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Hyatt’s 2022 Award Category Changes
In late March, Hyatt will be modifying categories on 146 hotels. 70 hotels will shift to a higher award category, and 76 will shift to a lower award category.
- All free night award and Points + Cash redemptions booked before 8:00 am CDT on Tuesday, March 22 will follow the current Award Chart regardless of stay dates, even if the hotel is shifting to a higher award category.
- Any free night award and Points + Cash redemptions booked on or after 8:00 am CDT on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, will follow the new Award Chart.
- Members who have existing award bookings as of 8:00 am CDT on Tuesday, March 22 for a night on or after Tuesday, March 22 at a Hyatt hotel that moved down to a lower category, will receive an automatic one-time refund on the point difference. Points will be returned to members’ accounts starting Thursday, March 23.
- Once changes go into effect on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at 8:00 a.m. CDT, any adjustments made to existing reservations will follow the terms of the new Award Chart.
- You can reference the Award Chart Changes FAQs here.
- You can see the full list of award category changes here.
It’s quite notable that they are moving 9 Hyatt brand hotels into Category 8. When Category 8 launched, it was said that they would only be for SLH hotels, like the Topping Rose House in the Hamptons.
However, I have long speculated that the Ventana Big Sur and a handful of other high end redemptions would eventually become Category 8 – and that time is now.
Still, these are hotels with rates generally over $1,000 a night, so even at 35,000 – 45,000 points a night, they’ll generally remain a great value, but certainly not as great. Besides Ventana Big Sur, the change hits a number of “famous” points redemption hotels like the Park Hyatt’s in Sydney, New York, and Paris.
The Hyatt family hotels moving from Category 7 to Category 8
- Alila Ventana Big Sur
- Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort
- Part Hyatt New York
- Park Hyatt Sydney (Australia)
- Park Hyatt Vendome (France)
- Hotel Lou Pinet (France)
- Park Hyatt Milan (Italy)
- Park Hyatt Kyoto (Japan)
- Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono (Japan)
Also take a look at hotels jumping from Category 4 to Category 5, like the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina – a fan favorite for the credit card Category 1-4 free night awards.
Bottom Line
While it’s disappointing to see hotels get more expensive in points, I have zero issue with this. Hyatt is the only program sticking with full on award charts (remember, Marriott’s award charts go away next month) and so when hotels are very expensive, so it Hyatt’s reimbursement rate to them. So, moving a handful of hotels to the Category 8 tier makes sense to me. And, they are being fully transparent with a month’s notice. So, book now!
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