Every year Hyatt changes their award chart. They increase the categories for some hotels and decrease others. Unfortunately, the Hyatt award chart changes are never good news because our favorite destinations usually get devalued (category increases). These changes goes into effect on March 28th, though.  This is what Hyatt has to say about the changes:

“Some things to keep in mind:

• When you book before March 28, your reservations will follow the current free night award chart found here.
• Reservations made on or after March 28 will follow the new free night award chart.
• Existing reservations for nights on or after March 28 will receive a refund for the point difference if the hotel moved to a lower category.”

There are always changes in the points/miles world. Here are ways to take some of the sting out of this news.

 

Book Now

Book it now if your “favorite” hotel is going up in points cost. Get over that analysis paralysis and pull the plug. Alex and I had booked the Hyatt Ziva Cancun within an hour of hearing the news.

 

 

Advanced Bookings for Globalists

I already have a ton of Hyatts booked and few Hyatt points or Ultimate Rewards to transfer to Hyatt. Because of this, I sent a message to the Hyatt Concierge on Twitter and made a couple of bookings for the Seabird Resort in Oceanside, California, and the Ziva Cap Cana. This is only available to Globalist members; the points must be in my account at least a week before the trips.

Once I tweeted them, the reservations were in the system within an hour. What an easy way to make a reservation and another great perk of holding Globalist status! Here was their response after requesting the bookings, “You will need 145,000 points for your Ziva Cap Cana reservation and 40,000 points for your Seabird Resort reservation. You will need the points in your account 7 days before arrival to avoid paying the rate of the day. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.”

 

 

Take Advantage of the Chase Business Card Increased Offers

While the big bonus offers on the Chase Business Cards won’t help you book ahead, they will allow you to earn many more points and take the pain out of paying more for your stays.  Can you get a business card? Now is the time to “start” a business if you don’t yet qualify! You would be surprised at how many of our readers started a small business just to get these bonuses and now earn more Ultimate Rewards. The best part? Business cards don’t count towards your 5/24 status!

 

 

 

Check Out the Hotels Whose Categories Decreased

While many hotels had a category increase, some had decreases. They might be a great place to stay in the future for fewer points! Check out this article to see all the increases 😩 and the decreases! 158 are decreasing—there have to be some nice ones, right?

The Thompson Washington D.C. was a category 5, and will now be a category 4. That makes it even cheaper for a family trip to the nation’s capital, and you can now use those Hyatt category 1-4 free night certificates there! Thompson hotels just look cool, and there are several with decreased categories.

 

 

I found several Hyatts in Thailand that went down a category. If you are planning a trip in the future (like me), that could be good news.

 

 

Changes We Are Not Happy About

Some of the increased category hotels that break our hearts include the following:

• Grand Hyatt Kauai
• Hyatt Regency Maui
• Almost all of the all-inclusives, including our beloved Ziva Cancun
• The Cape Los Cabos (booked that today, too!)
• Andaz Costa Rica Peninsula Papagayo (Jess booked this one!)
• Andaz San Diego
• Grand Hyatt Vail
• Hotel du Louvre Paris
• Grand Hotel Victoria Lake Como
• Mykonos Riviera Resort & Spa (I need to do another advanced booking on this!)

 

Bottom Line

Annual category hotel adjustments are not new and they will continue. These changes were rougher than usual, in my opinion, and many of my favorite hotels will now cost more to stay at them. Thank heavens for credit card points and miles though. Free is free and despite the Hyatt award chart changes, we’ll continue to travel and stay for pennies on the dollar!