Hyatt is very unlikely to allow any kind of upgrade on a points stay. They want you to pay the 33K points per night for the suite.

Check out Priceline rates for hotels before deciding to use points. It can be a much better value. 22K UR points is a minimum of $275 in value, and you can probably get a Hyatt or comparable hotel cheaper by careful bidding on Priceline; check Hotwire also.

I'm not sure but I think AA allows you to upgrade if space is available for no "change" fee. As noted though, from the west coast, it might not be that great a redemption.

There's a frequent debate on this board about how best to use points. Most people feel it's for international premium cabin travel, and for me personally that's totally true. For me, going overseas in biz is "Sure, why not, let me just make sure I have some movies in case I don't like what's on the plane" while coach is "Oh crap, do I have to, I need a day to prepare, a day to suffer, and two days to recover."

However - some people just don't want to go overseas. Some hate flying economy anywhere anytime. Some people sleep well in coach and just hop on a plane from Chicago to Hong Kong and say "Wake me up when we get there." You can have valid reasons why SJC-OGG in biz is a good redemption. I was trying to get my parents a couple of biz tix to Hawaii, admittedly they are on the right coast, but given their age and health, it's likely to be their last trip anywhere.

One thing is true, don't let the miles burn a hole in your pocket - don't spend them unwisely just because they're there. Figure out what's worth the most to you - and being able to figure it out is the whole point of Flyertalk.