Ouch! 2026 Category Changes: In Addition To Devalued Award Chart, 112 Hyatt Hotels Will Go Up In Category, 24 Will Go Down In 4 Weeks

Never Miss Another Deal – Follow DansDeals on Facebook

Previous coverage:

This year’s category changes:

Hyatt is back with their annual category changes, and this is the roughest one yet.

That’s because the worst changes are due to a new award chart that will go into effect on 5/20 at 9am ET. The new chart has 5 pricing levels to enable practically dynamic pricing, along with massive price increases.

Hyatt insists that it still operates a fixed award chart program. Technically, that may be true, but with so many peak levels and such a massive variance in cost, I’m not even sure what that means. The difference in cost between the lowest dates and peak dates is now bigger than at many variable point programs.

In addition to that, 112 hotels are going up in category while just 24 hotels are going down in category this year. That’s a whopping 83% of category changes going up rather than down. Even the hotels going down may wind up costing more due to the new award chart pricing.

Lock in lower rates:

Book stays before 5/20 at 9am ET to lock in current rates for future stays at hotels that are going up. You can book stays up to 13 months in advance. Almost all hotel stays are cancellable for free until a certain amount of time before the stay (read the fine print). If you have a reservation at a hotel after 5/20 that is going down, you will automatically receive a points refund starting on 5/21.

Note that you won’t be able to change the dates on a reservation after the price goes up, your only options are to use the stay or cancel it and get your points back. If you are booking a stay for longer than you might need it, consider booking in single night increments so that you can keep the old rate for the nights you want to use.

Anniversary night losses and gains:

Hotels going up from category 4 to 5 will no longer be bookable with anniversary nights from the Chase World of Hyatt credit card or from milestone awards, while hotels going from 5 down 4 will be eligible.

Losses there include the Hotel Figueroa Los Angeles, Hyatt Place Santa Barbara, Hyatt Regency Coral Gables, Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale, Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort, Hyatt House Jersey City, Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson, The Carolina Inn, Hyatt Regency Seattle, Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid, and Hyatt Regency Lisbon which are no longer eligible for those anniversary nights as they climb from category 4 to 5.

The Dream Nashville, Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin, Andaz Macau, and The Standard, Singapore, will be newly bookable with anniversary nights as they drop from a category 5 to 4.

Category 8 losses:

Hotels going from category 7 to 8 will no longer be bookable with Globalist 1-7 free night certificates and will become much more expensive with the new award charts. That includes Andaz 5th Avenue, Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort Spa and Casino, Hôtel du Louvre, Hotel Fluela Davos and Park Hyatt London River Thames.

Frankly, it is shocking that some of those hotels will be in Hyatt’s top-tier category and makes me concerned that we will see a category 9 next year.

No hotels are dropping from category 8 to 7.

Other notable hotel changes:

Other guest favorite hotels being devalued include the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Hyatt House Tokyo Shibuya, Alila Mayakoba, Hyatt Regency Cape Town, several Hyatts in Orlando, Hyatt Regency New Brunswick, The Beekman, Hyatt Regency DFW, Hyatt Place Kyoto, Grand Hyatt Athens, Andaz Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi, and Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill.

Guest favorite hotels that will become a better value include the Andaz West Hollywood, The Time New York, Hyatt Place Santa Barbara, and the Hyatt Centric Delfina Santa Monica.

Sample hotels going up in category:

Hyatt Place Tucson-Central, AZ, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Cincinnati Airport/Florence, KY, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Chicago/Schaumburg, IL, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Baltimore/BWI Airport, MD, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Flint/Grand Blanc, MI, was 1, now 2
Hyatt House Mt. Laurel, NJ, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Mt. Laurel, NJ, was 1, now 2
Hyatt House Raleigh Durham Airport, NC, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Raleigh Durham Airport, NC, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Columbus/Dublin, OH, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Columbus/Worthington, OH, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Houston NW Vintage Park, TX, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Edmonton-West, Canada, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Edmonton-West, Canada, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Edmonton-West, Canada, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Windsor, Canada, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura, Chile, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place San Jose/Pinares, Costa Rica, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Rouen, France, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place San Pedro Sula, Honduras, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Centric MG Road Bangalore, India, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Regency Cape Town, South Africa, was 1, now 2
Story Hotel Stockholm North, Sweden, was 1, now 2
Hyatt Place Dubai Jumeirah, UAE, was 1, now 2
Hyatt House Orlando International, FL, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Orlando/I-Drive/Convention Center FL, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Across From Universal Orlando Resort, FL, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Tampa/Busch Gardens, FL, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Lakeland Center, FL, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Lodge Oak Brook Chicago, IL, was 2, now 3
Hyatt House Chicago / Oak Brook, IL, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Regency Lexington, KY, was 2, now 3
Hyatt House Boston/Waltham, MA, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Regency New Brunswick, NJ, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Albany/Downtown, NY, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Buffalo/Amherst, NY, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Regency Columbus, OH, was 2, now 3
Hyatt House Columbus OSU/Short North, OH, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Columbus/OSU, OH, was 2, now 3
Hyatt House Pittsburgh/ Bloomfield/Shadyside, PA, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place DFW, TX, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Blacksburg/University, VA, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Bayamón, PR, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Manatí, PR, was 2, now 3
Caption by Hyatt Namba Osaka, Japan, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki, Greece, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Centric Las Condes Santiago, Chile, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Centric Guatemala City, Guatemala, was 2, now 3
Hyatt Place Kyoto, Japan, was 2, now 3
Hyatt House Anchorage, AK, was 3, now 4
Hyatt Regency Greenwich, CT, was 3, now 4
Hyatt Regency New Orleans, LA, was 3, now 4
Hyatt Place Garden City, NY, was 3, now 4
Hyatt Regency DFW International Airport, TX, was 3, now 4
Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport, WA, was 3, now 4
Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was 3, now 4
Andaz Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi, UAE, was 3, now 4
Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay, Japan, was 3, now 4
Grand Hyatt Athens, Greece, was 3, now 4
Hotel Figueroa Los Angeles, CA, was 4, now 5
Hyatt Place Santa Barbara, CA, was 4, now 5
Hyatt Place Santa Cruz, CA, was 4, now 5
Hyatt Regency Coral Gables, FL, was 4, now 5
Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale, FL, was 4, now 5
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort, FL, was 4, now 5
Hyatt House Jersey City, NJ, was 4, now 5
Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson, NJ, was 4, now 5
The Carolina Inn, NC, was 4, now 5
Hyatt Regency Seattle, WA, was 4, now 5
Hyatt Regency Lisbon, Portugal, was 4, now 5
Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid, Spain, was 4, now 5
The Laurel Inn San Francisco, CA, was 5, now 6
Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino, NV, was 5, now 6
Hyatt House Tokyo Shibuya, Japan, was 5, now 6
The Beekman, A Thompson Hotel, New York City, NY, was 6, now 7
Alila Mayakoba, Mexico, was 6, now 7
The Standard, Ibiza, Spain, was 6, now 7
Andaz 5th Avenue, NY, was 7, now 8
Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort Spa and Casino, was 7, now 8
Hôtel du Louvre, France, was 7, now 8
Hotel Fluela Davos, Switzerland, was 7, now 8
Park Hyatt London River Thames, UK, was 7, now 8

Sample hotels going down in category:

Hyatt Place Memphis/Wolfchase Galleria, TN, was 2, now 1
Hyatt Regency Beijing Shiyuan, China, was 2, now 1
Hyatt Regency Sanya Tianli Bay, China, was 3, now 2
Hyatt Centric Downtown Denver, CO, was 4, now 3
Grand Hyatt Shenzhou Peninsula, China, was 4, now 3
Grand Hyatt Sanya Haitang Bay Resort & Spa, China, was 4, now 3
Hyatt Centric Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, was 4, now 3
Hyatt Place London City East, UK, was 4, now 3
Dream Nashville, TN, was 5, now 4
Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin, TX, was 5, now 4
Andaz Macau, was 5, now 4
The Standard, Singapore, was 5, now 4
Hyatt Centric Delfina Santa Monica, CA, was 6, now 5
Andaz West Hollywood, CA, was 6, now 5
Hyatt Place Santa Barbara, CA, was 6, now 5
The Time New York, NY, was 6, now 5
Park Hyatt Sanya Sunny Bay Resort, China, was 7, now 6
Grand Hyatt The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, was 7, now 6

Sample all-inclusive hotels going up in category:

AluaSoul Ibiza, Spain, was A, now B
Dreams Lanzarote Playa Dorada, Spain, was B, now C
Dreams Jardin Tropical Resort & Spa, Spain, was B, now C
Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa, Spain, was B, now C
Secrets St. Lucia Resort & Spa, Saint Lucia, was C, now D

Sample all-inclusive hotels going down in category:

Hyatt’s award charts:

Here is Hyatt’s current award chart:

And here is the award chart starting in May:

Category 1 off-peak drops from 3.5K to 3K for lowest. Standard climbs from 5K to 6K for moderate. Peak jumps up from 6.5K to 9K for top, a 38% increase.
Category 2 off-peak drops from 6.5K to 6K for lowest. Standard climbs from 8K to 10K for moderate. Peak jumps up from 9.5K to 15K for top, a 63% increase.
Category 3 off-peak drops from 9K to 8K for lowest. Standard climbs from 12K to 15K for moderate. Peak jumps up from 15K to 20K for top, a 33% increase.
Category 4 off-peak remains 12K for lowest. Standard climbs from 15K to 20K for moderate. Peak jumps up from 18K to 25K for top, a 39% increase.
Category 5 off-peak drops from 17K to 15K for lowest. Standard climbs from 20K to 25K for moderate. Peak jumps up from 23K to 35K for top, a 52% increase.
Category 6 off-peak drops from 21K to 20K for lowest. Standard climbs from 25K to 30K for moderate. Peak jumps up from 29K to 40K for top, a 38% increase.
Category 7 off-peak remains 25K for lowest. Standard climbs from 30K to 35K for moderate. Peak jumps up from 35K to 55K for top, a 57% increase.
Category 8 off-peak remains 35K for lowest. Standard climbs from 40K to 55K for moderate. Peak jumps up from 45K to 75K for top, a 67% increase.

Those are some breathtaking price increases for peak dates.

Transfer Chase points to lock in lower rates:

You can instantly transfer Chase points to Hyatt to lock in lower rates.

If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can transfer points into miles:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 75K signup bonus for spending $5K in 3 months, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel after the card’s 10% anniversary bonus, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries after the card’s 10% anniversary bonus, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. ($795 annual fee) Read more here.

Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ has a 150,000 bonus points signup bonus after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening ($795 annual fee). Read more here.

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a 100,000 signup bonus for spending $8K in 3 months, and earns 3 points per dollar on up to $150K of annual spending on shipping; social media and search engine advertising; travel; internet, cable, and phone services, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

Chase no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has a $750 signup bonus in the form of 75K points for spending $6K in 3 months, and earns 1.5 points per dollar on business purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a $750 signup bonus in the form of 75K points for spending $6K in 3 months. This card earns 5 points per dollar on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, and office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas on up to $25,000 in purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus for spending $500 in 3 months, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here. All information about the Chase Freedom Flex Card has been collected independently by DansDeals.

Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a $250 signup bonus in the form of 25K points for spending $500 in 3 months, 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar (marketed as 5% cash back) on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

Which hotels will you book before rates go up?