Most hotel loyalty programs adjust the points price (aka category or tier) of some individual properties at least once per year. In many cases the number of points per night charged is at least loosely tied to the average rate that property draws, so when hotel upgrades are made or demand for the hotel increases or decreases or for several other reasons, that hotel may become one that needs to move up or down in points price as rates fluctuate accordingly.Hyatt Gold Passport typically adjusts hotel categories once per year, and honestly I had kind of hoped they weren’t doing it this year for some reason since we were already halfway through 2016 with no category changes. Turns out it just is happening a little later than we are used to as Hyatt Gold Passport is adjusting the category of 106 hotels effective August 1, 2016.In total 50 hotels will be going up in category and 56 hotels will be going down. Of course this probably means some hotels you have on your radar are getting pricier on points, but I’ll cut to the chase and tell you that the list overall isn’t horrible, though there are a few changes I am sad about. No new hotels are going up to the Category 7 tier, though none are coming out either. No hotels are even going up to the Category 6 tier, and one is coming down from there. Overall I think the value to be had in the properties dropping in category for the most part balances out those increasing in category, but there are a few specific property changes I am not looking forward to that I’ll get to in a minute.The other good news is that they aren’t changing the price per category or adding any new categories this year. You have until July 31st to lock in rates at the current prices, so of course you will want to go ahead and make your future reservations up to 13 months in advance at the properties that will be increasing in points.Hyatt Gold Passport Properties Increasing in Category on 8/1/2016Hyatt House Dallas/Frisco12Hyatt House Dallas/Lincoln Park12Hyatt House Dallas/Uptown12Hyatt House Denver/Lakewood at Belmar12Hyatt Place Augusta12Hyatt Place Buffalo/Amherst12Hyatt Place Champaign12Hyatt Place Corpus Christi12Hyatt Place Dallas/Grapevine12Hyatt Place Nashville/Franklin/Cool Springs12Hyatt Place Nashville/Hendersonville12Hyatt Place North Charleston12Hyatt Place Sacramento/Roseville12Hyatt Place Salt Lake City Airport12Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura12Hyatt Place Savannah Airport12Hyatt Regency Suites Atlanta Northwest12Hyatt Place Asheville Downtown13Grand Hyatt Amman23Grand Hyatt Chengdu23Grand Hyatt Incheon23Grand Hyatt Santiago23Hyatt House Atlanta/Downtown23Hyatt House Belmont/Redwood Shores23Hyatt House Boston/Waltham23Hyatt House Emeryville/San Francisco Bay Area23Hyatt House Falls Church/Merrifield23Hyatt House Naples/5th Avenue23Hyatt House Pleasanton23Hyatt House San Diego/Sorrento Mesa23Hyatt House San Juan23Hyatt House Santa Clara23Hyatt Place Chicago South University23Hyatt Place Fort Worth Historic Stockyards23Hyatt Place Garden City23Hyatt Place Houston/The Woodlands23Hyatt Place Mohegan Sun23Hyatt Place Portland Airport23Hyatt Place San Juan/City Center23Hyatt Regency Dallas23Hyatt Regency SF Airport23Hyatt Valencia23Grand Hyatt DFW34Hyatt Place Dewey Beach34Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown34Hyatt Regency McCormick Place34Hyatt Centric Park City45Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago45Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson45Hyatt Regency San Francisco45Hyatt Gold Passport Properties Decreasing in Category Effective 8/1/2016HOTEL NAMECurrent Award CategoryNew Award CategoryHyatt Ahmedabad21Hyatt Amritsar21Hyatt Bangalore21Hyatt House Gaithersburg21Hyatt House Mt. Laurel21Hyatt Hyderabad21Hyatt Place Albuquerque/Uptown21Hyatt Place Ciudad del Carmen21Hyatt Place Dallas/Arlington/Grand Prairie21Hyatt Place El Paso Airport21Hyatt Place Fredericksburg UMW21Hyatt Place La Paz21Hyatt Place Los Cabos21Hyatt Place Mt. Laurel21Hyatt Place Phoenix Chandler-Fashion Center21Hyatt Place Phoenix/Gilbert21Hyatt Place Phoenix-Mesa21Hyatt Place Pittsburgh Airport21Hyatt Place Pittsburgh/Cranberry21Hyatt Place San Antonio North/Stone Oak21Hyatt Place Tempe/Phoenix Airport21Hyatt Pune21Hyatt Raipur21Hyatt Regency Ahmedabad21Hyatt Regency Chandigarh21Hyatt Regency Changchun21Hyatt Regency Chennai21Hyatt Regency Chongqing21Hyatt Regency Dulles21Hyatt Regency Fairfax21Hyatt Regency Guiyang21Hyatt Regency Gurgaon21Hyatt Regency Kolkata21Hyatt Regency Ludhiana21Hyatt Regency Tianjin East21Park Hyatt Chennai21Hyatt Place Secaucus/Meadowlands32Hyatt Regency Belgrade32Hyatt Regency Delhi32Hyatt Regency Ekaterinburg32Hyatt Regency Mumbai32Hyatt Regency Pune32Hyatt Regency Qingdao32Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki32Park Hyatt Hyderabad32Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur43Grand Hyatt Lijiang43Grand Hyatt Mumbai43Hyatt Regency Baku43Hyatt Regency Changbaishan43Hyatt Regency Houston/Galleria43Hyatt Regency Perth43Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort43Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort54Hyatt Regency Sochi54Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami64As refresher, here are the Hyatt Gold Passport category prices below. Unlike with some programs, there aren’t huge jumps between categories, though once you get towards the top of the scale the prices do go up in increments of 5,000 points instead of 3,000 - 4,000 at the lower end of the scale.Category 4 Property Changes - Hotel Award NightOne category change that really matters for those with the Hyatt Credit Card is Category 4, as that is the highest category you can use your annual award night at each year. With these changes, four properties will be increasing from a 4 to a 5 and thus no longer eligible for annual award night redemption - Hyatt Centric Park City, Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago, Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson, and Hyatt Regency San Francisco. There will be three properties dropping to a 4 thus making them eligible for the annual award night - Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort, Hyatt Regency Sochi, and Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami.Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Water slides and more at Hyatt Hill CountryHyatt Category Change StandoutsOut of the entire list, I am most saddened, but not surprised, to see the Hyatt Centric Park City (formerly Hyatt Escala Lodge) increasing from a 4 to a 5 as I very much hope to take my family skiing there at such a great points redemption level. I am most excited that the Hyatt Regency Hill Country is dropping from a 5 to a 4 as I know I can make good use of using points and the annual credit card award night at that San Antonio property! Both of those two properties have relatively low rates out of season, but very high rates during their respective peak seasons.Hyatt Centric Park CitySome other properties I am sad to see increase are the Hyatt Regency SF Airport, Grand Hyatt DFW, Hyatt Place The Woodlands, and the Hyatt Place Ashville Downtown (increasing two categories from a 1 to a 3!).It is interesting to me there will now be a Category 1 Park Hyatt at the Park Hyatt Chennai. Also worth a mention that the still relatively new Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami is dropping two categories from a 6 to a 4.Hyatt Centric South BeachIf you are short on Hyatt points remember they transfer 1:1 from Chase Ultimate Rewards so you can hopefully make redemptions for the next 13 months at properties increasing in points price before August 1st! If a property you have booked for after August 1, 2016, is decreasing in points cost then Hyatt will give you a refund of the points difference, which is very generous. I’ll post more about which properties I am targeted before then. Which properties are you happy or sad to see change category?
