Hyatt's 2019 Category Changes, Effective March 18, 2019, affect 259 hotels, a much more significant reshuffling than is typical. 130 Hyatt hotels will move to a higher award category, while 129 Hyatt hotels will move to a lower category. Fortunately there are no additional categories added, and the same number of points will be required to redeem for complimentary nights in each category, up to 40,000 per night in a Category 8.
While many of the hotel changes are Hyatt's limited service brands, such as Hyatt Place and Hyatt House, there are a fair number of higher category Park Hyatt, Andaz and Grand Hyatt properties also changing categories, which I'll focus on below, since this site focuses on luxury travel.
Given the changes, in some cases it will make more sense to pay for a night rather than redeem World of Hyatt points, and when paying, the best value is often reserving a Hyatt Prive rate that includes an upgrade (potentially confirmed at booking), complimentary breakfast for two, a $100 hotel credit and priority early check-in/late check-out based on availability. Also see Top 15 Hyatt Prive Offers.
There's also the matter of the Hyatt Visa annual night certificate, which is only valid for Category 1-4 Hyatts. Below I've covered the Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, and other Hyatts that are either currently Category 4 but increasing (so no longer eligible for the free night) or currently Category 5 but decreasing to Category 4, so newly eligible for the free night.
Park Hyatt Hotels Increasing a Category
| Hotel |
Old Cat. |
New Cat. |
| Park Hyatt Mendoza |
2 |
3 |
| Park Hyatt Busan |
4 |
5 |
| Park Hyatt Hamburg |
4 |
5 |
| Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi |
5 |
6 |
| Palacio Duhau, Park Hyatt Buenos Aires |
5 |
6 |
| Park Hyatt Jeddah Marina, Club and Spa |
5 |
6 |
| Park Hyatt Mallorca |
5 |
6 |
| Park Hyatt Sanya Sunny Bay Resort |
5 |
6 |
| Park Hyatt Seoul |
5 |
6 |
| Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa |
6 |
7 |
Park Hyatt Hotels Decreasing a Category
| Hotel |
Old Cat. |
New Cat. |
| Park Hyatt Canberra |
4 |
3 |
| Park Hyatt Siem Reap |
4 |
3 |
| Park Hyatt Hangzhou |
5 |
4 |
| Park Hyatt Zanzibar |
5 |
4 |
Andaz Hotels Increasing a Category
| Hotel |
Old Cat. |
New Cat. |
| Andaz Costa Rica |
4 |
5 |
| Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya |
5 |
6 |
| Andaz Napa |
5 |
6 |
| Andaz Maui at Wailea |
6 |
7 |
| Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills |
6 |
7 |
Andaz Hotels Decreasing a Category
| Hotel |
Old Cat. |
New Cat. |
| Andaz Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi |
3 |
2 |
| Andaz Delhi |
4 |
3 |
| Andaz San Diego |
5 |
4 |
| Andaz London Liverpool Street |
6 |
5 |
| Andaz Singapore |
6 |
5 |
| Andaz Wall Street |
6 |
5 |
Grand Hyatt Hotels Increasing a Category
| Hotel |
Old Cat. |
New Cat. |
| Grand Hyatt Fukuoka |
3 |
4 |
| Grand Hyatt DFW |
4 |
5 |
| Grand Hyatt Seattle |
4 |
5 |
| Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen Resort |
5 |
6 |
Grand Hyatt Hotels Decreasing a Category
| Hotel |
Old Cat. |
New Cat. |
| Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty |
2 |
1 |
| Grand Hyatt Amman |
3 |
2 |
| Grand Hyatt Bali |
3 |
2 |
| Grand Hyatt Changsha |
3 |
2 |
| Grand Hyatt Chengdu |
3 |
2 |
| Grand Hyatt Mumbai |
3 |
2 |
| Grand Hyatt Xian |
3 |
2 |
| Grand Hyatt Beijing |
4 |
3 |
| Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok |
4 |
3 |
| Grand Hyatt Istanbul |
4 |
3 |
| Grand Hyatt Manila |
4 |
3 |
| Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro |
4 |
3 |
| Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo |
4 |
3 |
| Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego |
5 |
4 |
| Grand Hyatt New York |
6 |
5 |
Other Notable Hotels Increasing from Category 4 Hyatts to Category 5 Hyatts
Since the Hyatt Visa annual free night is only valid for hotels up to Category 4 Hyatts, in addition to the hotels above such as Andaz Costa Rica, Park Hyatt Busan, Park Hyatt Hamburg, Grand Hyatt Seattle and Grand Hyatt DFW, the following hotels will also, effective March 18, 2019 no longer be able to be reserved using the Hyatt Category 1-4 free night.
| Hotel |
Old Cat. |
New Cat. |
| Hyatt at Olive 8, Seattle |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt House Virginia Beach / Oceanfront |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Place Dewey Beach |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Regency Amsterdam |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Regency Boston |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Regency Cologne, Germany |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Regency Guam |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui |
4 |
5 |
| Hyatt Regency Sochi, Russia |
4 |
5 |
Other Notable Hotels Decreasing to Category 4 Hyatts
In addition to hotels such as the Park Hyatt Hangzhou, Park Hyatt Zanzibar, Andaz San Diego, and Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego that are decreasing to a Category 4 Hyatt, these other Hyatts are also decreasing to Category 4, such that you'd be able to use your Hyatt Visa free night at these hotels starting March 19, 2019.
| Hotel |
Old Cat. |
New Cat. |
| Hyatt Centric Chicago Magnificent Mile |
5 |
4 |
| Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago |
5 |
4 |
| Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach |
5 |
4 |
| Hyatt House Jersey City |
5 |
4 |
| Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort Spa and Marina |
5 |
4 |
| Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson |
5 |
4 |
| Hyatt Regency Kiev, Ukraine |
5 |
4 |
You can view the complete list of 2019 Hyatt category changes.
Which is your favorite Hyatt, and has it been affected by the changes?
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