Final Hours To Lock In Hotel Bargains Before Marriott 2019 Category Changes: Category 8 Pricing, 346 Hotels Getting More Expensive, 37 Getting Less Expensive

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Update: Today is the final day to lock in your hotel reservations now before they get more expensive!

Originally posted on 2/8:

• For a limited time, you can earn 100,000 points on the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Consumer Card. You can read more here.
• You can earn 100,000 points on the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card. You can read more here.

Read about previous category changes:

• Marriott 2018 Annual Category Changes
• Starwood 2018 Annual Category Changes
• Starwood 2017 Annual Category Changes
• Starwood 2016 Annual Category Changes
  
• Starwood 2015 Annual Category Changes
  
• Starwood 2014 Annual Category Changes
  
• Starwood 2013 Category Changes
  
• Starwood 2012 Category Changes
  
• 2011 Starwood Category Adjustments
  
• 2010 had no Starwood category changes
  
• 2009 Starwood Category Adjustments
  
• 2008 Starwood Category Adjustments
  
• Starwood 2007 Changes: Launch Of Worldwide Cash+Points Awards (The good old days of Starwood in Israel)

Marriott 2019 Complete List Of Annual Category Changes 

You can view current categories for Marriott hotels here.

Book stays before 3/5 local hotel time to lock in current rates for future stays at hotels that are going up.  You can book stays up to 350 days in advance. Almost all hotel stays are cancellable for free until a certain amount of time before the stay (read the fine print).  If you have a reservation at a hotel that is going down then just cancel and rebook the stay on 3/5 when this year’s category changes go into effect.

Most hotels chains reorganize their categories yearly to keep them current with the average rates that they charge. Legacy Starwood hotels still have no capacity controls on standard rooms. The good part about that is that if a major event is in town and rates are quadruple what they normally are, you can still use the regular amount of points as long as the hotel is not sold out of standard rooms.

You can request a points advance to lock in current rates as long as you have the points in your account 2 weeks before your stay. A Marriott manager will be required to complete the override and honor the old category, so there will be some hassle factor to get this to work. Be prepared to spend a lot of time on the phone finding a manager that knows how to do the override if you go down this route.

Hotels going up from category 5 to 6 will no longer be bookable with anniversary nights from cards like the Starwood Consumer AMEX, Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card, Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Consumer Card, and Chase Marriott Premier Plus Business Card 

Hotels going up from category 6 to 7 will no longer be bookable with anniversary nights from cards like the Starwood Luxury AMEX and the discontinued Ritz Carlton card. However when off-peak nights are introduced later this this year you should be able to use these nights on category 7 hotels.

Note that you won’t be able to change the dates on a reservation after the price goes up, your only options are to use the stay or cancel it and get your points back. You can make one night reservations if you’re not sure how many nights you want to stay, though you won’t be able to take advantage of a free night on a 5 night point stay like that.

In addition to hotel category changes, higher category 8 pricing will go into effect on 3/5. However peak and off-peak pricing won’t be added until later in 2019. Every 5th night will remain free on award stays.

Highlights:

• The Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel is a great airport hotel and becomes a good value dropping from category 5 to 4. Oddly enough the lower end Four Points by Sheraton LAX goes up from a category 4 to 5.
• 2 W hotels in LA go down from a category 7 to 6, making them a good value and eligible for anniversary nights on the SPG Luxury AMEX.
• The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket used to be an all-suites hotel with SPG costing a points fortune. It will drop down from category 7 to 6 and become eligible for anniversary nights on the SPG Luxury AMEX.
• The Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa will drop down from category 7 to 6 and become eligible for anniversary nights on the SPG Luxury AMEX. This is a lower end Maldives resort, but a decent option on a budget. This hotel doesn’t require a pricey seaplane transfer as most Maldives resorts do.

Lowlights:

• Israel gets hit hard again with the Renaissance Tel Aviv Hotel climbing from a category 5 to 6, making it ineligible for anniversary nights on the base Starwood and Marriott cards. The Jaffa, a Luxury Collection Hotel, climbs from a category 6 to 7, making it ineligible for anniversary nights on the SPG Luxury card.
• Several Hawaii hotels are going up in price, including the Residence Inn Maui Wailea and Sheraton Waikiki.
• Many London hotels are moving up as well.
• The Westin Venice, which was supposed to have been a decent category 7 value, will jump to category 8, making just as pricey as more luxurious options there.
• The W Hong Kong, which was supposed to have been a decent category 7 value, will jump to category 8.
• Category 8 pricing goes up from 60K points to 85K points, so you’ll want to make bookings at those hotels now.

Sample hotels going more expensive:

• Aloft Cleveland Airport, was 1, now 2
• Panama Marriott Hotel, was 2, now 3
• Four Points by Sheraton Niagara Falls, NY, was 3, now 4
• JW Marriott Hotel Beijing, was 3, now 4
• Aloft New York Brooklyn, was 4, now 5
• S. Regis Chengdu, China, was 4, now 5
• Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown, was 4, now 5
• Courtyard Palm Springs, was 4, now 5
• Four Points by Sheraton LAX, was 4, now 5
• Fairfield Inn & Suites Los Angeles LAX, was 4, now 5
• Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter, was 4, now 5
• Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel, was 4, now 5
• Sheraton Lisbon Hotel & Spa, was 5, now 4
• Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, Miami, was 5, now 6
• W Miami, was 5, now 6
• Renaissance Tel Aviv Hotel, was 5, now 6
• The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, Tucson, was 5, now 6
• Hollywood Beach Marriott, was 5, now 6
• Sheraton Niagara Falls, NY, was 5, now 6
• Residence Inn Maui Wailea, was 5, now 6
• Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Honolulu, was 5, now 6
• Courtyard Boston Copley Square, was 5, now 6
• Courtyard New York Manhattan/Central Park, was 5, now 6
• Courtyard San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf, was 5, now 6
• Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa, was 5, now 6
• Sheraton Suites Key West, was 5, now 6
• Renaissance Montreal Downtown Hotel, was 5, now 6
• London Marriott Hotel Kensington, was 5, now 6
• Residence Inn London Bridge, was 5, now 6
• Westin Palace, Milan, was 5, now 6
• Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel, was 5, now 6
• JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, was 5, now 6
• San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, was 5, now 6
• The Jaffa, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Tel Aviv, was 6, now 7
• Sheraton Waikiki, Honolulu, was 6, now 7
• The Saint Hotel Key West, Autograph Collection, was 6, now 7
• Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel, was 6, now 7
• Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa, was 6, now 7
• The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Autograph Collection, was 6, now 7
• Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu, Kauai, Autograph Collection, was 6, now 7
• Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort, was 6, now 7
• Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel, was 6, now 7
• French Leave Resort Bahamas, Autograph Collection, was 6, now 7

Here are all of the category 7 hotels going up to category 8 (60K points to 85K points):

• Westin Europa & Regina, Venice
• W Hong Kong
• The London EDITION
• Ritz-Carlton, Dubai
• The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hamra Beach, UAE
• Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Napa Valley
• Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina, Autograph Collection
• Pine Cliffs Residence, a Luxury Collection Resort, Algarve

Sample hotels going less expensive:

• Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel, was 5, now 4
• W Hollywood, was 7, now 6
• W Los Angeles – West Beverly Hills, was 7, now 6
• The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket, was 7, now 6
• Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa, was 7, now 6
• Westin Dublin, was 7, now 6
• S. Regis Osaka, was 8, now 7 (Effectively unchanged and will remain at 60K points)

Here are all of the category 8 hotels, which will climb from 60K points to 85K points when category 8 pricing goes up on 3/5:

• Gramercy Park Hotel, New York, a Member of Design Hotels
• Phoenician Residences, a Luxury Collection Residence Club, Scottsdale
• The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician, a Luxury Collection Resort, Scottsdale
• The Chatwal, a Luxury Collection Hotel, New York City
• The Miami Beach EDITION
• The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami
• The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
• The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, CO
• The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe
• The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, FL
• The S. Regis Aspen Resort
• The S. Regis Bal Harbour Resort
• The S. Regis Deer Valley, UT
• The S. Regis New York
• W South Beach
• Schloss Fuschl, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Fuschlsee-Salzburg, Austria
• Kenoa Exclusive Beach Spa & Resort, Barra de Sao Miguel, a Member of Design Hotels, Brazil
• The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
• The Westin Golf Resort & Spa All Inclusive, Playa Conchal, Costa Rica
• Parklane, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Limassol, Cyprus
• Hôtel de Berri, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris, France
• Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris, France
• Le Méridien Bora Bora, French Polynesia
• The S. Regis Bora Bora Resort, French Polynesia
• Blue Palace, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, Crete, Greece
• Domes of Elounda, Autograph Collection, Greece
• Mystique, A Luxury Collection Resort, Santorini, Greece
• Santa Marina, a Luxury Collection Resort, Mykonos, Greece
• The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong
• The St. Regis Bali Resort, Indonesia
• Cristallo, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
• G-Rough, Rome, a Member of Design Hotels, Italy
• Hotel Cala di Volpe, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Costa Smeralda, Italy
• Hotel Danieli, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice, Italy
• Hotel Pitrizza, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Costa Smeralda, Italy
• Hotel Romazzino, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Costa Smeralda, Italy
• PalazzinaG, Venice, a Member of Design Hotels, Italy
• The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice, Italy
• The S. Regis Florence, Italy
• The S. Regis Rome, Italy
• Suiran, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kyoto, Japan
• The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Japan
• The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto, Japan
• The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo, Japan
• The S. Regis Osaka, Japan
• The S. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, Maldives
• W Maldives
• The S. Regis Punta Mita Resort, Mexico
• The S. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico
• The S. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort, Spain
• Giardino Ascona, A Member Of Design Hotels, Switzerland
• Giardino Mountain, a Member of Design Hotels, Switzerland
• Hotel President Wilson, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Geneva, Switzerland
• W Verbier, Switzerland
• Vana Belle, a Luxury Collection Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand
• W Koh Samui, Thailand
• Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai, UAE
• The Wellesley Knightsbridge, a Luxury Collection Hotel, London, UK
• The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, USVI

Which hotels will you book before rates go up?

HT: mochjas, via DDF