Hyatt just announced upcoming changes to their award chart, which will go into effect August 1, 2016.
In total the changes included 50 hotels moving up to a higher category and 56 hotels moving down to a lower category.
You’ll be able to book award stays at the current award chart rate until August 1, 2016, so be sure to take a look at which hotels are increasing before you make an Hyatt award stay.
Also, you don’t have to worry about waiting until after the changes take place to book at a hotel moving down a category. Per the terms: “Existing reservations for stays after August 1, 2016, will receive a refund for the point difference if the hotel moved to a lower category.”
If you book a stay at a hotel moving up to a higher category before August 1, 2016 the reservation will not be affected and no additional points will be required.
The takeaway is that you’ll want to book before August 1, 2016 at hotel that will be moving up a category, but it won’t matter for bookings made at a hotel moving down a category. You’ll pay the same price in points if you book before or after the changes go into effect.
Hyatt Award Chart Changes 2016
Here is the complete list of Hyatt properties moving up a category:
| Hotel | Current Category | New Category |
|---|---|---|
| Hyatt House Dallas/Frisco | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt House Dallas/Lincoln Park | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt House Dallas/Uptown | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt House Denver/Lakwood at Belmar | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Buffalo/Amherst | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Augusta | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Champaign | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Corpus Christi | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Dallas/Grapevine | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Nashville/Franklin/Cool Springs | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Nashville/Hendersonville | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place North Charleston | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Sacramento/Roseville | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Salt Lake City Airport | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Savannah Airport | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Regency Suites Atlanta Northwest | 1 | 2 |
| Hyatt Place Asheville Downtown | 1 | 3 |
| Grand Hyatt Amman | 2 | 3 |
| Grand Hyatt Chengdu | 2 | 3 |
| Grand Hyatt Incheon | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House Atlanta/Downtown | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House Belmont/Redwood Shores | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House Boston/Waltham | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House Emeryville/San Francisco Bay Area | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House Falls Church/Merrifield | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House Naples/5th Avenue | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House Pleasanton | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House San Diego/Sorrento Mesa | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House San Juan | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt House Santa Clara | 2 | 3 |
| Grand Hyatt Santiago | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Place Chicago South University | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Place Fort Worth Historic Stockyards | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Place Garden City | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Place Houston/The Woodlands | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Place Mohegan Sun | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Place Portland Airport | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Place San Juan/City Center | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Regency Dallas | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Regency SF Airport | 2 | 3 |
| Hyatt Valencia | 2 | 3 |
| Grand Hyatt DFW | 3 | 4 |
| Hyatt Place Dewey Beach | 3 | 4 |
| Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown | 3 | 4 |
| Hyatt Regency McCormick Place | 3 | 4 |
| Hyatt Centric Park City | 4 | 5 |
| Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago | 4 | 5 |
| Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson | 4 | 5 |
| Hyatt Regency San Francisco | 4 | 5 |
Here is the complete list of Hyatt properties moving down a category:
| Hotel | Current Category | New Category |
|---|---|---|
| Hyatt Ahmedabad | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Amritsar | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Bangalore | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt House Gaithersburg | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt House Mt. Laurel | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Hyderabad | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Albuquerque/Uptown | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Ciudad del Carmen | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Dallas/Arlington/Grand Prairie | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place El Paso Airport | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Fredericksburg UMW | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place La Paz | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Los Cabos | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Mt. Laurel | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Phoenix Chandler-Fashion Center | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Phoenix/Gilbert | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Phoenix-Mesa | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Pittsburgh Airport | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Pittsburgh/Cranberry | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place San Antonio North/Stone Oak | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Tempe/Phoenix Airport | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Pune | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Raipur | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Ahmedabad | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Chandigarh | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Changchun | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Chennai | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Chongqing | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Dulles | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Fairfax | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Guiyang | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Gurgaon | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Kolkata | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regency Ludhiana | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Regnecy Tianjin East | 2 | 1 |
| Park Hyatt Chennai | 2 | 1 |
| Hyatt Place Secaucus/Meadowlands | 3 | 2 |
| Hyatt Regency Belgrade | 3 | 2 |
| Hyatt Regency Delhi | 3 | 2 |
| Hyatt Regency Ekaterinburg | 3 | 2 |
| Hyatt Regency Mumbai | 3 | 2 |
| Hyatt Regency Pune | 3 | 2 |
| Hyatt Regency Qingdao | 3 | 2 |
| Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki | 3 | 2 |
| Park Hyatt Hyderabad | 3 | 2 |
| Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur | 4 | 3 |
| Grand Hyatt Lijiang | 4 | 3 |
| Grand Hyatt Mumbai | 4 | 3 |
| Hyatt Regency Baku | 4 | 3 |
| Hyatt Regency Changbaishan | 4 | 3 |
| Hyatt Regency Houston/Galleria | 4 | 3 |
| Hyatt Regency Perth | 4 | 3 |
| Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort | 4 | 3 |
| Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort | 5 | 4 |
| Hyatt Regency Sochi | 5 | 4 |
| Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami | 6 | 4 |
Remember that the current Hyatt Gold Passport award chart consists of the following redemption categories:
- Category 1 = 5,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points
- Category 2 = 8,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points
- Category 3 = 12,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points
- Category 4 = 15,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points
- Category 5 = 20,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points
- Category 6 = 25,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points
- Category 7 = 30,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points
The Bottom Line
At first glance the changes overall don’t look to terrible, but of course with almost all award chart changes more highly desirable hotels are moving up and many undesirable hotel are moving down.
The good news is that you have until August 1, 2016 to lock in the current award chart prices if you are booking at a hotel that is moving up a category. If you plan on booking at a hotel moving down a category you can either book now or wait, the cost will be the same.