BaconSF

yes, this devaluation is pretty bad. Normally there are some popular properties that are down leveled in category to soften the blow, but not this time…

projectmaximus

Thoughts from my personal traveling standpoint:

All three Jacksonville properties going up. I would never stay in them but it seems to indicate how this category change is going across the board. Also eliminates a potential cheap mattress run in my back pocket.

HR Atlanta moving up to 3 changes the calculus on one of my all-time favorite points value hotels. Often can get solid strings of off peak days/weeks at this hotel, which at 6500 points was a steal. Not so sure anymore.

HR Savannah same category as Andaz now (cat 4), so Andaz it is! No more balancing the pros and cons lol.

HR Grand Reserve Puerto Rico moving to 5, which eliminates one of my favorite Cat 4 cert redemptions

A lot of cheap Dallas properties finally moving from 2 to 1 (and rightfully so)

HP Moab moving up to a cat 5...wow one year ago it was such a steal at cat 2!

GH and HR Bali back to cat 2. Last year their drops to cat 1 were sort of a saving grace to the devals.

HR Suzhou looks very enticing as a cat 1 now.

Hotel Eclat Taipei down to a 2. Ok, I could see a potential staycation mattress run here now.

GH Jeju and GH Seoul. Cat 4 to 5. NOOOOOOO!!!

GH Bangkok cat 2 to 3. Recently spent a week here and loved it. Less likely to return now.

PH Bangkok cat 5 to 6. PH Saigon cat 4 to 5. Oyy, the inflation makes me really struggle with these vs non-branded boutiques at a fraction of the cost.

HR Guadalajara cat 2 to 3. Awww man, I haven't made it here yet. So many reports of it being an excellent redemption I was stoked to try to fit it into a future trip to Mexico. Oh well, might book cash instead.

HC Lima cat 3 to 2. Nice, makes it a palatable redemption now.

GH Baha Mar. Cat 5 to 6. Mehhh, I've never been terribly keen on the Bahamas anyway, but I still enjoy reading the thread updates and always have it as a slight possibility in the back of my mind whenever considering a caribbean destination. Even less likely now.

shootaaa

Although the changes are mostly unfavorable, it is still reasonable (overall) if you consider the super high inflation. Everything is getting more expensive, Hyatt has to raise the price in both cash and miles for rooms in order to make this system work for the long term... I think Hyatt is still my favorite hotel loyalty program despite this devaluation, although I hate the changes ob All Inclusive hotels.

hotelfanatic

UK got hit upside down... 2 Up and 20 Down.

BigDogOffLeash

Somebody please help me understand how this change makes sense from the individual property standpoint. I’m in the San Diego area working on a project and have to book rooms at the government per diem rate. The HP SD/ Carlsbad is the only property in the area that has been available at the government per diem rate every time I have checked over the last 4 months or so. What’s the business case for that individual property to move up a category?

777 global mile hound

Agree sadly 100% in addition over the past 6 months I see a growing issue with Concierge complaints and reports of serious brand assurance issues
Hyatt damaged the program with the seasonal pricing.With some of this fictional award pricing it often makes no sense based on actual demand
IHG can be half the price due to its ability to drop point redemption in half on slow nights.
The worst part of IHG is its poor overseas call centers that take you onto the home farm of the agent you are speaking with.
You can't make this stuff up but on my last IHG call a rooster was so loud I couldn't understand what the agent was saying

777 global mile hound

Highlands Inn a steal at only 40,000 points a night now.True 5 star accommodations in its hard product
Hopefully they are serving breakfast again at that give away

HadesNL

Pffffff.....

Netherlands changes:

Hyatt Regency Amsterdam 4 > 5 because rebound tourism returned to the city but it is really not a spectacular hotel IMO
Hyatt Place Amsterdam Airport 1 > 2 that has to be a joke !

Surprisingly the Andaz Amsterdam is left untouched ....... could have be even milked more dry....

ElevatorEnthusiast

A few takes:

• I'm very surprised the Park Hyatt Tokyo didn't go up to Cat 8 with the volume of redemptions post-reopening as deduced by traffic on this forum
• Interesting that Thompson Denver went down a category
• Eliza Jane going to Cat 5 is a blessing in disguise as the property is terrible, so now fewer folks will be duped into using a Cat 4 certificate on this hellhole prison
• Who goes to Key West to stay at a Cat 8 (let alone Cat 7) motel?

lsquare

😂😆🤣

Jaimito Cartero

Hyexit?

tailorgiven

Most changes are for SLH properties with infrequent redemption and artificially high category ratings anyway. The only “Hyatt” property to receive a change is the Andaz which went up (expected).

TravelinSperry

This is interesting. I have an upcoming stay at the Kyoto HP, but even with the CAT drop, it's still not right. A redemption would only net a 1.08 cent per redemption, waaaay below par. It should've dropped at least 2 categories.

The Andaz NYC moving up to Cat 6 is a blessing, that prop wasn't worthy at Cat 5... it'll save y'all some frustration. Only worthy thing at the prop is the location. Breakfast is a joke and rooms are tired. I struggle to understand why people love it other than the Andaz name.

Thank goodness the Hyatt JFK airport stays within the CAT 1-4 award. Makes it a still worthy redemption in what are an otherwise bunch of tired hotels surrounding JFK.

In South Africa, the Plettenberg coming down is lovely. I didn't stay there due to absurd paid rates, bringing the points down makes it much more palatable for points stays. If your'e driving the garden route, give it a look-see.

Park Hyatt Dubai going up makes sense I suppose, but I personally wasn't a fan of this prop. I know it's super popular though, so everyone else can burn points there and leave less of em around competing for other better Dubai properties.

The Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok going up makes sense. I will be there next week, using points and getting @2.6 cents per. That's too rich (from Hyatt's pov) so the CAT raise makes sense.

tailorgiven

Went from 6 to 7. Struggling to understand why the Thompson next door didn’t receive a hike, but thank god we’ve got another year of 21k redemptions here.

TravelinSperry

Yes, I'll give the Thompson a try next... nice to have a reasonable NYC points alternative.

While everyone is griping about the CAT raises, some properties still show amazing value. Staying at the Hyatt Regency in Kathmandu this week @2.8 cents per. Other hotels that didn't raise that I redeemed for over 2.5 cents per in the past few months include the PH Tokyo, Hyatt Ahmedabad & Andaz Delhi. Still lots of great redemption oppty's out of the US. The US has always been a tough redemption spot, and harder to get upgrades (sans TSUs). And that crosses chains (see Marriott for example). But outside the US is generally the sweet spot for great redemptions, especially Asia. So save your points for your dream holidays, if you can.