136 Hyatt Hotels and Resorts to Make Changes to Award Categories
Prepare to shell out more for your stay at a Hyatt. Loyalists, brace yourselves for changes to the award chart and categories in the month to come. The hotel and resort chain will roll out these changes on May 20 at 9 a.m. EDT.
This will affect 136 locations, and, per The Points Guy, 112 will add more categories, while 24 will remove a category. The award chart for Hyatt loyalists will include Categories 1 through 8; however, each category will now consist of five pricing tiers as opposed to the previous three. TGP observes that "many award stays will be more expensive under the new chart." That said, Hyatt anticipates "the category adjustments will further decline over time," and, per its site, states that these are "annual" category changes.
Hyatt's site also lists the new five pricing tiers that will take effect on May 20: Lowest, Low, Moderate, Upper, and Top, which it calls "redemption levels." This includes the number of points one can earn for each category. On the Award Chart Updates page, loyalists can find an exhaustive list of all the hotels and resorts that will implement these changes next month.
TGP shares that a handful of Hyatt locations will drop a category on the day of this new rollout:
- Commune by the Great Wall (Category 3 to 2)
- Hyatt Centric Downtown Denver (Category 4 to 3)
- Hyatt Centric Playa Del Carmen (Category 4 to 3)
- Hyatt Place London City East (Category 4 to 3)
- The Standard, Singapore (Category 5 to 4)
It's worth noting that the chain will honor the current award chart if you book before May 20, even for stays after the rollout date. For existing reservations on or after May 20, Hyatt will refund you for the point difference if your hotel dropped a category. Still, expect to pay more for your stay under the new changes.