New Hyatt Time Share Owner. Did I mess up?

[dannyjdee]

Hey Everyone

Thanks for taking a minute to read this. I’d love your honest thoughts and opinions.

We have been touring timeshares for over 10 years. Marriott always seemed to never make sense financially but Hyatt seems reasonable.

We purchased Hyatt timeshare membership yesterday at Piñon Point in Arizona. We purchased 660 annual points for $16k and we were given 1500 bonus points. Yearly maintenance is around $900 but increases annually.

1. Was this a good deal?
2. I see good and bad reviews, it’s really hard to know if I’m getting screwed getting into timeshare ownership or not. If you are a current Hyatt owner, do you regret it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mjm1]

Hey Everyone

Thanks for taking a minute to read this. I’d love your honest thoughts and opinions.

We have been touring timeshares for over 10 years. Marriott always seemed to never make sense financially but Hyatt seems reasonable.

We purchased Hyatt timeshare membership yesterday at Piñon Point in Arizona. We purchased 660 annual points for $16k and we were given 1500 bonus points. Yearly maintenance is around $900 but increases annually.

1. Was this a good deal?
2. I see good and bad reviews, it’s really hard to know if I’m getting screwed getting into timeshare ownership or not. If you are a current Hyatt owner, do you regret it?

Thanks in advance.

I would recommend rescinding your purchase immediately as you bought a small number of points in the Portfolio Program. Follow the instructions provided by Hyatt.

Do more research here on TUG to determine which system would work best for you. If interested in Hyatt, look for a resale unit on redweek.com and the TUG Marketplace. You can get a 2BR unit at Pinon Pointe in the Platinum season worth 2,000 points for $7-8k and maybe less.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Others more familiar with Hyatt will opine with more accurate information. But what strikes me is how few points you bought. I'm wondering if you have enough points to stay an entire week at Pinon point or if you will need to stay during the shoulder/off season and perhaps not have enough points for Fri, Sat and Sun stay?
If I were you, I'd rescind immediately, then do your homework regarding buying on the resale market.

 

[CPNY]

Hey Everyone

Thanks for taking a minute to read this. I’d love your honest thoughts and opinions.

We have been touring timeshares for over 10 years. Marriott always seemed to never make sense financially but Hyatt seems reasonable.

We purchased Hyatt timeshare membership yesterday at Piñon Point in Arizona. We purchased 660 annual points for $16k and we were given 1500 bonus points. Yearly maintenance is around $900 but increases annually.

1. Was this a good deal?
2. I see good and bad reviews, it’s really hard to know if I’m getting screwed getting into timeshare ownership or not. If you are a current Hyatt owner, do you regret it?

Thanks in advance.

Rescind your purchase and do some research. That is a lot of money for 660 annual points. @travelhacker

 

[echino]

Bad deal. Cancel. You only have a very limited time to get out or you are stuck.

You bought Portfolio points. Those have high maintenance fees and zero resale value. If you like Hyatt, look into possibly buying a resale deeded week at Piñon Pointe or at another resort. Hyatt no longer sells weeks, they only sell portfolio points. So you need to go resale. A deeded week gives you a right to occupy that fixed week / fixed unit that you buy, but also comes with points, so best of both worlds. Look for a 2,000 or 2,200 point week. Those have resale value. If you decide it's not for you, you may resell for about what you bought and only lose closing costs of about $1,000, versus a developer purchase, where you lose everything the moment your rescission period expires.

 

[travelhacker]

Hey Everyone

Thanks for taking a minute to read this. I’d love your honest thoughts and opinions.

We have been touring timeshares for over 10 years. Marriott always seemed to never make sense financially but Hyatt seems reasonable.

We purchased Hyatt timeshare membership yesterday at Piñon Point in Arizona. We purchased 660 annual points for $16k and we were given 1500 bonus points. Yearly maintenance is around $900 but increases annually.

1. Was this a good deal?
2. I see good and bad reviews, it’s really hard to know if I’m getting screwed getting into timeshare ownership or not. If you are a current Hyatt owner, do you regret it?

Thanks in advance.

Definitely rescind.

660 points isn't enough points to do much of anything. $19,000 is A LOT of money.

You could pick up some great weeks for that amount of money, and your cost per point in maintenance fees would be far better.

If you think a timeshare may work well for you, stick around TUG, ask some questions and you can put together a great plan.

@ChicagoDave was going to buy into Hyatt Portfolio, researched, and bought some great ownerships that will serve him splendidly.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

Hey Everyone

Thanks for taking a minute to read this. I’d love your honest thoughts and opinions.

We have been touring timeshares for over 10 years. Marriott always seemed to never make sense financially but Hyatt seems reasonable.

We purchased Hyatt timeshare membership yesterday at Piñon Point in Arizona. We purchased 660 annual points for $16k and we were given 1500 bonus points. Yearly maintenance is around $900 but increases annually.

1. Was this a good deal?
2. I see good and bad reviews, it’s really hard to know if I’m getting screwed getting into timeshare ownership or not. If you are a current Hyatt owner, do you regret it?

Thanks in advance.

Rescind immediately and purchase a resale week at that same resort for much cheaper...

 

[alexadeparis]

rescind and buy resale! in fact i have a Hyatt Every other year unit at Pinon Pointe of 1240 points (which is pretty much equivalent) that i would give away if the buyer pays transfer fee. So the value to me is $0 and defintely not worth $16k

 

[dannyjdee]

rescind and buy resale! in fact i have a Hyatt Every other year unit at Pinon Pointe of 1240 points (which is pretty much equivalent) that i would give away if the buyer pays transfer fee. So the value to me is $0 and defintely not worth $16k

Hey. Thanks so much for your reply. Why would you give it away? Have you not found value in this timeshare program. This our first purchase so not entirely sure what to expect. Seems like people prefer Hyatt to Marriott from a value perspective but not sure.

 

[TUGBrian]

congrats on finding TUG and saving $16 grand!

 

[alexadeparis]

Hey. Thanks so much for your reply. Why would you give it away? Have you not found value in this timeshare program. This our first purchase so not entirely sure what to expect. Seems like people prefer Hyatt to Marriott from a value perspective but not sure.

I love Hyatt even though the booking rules are very complicated - I just have 2 units there and I own many systems. Unfortunately my husband is not well so we won't be traveling as much. I am not ready to completely let go of all my timeshares but i am downsizing

 

[dsmrp]

Plz rescind immediately!
660 pts won't get you much. Not even enough for a studio for a week during platinum season (680 pts,). Better to spend half as much on a resale platinum week at Pinon Pt, and get 2000 pts each year.
Beware resale weeks are unit and week specific.

 

[LannyPC]

1. Was this a good deal?

You have to remember a couple of things. First, very, very rarely is a developer purchase "a good deal". About 99.9% of the time someone comes on here describing his/her developer purchase asking if he got "a good deal" will we respond with a Yes.

Secondly, the sales people's job is to convince you that you are getting "a good deal" when, in fact, you are not. So follow the advice of the others here and rescind.

 

[ChicagoDave]

Hey Everyone

Thanks for taking a minute to read this. I’d love your honest thoughts and opinions.

We have been touring timeshares for over 10 years. Marriott always seemed to never make sense financially but Hyatt seems reasonable.

We purchased Hyatt timeshare membership yesterday at Piñon Point in Arizona. We purchased 660 annual points for $16k and we were given 1500 bonus points. Yearly maintenance is around $900 but increases annually.

1. Was this a good deal?
2. I see good and bad reviews, it’s really hard to know if I’m getting screwed getting into timeshare ownership or not. If you are a current Hyatt owner, do you regret it?

Thanks in advance.

As others have mentioned, absolutely rescind right away before it‘s too late. Follow the instructions for proof of mailing and make sure all parties on the purchase contract sign the rescission letter. You will be hard pressed to find any decent booking options for only 660 points. I received an email on Redweek just this morning listing two Hyatt Pinion Pointe gold week (1,880 points/week) resales at $6,000 each. That sale price is a little high in my opinion, but the point is you could get 3,760 annual points for far less than the cost of 660 points.

 

[SteveinHNL]

Maybe think about buying a platinum deeded 2BR week at Pinon Pointe for that much or less.

 

[dannyjdee]

Thank you all for the feedback. I have indeed cancelled the purchase. Thanks to everyone for saving me $16k. We don’t want to buy at a specific location. We like to travel to new places every year. With that said, does a timeshare make sense for this? If so what would you recommend I look out for. It seems to me that with the annual costs of maintenance we could just pay out of pocket and save the hassle of a timeshare.

 

[bnoble]

We don’t want to buy at a specific location. We like to travel to new places every year. With that said, does a timeshare make sense for this?

It might. Start a new thread in this forum, answering these questions.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Hey. Thanks so much for your reply. Why would you give it away? Have you not found value in this timeshare program. This our first purchase so not entirely sure what to expect. Seems like people prefer Hyatt to Marriott from a value perspective but not sure.

I am so glad you are rescinding. You should take her up on her offer. That is a great offer.

 

[LannyPC]

We like to travel to new places every year. With that said, does a timeshare make sense for this? If so what would you recommend I look out for. It seems to me that with the annual costs of maintenance we could just pay out of pocket and save the hassle of a timeshare.

Based on what you said, have you thought about renting from current owners? There are a few advantages:

1) Small or no upfront costs such as a $15 TUG membership or membership on Red Week.
2) Often, you can rent from existing owners for less than the MFs. For instance, see TUG's Last Minute Rental thread. You can also post an ad there for free saying where you want to go within the following 45 days.
3) If one year you decide to do a vacation other than timesharing such as a family camping trip, you do not have to worry about paying MFs for that year.
4) If you decide that timesharing is not right for you, you have the easiest way of getting out of it. If you could read the numerous threads we see here on TUG each month from owners who are desperate to get rid of their TSs, you would understand.
5) There's no membership fee or exchange fee for the exchange companies.

 

[SteveinHNL]

So what was it about the pitch that caused you to be willing to sign a $16K contract at a specific resort? Here's what sold me: (1) Hyatt is where I want to be. Tahoe, Carmel, Maui. All places I would happily go back to every year. For Carmel, several times a year; (2) If for some reason I didn't want to use my Hyatt points to stay in a Hyatt, I can get really great trade value pretty much everywhere, through Interval; (3) I believe the week I purchased will have a good resale value if/when I decide I am done. As for your idea of paying out of pocket being cheaper, it is very possible. If you buy enough points at the right price for the right MF, I think the HRC deeded week system is in a "sweet spot" for timeshares.

 

[dannyjdee]

Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback. I did indeed cancel the purchase.

Here's what I found and currently am in the process of purchasing from Redweek. I'd love your thoughts

Hyatt Carmel Highlands Inn week 23 unit 316 ANNUAL Platinum season week 2,000 points
Use starting with week 23, 2024 or 2,000 points at enrollment
Member Fees $2419
Deeded

Cost $4500

This seems to me now that I understand more, to be a better deal. Whats your thoughts?

 

[vacationtime1]

Week 23 is June -- fog season in Carmel (and the entire California coast).

It's not foggy every day and it will clear completely on many days, but there is a higher statistical probability of fog during June than in almost any other month.

If you're planning to use your unit during your deeded week, this is something to consider; if you are buying it for the points, not so important.

 

[dannyjdee]

Week 23 is June -- fog season in Carmel (and the entire California coast).

It's not foggy every day and it will clear completely on many days, but there is a higher statistical probability of fog during June than in almost any other month.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, We are from Carmel, Fog is no problem for us. I was in Carmel this past June for 2 weeks. 1 week was amazing weather, the other was continual fog. Besides the fog, does the rest of the purchase sound good.

 

[momeason]

I think you should research more. I was given a Sheraton Desert Oasis 2 bedroom unit timeshare many years ago. We traded in Interval and travelled a lot. We can exchange as one 2 bedroom unit or 2 one bedroom units. This is called a lock-off unit. My maintenance fee is about $1200/yr. My unit is considered high end so I pull the Marriotts and Hyatts. Marriott is now part of the same family so my exchange fees are low. If I were you, I would continue to research more, maybe rent from other TUG owners a few times. You may ultimately decide to go with Hyatt. Be assured, you will be able to find timeshare units whenever you are ready to buy. Don't be in a hurry. There will be other deals. I do not have points. I can see some advantage in using points but not enough to pay as much as the deal you are looking at.

 

[ScoopKona]

Deleted -- didn't notice this was a very old thread.

I have written a guide on how to use what you own. You'll find it in the Hyatt forum.