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Hyatt dropped some bad Valentine’s Day news on its members. Devaluation. Are we really that surprised? CPI is at a 40 year high and unfortunately I think we should all brace for impact the value of our points. I also think this is a potential window of opportunity for IHG to strike since we still don’t the details of what they have planned in March, and they could sweeten the deal without anyone being the wiser.
Starting tomorrow, March 22, over 140 Hyatt hotels will be changing category, and sadly some of the most aspirational Hyatt properties will be moving up to category 8. Remember when this was introduced for only Miraval? Then SLH. Now…well you’ll see.
Additionally, a couple great uses of category 1-4 night free night awards are moving up to category 5. Not only does that mean that the standard redemption value pop to 40k vs 30k, but the category 7 night that comes when you hit 60 nights as a Globalist won’t cover all Hyatt properties anymore.
Prior to this devaluation, the only category 8 properties were affiliated with Small Luxury Hotels and Miraval.
Let’s take a look at the damage. It isn’t pretty, but most cat 8 hotels are $1k a night properties and still offer a damn good redemption value.
Current World of Hyatt hotel categories
We recently saw the introduction of Off-Peak and Peak pricing, now we see native Hyatt properties sliding into Category 8 pricing.
Properties that will become Category 8 on 3/22/22
While this doesn’t surprise me…it’s a hit for sure. I’d still say that 40k per night for Alila Big Sur is an absolute steal seeing as though its all inclusive and regularly $1500 a night for a base room. Most other Alilas are staying put, thankfully, but the most aspirational Park Hyatts are moving up a level. ( The Alila Manggis and Ubud are dropping a category – both in Bali)
- Alila Napa
- Alila Ventana Big Sur
- Andaz Maui
- Park Hyatt NYC
- Hotel Lou Pinet ( St Tropez France )
- Park Hyatt Paris
- Park Hyatt Milan
- Park Hyatt Kyoto
- Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono
- Park Hyatt Sydney
Is this surprising? No. If we’re being honest with ourselves, it was only a matter of time that Hyatt did this, and luckily they gave us several weeks to make bookings at today’s going rate.
Additionally, several key properties that were category 4 will be moving to category 5. One of which is the Confidante Miami which has been a great place to use the category 1-4 free night that comes with the World of Hyatt visa as a cardmember anniversary bonus.
Most notable…
- Gild Hall Thompson NYC
- Hyatt Residence Club Dorado
- Park Hyatt Istanbul
The Confidante will no longer be category 4
Book before 3/22/22
As long as you book your stay by 3/22/22 you can get the current pricing. If you’re looking to stay at any of the aspirational properties that will be popping up to cat 8, book them. If you have certs that will be expiring…use them. Keep in mind that if you do need to change your dates, the reservation will be re-priced at the new rate.
Straight from Hyatt:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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You can reference the Award Chart Changes FAQs here.
Overall
While this certainly isn’t something that you want to see happen, it isn’t surprising at all. Hyatt has some of the most competitive point rates of any hotel brand, and even with a 40k category, you’re still getting incredible value at properties that exist at that level. It’s a shame to see some great properties hit escape velocity from free night certificates, but there is still an enormous amount of value in the program, and with CPI hitting 7.5% – I think this is news you should get used to reading.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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