Hyatt Gold Passport 2016 Category Changes: Some Good & Some Bad

Hyatt Gold Passport 2016 Category Changes

We have had a few years of tough devaluations on both the hotel and airline loyalty front. For that reason many of us wince whenever we hear of category changes in hotel programs. Fortunately category changes aren’t always negative, given that programs must adjust their charts each year to keep up with market trends. Today Hyatt Gold Passport announced very modest changes to 106 hotels. These changes will go into effect on August 1, 2016.

Properties Going Up

Out of the 106 hotels changing categories, 50 are increasing one category. Thankfully most of the properties increasing are Hyatt Place locations in lower categories. Among the non-Hyatt Place notable increases are:

• Hyatt Regency San Francisco – Category 4 to 5
• Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago – Category 4 to 5
• Hyatt Centric Park City – Category 4 to 5
• Grand Hyatt DFW – Category 3 to 4
• Grand Hyatt Santiago – Category 2 to 3
• Hyatt Valencia – Category 2 to 3
• Hyatt Regency Dallas – Category 2 to 3

Here is an image of the full list of increases:

Properties Going Down

The good news I suppose is that 56 properties are also decreasing in cost as part of these changes. Among the notable decreases are:

• Hyatt Centric South Beach – Category 6 to 4
• Hyatt Regency Hill Country – Category 5 to 4
• Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur – Category 4 to 3
• Hyatt Regency Phuket – Category 4 to 3

Here is an image of the full list of decreases:

My Thoughts

Overall I think these changes are minor, although some of my favorite properties have been caught up in the increases. The Hyatt Regency Valencia for example is/was the only category 2 in the L.A. area and I stayed there often when visiting Magic Mountain down the street. 4,000 points more per night won’t kill me, but it is a 50% increase in cost.

I also find it interesting that the Grand Hyatt DFW (which is an amazing hotel) is moving up a category. Currently the Hyatt Regency DFW is a category 2, meaning it will cost almost double for the Grand Hyatt. More importantly, Cash + Points will go up to $100 per night for this property which will probably mean I will choose the Regency.

As for the decreases, there isn’t much in the way of surprises. Many hotels in India dropped categories as did a handful of lower end Hyatt Places. The Hyatt Centric Miami drop is not surprising either given how overpriced it was as a category 6. I considered staying there a few months ago, but couldn’t justify it in any way.

Conclusion

This is basically just a normal annual adjustment of categories and one that isn’t too bad. For the most part it involves Hyatt Place hotels shifting categories on the low end, but there are a few painful changes I suppose. Either way, this is good news and means we get to live another year without significant changes to the Gold Passport program.

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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