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

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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:

Hyatt Gold Passport 2016 Category Changes
HT: Pizza in Motion

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:

Hyatt Gold Passport 2016 Category Changes

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.

Hyatt Gold Passport 2016 Category Changes
View of the Andes Mountains from the Grand Club at the Grand Hyatt Santiago. This view will be getting more expensive.

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.

Hyatt Gold Passport 2016 Category Changes
Grand Hyatt DFW suite. I LOVE this hotel, but the Category 2 Regency may be a better value.

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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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Shawn Coomer
Shawn Coomerhttps://milestomemories.com/
Shawn Coomer earns and burns millions of miles/points per year circling the globe with his family. An expert at accumulating travel rewards, he founded Miles to Memories to help others achieve their travel goals for pennies on the dollar. Shawn also runs a million dollar reselling business, knows Vegas better than most and loves to spend his time at the 12 Disney parks across the world.

Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Shawn, any idea of what the Andaz redemption will look like? I am trying to book the Andaz in CistaRica and it is a sweet spot at 15k. Wondering if the category is going to change and if I should book now.?

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