How the 2015 Hyatt Loyalty Program Update Affects You

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Hyatt has made changes to its award chart and loyalty program benefits for 2015, and there’s good news and bad news.

Each year, Hyatt adjusts its award chart, sometimes moving hotels up or down a category.  This means that some hotels will cost more points per night, and some will cost fewer points.

And Hyatt is eliminating some perks from their program!  I’ll explain all the changes.

What’s Changing?

Link:   Hyatt Award Chart Updates for 2015

1.   Hotel Category Changes

The changes to Hyatt’s award chart will take effect at 12:01 am Central Time on January 22, 2015.  So if you book before then, you’ll still pay rates from the old award chart.

Hotels Moving to a Lower Category

The GOOD news is, 48 hotels are moving to a lower category.  So award nights will cost less!

And for now, they haven’t added new categories or increased the number of points needed for each category, like they did last year.

Here are the hotels that will cost fewer points per night and their new category (all hotels have dropped by 1 category unless otherwise indicated):

• Hyatt House Colorado Springs – Category 1
• Hyatt on Main, Green Bay – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Albuquerque Airport – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Baton Rouge / I-10 – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Fort Myers – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Germantown – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Greensboro – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Greenville / Haywood – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Memphis / Primacy Parkway – Category 1
• Hyatt Place North Charleston – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Orlando Airport – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Orlando / Lake Mary – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Roanoke Airport / Valley View Mall – Category 1
• Hyatt Place Salt Lake City Airport – Category 1
• Hyatt Bangalore – Category 2
• Hyatt House Charlotte / Center City – Category 2
• Hyatt House Cypress / Anaheim – Category 2
• Hyatt Place Charlotte Downtown – Category 2
• Hyatt Place Orlando / Convention Center – Category 2
• Hyatt Place Orlando / Universal – Category 2
• Hyatt Place Saratoga / Malta – Category 2
• Hyatt Regency Chennai – Category 2
• Hyatt Regency Chongqing – Category 2
• Hyatt Regency Gurgaon – Category 2
• Hyatt Regency Jinan – Category 2
• Hyatt Regency Montreal – Category 2
• Hyatt Regency Osaka – Category 2
• Park Hyatt Chennai – Category 2
• Grand Hyatt Shenyang – Category 2 (was Category 4)
• Grand Hyatt San Antonio – Category 3
• Hyatt Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Bethesda – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Delhi – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Louisville – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Mexico City – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency San Antonio – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Savannah – Category 3
• Grand Hyatt Washington – Category 4
• Hyatt French Quarter – Category 4
• Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa – Category 4
• Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress – Category 4
• Hyatt Regency La Jolla – Category 4
• MGM Grand – Category 4
• Mandalay Bay – Category 5
• Park Hyatt Washington – Category 5

Most of these hotels are in categories 1 to 3, which cost 5,000 to 12,000 points per night.  So that’s good news for folks who like to stretch their points to stay more nights!

And for folks who already have award nights booked after January 21, 2015, there’s more good news.  They’ll get a refund for the point difference if their hotel has moved to a lower category!

Hotels Moving to a Higher Category

There are 22 hotels moving to a higher category.  While I’m never happy when award nights cost more, I’m glad there aren’t too many of my favorites on this list!

Here are the hotels that have moved up 1 category:

• Hyatt House Raleigh North Hills – Category 2
• Hyatt Place Denver Tech Center – Category 2
• Hyatt Place Denver – South / Park Meadows – Category 2
• Hyatt Place Nashville Airport – Category 2
• Hyatt Place Pensacola Airport – Category 2
• Hyatt Regency Dongguan – Category 2
• Hyatt Regency Greenville – Category 2
• Excalibur – Category 3
• Hyatt House Miami Airport – Category 3
• Hyatt Place Dewey Beach – Category 3
• Hyatt Place Long Island / East End – Category 3
• Hyatt Place Portland – Old Port – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Santa Clara – Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Toronto – Category 3
• Grand Hyatt Sao Paolo – Category 4
• Grand Hyatt Taipei – Category 4
• Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar – Category 5
• Grand Hyatt Macau – Category 5
• Park Hyatt Seoul – Category 5
• Andaz Amsterdam, Prinsengracht – Category 6
• Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Mediterranee – Category 6
• Park Hyatt Maldives, Hadahaa – Category 7

I bet more folks will try to use their 2 free Hyatt night sign-up bonus from the Chase Hyatt card at the Park Hyatt Maldives now!

Remember, you can still book at the old (cheaper) rates before January 22, 2015.

2.   My Elite Rate Being Eliminated

Starting in 2015, Hyatt will discontinue its My Elite Rate program.  It was introduced last year as a test project, but clearly it wasn’t successful!

With My Elite Rate, Hyatt Platinum and Diamond elite status holders could book rooms at 20% off the Best Available rate.

If you have a stay coming up before the end of the year, you can still book My Elite Rate.  But it won’t be available after January 1, 2015.

Fortunately, Hyatt is keeping Points + Cash, which was introduced at the same time as My Elite Rate. <phew!>

3.   No More Bed Type Guarantee

Starting January 1, 2015, Hyatt will no longer award bonus points to elite members who don’t get their confirmed bed type when they check in.

Previously, you’d get 5,000 points if they weren’t able to honor their guarantee (for example, if you booked a king bed but they were only able to give you 2 doubles).

Hyatt says it was very rare that folks would not get their confirmed bed type, so they’re eliminating this program.

For most folks, this is probably not a big deal.  And in future, if they don’t honor their guarantee, you could always send an email and politely request some extra points for your trouble!  🙂

Why I Still Like Hyatt

Emily and I still consider Hyatt our favorite hotel chain.  Even though they have fewer locations than other brands, we’ve always had great experiences with them.

Travel is about making memories with your loved ones!  Some of our best trips have included these Hyatt hotels:

• Our Anniversary to Italy at Park Hyatt, Zurich
• Spring Break at Hyatt Regency Maui
• An Orange County Weekend at Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach
• Our Honeymoon in Paris at Park Hyatt Vendome Paris
• Winter Getaway to Kauai at Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa
• A First Class Passage to India at Park Hyatt Goa
• Our Anniversary to Italy at Park Hyatt, Milan

I love how easy it is to get Hyatt award nights.  For example, if you have the Chase Hyatt card, you’ll get a sign-up bonus of 2 nights at any Hyatt after you spend $1,000 in the 1st 3 months.  And the annual fee of $75 is waived for the 1st year.

Two nights in a top category Hyatt could be worth well over $2,000!

Folks who have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer available) cards can transfer their Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio.

And unlike other chains, Hyatt does NOT have blackout dates.  So if there’s a standard room available, you can book it with points.

Bottom Line

Hyatt has changed their award chart for bookings made from January 22, 2015, onward.

The changes aren’t too bad.  There are 48 hotels moving to a lower category (which means award nights will cost fewer points), and 22 moving to a higher category (more points, boo!).

Folks who used Hyatt’s My Elite Rate and guaranteed bed type might be unhappy, though.  Both of these programs are going away as of January 1, 2015.

But you can still book award nights with Points + Cash, which is 1 of my favorite ways to use Hyatt points!

What do you think of Hyatt’s program changes?  How will they affect you?