So I think everyone by now is well aware of the Hyatt Award Chart “changes” announced yesterday. And hopefully evaluated the award chart changes with respect to using the Hyatt annual free night certificate and of course, your vacation plans. These changes go into effect on March 18, 2019. Here are some of the specifics Hyatt has clearly provided on their page regarding bookings made before or after:
- When you book before March 18, your reservations will follow the current free night award chart found here.
- Reservations made on or after March 18 will follow the new free night award chart and incorporate the updates noted below
- Existing reservations for nights on or after March 18 will receive a refund for the point difference if the hotel moved to a lower category
Rather than rant on about my own personal reactions to the chart, I thought I would put this in perspective with respect to the Hyatt Credit Card Annual Free Night. That’s the first thing I look at to understand what Hyatt has done with its award chart.
If you don’t already know about it the Hyatt Credit Card offers an annual free night certificate at card anniversary every year. The catch is the annual fee is $95 and there being a restriction on the night to Category 1-4 hotels.
So of the 259 hotels changing categories, 18 of the changes result in hotels being no longer available for the Hyatt credit card annual free night certificates and 12 result in hotels being newly available for annual free night certificate redemption.
Hotels No Longer Available for Credit Card Free Nights:
My takeaways:
- San Francisco will no longer have a single full service property available for the Hyatt Credit Card free night
- Hong Kong will no longer have any properties within city limits available for the annual free night.
- Seattle will no longer have any full service properties within city limits for the annual free night
- Amsterdam will not have a Hyatt Property in the city centre for annual free night certificate
- The on terminal hotel at DFW will no longer be available for the annual free night.
- Other casualties: Park Hyatt Hamburg, Andaz Costa Rica Papagayo. and Hyatt Regency Cologne.
| Hotel Name | Current Category | Future Category | Points Required Now | Points Required After March 18 |
| Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Place Dewey Beach | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Boston | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Grand Hyatt DFW | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt House Virginia Beach / Oceanfront | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Grand Hyatt Seattle | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt at Olive 8 | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Cologne | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Park Hyatt Hamburg | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Amsterdam | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Sochi | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Park Hyatt Busan | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Guam | 4 | 5 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
Hotels Now Available for Credit Card Free Nights:
My takeaways:
- Chicago now has some options for the annual free certificates. I stayed at the Hyatt Centric The Loop and it was definitely a nice property.
- New York City now has some options via Jersey City. The PATH train merely takes 10-15 minutes to get to Manhattan and those hotels offer the best views of the City. How can you see the skyline from within Manhattan anyway?
- San Diego now has two full service properties at your certificate’s disposal
- Other wins: Hyatt Centric Waikiki, Park Hyatt Zanzibar, Park Hyatt Istanbul
| Hotel | CURRENT Category | NEW Category | CURRENT Points Per Night | NEW Points Per Night |
| Andaz San Diego | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Hyatt Centric Chicago Magnificent Mile | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Hyatt House Jersey City | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Park Hyatt Istanbul – Macka Palas | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Hyatt Regency Kiev | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Park Hyatt Zanzibar | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
| Park Hyatt Hangzhou | 5 | 4 | 20,000 | 15,000 |
Bottom Line:
They really hit Hong Kong, San Francisco, Seattle, and the premium properties in Western Europe hard. Overall the changes are negative if you weigh in the numbers (18-12 in favor of devaluation), but there are some diamonds in the rough.
I for one am very pleased with the fact that both Hyatt Jersey City properties are now available for annual free night redemption. If you don’t know already Exchange Place has the best views of New York City. You can easily see both upper and lower Manhattan:
Oh the changes in Chicago are also a win though the hotel market there is quite competitive for redeeming free nights.
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