[Final Hours To Lock In Current Rates!] Hyatt 2022 Category Changes: 70 Hotels Going Up, 76 Going Down; Hyatt Hotels Will Move To Category 8 For The First Time

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Update: Lock in hotel awards today before rates go up at 9am ET tomorrow!

Originally posted on 2/14:

Most hotel chains have moved away from award chart pricing. Next month, Marriott will kill their award charts, though major pricing changes for 97% of Marriott hotels won’t happen until next year.

Traditionally, hotels with award charts reorganize their categories yearly to keep them current with the average rates that they charge.

To their credit, Hyatt still has award charts, though they recently added peak and off-peak pricing to their charts.

Unfortunately Hyatt is starting to move their hotels to category 8 with this year’s change, something that was previously reserved for partner SLH hotels only. Many of Hyatt’s best hotels are going up in category. It wasn’t that long ago that Hyatt’s top category was 5, but since 2010 we have seen that creep up with the additions of category 6, 7 and now 8.

70 hotels are going up in category while 76 hotels are going down in category this year.

Book stays before 3/22 at 9am ET to lock in current rates for future stays at hotels that are going up.  You can book stays up to 13 months in advance. Almost all hotel stays are cancellable for free until a certain amount of time before the stay (read the fine print).  If you have a reservation at a hotel for after 3/22 that is going down, you will automatically receive a points refund starting on 3/23.

Note that you won’t be able to change the dates on a reservation after the price goes up, your only options are to use the stay or cancel it and get your points back.

Hotels going up from category 4 to 5 will no longer be bookable with anniversary nights from the Chase World of Hyatt credit card, while hotels going from 5 down 4 will be eligible.

A big loss there is Miami Beach’s Confidante hotel and Manhattan’s Gild Hall.

The Hyatt Place Moab, near some of Utah’s magnificent national parks, does a double category jump from 2 to 4.

Hotels going from category 7 to 8 will no longer be bookable with Globalist 1-7 free night certificates.

The Chase World of Hyatt credit card also offers bonus free nights upon reaching several spending thresholds, those too are limited to category 1-4.

Sample hotels going up in category:

• Hyatt Place St. George, was 1, now 2
• Hyatt Place Moab, was 2, now 4
• Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, FL, was 3, now 4
• Hyatt Place Long Island City / New York City, was 3, now 4
• Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, MD, was 4, now 5
• The Confidante Miami Beach, FL, was 4, now 5
• Gild Hall, a Thompson Hotel, NY, was 4, now 5
• Hyatt Place Santa Barbara, CA, was 4, now 5
• Hyatt Place Santa Cruz, CA, was 4, now 5
• Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course, CA, was 4, now 5
• Hyatt Place Portland-Old Port, ME, was 4, now 5
• Hyatt Residence Club Dorado, Hacienda del Mar, PR, was 4, now 5
• Park Hyatt Zanzibar, was 4, now 5
• Park Hyatt Istanbul, was 4, now 5
• Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa, CA, was 5, now 6
• Thompson Central Park New York, was 5, now 6
• Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas, CA, was 6, now 7
• Carmel Valley Ranch, CA, was 6, now 7
• Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa, FL, was 6, now 7
• Alila Napa Valley, CA, was 7, now 8
• Alila Ventana Big Sur, CA, was 7, now 8
• Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, HI, was 7, now 8
• Park Hyatt New York, was 7, now 8
• Park Hyatt Kyoto, was 7, now 8
• Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, was 7, now 8
• Park Hyatt Sydney, was 7, now 8
• Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, was 7, now 8
• Hôtel Lou Pinet, France, was 7, now 8
• Park Hyatt Milan, was 7, now 8

Sample hotels going down in category:

• Grand Hyatt Bali, was 2, now 1
• Hyatt Regency Baku, was 2, now 1
• Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport, was 2, now 1
• Hyatt Place Amsterdam Airport, was 2, now 1
• Hyatt Place London Heathrow Airport, was 2, now 1
• Alila Ubud Bali, was 3, now 2
• Hyatt Place across from Universal Orlando Resort, FL, was 3, now 2
• Hyatt Place Orlando/Lake Buena Vista, FL, was 3, now 2
• Andaz Delhi, India , was 3, now 2
• Hyatt Centric Downtown Portland, OR, was 4, now 3
• Grand Hyatt Muscat, Oman, was 4, now 3
• Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong, was 4, now 3
• Hyatt Centric Center City Philadelphia, was 5, now 4
• Hyatt Regency Amsterdam, was 5, now 4
• Akyra Manor Chiang Mai, Thailand, was 5, now 4
• Hyatt Regency Guam, was 5, now 4
• Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui, was 5, now 4
• Grand Hyatt Macau, was 5, now 4
• Hyatt Regency Sydney, was 5, now 4
• Altstadt Vienna, was 5, now 4
• The Pand Hotel, Belgium, was 5, now 4
• Opus XVI, Norway, was 5, now 4
• The Plettenberg, South Africa, was 5, now 4
• The Grand Hotel, UK, was 5, now 4
• The Trident Hotel, Jamaica, was 8, now 7

Even with these changes, Hyatt points remain much more valuable than other hotel points, but the hotels moving from category 4 to 5 and from category 7 to 8 sure sting.

Here is Hyatt’s award chart:

If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can instantly transfer points into Hyatt points:

• Chase Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card® Card has a 60K signup bonus, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.3 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 50K signup bonus, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card  earns 3 points per dollar on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

Chase no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card  earns 5 points per dollar on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, office supply stores, and gift cards from office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card  earns 1.5 points per dollar everywhere ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a signup bonus offering 3 points per dollar on up to $20K of spending in your first 12 month, afterwards earn at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

What do you think of these changes? Where will you book before 3/22?