- What Is the Category 1-4 Free Night Certificate?
- The Map: Every Category 1-4 Hyatt Property
- What Changed in May 2026
- Where We Would Use It Next
- US: Before a Flight or During an Event
- France and Europe: Fewer Options, Higher Payoff
- Mexico City: The Sleeper
- Asia: Singapore, Macau, India are the Targets
- A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Book
- Our Take
We had a 6 a.m. flight to Hawaii out of LAX. The kind where you are supposed to be at the airport by 4, which means leaving the hotel by 3:30, which means waking up at 3. I was not doing that from a hotel in Santa Monica.
We used our Chase World of Hyatt free night certificate at the Hyatt Regency LAX instead. Less than a mile from the terminals. The room was dead quiet, the breakfast was genuinely good, and the cash rate that night was $209. The certificate covered it completely.
The second time was in Rouen, Normandy. We were doing the D-Day beaches and needed a base. Rouen is two hours from Paris, right in the heart of Normandy, and the old city is all half-timbered buildings and Gothic cathedrals. The Hyatt Place Rouen sits right in the middle of it. Hotels in that part of France are not cheap. We applied the certificate, paid nothing, and spent the money we saved on Calvados instead.
The problem with this certificate is that finding which properties are eligible is genuinely annoying. Hyatt does not publish a browsable map of Category 1-4 properties. You have to search hotel by hotel. We built this map so you do not have to.
What Is the Category 1-4 Free Night Certificate?
The Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card issues one free night certificate automatically after each card anniversary. It is valid at any participating Category 1-4 Hyatt property worldwide. Spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year and you earn a second one.
Hyatt offers a personal and a business credit card. Both offer substantial sign-up bonuses.
See our full review of Hyatt personal card here.
World of Hyatt Credit Card
Up to 60,000 bonus points
See our full review of Hyatt business card here.
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
60,000 bonus points
Category 4 is the highest tier the certificate can reach. Under the new award chart that took effect May 20, 2026, a top-rate Category 4 night costs 25,000 points. At our standard valuation of 2 cents per World of Hyatt point, that is roughly $500 of redemption value. The cash rate at the same hotel on a busy night often runs $200 to $350. Either way, the certificate is covering a real expense.
The card has a $95 annual fee. The math is obvious.
One thing to know: certificates expire 12 months from the date issued. Set a reminder when the anniversary email arrives, or you will find yourself in December realizing you never used it. For a full walkthrough of how to redeem them, see our guide to using Hyatt free night certificates.
The Map: Every Category 1-4 Hyatt Property
The map below shows every confirmed Category 1-4 Hyatt property as of the May 2026 award chart update. Pins are color-coded by country. Click any pin to see the property name. Use the Hide and Only buttons in the sidebar to filter by country. Hit the fullscreen icon in the top-right corner for a better experience on desktop.
1138 properties across 77 countries including United States, China, India, Canada, Germany, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, and 69 more.
Hyatt categories change every year and individual properties can move between cycles. Always confirm the current category on the World of Hyatt website before you redeem.
What Changed in May 2026
May 20, 2026 was a rough day for certificate holders. Hyatt shifted 136 properties across categories, with 112 moving up and only 24 moving down. The program also replaced its three-tier pricing (off-peak / standard / peak) with a new five-tier structure (Lowest / Low / Moderate / Upper / Top), pushing the top Category 4 rate from 18,000 points to 25,000.
Nine US properties that were Category 4 moved up to Category 5, taking them out of certificate range. The ones that hurt most: Hyatt Regency Seattle (the last Category 4 in downtown Seattle), Hyatt Regency Coral Gables in Miami, and the Hyatt at Walt Disney World. These were properties people planned trips around specifically to use a certificate. They are gone now.
There are still good values though. In the US, Hyatt Centric Austin and Dream Nashville are into the 1-4 range. In Asia, The Standard Singapore and Andaz Macau are in Category 4. Similarly, in Europe Grand Hyatt Athens, and the Hyatt Place Rouen in the 1-4 range.
Where We Would Use It Next
US: Before a Flight or During an Event
The Hyatt Regency LAX is the clearest example of the certificate doing what it is supposed to do. You are not going to LAX because you want to spend time in Los Angeles. You are going because you have a flight, and waking up at 3 a.m. across town is not the move. The hotel is walkable from the terminals, the room is quiet, the breakfast is good, and cash rates run around $200. We have done it before a Hawaii trip and would do it again. The full experience is in our Hyatt Regency LAX review.
New Orleans is the other US target worth circling. The Hyatt Centric French Quarter is Category 4 and sits on the edge of Bourbon Street. Cash rates during Jazz Fest or Mardi Gras can run $350 a night. A certificate on one of those nights is a different proposition than one used on a slow Tuesday in February.
France and Europe: Fewer Options, Higher Payoff
Most of Western Europe has aged out of the 1-4 range. But the properties that remain are genuinely worth using.
Rouen is the one we keep coming back to. It is an easy two-hour drive or train from Paris and a natural base for a Normandy trip. The D-Day beaches, Bayeux, and Mont Saint-Michel are all within range. The Hyatt Place Rouen is new, it is Category 1-4, and the old city around it is exactly the kind of place where you want to stay in the center rather than on the edge. Hotels there are not cheap. Using a certificate to cover a night while you sort out the rest of the trip in cash or points is the right move.
Hyatt Regency Lisbon has held steady in the 1-4 range as Lisbon’s cash rates have climbed. Grand Hyatt Athens moved down to Category 4 in May 2026, giving Greece travelers a new option in a city where summer rates get punishing.
Mexico City: The Sleeper
Hyatt Regency Mexico City is next to Chapultepec Park with club lounge access and cash rates that clear $200 most nights. Andaz Mexico City Condesa is in a neighborhood where boutique hotels charge boutique prices. Mexico City has become expensive to stay in, which makes the Category 4 options there more valuable every year. If you have a certificate sitting unused and a flexible enough schedule, this is where we would point you.
Asia: Singapore, Macau, India are the Targets
The Standard Singapore is the most interesting addition to the Category 1-4 pool in 2026. A decent hotel in Singapore runs $300 or more on a normal night. Having a Category 4 option there is the kind of thing you plan a layover around. Andaz Macau and Hyatt Regency Dharamshala in India are also newly in the 1-4 range and worth a look if Asia is already on the itinerary.
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Book
Book through the World of Hyatt website or app, logged into your account. Third-party booking sites do not qualify. The certificate shows up as a payment option at checkout on any eligible property.
You can combine a certificate with points or cash for a multi-night stay. That is what we did in Rouen: one certificate night, one paid night. You are not locked into a one-night trip just because you are using a certificate.
If you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred or any Ink card, Ultimate Rewards transfer to World of Hyatt at 1:1. Our Ultimate Rewards guide covers how to pair transferred points with a certificate for a multi-night stay at a property you could not cover on points alone.
Our Take
These certificates are is definitely worth in the two player mode. While the pool of options has gotten smaller every year and May 2026 removed some of the best US properties, but there are still enough good targets to make this worth holding the card for.
Open the map, find where you are already going, look for the Category 4 property closest to your trip. For everything else about the program, the complete World of Hyatt guide has you covered.
