What You Need to Know
World of Hyatt (WoH) recently announced its annual program updates, including changes to hotel category classifications. These adjustments, effective March 26, 2024, impact the points required to redeem award nights at various Hyatt properties. While some hotels shift to lower categories, the majority (75%) will see an increase in their point requirement, effectively raising the redemption cost.
Understanding the Impact
WoH categorizes hotels into eight tiers, with Category 1 requiring the fewest points and Category 8 demanding the most. This update affects 183 properties globally, with significant implications for travelers accustomed to specific award redemption rates.
For instance, the highly sought-after Andaz Costa Rica Peninsula Papagayo jumps from Category 6 (25,000 points) to Category 7 (30,000 points), representing a 20% increase in points needed. Similarly, the Park Hyatt Zanzibar moves from Category 5 (20,000 points) to Category 6 (25,000 points), a 25% points increase.
Some of the hardest hit properties are those that have already had significant increases from 2023: the all-inclusive collection. One of my favorites, the Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana moved from Category D to E in 2023 (25,000 to 40,000 points per night), and now in 2024 is slated for another increase from 40,000 points to 50,000 points per night. In just the past 2 years this property skyrocketed in price an eye-watering 100%.
Ouch.
Strategic Considerations for Travelers
While the changes take effect on March 26th, travelers have a window of opportunity to lock in the current award pricing for properties experiencing an increase. Booking award stays before the deadline, even for future travel dates, allows you to benefit from the lower point requirement. Conversely, securing stays at properties moving to lower categories now will result in using more points than necessary under the updated system. Not to worry, though, as you can call to request a refund of points for the latter, or simply cancel and rebook once the changes take effect.
Any changes to reservations booked before March 26th but for stays after that date will be re-assessed for price and charged the higher rate, so be careful with making your future bookings if your travel plans aren’t firmed up yet. I recommend making reservations for individual nights rather than the full length of your expected future trip, since this allows you to cancel unnecessary nights without affecting the rest of your reservation.
Combining the remaining nights is easy, and can be completed with a quick call to Hyatt requesting them to do so. This is important for those of you who want to use Suite Night Upgrade (SUA) awards which are good for stays up to 7 nights.
Getting to the Point
The 2024 WoH category changes represent a strategic adjustment impacting award redemption costs. Travelers are advised to carefully consider their upcoming travel plans and leverage the current pricing structure for stays at properties experiencing point requirement hikes. By strategically utilizing the remaining window before the March 26th deadline, travelers can optimize their points usage and maximize the value of their WoH membership.
For a complete list of impacted hotels and their category changes, please refer to the official World of Hyatt website, or join the discussion in our FB Community for real-time feedback.
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