THIS ONLY DESCRIBES THE LEGACY HYATT RESIDENCE CLUB, SOON TO BE VACATION CLUB. DEEDED WEEKS. PREFERABLY BOUGHT RESALE.
1) You own a week. Any time between one year and six months from the beginning of that week, you may call/login and reserve what you own. That's it. You are done for the year.
2) Any time between one year and six months from the beginning of your week, you may call/login and convert your week into points. (This will typically range from 1300 to 2200 points for a two bedroom unit.) At the six month mark, whether you like it or not, your week will be converted into points. It is still possible to use what you own, but it is not guaranteed. If someone else booked your week at six months, tough. Savvy Hyatt owners keep an eye on what they want at the six month mark, and then pounce as the procrastinators are automatically converted to points.
3) You may spend your points three ways:
a) World of Hyatt (hotels). Don't do this. It is a waste of points and a waste of your maintenance fee. If there's absolutely nothing else you like, fine. Go ahead and convert to Hyatt Gold Passport points. But this is a bad idea.
b) Internal Hyatt exchanges. Stay either a full week, or 2, 3 or 4 nights at one of the 16 Hyatt properties. The point charts are listed as a sticky. In general, mid-week stays cost the fewest points, weekends cost the most (on a per night basis). If you have enough points, and a unit is available, you can reserve it with your points and a $40 exchange fee. ($80 if less than a full week.) Point costs range from trivial (Colorado during mud season) to 2200 points. An owner with 1300 or 1880 points can still get the ski weeks and the snowbird weeks in Florida -- by trading down in size. You can jump up or down in season or size so long as you have the points to pay for what you want.
c) Interval International. You can book II weeks anywhere from one year to four months out from your week. If you need more time to plan, you can deposit your points into Interval any time between one year and four months out. And they're good for one full year past your week. (This is the best solution if you can't find anything you want.) There is no "trading power index" or similar. Hyatt owners get the II week if one is available -- anywhere, any time of year. During peak season, the cost of a II week is either 430, 870, or 1300 points -- studio, one bedroom, two bedroom. Point costs are lower for shoulder and low season -- 260, 540, and 800 for low season and 360, 740 and 1100 for shoulder season. My wife and I have made out like bandits trading for Europe in the winter. All II weeks come with a $150 exchange fee, paid at the time of booking. You can purchase trip insurance which allows you to cancel and book something else up to a year later. I can't speak to how that works because I never bother.
4) All of this can be accomplished online or via 1-800-GO-HYATT. If you have a tricky request, the operators at GO HYATT in St. Petersburg are outstanding. "I want this area, any time during this time frame, and I want either a studio or a one bedroom. They will take your payment information if what you want pops up, and you'll get it. This is not automatic. But I've found it to be reliable. 80% of the time, I get the trade I want. (But I'm also making requests such as, "Kona Coast resort, any week in October" or "Week 51 or 52, anywhere in France, any size unit." I'll get an email with my confirmation tout suite.)
5) The down side to all of this is if your plans change or if you can't make up your mind, Hyatt will cheerfully let you squander your week, your points and your maintenance fee. They give you a last-chance option to use expired points. But that comes with many restrictions, and isn't worth wasting words. There is more to the system. But this is enough to make a decision about whether this system is right for you.
