We know that as of May 20, 2026, World of Hyatt is completely overhauling award pricing, by introducing a new five tier award chart (compared to the current three tiers). On the high end, this has the potential to be awful.
However, that’s not the only change happening as of that date. World of Hyatt has also just revealed hotel category adjustments for 2026, impacting which hotels are in which categories (and in turn, impacting how many points are required for free night redemptions). This is something that Hyatt does annually, and it’s separate from the overall award chart changes.
I’d like to go over the details of this year’s changes, which admittedly pale in comparison to the other change happening as of that date, which is the huge new variance in award pricing.
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that the total number of properties changing categories isn’t as bad as in some past years. The bad news is that the percentage of properties increasing in category (rather than decreasing) is high.
In this post:
136 Hyatt hotels changing categories on May 20
World of Hyatt’s 2026 hotel category changes will be kicking in for bookings made as of 8AM CT on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
As of that date, 136 hotels will be changing categories, with 112 hotels shifting to a higher category and 24 hotels shifting to a lower category. You can find a full list of hotels changing categories here.
In terms of booking logistics:
- All reservations made prior to May 20 will follow the current award chart, even if you stay on a subsequent date
- Members who have stays booked at hotels that go down a category will receive an automatic one-time refund of the points difference; these points will be returned starting May 20
- Any adjustments made to bookings after the changes go into effect will follow the new pricing
Let me again emphasize that there’s a bit of a double penalization here, potentially. On May 20 we’re seeing some hotels shift categories, and we’re also seeing a larger overhaul of Hyatt’s award pricing.
Some notable Hyatts changing categories in 2026
As mentioned above, we’re seeing 136 hotels shifting categories, with 112 hotels shifting to a higher category and 24 hotels shifting to a lower category. That’s rough, as 82% of hotels changing category are getting more expensive, while only 18% are getting less expensive.
On the plus side, at least the total volume of hotels changing categories isn’t as extreme as in some recent years. While you’ll want to take a look at the full list of properties for yourself, let me share what I consider to be some notable category changes.
Here are some of the World of Hyatt category increases that stand out most to me:
- Andaz 5th Avenue New York goes from Category 7 to Category 8
- Hotel du Louvre Paris goes from Category 7 to Category 8
- Hyatt Regency Aruba goes from Category 7 to Category 8
- Park Hyatt London River Thames goes from Category 7 to Category 8
- Alila Mayakoba goes from Category 6 to Category 7
- The Beekman New York goes from Category 6 to Category 7
- Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe goes from Category 5 to Category 6
- Hotel Figueroa Los Angeles goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Hyatt Regency Coral Gables goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Hyatt Regency Grand Cyprus Orlando goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Hyatt Regency Jersey City goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Hyatt Regency Seattle goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Andaz Capital Gate Abu Dhabi goes from Category 3 to Category 4
- Grand Hyatt Athens goes from Category 3 to Category 4
Here are some of the World of Hyatt category decreases that stand out most to me:
- Park Hyatt Sanya goes from Category 7 to Category 6
- Hyatt Centric Delfina Santa Monica goes from Category 6 to Category 5
- Andaz Macau goes from Category 5 to Category 4
- Dream Nashville goes from Category 5 to Category 4
- The Standard Singapore goes from Category 5 to Category 4
- Hyatt Centric Playa Del Carmen goes from Category 4 to Category 3
The thing that stands out to me most is the number of new Category 8 properties, due to the increases. Andaz 5th Avenue, Hotel du Louvre, Hyatt Regency Aruba, and Park Hyatt London? These really aren’t “flagship” properties that should be in the highest categories, if you ask me. The Park Hyatt Paris and Hotel du Louvre will really not be in the same category?!?
The economics of World of Hyatt awards
If you want to make sense of these hotel category changes, it’s worth understanding how the economics of hotel loyalty programs work. Keep in mind that most Hyatt hotels are independently owned, so Hyatt’s loyalty program has to compensate individual hotels for each redemption. As a general rule of thumb, here’s how it works:
- When the hotel isn’t full, the loyalty program compensates the hotel at some reimbursement rate that’s slightly above the marginal cost of servicing a room, etc.
- When the hotel is full (think 90-95%+ occupancy), the loyalty program compensates the hotel close to the average daily rate, in recognition of the fact that the room may have otherwise been sold
For example, if a hotel has high rates but low occupancy, it might be in a disproportionately low category. Meanwhile if a hotel has lower rates but consistently high occupancy, it might be in a disproportionately high category. It’s all about World of Hyatt’s redemption costs.
In recent years, we’ve seen a huge increase in the average cash rates at hotels, especially for luxury, leisure oriented properties. So it’s not surprising to see points redemption rates increase as well, reflecting that trend.
Bottom line
World of Hyatt has revealed its hotel category changes for 2026. As of May 20, 2026, we’re going to see 136 properties shift categories, with 82% of those properties going up in cost, and 18% going down in cost.
The annual category changes we see from World of Hyatt is ultimately the equivalent of a soft devaluation. Then again, the cash cost of many of these properties are increasing as well, so it’s really only a devaluation compared to previous points redemption rates, rather than compared to cash rates.
The much bigger devaluation is World of Hyatt moving from a three tier award chart to a five tier award chart, which will no doubt lead to a lot of awards getting a lot more expensive.
What do you make of these World of Hyatt changes?
Has Hyatt published the changes coming to all inclusive resorts? I have not seen a list of the resorts and category changes
Meanwhile Accor members continue to enjoy upgrades & points-plus-cash redemptions. Good times.
End of an era... Hyatt was one of the remaining hold-outs from the hotel devaluation space. On airlines, it feels like everyone's gone the way of Delta's SkyPesos, except a few (Alaska, you'd better not...) Even so, Aeroplan, Qantas, etc. quietly de-value by pulling availability. *sigh*
Coral Gables is a bummer. Place is a perfectly fine 4 and a great use for certs but kind of a joke at a 5. Was a 3 not very long ago.
At some point Hyatt needs to feel some shame that the Cat 1-4 certs haven't become 1-5. It was one thing when it just excluded a couple top categories it's another when it excludes the majority of decent properties.
It is crazy that the Andaz 5th Avenue is becoming a category 8! There is no way it comes close to the Park Hyatt New York…or even the Andaz Toranomon in Tokyo. It was only recently bumped up to category 7… Hopefully a hotel recession brings it back down next year. Happy I just booked stays at the Park Hyatt Sydney and PH Auckland… hate to see what the 5 categories of points do there, especially Sydney.
Totally agree. No way the Andaz should be anywhere near Cat 8
Hotel Figueroa as category 5 is crazy work. That place is like 100 years old and doesn't look a day over 99.
and the AC doesnt work properly and when it does is loud!
Also PH London should not be category 8. Their room rate is always high even if there is low occupancy but i've stayed there a dozen times and its never anywhere near full.
I wonder if the 'reimbursement' cost to the hotel when people use points factors in the owner's debt service, not just the operating costs to service a room if the property has low occupancy. I can't think of another reason they could justify moving this one to Cat 8.
So much for the new (dynamic) award chart allowing properties to go down to lower categories
I really should stop putting my everyday spend on Chase cards
Damn, they finally switched Regency Seattle to a 5. One of my fav 1-4 certificate redemptions
I'll echo Echo. The cat updates DOWNGRADE the valu of a fna. Santa Cruz during a peak wknd...rip
Does anyone know if Hyatt will let you replace a point reservation with a later granted fna? Marriott has past allowed similar flexibility.
What is most interesting and telling is there are 10 hotels changed categories in China + Macao, but they are all down grades. Most other countries have up and down grades!
@lucky
have you noticed that chase has added a handful 2.5cpp points boost properties but also greatly reducing the number of properties that got the 2cpp boost? this CSR refresh is appearing to be a major dud!
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-announces-select-properties-with-2-5x-pointsboost-redemption/
HR Grand Cypress going to a Cat 5 just nuked the best option for a Cat 1-4 cert in Orlando. Frustrating stuff.
It's well past time the free night certificates become Cat 1-5 instead of 1-4.
Effectively losing the ability to redeem Cat 4 certificates for a decent stay in six major cities (Los Angeles, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Miami, and Seattle) is a huge devaluation of the credit card's free night award. Figueroa, Hyatt Centric Las Olas, and Hyatt Regency Coral Gables were the three places I redeemed them most often.
My main concern for annual category changes is whether I can or can't use a free night certificate going forward. In that regard, I'd like to point out a couple interesting changes not mentioned (for me anyway with no plans to go to Kuwait or Saudi Arabia):
Going from 4 to 5
Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid
Hyatt Regency Lisbon (a bit out of the way anyway)
Going from 5 to 4
Hyatt Centric Austin
Setting aside the fact of how variable points pricing will be with the new chart, I don't think it's surprising that hotels in expensive markets are moving up in categories.
It's not really about whether Hyatt thinks multiple hotels in New York, London, or Paris are equally high-quality, it's the fact that those markets are reliably high-priced in cash with relatively little seasonality.
HR Lake Tahoe going from 5 to 6 instead of 4->5?
Nevada Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino 5 6
Dare I say these aren’t that bad? The way bigger issue is the increased amount of points required for each category
Globalists and CC holders need better free night awards!
I think it's the additive effect. I'm used to seeing ~80% of the properties increase and 20% of them decrease. This year is bad on both fronts... and is finally going to change my behavior - I'm done chasing LT status with Hyatt. Which is sad because I'm 75% of the way there, but I have a lot better uses for that $50k than to chase objectively mid hotels in North America for most of the year.