Tag Archives: hyatt category changes

 

• Best Hyatt Points Values for Cat. 1-4 International Hotels Including Suites: Part 1 — Category 1
• Best Hyatt Points Values for Cat. 1-4 International Hotels Including Suites: Part 2 — Category 2
• Best Hyatt Points Values for Cat. 1-4 International Hotels Including Suites: Part 3 — Category 3
• Best Hyatt Points Values for Cat. 1-4 International Hotels Including Suites: Part 4 — Category 4

All photos and screenshots in this post courtesy Hyatt.com.

There are only two posts left in my search quest for best Hyatt award redemptions at Categories 1-4 international hotels. This post will summarize the best values for standard rooms. And my next and final post will do the same for suites. I promise I thought about doing one post for both, but it would be too massive, too long, and too confusing, so just bear with me a little longer.

I hope we can all agree that the mere concept of finding the “best” anything is inherently imperfect. Not only is “best” highly subjective, but hotel prices fluctuate wildly on a daily basis. For some Hyatt hotels cash prices have already gone up and down for the same dates I used in my first post. And not by a few dollars, but sometimes by hundreds of dollars. Keep that in mind when you do your own due diligence.

Note: not all hotels that should be available on points are actually available on points. This is a well-known “phenomenon,” LOL. Sometimes, a hotel wants you to stay a certain number of days. Other times, you can’t find anything no matter how hard you try. Example: Story Hotel Studio Malmo, part of JdV by Hyatt is a Category 1 hotel that should be available for 5,000 points. However, it’s never available on points, at least in my searches — only points + cash.

UPDATE 10.16.21: Reader Bob managed to snag a room at Story Hotel Malmo by contacting the Hyatt Twitter Team. Thanks for letting us know Bob!

What can you do? The Hyatt Twitter team is really good. Try them or call Hyatt Concierge to see if they can help you out. I know, most of us would rather point and click, but sometimes asking for help is the fastest way to resolve an issue.

A reminder about my methodology

• I’ve checked the rates including taxes and fees in high season whenever possible.
• I’ve always checked “Members Standard” rates that allow full cancellation.
• For some hotels, rooms weren’t available at first but became available a few days later, and for the same dates!
• Finding suite availability can be tricky. Sometimes they’re not available at all, other times only Standard or only Premium suites are available. And sometimes, only suites are available. I’ve always checked 3-5 different dates, so my information is valid only for the dates I checked at the time of writing.
• These most expensive premium suites you see in the “View rates” section of the Hyatt website are almost never available for points redemptions.
• I’m not addressing suite upgrades or points + cash options; that would be a huge stand-alone project.

What about the upcoming Peak and Off-Peak changes?

That’s right. Hyatt is about to introduce the new Peak and Off-peak prices in the coming days for bookings after March 2021, and the change will take place on October 26 according to a few people from this Flyertalk thread. Let’s not mince words — this clearly is a devaluation. So, if you know when and where you’re going next year after March, you might want to book now. Even if you’re not sure, book speculatively and cancel later if your travel plans change. Just don’t forget to check your hotel’s cancellation policy to make sure there are no nasty surprises.

Even if you don’t have Hyatt points and need to transfer them from your Chase Ultimate Rewards account, it might still be a good idea. There is no downside to booking your nights before the changes go into effect, because:

When Off-Peak and Peak is introduced in mid-October 2021, if the redemption amount for a night on an existing award reservation is lowered to Off-peak, we’ll automatically refund the point difference, and if it goes to Peak, you won’t be charged any more points.

So, you won’t even have to cancel and rebook if your new booking falls on Off-peak dates, as the system will adjust the price automatically.

A few other tidbits:

• The majority of days will be set to Standard each year.
• Free nights in suites will also be offered at Off-peak and Peak redemption.
• Starting mid-October, members will start to see Off-peak and Peak pricing for March 2022 reservation dates and beyond. This means that free night reservations will continue to be at standard rates through February 2022.
• You’ll have plenty of time to plan ahead. Redemption rates for free nights will be announced as soon as nights are available for reservations (usually 13 months in advance), and won’t change once posted.
• Hotel award categories aren’t changing — there are still eight.

Check the new award charts and other terms and conditions on the Hyatt website.

That promise — “won’t change once posted” gives me some hope that Hyatt franchisees won’t be able to bonvoy World of Hyatt; at least not to the extent other major chains allow their own hoteliers to circumvent the rules and get away with it time after time.

Here are a few tables. Since I’m focusing on Categories 1-4 here, let’s be consistent and keep it within the parameters.

OK, enough about upcoming devaluations, already. While I hate to be that guy who always says “oh, but it could’ve been worse,” in Hyatt’s case, I must admit it could’ve been worse, indeed. At least, this devaluation has some silver lining in it, and I’m grateful that Hyatt isn’t going down the dreadful dynamic pricing path. Anything else — we’ll see, I guess.

And now, let’s go on with the program. 🙂

Best Hyatt award redemptions in The Americas

Mexico

• Category 1 — 5,000 points: Hyatt Place Los Cabos ($101+ winter 2022)
• Category 1 — 5,000 points: Hyatt Regency Merida ($98+ winter 2022)
  • Only standard suites (8,000 points) are available for points redemptions.
• Category 2 — 8,000 points: Hyatt Regency Andares Guadalajara ($150+ winter 2022)
  • Standard (13,000 points) and premium (16,000 points) suites include access to Regency Club.
• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Hyatt Regency Mexico City ($205+ spring 2022)
  • Standard (20,000 points) and premium (24,000 points) suites include access to Regency Club.

Canada

• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Hyatt Regency Vancouver ($329+ Summer 2022)
  • Suites are unavailable for redemptions.

Best Hyatt award redemptions in Europe

Sweden

• Category 1 — 5,000 points: Story Hotel Signalfabriken, part of JdV by Hyatt, Stockholm ($223+ summer 2022). Free breakfast.
  • Suites are only available for cash upgrade.
• Category 2 — 8,000 points: Story Hotel Riddargatan, part of JdV by Hyatt Stockholm ($262+ summer 2022). Free breakfast.
  • Only standard suites (13,000 points) are available for points redemptions.

Malta

• Category 2 — 8,000 points: Hyatt Regency Malta ($223+ summer 2022)
  • Suites are unavailable for redemptions.

United Kingdom

• Category 2 — 8,000 points: Hyatt Regency Manchester ($157+ summer 2022)
  • Suites are unavailable for redemptions.

Austria

• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Andaz Vienna ($216+ summer 2022).
  • Suites are only available for cash upgrade.

Ireland

• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Hyatt Centric The Liberties Dublin ($233+ summer 2022).
  • Standard (20,000 points) and premium (24,000 points) suites are available.

Italy

• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Hyatt Centric Murano Venice ($449+ summer 2022).
  • Only standard suites (20,000 points) are available for points redemptions

Turkey

• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Grand Hyatt Istanbul ($291+ summer 2022).
  • Standard (20,000 points) and premium (24,000 points) suites are available.

Germany

• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Grand Hyatt Berlin
  • Standard (24,000 points) and premium (30,000 points) suites include access to Regency Club.

Spain

• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Hotel Arima & Spa, San Sebastian ($485+ summer 2022).
  • Suites are unavailable for redemptions.
• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid ($563+ summer 2022)
  • Standard (24,000 points) and premium (30,000 points) suites are available.

France

• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile ($244+ summer 2022).
  • Standard (24,000 points) and premium (30,000 points) suites are available.

Best Hyatt award redemptions in Africa and the Middle East

Morocco

• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Hyatt Regency Casablanca ($433+ summer 2022).
  • Only standard suites (20,000 points) are available for points redemptions.

Tanzania

• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Park Hyatt Zanzibar ($437+ summer 2022)
  • Suites are unavailable for redemptions.

South Africa

• Category 4 — 15,000 points: The Cellars-Hohenort, Cape Town ($355+ April 2022).
  • Suites are unavailable for redemptions.

Best Hyatt award redemptions in Asia

Indonesia

• Category 1 — 5,000 points: Studios at Alila Seminyak, Bali ($195+ summer 2022)
  • No suites seem to be available.
• Category 2 — 8,000 points: Alila Manggis ($171+ summer 2022)
  • Suites are unavailable for redemptions.

Japan

• Category 2 — 8,000 points: Hyatt Regency Osaka ($154+ spring 2022).
  • Standard (13,000 points) and premium (16,000 points) suites include access to Regency Club.
• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Hyatt Regency Tokyo ($161+ summer 2022).
  • Only standard suites (20,000 points) are available for points redemptions. Include access to Regency Club.
• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay ($811+ summer 2022).
  • Only standard suites (24,000 points) are available for points redemptions. Include access to Regency Club.

Cambodia

• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Park Hyatt Siem Reap ($333+ winter 2022)
  • Standard (20,000 points) and premium (24,000 points) suites.

Thailand

• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort ($184+ winter 2022)
  • Standard (20,000 points) and premium (24,000 points) suites include access to Regency Club.

Hong Kong

• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Lanson Place Causeway Bay, Hong Kong ($257+ winter 2022)
  • Suites are unavailable for redemptions.

Vietnam

• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Park Hyatt Saigon ($278+ winter 2022)
  • Standard (24,000 points) and premium (30,000 points) suites are available.

Korea

 

• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Grand Hyatt Seoul ($310+ fall 2022)
  • Standard (24,000 points) and premium (30,000 points) suites include access to Regency Club. Premium suites aren’t always available.
• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Grand Hyatt Jeju ($527+ fall 2022)

Best Hyatt award redemptions in the South Pacific

Australia

• Category 2 — 8,000 points: Hyatt Regency Perth ($136+ fall 2022)
  • Standard (13,000 points) and premium (16,000 points) suites include access to Regency Club.
• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Hyatt Hotel Canberra – A Park Hyatt Hotel ($227+ winter 2022)
  • Standard (20,000 points) and premium (24,000 points) suites are available.
• Category 4 — 15,000 points: Hyatt Centric Melbourne ($309+ October 2022)
  • Standard (24,000 points) and premium (30,000 points) suites are available.

Mariana Islands

• Category 3 — 12,000 points: Hyatt Regency Saipan ($198+ winter 2022)
  • Standard (20,000 points) and premium (24,000 points) suites include access to Regency Club.

To recap

There is no lack of great Hyatt Category 1-4 redemptions across the categories and across the world. You have Story Hotels in Stockholm, Hyatt Regencies in Paris and Tokyo,  Hyatt Centrics in Dublin and Venice, Grand Hyatts in Berlin and Seoul, as well as Andaz Vienna and Park Hyatt Zanzibar. And while upcoming changes to the Peak and Off-peak award chart are bound to create some confusion, our strategies shouldn’t change. Redeem points for the maximum value, and avoid wasting your travel currency when value isn’t there. Easy-peasy, I think.

Next and final: Best Overall Hyatt Point Values for Standard and Premium Suites at Cat. 1-4 International Hotels: Part 6 and Final — Summary

Have you been to any of the above hotels? Please share in the comments.