Starwood Preferred Guest has made its annual category adjustments for 2014 with just over 20 percent of hotels changing categories. Of the hotels changing categories, 56 percent moved down and 44 percent moved up, which equates to 139 hotels going down and 111 going up.

When looking at hotels in the U.S., 21 dropped and 73 went up. Most hotels are not changing categories and Starwood is not announcing a new, higher award category or changing the redemption amounts for the current categories. While category changes are always subject to adjustment, the preliminary list is available at http://insideflyerus.wpengine.com/link/?10937. Members may review all hotel categories at http://insideflyerus.wpengine.com/link/?10938, including dates for peak season at the properties that feature peak season. Peak season requires more points for award stays.

Bottom line: Most hotel programs adjust their award chart on a regular basis to more closely align to the cost of the hotel if you were paying in cash. If you keep an eye on the cost to stay at a particular hotel, you’ll get a good idea of what might happen when these adjustments are made. For this round, hotels in China saw more drops with 48 hotels dropping a category.