Every year, the major hotel chains adjust the award categories their properties fall into, and Starwood has just announced its changes for the coming year (with redemptions starting March 10) via this thread on Milepoint.The W Paris Opera is one of the properties moving down a category.Here is what SPG’s Social Media Specialist, Alexandra Baker, had to say:Just over 22% of hotels are changing category; of these, 10.49% are moving up and 11.78% are moving down including some favorites such as The St. Regis Rome, The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas, Maui, W Paris – Opera, and others. We’re not adding new categories or changing category pricing at this time. Here’s a look at the preliminary list of changes to help you maximize your Starpoints. Please review the changes to decide if you’d like to redeem your Starpoints prior to - or after - the changes take place on March 10, 2015.Please note that Category adjustments are always subject to change. While we make every attempt to provide you the latest, most accurate information, adjustments may be made before or after the category change date, March 10, 2015.Click here to view the list of changes.Click here to view existing hotel categories.You can find all the hotels changing categories in the links in the announcement above, but here is a redemption chart including outright award nights and cash & points stays for reference:As Sandi noted, over 10% of hotels are moving up categories. Though the bulk are mid-tier properties going from Category 2 or 3 to 3 or 4, there are also quite a few on the higher end of the spectrum moving from 5 to 6 or 6 to 7. Here are some of the interesting ones to note:Regis Abu Dhabi from 5 to 6W Retreat Koh Samui from 6 to 7Regis Punta Mita from 6 to 7Westin Lagunamar in Cancun from 4 to 5Le Parker Méridien Palm Springs from 5 to 6Palace Hotel San Francisco from 5 to 6The Phoenician from 5 to 6The St. Regis San Francisco from 6 to 7Westins in Portland, San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis moving from 4 to 5W San Diego from 4 to 5Want to stay at the W Retreat Koh Samui? Book your stay before March 10!Of the hotels moving down by a category, most are in the middle tiers as well, though here are some standouts: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.Le Méridien Ile de Maurice from 3 to 2Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort from 5 to 4Le Méridien Taipei from 6 to 5Le Méridien Vienna from 5 to 4Schloss Fuschle Salzburg from 7 to 6W Paris-Opera from 7 to 6Westin Grand Frankfurt from 5 to 4Hotel Grande Bretagne Athens from 6 to 5Le Méridien Budapest from 4 to 3St. Regis Rome from 7 to 6Hotel National Moscow from 6 to 5Westin Montreal from 5 to 4Westin Kaanapali Ocean Villas from 7 to 6Westin Los Angeles Airport from 4 to 3Westin Riverfront Beaver Creek from 6 to 5My ThoughtsOverall, just about 20% of the hotels have changed categories, with half of those going up and half going down. I just took a brief glance, but it does not look like there are any dramatic shifts of two categories in either direction.With major devaluations from several of the major chains in recent years, I think things could have been much worse. The bulk of the changes seem to be in mid-tier categories where the difference between points prices are just a few thousand points, rather than in the upper tiers where the changes can be more dramatic. For instance, a hotel in Category 5 requires 12,000 points whereas a Category 6 hotel requires 20,000 points per night and Category 7 requires 30,000 points per night, so those jumps can really add up.That said, if you have future travel plans coming up, check the new listings carefully and plot out your travel before March 10 to see if you are staying at affected properties and which rate will be better to book.I would also look at booking any hotels that are moving from Category 4 to 5 like the Westin Lagunamar in Cancun or the W San Diego since these properties will no longer be eligible for Nights & Flights redemptions (only Category 3 and 4 are). On the plus side, those moving from category 5 to category 4, like the Le Méridien Vienna, will.Do these changes affect your travel plans? What will your strategy be? Share your thoughts in the comments below.[card card-name=‘Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express’ card-id=‘22034416’ type=‘javascript’ bullet-id=‘1’]
