World of Hyatt routinely evaluates their hotels within their award categories, and will generally make changes once a year. Hyatt has announced their latest round of changes, effective Thursday, March 25, 2021 with only 11 hotels changing categories this year due to the pandemic.

For 2021, World of Hyatt members will see updates made to the number of points required for a free night at 11 hotels. 10 hotels will shift into a higher award category and only 1 hotel will shift to a lower award category.

No new categories have been added, and the points required for each category will remain the same during the standard redemption period, with affected hotels shifting by only one category, up or down.

Here’s a look at some of the hotels that will be increasing as of March 25, 2021:

• Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows increasing from a Category 5 to Category 6
• Park Hyatt Aviara increasing from a Category 5 to Category 6
• Mar Monte Hotel, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt increasing from a Category 4 to Category 5
• Hyatt House Nashville/Downtown-SoBro increasing from a Category 4 to Category 5
• Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico increasing from a Category 3 to Category 4
• Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort increasing from a Category 2 to Category 3
• Hyatt Regency John Wayne Airport increasing from a Category 2 to Category 3
• Hyatt Place Delano increasing from a Category 1 to Category 2
• Hyatt Place Fair Lawn/Paramus increasing from a Category 1 to Category 2
• Hyatt Place Palm Bay/Melbourne increasing from a Category 1 to Category 2

Here’s a look at some of the hotels that will be decreasing as of March 25, 2021:

• Hyatt Place Houston Downtown decreasing from a Category 3 to Category 2

Some added information: 

• All free night award and Points + Cash redemptions booked before 8:00 am CDT on Thursday, March 25 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 Thursday, March 25 at 8:00 am CDT will follow the new Award Chart.
• Members who have existing award bookings as of 8:00 am CDT on Thursday, March 25 for a night on or after Thursday, March 25 at Hyatt Place Houston Downtown, which is moving to a lower award category, will receive an automatic one-time refund on the point difference. Points will be refunded in members’ accounts starting Friday, March 26.

Bottom Line

Given the pandemic, I would of liked to have seen more hotels shifted to lower categories as a result of reduced rates from 2020. With paid rates drastically cut, many award redemptions just don’t make sense at this time.

Additionally, most of the MGM properties in Las Vegas offer a horrible redemption value even pre-pandemic, so I feel Hyatt needs to go back to the drawing board on the MGM properties as all these hotels need to be shifted down a category to more closely reflect the paid rates.

If you’re looking for more World of Hyatt points, World of Hyatt is a 1:1 transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards.

What are your thoughts on the latest category changes to the World of Hyatt program? Feel free to share your thoughts below.