category 4, which means you can soon use those Category 1-4 certificates to book those properties. The Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas in San Diego will go down from Category 8 to Category 7, putting it slightly more in reach with points bookings starting at just 30,000 World of Hyatt points per night. The Hyatt Regency Cape Town will go down to a Category 1, making that a real steal starting at just 5,000 World of Hyatt points per night.
If you plan to use your Hyatt points at any hotels moving to a higher category (view the full list), you should make reservations Monday for future stays as far out as the calendar will allow; this is typically 13 months. These changes go into effect for bookings made or modified on or after Tuesday.
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